“Do not fear, but speak; and hold not thy peace.” (Acts 18:9)
Ways of Wisdom seeks to live the Catholic contemplative life in the 21st century, from Carmel unto the whole Church of Christ.
Founded by Franz-Felix in Trier, the oldest diocese of Germany, in the Jubilee Year of 2025, we are inspired by the altruistical spirit of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, the mystical spirit of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, and the apologetical spirit of St. Athanasius of Alexandria to use the might of the written word to form and fortify our faith.
In sum of its threefold spirituality, Ways of Wisdom is catechetical. Its purpose is to seek a personal encounter with God from which all else — peace, prosperity, etc. — will flow.
Our patron saints
“The prayers of the saints ascended up before God from the hand of the angel.” (Revelation 8:4)
The Altruistical Saint
St. Thérèse of Lisieux
In 1888, at the age of 15 years, St. Thérèse joined the same Carmelite convent in Lisieux where her sisters Marie, Pauline, and Céline had joined before. In her short life, she authored her autobiography Story of a Soul, and in it revealed the Little Way to sainthood. Pope Pius X called her “the greatest saint of all times,” the Carmelites call her the Little Flower of Jesus, and Pope John Paul II promoted her to become the 33rd Doctor of the Church in 1997.
The Mystical Saint
St. Bernard of Clairvaux
St. Bernard founded Clairvaux Abbey in 1115 and reformed the Rule of Benedict through the nascent Cistercian Order, becoming both a monk steeped in mysticism and a preacher for the crusades and the papacy. St. Bernard crossed the entirety of Europe for his preaching, is mentioned with a Marian prayer in Dante Alighieri's Paradiso, and was promoted by Pope Pius VIII to become the 16th Doctor of the Church in 1830.
The Apologetical Saint
St. Athanasius of Alexandria
Bishop Maximin of Trier received St. Athanasius in 336, after the Patriarch of Alexandria had defended the Nicene doctrine against Arianism, and been sent to exile to the Roman city of Trier. For his ferocity, he was also known as Athanasius Contra Mundum, “Athanasius Against the World.” Pope Pius V officially recognized the Greek Church Father as one of the earliest Doctors of the Church in 1568.
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Amen
I created Ways of Wisdom this year upon the request of my acquaintances Ann-Kathrin, Alice, and Rina. The website is online now. I would like to thank my father Franz-Georg and my mother Yujing, my brother Franz-Eric for being the bold bag he is, the Carmelites in Mainz for their spiritual support, my friends Luca, Caitlyn, and Björ for their inspirational support, my teacher Mrs. Kong-Axtmann for her technical support, as well as Benedict, Monica, Sebastian, Ute, Johanna, Mark, Fr. Kizito Chinedu, Fr. Thomas Deutsch, the Franciscans in Mannheim, and the Carmelites in Colorado Springs and Wyoming for their prayers. God is gracious to me through the souls I meet. May God to these souls be gracious too, and their names never fade from my memory. Amen.
Signed Franz-Felix,
Trier, November 11, 2025, the feast of St. Martin of Tours.