The Litany of Saint Therese, "The Little Flower"

Lord have mercy on us. 

Christ have mercy on us. 
Lord have mercy on us. Christ, hear us. 
Christ, graciously hear us. 

God, the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us. 
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us. 
God the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us. 
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us. 

St. Therese of the Child Jesus, pray for us. 
St. Therese of the Holy Face, pray for us. 
St. Therese, child of Mary, pray for us. 
St. Therese, devoted to Joseph, pray for us. 
St. Therese, angel of innocence, pray for us. 
St. Therese, model child, pray for us. 
St. Therese, pattern of religious, pray for us. 
St. Therese, flower of Carmel, pray for us. 
St. Therese, converter of hardened hearts, pray for us. 
St. Therese, healer of the diseased, pray for us. 
St. Therese, filled with love for the Blessed Sacrament, pray for us. 
St. Therese, filled with Angelic fervor, pray for us. 
St. Therese, filled with an Apostle's zeal, pray for us. 
St. Therese, filled with loyalty to the Holy Father, pray for us. 
St. Therese, filled with a tender love for the Church, pray for us. 
St. Therese, filled with extraordinary love for God and neighbor, pray for us. 
St. Therese, wounded with a Heavenly flame, pray for us. 
St. Therese, victim of Divine Love, pray for us. 
St. Therese, patient in sufferings, pray for us. 
St. Therese, eager for humiliations, pray for us. 
St. Therese, consumed with love, pray for us. 
St. Therese, rapt in ecstasy, pray for us. 

Who desired always to be as a little child, pray for us. 
Who taught the way of spiritual childhood, pray for us. 
Who gave perfect example of trust in God, pray for us. 
Whom Jesus filled with a desire for suffering, pray for us. 
Who found perfection in the little things, pray for us. 
Who refused God nothing, pray for us. 
Who sought bitterness in this life, pray for us. 
Who told us to call you little Theresa, pray for us. 
Who offered her life to God for priests and missionaries, pray for us. 
Who gained countless souls for Christ, pray for us. 
Who promised, after her death, a shower of roses, pray for us. 
Who foretold:  "I will spend my heaven doing good upon earth," pray for us. 

Pray for us, St. Therese. 

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord. 
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord. 
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us. 

Let us pray
O Lord, Who hast said:  Unless you become as little children you shall not enter the Kingdom of Heaven; grant us, we beseech Thee, so to follow in humility and simplicity of heart the footsteps of St. Therese, the virgin, that we may obtain everlasting rewards.  Who livest and reignest forever.  Amen.

How Great is the Power of Prayer!

How Great is the Power of Prayer!

How great is the power of Prayer! One could call it a Queen who has at each instant free access to the King and who is able to obtain whatever she asks. To be heard it is not necessary to read from a book some beautiful formula composed for the occasion. If this were the case, alas, I would have to be pitied! Outside the Divine Office which I am very unworthy to recite, I do not have the courage to force myself to search out beautiful prayers in books. There are so many of them it really gives me a headache! and each prayer is more beautiful than the others. I cannot recite them all and not knowing which to choose, I do like children who do not know how to read, I say very simply to God what I wish to say, without composing beautiful sentences, and He always understands me. For me, prayer is an aspiration of the heart, it is a simple glance directed to heaven, it is a cry of gratitude and love in the midst of trial as well as joy; finally, it is something great, supernatural, which expands my soul and unites me to Jesus. 

However, I would not want you to believe, dear Mother, that I recite without devotion the prayers said in common in the choir or the hermitages. On the contrary, I love very much these prayers in common, for Jesus has promised to be in the midst of those who gather together in His name. I feel then that the fervor of my Sisters makes up for my lack of fervor; but when alone (I am ashamed to admit it) the recitation of the rosary is more difficult for me than the wearing of an instrument of penance. I feel I have said this so poorly! I force myself in vain to meditate on the mysteries of the rosary; I don't succeed in fixing my mind on them. For a long time I was desolate about this lack of devotion which astonished me, for I love the Blessed Virgin so much that it should be easy for me to recite in her honor prayers which are so pleasing to her. Now I am less desolate; I think that the Queen of heaven, since she is my MOTHER, must see my good will and she is satisfied with it. Sometimes when my mind is in such aridity that it is impossible to draw forth one single thought to unite me with God, I very slowly recite an "Our Father" and then the angelic salutation ["Hail Mary, full of grace, etc.]; then these prayers give me great delight; they nourish my soul much more than if I had recited them precipitately a hundred times. 

