Today we celebrate the Feast Day of Saint Thérèse, the Little Flower. the Patron of the John 10:10 ministry, consecrated and entrusted to our Blessed Mother Mary.
"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
Saint Thérèse had a great devotion to Mary and she turned to her in prayer as her mother. She lost her own mother when she was very young. When she was ten years old, during a devastating illness, she was cured through Mary's intercession and 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 possibly 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
Saint Thérèse loved to draw close to Scripture in prayer and learn about Jesus Christ from the Gospels. She wrote that when she was having a particularly difficult 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 memorize favorite passages from Scripture so that she could recall them during the day and remind her of her love for Jesus Christ. In fact, Saint Thérèse wrote that often a word from God, an insight, a sense of direction, a response to a situation, came to her when she was about her daily work, not during her prayer time.
Prayer, for Saint Thérèse, was 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 knew 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 known as the "little flower." She discovered that her vocation was love and she said she would spend her time in heaven doing good on earth. Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1997.
God is with you. Spend time with Him and prayer. Read the Scriptures and Daily Mass Readings. Go to Eucharistic Adoration. Ask the Little Flower to help you pray with the confident trust of a little child. God will hear you and He will whisper words of His love for you in the silence of your heart.
Through your intercession, Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church, teach us to abandon ourselves to the Lord, to be willing to become like little children. With open hearts, we ask you to "shower your roses" upon us and upon all those we pray for.
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