Our Lady holding Jesus as He accepts flowers from the shepherd child

Our Lady holding Jesus as He accepts flowers from the shepherd child

Welcome to our intercessory prayer ministry for families, babies, little ones and those who love them.

In our prayers for families, we pray for the sanctity of all life and for vocations to marriage, the priesthood and consecrated life, which are born and nurtured in families.

The
Prayer of Entrustment to Mary was prayed for this ministry at the icon of the Madonna Salus Populi Romani (Salvation of the Roman People, Our Lady of Good Health) in the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore (Basilica of Mary Major) in Rome, Italy, in Nossa Senhora do Rosario da Fatima (Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary) in Fatima, Portugal, in Eglise du Sacre-Coeur (Sacred Heart Parish Church), the site of St. Bernadette's baptismal font, in Lourdes, France and at The National Shrine of The Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Massachusetts at the Shrine of the Holy Innocents before Our Lady of Guadalupe and at Basilica Papale de San Pietro in Vaticano (St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City) at the Tomb of St. John Paul II in Rome, Italy and at the Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe (Basilica of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe) in Mexico City, Mexico.

This ministry is consecrated to Jesus Christ, Wisdom Incarnate, through the hands of Mary and dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary. In our prayers to Mary, we honor and worship her Son Jesus. When He was on the Cross, He gave His Mother to John and she became our Mother as well. "Behold, your Mother." John 19:27

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
For the greater glory of God

October 31, 2014

Our Lady's five weapons to defeat satan.

Just as God gave David five stones with which to defeat Goliath, Our Lady, Queen of Peace, gives us five stones or weapons we can use to defeat satan.

Daily Prayer and the Rosary
Message of June 12, 1986 “Dear children! Today I call you to begin to pray the Rosary with a living faith. That way I will be able to help you. You, dear children, wish to obtain graces, but you are not praying. I am not able to help you because you do not want to get started. Dear children, I am calling you to pray the Rosary and that your Rosary be an obligation which you shall fulfill with joy. That way you shall understand the reason I am with you this long. I desire to teach you to pray. Thank you for having responded to my call.”

Fasting on Wednesday and Fridays
Message of July 21, 1982 “The best fast is on bread and water. Through fasting and prayer one can stop wars, one can suspend the natural laws of nature. Works of charity cannot replace fasting …Everyone except the sick, has to fast.”

Daily Reading of the Bible
Message of October 18, 1984 “Dear children! Today I call on you to read the Bible every day in your homes and let it be in a visible place so as always to encourage you to read it and to pray. Thank you for having responded to my call.”

Monthly Confession
Message of June 26, 1981 “Make your peace with God and among yourselves. For that, it is necessary to believe, to pray, to fast, and to go to confession.” Message of November 7, 1983 “Do not go to confession through habit, to remain the same after that. No, it is not good. Confession should give an impulse to your faith. It should stimulate you and bring you closer to Jesus. If confession does not mean anything for you, really, you will be converted with great difficulty.”

Holy Communion
Message of May 16, 1985 “Dear children! I am calling you to a more active prayer and attendance at Holy Mass. I wish your Mass to be an experience of God. I wish especially to say to the young people: be open to the Holy Spirit because God wished to draw you to Himself in these days when Satan is at work. Thank you for having responded to my call.”

O Mother Mary, Queen of Peace, help us to use the five weapons you give to us.  Pray for us and for all the intentions we receive through this ministry. 

October 25, 2014

Litany of Humility



Litany of Humility
Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val (1865-1930)
Secretary of State for Pope Saint Pius X


O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed,

Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being loved...
From the desire of being extolled ...
From the desire of being honored ...
From the desire of being praised ...
From the desire of being preferred to others...
From the desire of being consulted ...
From the desire of being approved ...
From the fear of being humiliated ...
From the fear of being despised...
From the fear of suffering rebukes ...
From the fear of being calumniated ...
From the fear of being forgotten ...
From the fear of being ridiculed ...
From the fear of being wronged ...
From the fear of being suspected ...

