So, I’m back in the Beliefnet groove now, with a series of columns for my old friends and blog hosts about The Little Way Of Ruthie Leming. Here’s one I have up at Bnet about my sister Ruthie and the ordinary path to spiritual greatness, a path that was also walked by St. Therese of Lisieux. Excerpt:

Catholics love St. Therese because of her everydayness. She shows us the possibility to achieve spiritual greatness – that is, holiness – no matter what our station in life. Therese saw her humble circumstances not as a limitation, but as the ground of her spirituality and journey to God. Ruthie Leming, a Methodist who lived and died not in 19th century France, but in 21st century America, never heard of Therese of Lisieux. But she knew the little way, because she walked it herself all her life.

Yes, we need examples of Christians who distinguished themselves as preachers, martyrs, defenders of the weak and servants of the poor. But we also need the examples of Christians like Therese and Ruthie, believers who show us how to accept the calling of everyday life, and to embrace the blessedness of ordinary things.

When we get discouraged, we tell ourselves that our lives are small and boring. But that is an illusion. I know this because I stood at the front of that church, next to the cancer-ravaged body of my sister, who lived and died in a tiny place in the middle of nowhere, and heard strangers tell me how she had changed their lives by her love.

One of her former students, Shannon Nixon, a child from an extremely poor, badly broken family, told me that Ruthie was the first adult who ever showed her love, and taught her to believe in herself. With Ruthie’s inspiration and support, that woman became now a wife, mother, and has found great professional success. “Ruthie was my angel,” she said.

The book’s publication date is only five days away! The tour will take me to 10 cities in 11 day (see my personal website for the schedule). There was a time when I would have found that incredibly exciting. And then I hit my forties. 😉

Say, we at TAC still have a few copies of Little Way left in the office for our readers. If you are a fan of TAC and plan to read the book, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to the magazine through this offer. A $50 pledge gets you a signed Little Way copy, and a $100 pledge gets you a signed copy with whatever other text you’d like to see. April 10 is the deadline for this offer, so please put your order in now.