Reflection: Saint Thérèse, the Little Flower

"Draw me, we will run..."

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.