That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be esteemed more than I ...
That, in the opinion of the world,
others may increase and I may decrease ...
That others may be chosen and I set aside ...
That others may be praised and I unnoticed ...
That others may be preferred to me in everything...
That others may become holier than I, provided
that I may become as holy as I should…

Come to Me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and you will learn from Me for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For My yoke is easy and My burden light.  Matthew 11

October 22, 2014

Reflection: Saint Pope John Paul II

Immaculate Conception, Mary, my Mother. Live in me. Act in me. Speak in and through me. Think your thoughts in my mind. Love, through my heart. Give me your dispositions and feelings. Teach, lead and guide me to Jesus. Correct, enlighten and expand my thoughts and behavior. Possess my soul. Take over my entire personality and life. Replace it with yourself. Incline me to constant adoration and thanksgiving. Pray in me and through me. Let me live in you and keep me in this union always.  Saint Pope John Paul II

On October 22, 1978, Pope John Paul II began his pontificate with these words:  “Do not be afraid. Open wide the doors for Christ.”  Today we celebrate his Feast Day.

This is a call to a deeper, intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.  John Paul's Beatification on Sunday, May 1, 2011 reminded us about of his life and message.  I was blessed to attend his Canonization on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 27, 2014.  This was a grace more than I could have ever imagined. From the time he became Pope, I always felt a closeness to him.  I have come to know him as a personal intercessor for my family. The way it unfolded for me to go, I believe that he invited me to his Canonization.

On Divine Mercy Sunday, April 27, 2014, we were awakened at the Hour of Divine Mercy 3:00AM. How beautiful is that!  We looked outside our hotel to the street below.  Streams of people filled the sidewalks of Rome; many were singing as they walked to Saint Peter's Square for the Canonization. We left our hotel at 5:30 AM and we walked to Castel Sant' Angelo, a beautiful, round castle with a large angel on the top.  We could see Saint Peter's Basilica from the castle.  We found a place in the field outside the castle and waited for the 10:00 AM Mass.  We prayed the rosary as we waited. We heard reports that every person from Poland was in Rome for the Canonization.  It did seem that way! They love John Paul the way I do.  As we watched the Canonization Mass on a jumbo-tron television screen, we were surrounded by a large group from Croatia, praying and carrying their flags so proudly.  We truly understood the meaning of One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.  It was such a beautiful grace for me to be present at this amazing moment in time.  Our God truly is a God of surprises.  He had more for me than I could have ever imagined.  Later that afternoon, we were blessed to go to a private Mass in a beautiful church in Rome where there was perpetual adoration and a beautiful image of Our Mother of Perpetual Help.  So many graces...

When I was in Saint Peter's Square, I took a photo of the image of Mary holding Jesus which is at the beginning of this Reflection.  After the attempt was made on John Paul's life, he looked around Saint Peter's Square and saw there was no image of Mary.  He had this image painted there.  Totus Tuus, Totally yours, was the way he lived his life, totally for Mary.  She always leads us to her Beloved Son Jesus.  I have been thinking about John Paul and how much I love him.  I know he is with me.  I love his writings on the Gospel of Life, Love, Suffering, the Rosary and the Dignity and Vocation of Women because they draw me into the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.

The witness of the life of this great man, and the words he spoke in his many homilies, speeches, and encyclicals are more relevant today than ever, especially to today's teenagers, who may be too young to remember or recognize John Paul II's influence on the Church and on the world. Today let us pray to Saint John Paul II for our priests, who were so dear to his heart. Many vocations were revealed to men through the powerful witness of Pope John Paul II.

PRAYER TO THE BLESSED MOTHER FOR PRIESTS

O Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ and Mother of priests, accept this title which we bestow on you to celebrate your motherhood and to contemplate with you the priesthood of, your Son and of your sons, O holy Mother of God.

O Mother of Christ, the Messiah, to priests you gave a body of flesh through the anointing of the Holy Spirit for the salvation of the poor and contrite of heart. Guard priests in your heart and in the Church, O Mother of the Savior.

