Novena Honoring St. Therese, Day Nine

Happy feast of St. Therese of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church.

The following is from John Paul II's 1997 apostolic letter Divini Amoris Scientia, in which he declared Therese a Doctor of the Church.

"The core of her message is actually the mystery itself of God-Love, of the Triune God, infinitely perfect in himself. If genuine Christian spiritual experience should conform to the revealed truths in which God communicates himself and the mystery of his will (cf. Dei Verbum, n. 2), it must be said that Thérèse experienced divine revelation, going so far as to contemplate the fundamental truths of our faith united in the mystery of Trinitarian life. At the summit, as the source and goal, is the merciful love of the three Divine Persons, as she expresses it, especially in her Act of Oblation to Merciful Love. At the root, on the subject's part, is the experience of being the Father's adoptive children in Jesus; this is the most authentic meaning of spiritual childhood, that is, the experience of divine filiation, under the movement of the Holy Spirit. At the root again, and standing before us, is our neighbour, others, for whose salvation we must collaborate with and in Jesus, with the same merciful love as his.

Through spiritual childhood one experiences that everything comes from God, returns to him and abides in him, for the salvation of all, in a mystery of merciful love. Such is the doctrinal message taught and lived by this Saint.

As it was for the Church's Saints in every age, so also for her, in her spiritual experience Christ is the centre and fullness of Revelation. Thérèse knew Jesus, loved him and made him loved with the passion of a bride. She penetrated the mysteries of his infancy, the words of his Gospel, the passion of the suffering Servant engraved on his holy Face, in the splendour of his glorious life, in his Eucharistic presence. She sang of all the expressions of Christ's divine charity, as they are presented in the Gospel (cf. PN 24, Jésus, mon Bien-Aimé, rappelle-toi!).

Thérèse received particular light on the reality of Christ's Mystical Body, on the variety of its charisms, gifts of the Holy Spirit, on the eminent power of love, which in a way is the very heart of the Church, where she found her vocation as a contemplative and missionary (cf. Ms B, 2r·-3v·).

Lastly, among the most original chapters of her spiritual doctrine we must recall Thérèse's wise delving into the mystery and journey of the Virgin Mary, achieving results very close to the doctrine of the Second Vatican Council in chapter eight of the Constitution Lumen gentium and to what I myself taught in the Encyclical Letter Redemptoris Mater of 25 March 1987."

Concluding Prayer:

O Lord, You have said: Unless you become as little children you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven; grant us, we beg You, so to follow, in humility and simplicity of heart, the footsteps of the Virgin blessed Thérèse, that we may attain to an everlasting reward. Amen.

St. Therese, pray for us!

Novena Honoring St. Therese, Day Eight

The following excerpts are from the two last letters written by Therese to her "brother missionaries," priests she adopted spiritually and with whom she exchanged many thoughts and prayers.

July 26, 1897

When you read these few lines I shall perhaps be no more. I know

not the future; yet I can confidently say that my Spouse is at the

door. It would need a miracle to keep me in exile, and I do not

think that Jesus will work that miracle--He does nothing that is

of no avail.

Brother, I am so happy to die! Yes, happy . . . not because I

shall be free from suffering: on the contrary, suffering combined

with love seems the one thing worthy of desire in this vale of

tears; but happy to die because far more than on earth I shall

help the souls I hold dear.

Jesus has always treated me as a spoilt child. . . . It is true

that His Cross has been with me from the cradle, but for that

Cross He has given me a passionate love . . .

August 14, 1897

 I am about to go before God, and I understand now more than ever

that one thing only is needful--to work for Him alone, and do

nothing for self or creatures. Jesus wishes to own your heart

completely. Before this can be, you will have much to suffer . . .

but oh! what joy when comes the happy hour of going Home! I shall

not die--I do but enter into Life . . . and whatsoever I cannot

tell you here upon earth I will make you understand from the

heights of Heaven. . . .

Novena Honoring St. Therese, Day Seven

From her private journals:

"O Jesus, I know well that you do not look so much at the greatness of my actions, as at the love with which I do them. It is true I am not always faithful, but I shall not lose courage. I desire to make use of every opportunity to please you."

