October 1 St. Therese of LIsieux of the Child Jesus
To Do: Decorate with roses or flowers today.I always have dying, leggy roses in my garden this time of year and I bring in the petals to decorate the table. I serve something "French."
If you are good with frosting, decorate a cake or cupcake with roses. Have you seen sacrifice beads?St. Therese kept a set of 10 beads in her pocket.Every time she would make a small sacrifice she would slide a bead.If you have some Pony beads you can make your own.It serves as a great reminder throughout the day.Here is site which gives you directions to make your own.http://thelittleways.com/how-to-make-sacrifice-beads Most important on this day is to try to remember her “Little Way” and do small things with great love. To Pray: Prayer to Saint Therese O Little Flower of Jesus, you have shown yourself so powerful in your intercession, so tender and compassionate toward those who honor you and invoke you in suffering and distress, that I kneel at your feet with perfect confidence and beseech you most humbly and earnestly to take me under your protection in my present necessity and to obtain for me this favor I ask (mention your request). Recommend my request to Mary, the merciful Queen of Heaven, that she may plead my cause with you before the throne of Jesus, her divine Son. Cease not to intercede for me until my request is granted. St. Theresa of the Child Jesus, pray for us. Amen. ~~ from "Prayers for Today," published by Leaflet Missal Co To Eat: Fall vegetables make a delicious ratatouille. We often also have crepes. Any other traditional French meal would be appropriate.
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St. Therese is a wonderful saint to get to know. She never founded a religious order. She never performed great works; and never went on missions, but she understood that what matters in the Christian life is not great deeds, but great love, and that anyone can achieve the heights of holiness by doing even the smallest things well for love of God. This was her “Little Way.”Pope John Paul II named St. Therese a Doctor of the Church on October 19, 1997 and Patroness of Missions. She is one of my favorites and is known for showering her prayers on us by the sign of roses. There are some wonderful Youtubes about her. IF ever there was a time to gather the family around the screen this could be it! This is a nice 9 minute (part 1) YouTube (search Saint Therese of Lisuiex - The Little Flower 1/2) which tells about her life and shows many of her pictures and relics.I’ve also included a brief and easy to read aloud biography below. There is also this animated one that tells the story of St. Therese and the prisoner condemned to death. And this one by Bishop Barron is filmed on location with his insights and knowledge. One of the reasons Therese is one of my favorites is because I’ve experienced a few “mini miracles” from her and her parents’ intercessions.I’ve actually been blessed with a visit to Lisieux. If you'd like to hear a Podcast about it, go to Catholic Travel Journal and listen to Episode 3 (the 3rd from the bottom, "The Shrine of Lisieux) If anyone lives in or near Illinois, please check out the National Shrine of St. Therese.It has many feast day activities and boasts one of the largest collections of relics outside Lisieux. http://www.saint-therese.org/ Here is a brief biography to share:Therese,the youngest of nine children, was born in Alencon France in 1873. Her father, Louis, was a successful watchmaker and jeweler. Her mother Zelie Guerin, built a cottage industry in lace making, beginning in the village of Alencon, which is known for its delicate lace. Four of Therese’s siblings died at a young age; the remaining five girls eventually all entered the convent, so deep was their call to sanctity. Four became contemplative Carmelite Nuns at the Lisieux Carmel, and one became a Visitation sister. Therese wasn’t always a nun nor was she always a saint. She was a very regular little girl, who was rather sensitive. In fact, she seemed like a spoiled little girl, who would stomp her feet and have a temper tantrum if she did not get her own way. After the death of her mother, while Therese was only 4, her father, who referred to her as “my little queen” would give her anything she wanted to keep her happy. Louis Martin was protective of his daughters. He wouldn’t allow them to read the newspapers, fearful that it would make them too worldly. But the mischievous girls would steal away with the newspaper while papa napped and carefully return it before he awoke. At a young age, this precocious child wanted everything. She would get more than she bargained for. Sick physically and emotionally, she was healed by Our Lady of the Smile at the age of 11. She experienced a profound conversion on Christmas eve, 1886, at the age of 13. She felt a call to enter Carmel as a contemplative Nun, so that she could give herself totally to Jesus. But she was too young. Appeals to the Mother Superior and Priest Chaplain yielded: “when you are old enough -16″. Not content, Therese and her father appealed to the Bishop. Not getting the response she wanted, she appealed directly and personally to the Pope while on a parish pilgrimage to Rome. Therese had always said: “I want everything”- and she usually got it. Persistence paid off. Therese was allowed to enter the Lisieux Carmel at the age of 15 – her father lived to see her professed a Carmelite Nun. She took the religious name of Sister Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face. God’s spirit worked powerfully in Therese, so open was she to Divine Love. Still dreaming of taking on the world as a priest and missionary, she wrestled with her vocation and place in the Church. Finally she came to realize that her “vocation is love” – the love of God was the energy source for the Church – and fulfillment of the human heart and longing. Despite her desire for the dramatic and expansive, Therese developed a simple spirituality, based on childlike trust and confidence in God. The spirituality of her “little way” was not about extraordinary things – but rather about doing simple things of life well and with extraordinary love. She believed and taught that “everything is grace” – God’s face and presence could be experienced in every person and situation of our lives, if we just attend with love and expectancy Her love became surrender, as she slowly died of tuberculosis. Her superior asked her to write down her reflections, which became her autobiography, “Story of a Soul.” She died at the age of 24, believing that her life was really just beginning for God, promising to spend her heaven doing good on earth. Her promised “shower of roses” began and have become a torrent in the Church ever since 
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