O Mother of Faith, you accompanied to the Temple the Son of Man, the fulfillment of the promises given to the fathers; give to the Father for his glory the priests of your Son, O Ark of the Covenant.

O Mother of the Church, in the midst of the disciples in the upper room you prayed to the Spirit for the new people and their shepherds; obtain for the Order of Presbyters a full measure of gifts, O Queen of the Apostles.

O Mother of Jesus Christ, you were with him at the beginning of his life and mission and you sought the Master among the crowd, you stood beside him when he was lifted up from the earth consumed as the one eternal sacrifice, and you had John, your son, near at hand; accept from the beginning those who have been called, protect their growth, in their life ministry accompany your sons, O Mother of Priests. Amen.

Saint Pope John Paul II, on your feast day today, we ask you to bless and protect our priests and keep them holy. Blessed Mother Mary, watch over them and wrap your mantle around them.  Protect our priests who bring us the Eucharist, the source of all life and love.

We entrust all the names we have received and all the names we will receive to Our Lady of the Rosary. We thank Jesus for giving His Mother to us.  Jesus we trust in You.

October 18, 2014

Saint Luke and Our Lady of Czestochowa

Today is the feast day of Saint Luke the Evangelist. He is well known as the writer of one of the four books of the Gospels. It is less known that he was a painter. Legend attributes the painting of Our Lady of Czestochowa to Saint Luke, the Evangelist. It is thought that the original and first Black Madonna to be made into an icon came after Saint Luke the Evangelist experienced an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary and painted her. While painting the image, it is said that the Holy Virgin related to Saint Luke the life of Jesus which he later incorporated into the Gospel of Saint Luke in the New Testament. He painted a portrait of Our Lady of Czestochowa on the cedar wood table at which she had taken her meals. Saint Helena, the Queen-Mother of Emperor Constantine was said to have located the portrait during her visit to the Holy Land and to have brought it to Constantinople in the fourth century. After remaining there for five centuries, it was transferred in royal dowries until it made its way to Poland, and the possession of Saint Ladislaus in the fifteenth century.

The legend continues: During Ladislaus' time, the image was damaged during a siege, by a Tartar arrow, "inflicting a scar on the throat of the Blessed Virgin." In 1430, Hussites stole and vandalized the precious image, breaking it into three pieces. Adding insult to injury, one of the robbers drew his sword, struck the image and inflicted two deep gashes. While preparing to inflict a third gash, he fell to the ground and writhed in agony until his death. The two slashes on the cheek of the Blessed Virgin, together with the previous injury to the throat, have always reappeared, despite repeated attempts to repair them. Many miracles were worked by Our Lady of Czestochowa. In more recent times, the Czestochowa Madonna has also been acknowledged for her protection of and cooperation with the Polish nation. Saint Pope John Paul II of Poland had a personal devotion and prayed often before her.  He called the writings of Saint Luke the Gospel of Mercy.

Our Lady of Czestochowa, Saint Luke and Saint Pope John Paul II, pray for us and all those for whom we pray through this ministry.

October 16, 2014

Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque

Today is the feast day of Saint Margaret Mary, who was chosen by Christ to awaken the Church to the of the love of God symbolized by the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Her early years were marked by sickness and a painful home situation. "The heaviest of my crosses was that I could do nothing to lighten the cross my mother was suffering." After considering marriage for some time, Margaret entered the Order of Visitation nuns at the age of 24. A Visitation nun was "not to be extraordinary except by being ordinary," but the young nun was not to enjoy this anonymity. A fellow novice termed Margaret humble, simple and frank, but above all kind and patient under sharp criticism and correction. She could not meditate in the formal way expected, though she tried her best to give up her "prayer of simplicity."

After being a nun for three years, she received the first of her revelations from Jesus. She felt "invested" with the presence of God, though always afraid of deceiving herself in such matters. The request of Christ was that his love for humankind be made evident through her. During the next 13 months he appeared to her at intervals. His human heart was to be the symbol of his divine-human love. By her own love she was to make up for the coldness and ingratitude of the world by frequent and loving Holy Communion, especially on the first Friday of each month, and by an hour's vigil of prayer every Thursday night in memory of his agony and isolation in Gethsemane. He also asked that a feast of reparation be instituted.