The Blessed Virgin shows me she is not displeased with me, for she never fails to protect me as soon as I invoke her. If some disturbance overtakes me, some embarrassment, I turn very quickly to her and as the most tender of Mothers she always takes care of my interests. How many times, when speaking to the novices, has it happened that I invoked her and felt the benefits of her motherly protection! 

Saint Therese of Lisieux, from Story of a Soul
Photo taken from Wikimedia Commons

My Song for Today

My Song for Today

Oh! how I love Thee, Jesus! my soul aspires to Thee -

And yet for one day only my simple prayer I pray!

Come reign within my heart, smile

tenderly on me, 

Today, dear Lord, today. 

But if I dare take thought of what the morrow brings -

That fills my fickle heart with dreary, dull dismay;

I crave, indeed, my God, trials and sufferings, 

But only for today! 

O sweetest Star of heaven!

O Virgin, spotless, blest,

Shining with Jesus' light, guiding to Him my way!

O Mother! 'neath thy veil let my tired spirit rest, 

For this brief passing day! 

Soon shall I fly afar among the holy choirs,

Then shall be mine the joy that never knows decay;

And then my lips shall sing, to heaven's angelic lyres, 

The eternal, glad today!

by Saint Therese of Lisieux

The Practice of Charity

The Practice of Charity

The practice of charity, as I have said, dear Mother (Mother Agnes, prioress at the time), was not always so sweet for me, and to prove it to you I am going to recount certain little struggles which will certainly make you smile. For a long time at evening meditation, I was placed in front of a Sister who had a strange habit and I think many lights because she rarely used a book during meditation. This is what I noticed: as soon as this Sister arrived, she began making a strange little noise which resembled the noise one would make when rubbing two shells, one against the other. I was the only one to notice it because I had extremely sensitive hearing (too much so at times). Mother, it would be impossible for me to tell you how much this little noise wearied me. I had a great desire to turn my head and stare at the culprit who was very certainly unaware of her “click.” This would be the only way of enlightening her.

However, in the bottom of my heart I felt it was much better to suffer this out of love for God and not to cause the Sister any pain. I remained calm, therefore, and tried to unite myself to God and to forget the little noise. Everything was useless. I felt the perspiration inundate me, and I was obliged simply to make a prayer of doing it without annoyance and with peace and joy, at least in the interior of my soul. I tried to love the little noise which was so displeasing; instead of trying not to hear it (impossible), I paid close attention so as to hear it well, as though it were a delightful concert, and my prayer (which was not the Prayer of Quiet) was spent in offering this concert to Jesus. 

By Saint Therese of Lisieux, from Story of a Soul
Photo taken from Wikimedia Commons

Since My Longing for Martyrdom was Powerful...

Since My Longing for Martyrdom was Powerful...

Since my longing for martyrdom was powerful and unsettling, I turned to the epistles of Saint Paul in the hope of finally finding an answer. By chance the twelfth and thirteenth chapters of the first epistle to the Corinthians caught my attention, and in the first section I read that not everyone can be an apostle, prophet or teacher, that the Church is composed of a variety of members, and that the eye cannot be the hand. Even with such an answer revealed before me, I was not satisfied and did not find peace. I persevered in the reading and did not let my mind wander until I found this encouraging theme: “Set your desires on the greater gifts. And I will not show you the way which surpasses all others.” For the Apostle insists that the greater gifts are nothing at all without love and that this same love is surely the best path leading directly to God. At length I had found peace of mind. Love appeared to me to be the hinge for my vocation. Indeed, I knew that the Church had a body composed of various members, but in this body the necessary and more noble member was not lacking; I knew that the Church had a heart and that such a heart appeared to be aflame with love. I knew that one love drove the members of the Church to action, that if this love were extinguished, the apostles would have proclaimed the Gospel no longer, the martyrs would have shed their blood no more. I saw and realized that love sets off the bounds of all vocations, that love is everything, that this same love embraces every time and every place. In one word, that love is everlasting. 

