CONSTITUENT ELEMENTS OF THE LITTLE WAY OF SAINT THERESE IN EDUCATION
If there is an expression that best characterises the spirituality of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus, it is the "Little Way". Let us therefore look at the characteristics of this "little way" applied to the field of education.
1) Love
One does not educate by program or principle, but only by love. Don Bosco loved to tell his disciples: "The important thing is not that young people are loved, but that they know that they are loved."
This was the basis of Therese's educational attitude. And when she had to correct one or other kind of behaviour (which cost her a lot, and in fact she said: "I much prefer to be reprimanded than to reprimand others") she did not shy away. "I must do my duty" she said, but showed, with her kindness, that she carried out this task with love.
2) Humility
If love is the foundation of the Theresian "little way", humility is what drives it.
Humility, the most humble of virtues – since those who say "I am humble" are no longer humble – is a virtue to be conquered, and her guardian angel, with whom Saint Therese had a very close relationship, rejoiced at her progress. "The more humble and small you see me, the more radiant your forehead becomes," she wrote in one of her poems.
This humility led Therese, when she realised the magnitude of the task that awaited her (remember that at the age of 20 she was responsible for the formation of novices), to place herself in the arms of God, imitating the little ones "who, in the grip of some fear, hide their little head on their father's shoulders."
This humility led her, as we have already seen in the correspondence with her cousin, never to judge the child or adolescent who behaved badly, but to invite them to respond to the love of Jesus.
3) Gentleness
With humility necessarily comes gentleness. “Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart” (Mt 11:29).
Mildness, far from being weakness, is on the contrary a quiet force, full of patience and meekness. It is synonymous with hospitality, respect and openness.
For Don Bosco, whose resolution on the day of his priestly ordination was: "the charity and gentleness of St Francis de Sales will guide me in everything", gentleness was the first quality of the educator.
How many times have I realised, in the exercise of my profession as a specialised educator, that a young man who would have rebelled strongly if he had felt attacked by a look of contempt, cannot resist the gentleness of a gaze that does not judge but loves him!
Gentleness characterised the educational "little way" of Saint Therese. She had learned it in her family life, where the figure of Saint Francis de Sales was familiar to her (remember that one of her aunts was a Sister of the Visitation, an order founded by Saint Francis de Sales and Saint Jane Frances Frémiot Chantal). In fact, speaking of her father she said: "Following the example of St Francis de Sales, he had managed to keep his natural vivacity under control, to the point that he seemed to have the gentlest nature in the world."
4) Trust
If I had to summarise this "little way" in education in just one word, I would choose "trust", because it is the term that characterises Therese's attitude. She never stopped referring to the image of the little child who can rely only on her.
For Don Bosco, trust was the key word in education. "Without trust there is no education" he liked to tell his disciples. And we have seen to what extent Therese, in accompanying the novices, was concerned above all with establishing a relationship of trust with each of them.
CONCLUSIONS
"Show your love, be humble, be gentle, be trustworthy": how current these four points of reference that distinguish the Theresean "little way" are in tackling the challenge of educating today's children and adolescents.
It is possible to recognise the influence of Saint Francis de Sales, who left his mark on both Don Bosco and Saint Therese. And let me conclude with the comparison that Therese makes between the educator and the gardener - Don Bosco, in fact, also liked to compare the art of education to that of gardening: "I know that the good God does not need anyone to do his work, but how he allows a skilled gardener to raise rare and delicate plants and gives him the necessary knowledge to do so, reserving to himself the task of fertilising, so Jesus wants to be helped in his divine cultivation of souls (...).
What would happen if a clumsy gardener didn't properly graft the shrubs? If he did not know how to recognise the nature of each one and wanted to make the roses bloom on a peach? (...) It would make the tree die, even if it was good and capable of producing fruit." And, as Don Bosco liked to say, no gardener would try to stretch the stem to make the plant grow faster. "Thus we must learn to recognise from childhood what the good God asks of souls and support the action of grace without ever anticipating or slowing it down."
Therese's "little way" in education is really very pragmatic!