Concluding Prayer:

O Lord, You have said: Unless you become as little children you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven; grant us, we beg You, so to follow, in humility and simplicity of heart, the footsteps of the Virgin blessed Thérèse, that we may attain to an everlasting reward. Amen.

Novena Honoring St. Therese, Day Six

This is from Therese's "Act of Oblation to Merciful Love," from the Story of a Soul. She asked permission of her Mother Superior to make a total offering of herself to the Mercy of Jesus. By this sacrifice of her entire self—body and soul—she hoped to save many souls by obtaining Christ's mercy for them through her suffering.

"O my God! Most Blessed Trinity, I desire to love you and make you loved, to work for the glory of Holy Church by saving souls on earth and liberating those suffering in purgatory. I desire to accomplish your will perfectly and to reach the degree of glory you have prepared for me in your kingdom. I desire, in a word, to be a saint, but I feel my helplessness and I beg you, O my God! To be yourself my sanctity!

"Since you loved me so much as to give me your only son as my savior and my spouse, the infinite treasures of his merits are mine. I offer them to you with gladness, begging you to look on me only in the face of Jesus and in his heart burning with love…

"I want to console you for the ingratitude of the wicked, and I beg of you to take away my freedom to displease you. If through weakness I sometimes fall, may your divine grace cleanse my soul immediately, consuming all my imperfections like the fire that transforms everything into itself…

"After Earth's exile, I hope to go and enjoy you in heaven, but I do not want to lay up merits for heaven. I want to work for your love alone with the one purpose of pleasing you, consoling your sacred heart, and saving souls who will love you in eternity.

"In the evening of this life, I shall appear before you with empty hands, for I do not ask, Lord, to count my works. All our justice is stained in your eyes. I wish, then, to be clothed in your own justice and to receive from your love the eternal possession of yourself. I want no other throne, no other crown but you, my beloved!"

Concluding Prayer Prayed Each Day:

O Lord, You have said: Unless you become as little children you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven; grant us, we beg You, so to follow, in humility and simplicity of heart, the footsteps of the Virgin blessed Thérèse, that we may attain to an everlasting reward. Amen.

Novena Honoring St. Therese, Day Five

This is Therese's prayer to Jesus from the last chapters of Story of a Soul.

"Draw me, I shall run after you... O Jesus, it is not even necessary to say: 'When drawing me, draw the souls whom I love!' This simple statement: 'Draw me!' suffices; I understand, Lord, that when a soul allows herself to be captivated by the scent of Your ointments, she cannot run alone, all the souls whom she loves follow in her train; this is done without constraint, without effort, it is a natural consequence of her attraction for You. Just as a torrent, throwing itself with impetuosity into the ocean, drags after it everything it encounters in its passage, in the same way, O Jesus, the soul who plunges into the shoreless ocean of Your love, draws with her all the treasures she possesses. Lord, You know it, I have no other treasures than the souls it has pleased You to unite to mine; it is You who entrusted these treasures to me…

Draw me, Lord, we shall run… O Jesus, I ask You to draw me into the flames of Your love, to unite me so closely to You that You live and act in me. I feel that the more the fire of love burns within my heart, the more I shall say, 'Draw me,' the more the souls who will approach me will run swiftly to You."

Concluding Prayer Prayed Each Day:

O Lord, You have said: Unless you become as little children you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven; grant us, we beg You, so to follow, in humility and simplicity of heart, the footsteps of the Virgin blessed Thérèse, that we may attain to an everlasting reward. Amen.

Novena Honoring St. Therese, Day Four

"O, God, hidden in the prison of the tabernacle! I come with joy to you each evening to thank you for the graces you have given me. I ask pardon for the faults I committed today, which has just slipped away … O, Jesus! How ahppy I would be if I had been faithful, but often in the evening I am sad because I feel I could have corresponded better with your graces … And yet, my God, far from becoming discouraged at the sight of my miseries, I come to you with confidence, recalling that 'those who are well do not need a doctor, but the sick do.' I beg you, then, to cure me and to pardon me. I will keep in mind, Lord, 'that the soul to whom you have forgiven more should also love you more than the others.'"