Like all saints, Margaret had to pay for her gift of holiness. Some of her own sisters were hostile. Theologians who were called in declared her visions delusions. Later, parents of children she taught called her an impostor, an unorthodox innovator. A new confessor, Blessed Claude de la Colombiere, a Jesuit, recognized her genuineness and supported her. Against her great resistance, Christ called her to be a sacrificial victim for the shortcomings of her own sisters, and to make this known. After serving as novice mistress and assistant superior, she died when she was 43 years old while being anointed. She said,

"I need nothing but God, and to lose myself in the heart of Jesus."

Christ spoke to Saint Margaret Mary: "Behold this Heart which has so loved men that it has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming itself, in order to testify its love. In return, I receive from the greater part only ingratitude, by their irreverence and sacrileges, and by the coldness and contempt they have for me in this sacrament of love.... I come into the heart I have given you in order that through your fervor you may atone for the offenses which I have received from lukewarm and slothful hearts that dishonor me in the Blessed Sacrament." (Third apparition)

Around the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a crown of thorns. There is a wound, from the soldier's spear, showing that our sins hurt Him in the Heart. The flames coming from His Heart show the intensity of His Love. Above the flames is a cross showing that His Love for us was so great that He died for us. These are the symbols of His passion. We were redeemed by the cross and we will be saved by it.

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.

October 13, 2014

Our Lady of Fatima: The Miracle of the Sun...

The Blessed Mother appeared to the children in Fatima from May to October, 1917. The news of Fatima spread more, and people learned that a miracle was to happen. The children began to speak of the miracle which was to happen. On October 13, 1917, seventy to one hundred thousand pilgrims came to the Cova da Iria. It was pouring down rain and everything was very muddy. The children's families were very uncertain and feared that if the miracle did not take place, the people would want to kill the three children. Once there, moved by an interior impulse, one of the children, Lucia, asked the people to shut their umbrellas and pray a Rosary. Soon after that there was a flash of light, and Our Lady appeared above the oak tree.

"What do you want of me?" asked Lucia.

"I want to tell you that a chapel is to be built here in my honor.

I am the Lady of the Rosary.

Continue always to pray the Rosary every day. The war is going to end, and the soldiers will soon return to their homes."

Lucia said: "I have many things to ask you: the cure of some sick persons, the conversion of sinners, and other things . . . "

"Some yes, but not others. They must amend their lives and ask forgiveness for their sins." Looking very sad, Our Lady said: "Do not offend the Lord our God any more, because He is already so much offended."

Then, opening her hands, she made them reflect onto the sun, and as she ascended, the reflection of her own light continued to be projected on the sun itself.

Lucia cried out to the people to look at the sun. Her aim was not to call their attention to the sun, because she was not even aware of their presence. She was moved to do so under the guidance of an interior impulse.

After Our Lady had disappeared into the distance, Saint Joseph appeared with the Child Jesus and Our Lady was robed in white with a blue mantle, beside the sun. Saint Joseph and the Child Jesus appeared to bless the world, for they traced the Sign of the Cross with their hands. When this apparition disappeared, Our Lord and Our Lady appeared; it seemed that it was Our Lady of Sorrows. Our Lord appeared to bless the world in the same manner as Saint Joseph had done. This apparition also vanished, and Our Lady appeared once more, this time resembling Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, holding the child Jesus in one hand and the brown scapular in the other hand.

The rain stopped and a thick mass of clouds broke. The sun looked like a disc of dull silver, and began dancing wildly. The people shouted out: "MIRACLE!" It seems that the majority of the people saw the sun trembling and dancing, whirling around; it descended almost low enough to burn the earth with its rays. It shone with an intensity never before seen, but was not blinding. This lasted only an instant. Then the immense ball began to "dance". The sun began to spin rapidly like a gigantic circle of fire. Then it stopped momentarily, only to begin spinning again. Its rim became scarlet; whirling, it scattered red flames across the sky. Their light was reflected on the ground, on the trees, on the bushes, and on the very faces and clothing of the people, which took on brilliant hues and changing colors.

