Pause for Thought: Small Things Matter
The story of Saint Therese
by Rebecca Parkinson
Suitable for Whole School (Pri)
Aims
To use the story of Saint Therese to consider the importance of small acts of kindness.
Preparation and materials
- You will need a single flower and the words ‘What matters in life is not great deeds, but great love’ displayed so that the children can read them.
- Have available an image of Saint Therese, also known as Thérèse of Lisieux, and the means to display it during the assembly. An example is available at: https://tinyurl.com/9snhz9zv
Assembly
- Ask the children whether they can think of a time when someone did something kind for them.
Listen to a range of responses. - Ask the children how they felt when someone was kind.
Listen to a range of responses. - Explain that you are going to introduce the children to a very special person called Therese, who lived more than 140 years ago.
- Therese was born on 2 January 1873 and died on 30 September 1897 at just 24 years old. Her mother died when Therese was just four years old, leaving her father with five children to look after. Her eldest sister, who was called Marie, took over running the household, while one of her other sisters, Pauline, took charge of telling the younger children about God.
When Therese was 14, she decided that she wanted to dedicate her life to God, so she became a nun. (A nun is a woman who devotes her life to God and lives with a group of other women who have done the same.)
Therese struggled with illness throughout her life, but she was known as being full of fun, loving drama and being happy working with other nuns at any task. However, in 1896, Therese began to suffer from a serious illness called tuberculosis and spent the last few months of her life in the convent hospital. Even so, she never stopped being cheerful.
Therese was made a saint in 1925. A saint is someone who is a great example to us because he or she lived a special life or had special gifts. - Explain that although Therese didn’t have a very long life, she used every minute that she had to care for other people. Her best-known saying is, ‘What matters in life is not great deeds, but great love.’
Show the words for the children to read. - Therese became known as someone who would show love to others by doing little things.
Show the single flower.
Sometimes, she gave flowers (hence her title ‘The Little Flower’); sometimes she prayed; and sometimes, she helped people who were struggling. - Explain that Therese knew that she wasn’t physically strong enough to carry out great deeds, but she had an enormous impact on people’s lives by doing the little things.
- Explain that very often, it’s the little things that have the greatest effect on people’s lives. They show people that someone cares.
Time for reflection
Let’s close our eyes and think about a small act that someone has done for us that made us feel special or happy. It may have been a kind word, asking us to play, sharing something with us or even giving us a special present.
Let’s decide to do something today that will make someone else feel special.
Explain that you will pause in the middle of the prayer so that any children who want to can silently say ‘thank you’ for a special person they know.
Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you for people who do things for us that make us feel happy and loved.
Thank you especially for (pause).
Please help us to do something today to show someone that we care about them.
Amen.
Song/music
‘The UK Blessing – churches sing “The Blessing” over the UK’, available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUtll3mNj5U (6.46 minutes long)