Concluding Prayer:

O Lord, You have said: Unless you become as little children you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven; grant us, we beg You, so to follow, in humility and simplicity of heart, the footsteps of the Virgin blessed Thérèse, that we may attain to an everlasting reward. Amen.

Novena Honoring St. Therese, Day Three

Day Three

From a letter written May 9, 1897.

"O Lord, to me you have granted your infinite mercy; and through it I contemplate and adore your other divine perfections! All of these perfections appear to be resplendent with love, even your justice—and perhaps this even more than the others—seems to me clothed in love. What a sweet joy to think that you, O God, are just, that is, that you take into account our weakness, that you are perfectly aware of our fragile nature. What should I fear, then? Must not you, the infinitely just God who deigned to pardon the faults of the prodigal son with so much kindness, be just also to me who am with you always?"

Concluding Prayer Prayed Each Day:

O Lord, You have said: Unless you become as little children you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven; grant us, we beg You, so to follow, in humility and simplicity of heart, the footsteps of the Virgin blessed Thérèse, that we may attain to an everlasting reward. Amen.

Novena Honoring St. Therese, Day Two

Day Two

From Therese's letters and notes:

"You know, O my God, I have never desired anything but to love you, and I am ambitious for no other glory. Your love has gone before me, and it has grown with me, and now it is an abyss whose depths I cannot fathom. Love attracts love, and, my Jesus, my love leaps towards yours; it would like to fill the abyss which attracts it, but alas! It is not even like a drop of dew lost in the ocean! … O my Jesus, it is perhaps an illusion but it seems to me that you cannot fill a soul with more love than the love with which you have filled mine; it is for this reason that I dare to ask you "to love those whom you have given me with the love with which you loved me" (John 17.23)."

Concluding Prayer Prayed Each Day:

O Lord, You have said: Unless you become as little children you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven; grant us, we beg You, so to follow, in humility and simplicity of heart, the footsteps of the Virgin blessed Thérèse, that we may attain to an everlasting reward. Amen.

Novena Honoring St. Therese, Day One

Day One

The following is from the opening chapter of Therese's autobiography. She attempts to explain to her sister, Pauline, who is her Mother Superior in the convent, the ways of God with souls. She makes her famous analogy of the soul to a flower: there are many flowers that beautify the garden—some little and some grand—and each one depends utterly on the mercy and grace of God for its life and particular beauty.

"I am now at a time of life when I can look back on the past, for my soul has been refined in the crucible of interior and exterior trials. Now, like a flower after the storm, I can raise my head and see that the words of the Psalm are realized in me: "The Lord is my Shepherd and I shall want nothing. He hath set me in a place of pasture. He hath brought me up on the water of refreshment. He hath converted my soul. He hath led me on the paths of justice for His own Name's sake. For though I should walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will fear no evils for Thou are with me."

Yes, to me Our Lord has always been "compassionate and merciful, long-suffering and plenteous in mercy."

And so it gives me great joy, dear Mother, to come to you and sing His unspeakable mercies… If a little flower could speak, it seems to me that it would tell us quite simply all that God has done for it, without hiding any of its gifts. It would not, under the pretext of humility, say that it was not pretty, or that it had not a sweet scent, that the sun had withered its petals, or the storm bruised its stem, if it knew that such were not the case.

The little flower that now tells her tale rejoiced in having to publish the wholly undeserved favors bestowed upon her by Our Lord. She knows that she had nothing in herself worthy of attracting Him: His Mercy alone showered blessings on her. He allowed her to grow in holy soil enriched with the odor of purity, and preceded by eight lilies of shining whiteness. In His Love He willed to preserve her from the poisoned breath of the world--hardly had her petals unfolded when this good Master transplanted her to the mountain of Carmel, Our Lady's chosen garden."

~ Chapter I, Story of a Soul


Concluding Prayer:

O Lord, You have said: Unless you become as little children you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven; grant us, we beg You, so to follow, in humility and simplicity of heart, the footsteps of the Virgin blessed Thérèse, that we may attain to an everlasting reward. Amen.