After performing a zigzag bizarre pattern three times, the globe of fire seemed to tremble, shake, and then plunge in a zigzag toward the terrified crowd. All this lasted about ten minutes. Finally, the sun zigzagged back to its original place and once again became still and brilliant, shining with its everyday brightness. The cycle of the apparitions had ended. Many people noticed that their clothes, soaking wet from the rain, had suddenly dried. The miracle of the sun was also seen by numerous witnesses up to twenty-five miles away from the place of the apparition. Many thought the end of the world had come, as the sun seemed to fall upon them. People reported color changes in objects on earth, caused by the rays of the sun. Some expressed sorrow for their sins aloud. Some who had come to ridicule now believed.

This was the great Miracle of the Sun which Our Lady had performed so that all may believe. Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of the Rosary, this prayer ministry is consecrated and entrusted to Jesus through you. Pray for us and all those for whom we pray.

October 07, 2014

Reflection: Our Lady of the Rosary

This prayer ministry is dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary, entrusted and consecrated to her.  Today is her Feast Day.  The month of October is dedicated to the "Most Holy Rosary." 

Miracle of the rosary

On Sunday, October 7, 1571, the Christian and Turkish fleets met in Lepanto Gulf, off the coast of Greece. The bitter battle finished with a brilliant victory of the Christians who where vastly outnumbered. That very evening Pope Saint Pius V had at Rome a clear knowledge of this success. The same afternoon, the Confraternities of the Rosary, particularly in Rome, had marched through the streets in procession reciting the Rosary. This victory put an end to the naval power of the Turks and saved Christian Europe. To this day this victory has been attributed to the praying of the Rosary.

O Blessed Rosary of Mary, sweet chain that unites us to God, bond of love which unites us to the angels, tower of salvation against the assaults of Hell, safe port in our universal shipwreck, we will never abandon you.  You will be out comfort in the hour of death: yours our final kiss as life ebbs away.  And the last word from out lips will be your sweet name, O Queen of the Rosary of Pompei, O Dearest Mother, O Refuge of Sinners, O Sovereign Consoler of the Afflicted, may you be everywhere blessed, today and always, on heaven and on earth. Saint Pope John Paul II Apostolic Letter on the Rosary 

The Power of the Rosary

The most holy Virgin in these last times in which we live has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Rosary to such an extent that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal or, above all, spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families, of the families of the world, or of the religious communities, or even of the life of peoples and nations, that cannot be solved by the Rosary. There is no problem, I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the holy Rosary. With the holy Rosary, we will save ourselves; we will sanctify ourselves; we will console our Lord, and obtain the salvation of many souls. Conversation between Sr. Lucy of Fatima and Fr. Fuentes, Dec. 26, 1957

"The Rosary is a powerful weapon to put the demons to flight and to keep oneself from sin…If you desire peace in your hearts, in your homes, and in your country, assemble each evening to recite the Rosary. Let not even one day pass without saying it, no matter how burdened you may be with many cares and labors."  
Pope Pius XI

"Among all the devotions approved by the Church, none has been so favored by so many miracles as the Rosary devotion." Pope Pius IX


"The Rosary is the most excellent form of prayer and the most efficacious means of attaining eternal life. It is the remedy for all our evils, the root of all our blessings. There is no more excellent way of praying." Pope Leo XIII


"The rosary is a magnificant gift of God to humanity because through this prayer, we attain extraordinary graces. With the rosary in your hand, you will not be discouraged and you will have clarity of mind and extraordinary freedom in your heart." Mother Elvira Petrozzi, Foundress of the Cenacolo Community in Medjugorje, with fifty-six houses in fifteen countries, welcoming the lost and desperate.


Saint Dominic prayed to Our Lady that she would force the devils who possessed a man to reveal the truth about devotion to her. The devils were forced by Our Lady to reveal: "Now that we are forced to speak we must also tell you this: Nobody who perseveres in saying the Rosary will be damned, because she obtains for her servants the grace of true contrition for their sins and by means of this they obtain God's forgiveness and mercy."