from the autobiography of Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus
Photo taken from Wikimedia Commons

O Jesus, Your Little Bird is Happy to Be Weak and Little

O Jesus, Your Little Bird is Happy to Be Weak and Little

O Jesus, Your little bird is happy to be weak and little. What would become of it if it were big? Never would it have the boldness to appear in Your presence, to fall asleep in front of You. Yes, this is still one of the weaknesses of the little bird: when it wants to fix its gaze upon the Divine Sun, and when the clouds prevent it from seeing a single ray of that Sun, in spite of itself, its little eyes close, its little head is hidden beneath its wing, and the poor little thing falls asleep, believing all the time that it is fixing its gaze upon its Dear Star. When it awakens, it doesn’t feel desolate; its little heart is at peace and it begins once again its work of love. It calls upon the angels and saints who rise like eagles before the consuming Fire, and since this is the object of the little bird’s desire the eagles take pity on it, protecting and defending it, and putting to flight at the same time the vultures who want to devour it. These vultures are the demons whom the little bird doesn’t fear, for it is not destined to be their prey but the prey of the Eagle whom it contemplates in the center of the Sun of Love. 

by Saint Therese of Lisieux, from Story of a Soul

Photo taken from Wikimedia Commons

Novena to Saint Therese of Lisieux

Novena to Saint Therese of Lisieux

O Little Therese of the Child Jesus, 

Please pick a rose for me
From the heavenly gardens
And send it to me
As a message of love.

O little flower of Jesus,
Ask God today to grant the favors
I now place with confidence
In your hands.

(Mention your specific requests)

St. Therese,
help me to always believe, 
As you did,
In God's great love for me,
So that I might imitate your
"Little Way" each day. Amen

Photo taken from Wikimedia Commons

An Act of Oblation of a Little Soul

An Act of Oblation of a Little Soul

Behold, Sweet Jesus, I offer my life to Thee. Take me as a little victim of love and do with me whatever Thou willest. Oh, how I love Thee! I offer Thee all my faculties both of soul and of body. Take them, Jesus, also every moment of my life. Let me know and love no one but Thee, my Sweet Love. Take from me all liberty to sin. I offer myself entirely to Thee and beg Thee to rivet me within Thy Holy Wounds. Let my love of Thee have no limit or bounds, but let it be known over the earth when life has fled and I am resting in Thy Arms. 

Jesus, Thou Who art the lover of little souls, may my life be one act of perfect love. May I be plunged deeper within Thee at every heart-throb. Imprint within me Thy Divine Likeness so that I may draw many souls to the enjoyment of the happiness of living in Thee. 

Jesus, take my heart; make it Thy furnace of love so that many souls may be inflamed by its fire. Take me, wound me, so that the imprint may go with me into Eternity. O my God, take from me everything I have if it please Thy Wounded Heart. O Jesus, may my life be a martyrdom of love. May I become a perfect little victim. May suffering be the key to my happiness. I long only to love Thee passionately even unto folly and to burn others in the fire of this love. 

May I be a beacon-light to souls who are following in darkness the pleasures of this world. And when the evening of life comes may I fly to Thee, even though it be with empty hands, to receive once more Thy Heavenly embrace and fall asleep in Thy Arms - for all eternity in Heaven. Amen.

by Saint Therese of Lisieux
image Credit Waiting for the Word

St. Therese of Lisieux Quotes

St. Therese of Lisieux Quotes

Our Lord's love makes itself seen quite as much in the simplest of souls as in the most highly gifted, as long as there is no resistance offered to his grace

I'm always happy, for I always manage in the midst of the tempest to preserve interior peace.

For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.

The world's thy ship and not thy home.

I know now that true charity consists in bearing all our neighbors'defects--not being surprised at their weakness, but edified at their smallest virtues.

