My heaven is, if I can call upon the souls of Jesus' grace and his divine flames, which can ignite and delight the heart. (Poems)
Day 1: Lift to Heaven
Amen, I say to you: Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it. He took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them, and blessed them. (Mk 10:15)
I too would like to find an elevator that would lift me to Jesus, since I am too small to climb the rough stairs of perfection. (AS 201)
Prayer:
Jesus, you made St. Thérèse understand how you desire us to approach you with trust and love; may we, like her, feel joy at the thought that the elevator that is to carry us to heaven is only your arms.
St. Thérèse, teacher of the inner life, pray for us.
Day 2: Be Like Children
Child, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. (Lk 15:31)
To remain before God as a little child means to recognize one's nothingness, to expect everything from God, just as a little child expects everything from their father; to be not worried about anything, to acquire no wealth... Thus, I remained small and engaged in nothing other than picking flowers, flowers of love and offerings, which I offered to God for joy. (August 6, 1897, VS 99)
Prayer:
Merciful God, you showed St. Thérèse that she must remain small, to shrink more and more, so you could grow; through her intercession, grant us true humility and deep conviction that without you we are nothing and can do nothing.
St. Thérèse, teacher of spiritual childhood, pray for us.
Day 3: Joy in Suffering
My food is to do the will of the Father. (John 4:34)
My only joy is the awareness that I fulfill God’s will. (D 258, to P. Belliére, July 18, 1897)
Prayer:
God, you gave St. Thérèse such love and desire to fulfill your will that even suffering became her joy, for in it she found you; through her intercession, grant that we, like her, accept suffering according to your will as our food, which may become an instrument of salvation for ourselves and others.
St. Thérèse, model of total surrender, pray for us.
Day 4: Test of Faith
He came to his own, and his own did not receive him. But to those who received him, he gave the power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name. (John 1:11)
Life is often difficult, what bitterness... but what charm. Yes, life costs something... If only one could at least feel Jesus' presence... How dull society is when Jesus is not here!.. Does he not see our anguish, the burden that weighs upon us?.. Why does he not come to comfort us when we have no other friend? But he is not far, he is here, he is close to us, looking at us, begging for this sadness, for this anxiety, he needs them... (D 57, to Celine, July 23, 1888)
Prayer:
God, through many trials and suffering you refined St. Thérèse's faith, as she became a more perfect mirror of your merciful love; grant us, through her intercession, to understand more and more that without faith we are like a maddened compass and a ship without a helmsman. Help us to understand that it is you who refine us with your pure love when you allow us to go through the darkness of the nights of trials in the difficult days of this life.
St. Thérèse, star of hope in the darkness of night, pray for us.
Day 5: Pride in Being Weak
Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Even if she forgets, yet I will not forget you! See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands... (Isaiah 49:15)
You are mistaken, ... if you think that your little Thérèse always walks eagerly along the way of virtue. She is weak, very weak, and every day she is reassured of it; but... Jesus enjoys teaching me, like St. Paul, the art of boasting in one's weaknesses. This is a great grace, and I ask Jesus to teach you this, for only in this way will peace and rest be found in the heart. When someone sees themselves as so wretched, they no longer want to be concerned with themselves, and only look at their Beloved... (D 109, to Marie Guérin, July 27-29, 1890)
Prayer:
Almighty God, you filled St. Thérèse with joyful confidence that you need us, small and weak, to show your greatness and strength; grant that together with her we may continually thank you that we attain salvation only by your grace and never by our own strength.
St. Thérèse, example of perfect trust, pray for us.
Day 6: The Little Way – The Way of Spiritual Childhood
Let the children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it. (Lk 18:15-18)
This little way of spiritual childhood is the way of trust and total surrender. I want to teach souls the little means that have helped me so much, to tell them that here on earth we need to do only one thing: to throw Jesus the flowers of little sacrifices, to win him over with love. That is how I did it, and so I will be well received. (July 17, 1897, VS 182n)
Prayer:
Good God, you revealed to St. Thérèse the infinite treasures that we can so easily gather every day and which we lose when, in our desire for great things, we allow little sacrifices to slip away; grant us, through her intercession, to reach holiness through the 'little way' of faithfulness in small things.
St. Thérèse, who leads us on the shortest path to God, pray for us.
Day 7: Desire for Happiness
O Lord, my heart is not lifted up, my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me... (Ps 131:1-2)
Jesus... may I never seek nor find anything else but you... Jesus, be everything... To the world I say farewell forever. I rise above it, my heart has no other support but God. (on the day of my vows, AS 255)
Prayer:
Eternal God, you placed in our hearts a desire for happiness, love, life; grant that, like St. Thérèse, we learn never to believe that the happiness we seek can be found in things that will one day crumble; help us to understand that this world is too small to fill our infinite desire for happiness, and that we seek nothing but you.
St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, pray for us.
Day 8: Hiddenness
See what great love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know him. (1 John 3:1)
Let us never seek what seems great in the eyes of mortals... The only thing that does not provoke envy is the last place... Let us humbly place ourselves among the imperfect, consider ourselves as little souls that God must uphold at every moment... It is indeed enough to humble oneself and lovingly bear one’s imperfections. In this lies true holiness. Let us take each other by the hand and hasten to the last place... No one will compete with us. (D 243, to Sister Geneviève [Celine], June 7, 1897)
Prayer:
Just God, to those who remain in you, you give the grace not to fall under human judgment; through the intercession of St. Thérèse, grant us the grace to be independent of others' opinions, so that we may always walk freely in the truth, open to your will and faithful to the path you wish to lead us on.
St. Thérèse, little saint and great intercessor, pray for us.
Day 9: The Calling of Love
Be imitators of God as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Eph 5:1)
I have come to understand that love encompasses all vocations, that love is everything, that it encompasses all times and all places... in a word, that it is eternal... finally, I have found my vocation! My vocation is love! Yes, I have found my place in the Church, and this place you have given me, my God! In the heart of my Mother the Church, I will be love... Thus I will be everything... Thus my dream will be fulfilled! (AS 188)
Prayer:
You, God, are LOVE itself; grant that the legacy of our sister St. Thérèse may encourage us to find in love for you the key to our vocation; help us to know your love and believe in it, so that we may bear witness to you in the world through our surrender and unconditional trust in you.
St. Thérèse, who showers the earth with a rain of roses, pray for us.
(Abbreviations of writings: AS = Autobiographical Writings; VS = I Enter Life; D = Letters)
According to "Novena to St. Thérèse of Lisieux," KNA 1997, compiled by P. Jan Maria Vianney Hanáček, OCarm.