The development of the rosary has a long history. First, a practice developed of praying 150 Our Fathers in imitation of the 150 Psalms. Then there was a parallel practice of praying 150 Hail Marys. Soon a mystery of Jesus' life was attached to each Hail Mary. Though Mary's giving the rosary to Saint Dominic is recognized as a legend, the development of this prayer form owes much to the followers of Saint Dominic. One of them, Alan de la Roche, was known as "the apostle of the rosary." He founded the first Confraternity of the Rosary in the 15th century. In the 16th century, the rosary was developed to its present form, with the 15 mysteries: joyful, sorrowful and glorious. In 2002, Saint Pope John Paul II added the Luminous Mysteries to this devotion.



My favorite Luminous Mystery is the Institution of the Eucharist. When I meditate on this mystery,  I am transported to the Upper Room with Mary, where Christ shared the last meal with His friends. Meditating on this mystery, I have come to a deeper understanding and love of the gift of the Blessed Sacrament.  Eucharistic Adoration is like a spiritual communion for me. Each time I meditate on its meaning, I think of the depth of Christ’s love for us. During adoration, I ask the Holy Spirit to guide and enlighten me with a greater love and reverence for the Mass and the Eucharist.  I thank God for Saint Pope John Paul II.  May we always remember his description of the rosary as the sweet chain that unites us to God.



The purpose of the rosary is to help us meditate on the great mysteries of our salvation. Pius XII called it a compendium of the Gospel. The main focus is on Jesus, his birth, life, death and resurrection. The Our Fathers remind us that Jesus' Father is the initiator of salvation. The Hail Marys remind us to join with Mary in contemplating these mysteries. They also make us aware that Mary was and is intimately joined with her Son in all the mysteries of his earthly and heavenly existence. The Glorys remind us that the purpose of all life is the glory of the Trinity. The rosary appeals to many. It is simple. The constant repetition of words helps create an atmosphere in which to contemplate the mysteries of God. We sense that Jesus and Mary are with us in the joys and sorrows of life. We grow in hope that God will bring us to share in the glory of Jesus and Mary.

Our Lady of the Rosary, we entrust to you all the little ones and names we receive through this prayer ministry. Keep them under your protective mantle and always in your loving care.

October 05, 2014

Saint Faustina, pray for us

Today is the anniversary of the death of Saint Faustina.  She knew that the revelations she received did not constitute holiness itself. She wrote in her diary: “Neither graces, nor revelations, nor raptures, nor gifts granted to a soul make it perfect, but rather the intimate union of the soul with God. These gifts are merely ornaments of the soul, but constitute neither its essence nor its perfection. My sanctity and perfection consist in the close union of my will with the will of God.”  Diary of Saint Faustina 1107

Sister Maria Faustina died of tuberculosis in Krakow, Poland, on October 5, 1938. Saint Pope John Paul II beatified her in 1993 and canonized her seven years later. Saint Faustina's name is forever linked to the feast of the Divine Mercy, celebrated on the Second Sunday of Easter, the Divine Mercy chaplet and the Divine Mercy prayer recited each day by so many people at 3 o'clock, Mercy Hour.

"At three o’clock, implore My mercy, especially for sinners; and, if only for a brief moment, immerse yourself in My Passion, particularly in My abandonment at the moment of agony. This is the hour of great mercy. In this hour, I will refuse nothing to the soul that makes a request of Me in virtue of My Passion."  Diary of Saint Faustina 1320

When Pope John Paul II canonized Sr. Faustina in 2000, he called her the "first saint of the new millennium."  Speaking of her and the importance of the messages in her Diary, the Pope called her "the great apostle of Divine Mercy in our time."

At the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, this prayer is included at the 3 o'clock hour:

Saint Faustina, you told us that your mission would continue after your death and that you would not forget us.  Our Lord also granted you a great privilege, telling you to "distribute graces as you will, to who you will, and when you will."  Relying on this, we ask your intercession for the graces we need, especially for the intentions received through this ministry.  Help us, above all, to trust in Jesus as you did and thus to glorify His mercy every moment of our lives.  Amen.