What a comfort it is this way of love! You may stumble on it, you may fail to correspond with grace given, but always love knows how to make the best of everything; whatever offends our Lord is burnt up in its fire, and nothing is left but a humble, absorbing peace deep down in the heart

I can nourish myself on nothing but truth

The splendor of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not rob the little violet of it’s scent nor the daisy of its simple charm.  If every tiny flower wanted to be a rose, spring would lose its loveliness.

Without love, deeds, even the most brilliant, count as nothing.

I know now that true charity consists in bearing all our neighbours' defects--not being surprised at their weakness, but edified at their smallest virtues.

My whole strength lies in prayer and sacrifice, these are my invincible arms; they can move hearts far better than words, I know it by experience.

When one loves, one does not calculate.

Miss no single opportunity of making some small sacrifice, here by a smiling look, there by a kindly word; always doing the smallest right and doing it all for love.

If every tiny flower wanted to be a rose, spring would lose its loveliness.

Do you realize that Jesus is there in the tabernacle expressly for you-for you alone? He burns with the desire to come into your heart… don’t listen to the demon, laugh at him, and go without fear to receive the Jesus of peace and love…

Trust and trust alone should lead us to love

I understood that every flower created by Him is beautiful, that the brilliance of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not lessen the perfume of the violet or the sweet simplicity of the daisy. I understood that if all the lowly flowers wished to be roses, nature would no longer be enamelled with lovely hues. And so it is in the world of souls, Our lord's living garden.

A word or a smile is often enough to put fresh life in a despondent soul.

Dear Lord! To win my heart, from heaven Thou didst come; for me Thy blood didst shed, O King adored! and on our altars makest Thy home. So, if I may not here behold Thy Face, or catch the heavenly music of Thy Voice, I still can live, each moment, by Thy grace, and in Thy Sacred Heart I can rest.

The science of loving, yes, that's the only kind of science I want I'd barter away everything I possess to win it

And it is the Lord, it is Jesus, Who is my judge. Therefore I will try always to think leniently of others, that He may judge me leniently, or rather not at all, since He says: "Judge not, and ye shall not be judged.

When I die, I will send down a shower of roses from the heavens,I will spend my heaven by doing good on earth.

Holiness consists simply in doing God's will, and being just what God wants us to be.

If I did not simply live from one moment to another, it would be impossible for me to be patient, but I only look at the present, I forget the past, and I take good care not to forestall the future.

When I act as charity bids, I have this feeling that it is Jesus who is acting in me; the closer my union with him, the greater my love for all the sisters without distinction

I am convinced that one should tell one's spiritual director if one has a great desire for Communion, for Our Lord does not come from Heaven every day to stay in a golden ciborium; He comes to find another heaven, the heaven of our soul in which He loves to dwell.

How can the good God Who loves us so much, be happy when we suffer? Never does our suffering make Him happy; but it is necessary for us, and so He sends it to us while, as it were, turning away His Face. . . I assure you that it costs Him dearly to fill us with bitterness.

He longs to give us a magnificent reward. He knows that suffering is the only means of preparing us to know Him as He knows Himself, and to become ourselves divine.

O Jesus! . . . I feel that if You found a soul weaker and littler than mine, which is impossible, You would be pleased to grant it still greater favors. . . I beg You to cast Your Divine Glance upon a great number of little souls. I beg You to choose a legion of little Victims worthy of Your LOVE!

Image taken from Wikimedia Commons

Act of Oblation to the Merciful Love of the Good God

Act of Oblation to the Merciful Love of the Good God

“That my life may be an act of perfect love, I offer myself as victim of holocaust to Thy Merciful love, imploring Thee to consume me unceasingly, letting the flood tide of infinite tenderness pent up in Thee flow into my soul, so that I may become a very martyr to thy love O my God!

“May this martyrdom, having prepared me to appear before Thee, break life’s threat at last, and may my soul take its flight, unhindered to the Eternal embrace of thy merciful love.

“I desire, O my beloved, at each heart-beat to renew this oblation an infinite number of times, till the shadows fade away and I can tell Thee my love eternally face to face!”  

by St. Therese of the child Jesus
Photo Credit Michael 1952