Jesus, we trust in You. Saint Maria Faustina, pray for us.

October 01, 2014

Reflection: Saint Thérèse, the Little Flower

"Draw me, we will run..."
St. Theresa of Liseux
To ask to be drawn is to will intimate union with the object which holds the heart captive. If fire and iron were gifted with reason, and that the latter said to the fire: "Draw me," would not this prove that it desired to become identified with the fire even so far as to share its substance? Well, that is exactly my prayer. I beg of Jesus to draw me into the flames of His Love, to unite me so closely to Himself that He may live and act in me. I feel that the more the fire of love inflames my heart, the more I shall say: "Draw me," the more also will the souls who draw near to mine run swiftly in the fragrant odors of the Well-Beloved. Words of Saint Thérèse, Story of A Soul, Chapter XI

Today we celebrate the feast day of Saint Thérèse, the Little Flower. She is the Patron of the John 10:10 ministry, which is entrusted and consecrated to Mary.

How beautiful it is to be drawn into union with God in prayer! As Thérèse understood, one of the ways to be drawn into an intimacy with God is through the Scriptures. The Word of God is alive.  By drawing close to the Lord, He has set my heart on fire for His Word. Coming to Jesus in Eucharistic Adoration, He opens my heart and mind.  After the final blessing at Mass this morning, our priest gave each one of us a blessing with the relic of  Saint Thérèse,  I was overwhelmed and brought to tears to receive this great blessing.  I love her so much. She was one of my father's favorite saints.  I love that she is the Patron of priests and missionaries.  I love the way she prays with "confident trust" and "holy daring," abandoning herself to the Lord, as a little child.    

Saint Thérèse had devotion to Mary and turned to her in prayer as her mother. During a devastating illness when she was ten years old, she experienced a cure through Mary's intercession. Saint Thérèse saw the statue of Mary in her bedroom smile at her. From that moment, she no longer experienced the troubles caused by anxiety and perhaps depression. She understood that the road to Jesus was through abandonment to His Will, like a little child who sleeps without fear in the Father's arms.

He whose Heart ever watcheth, taught me, that while for a soul whose faith equals but a tiny grain of mustard seed, He works miracles, in order that this faith which is so weak may be fortified; yet for His intimate friends, for His Mother, He did not work miracles until He had put their faith to test. Did He not let Lazarus die though Martha and Mary had sent to tell Him that he was sick? At the marriage at Cana, the Blessed Virgin, having asked Him to come to the assistance of the master of the house, did He not reply that His hour was not yet come? But after the trial, what a recompense! Water changed to wine, Lazarus restored to life... Words of Saint Thérèse, Story of A Soul, Chapter VI

One way of prayer was especially attractive to Saint Thérèse. She loved to draw close to Scripture and to learn about Jesus Christ from the Gospels. In fact, she wrote that when she was having a particularly arid period in prayer, the Gospels always nurtured her. She found that the Word of God was a lamp for her feet as Scripture says. She would love to retain favorite passages or lines from Scripture so that they came back to her during the day and energized her own commitment to Jesus Christ. In fact, Saint Thérèse wrote that often enough a word from God, an insight, a sense of direction, a response to a situation came to her not during the hour of prayer but when she was about her daily work.

Prayer, for Saint Thérèse, was a way of walking with God. Whether it was a period of meditative prayer, communal prayer in the chapel with the other nuns in the community or the prayer of lifting her heart to God in short prayers of intercession or praise, she realized that God was with her. Her deep trust in God and in God's love for her paved a way of joy and happiness. She is now known as the "little flower" and what brought her to Heaven was love.  Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1997.

Through the intercession of Saint Thérèse, the lives of many people have been forever changed. Her love for souls is immeasurable. With gratitude for her intervention, we pray: Through your intercession, Saint Thérèse, teach us to be willing to become like little children. We ask you to "shower your roses" upon us and those we pray for.