My Journey with St. Therese...

 January 15 of last year,  the Miraculous Pilgrim Relics of St. Therese  of the Child Jesus arrived from Lisieux, France for a two-month tour of military bases around the country.  Kept under three locks in an ornately carved wooden vessel, the relics of St. Therese arrived at 3 p.m. The relics first visited the Philippines in the Great Jubilee Year of 2000.

I had the chance to visit the relics last January 17 and March 12 at the St. Therese Shrine at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City with my friend Bel.    

This is the National Shrine of St. Therese (Villamor Pasay City) in case you guys haven’t seen the church yet.

And the interior view  of the Shrine….

The life of St. Therese, a French Carmelite nun who lived from 1873 to 1897, inspires people who lead simple and ordinary lives to believe that holiness can be achieved through small things.  Also known as “The Little Flower of Jesus,” St. Therese’s letter, “Story of a Soul,” has inspired millions, and she is often associated with showers of roses. She was canonized on May 17, 1925. Her feast day is Oct. 1.

St. Therese’s life was quiet and filled with self denial and humility. Yet the Church honours her as the greatest saint of our modern times and recommends to the faithful the imitation of her perfect and simple life. Since her death she has rained miracles down upon those who seek for her intercession. In particular she seems to grant favours to those who practice the 24 Glory Be novena.

 Opening Prayer:  St. Therese the Little Flower, pick me a rose from the Heavenly Garden and send it to me with a Message of Love.  Ask God to grant me the favor I implore.  Tell Him I will love Him each day more and more.

Glory Be..(to be said 24x).  Between each Glory Be, say:  St. Therese of the Child Jesus, pray for us.

Prayer to St. Therese:  Most Blessed Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I ask You, through the merits of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, during the 24 years of her earthly life, to obtain for me through her intercession this grace (mention your petition).

Evening Prayer:

In the name of your little friend, St. Therese,

I humbly come to ask you Lord,

That when my time comes to leave here below,

Do not call me by a sudden death.

Not by an illness that leaves the mind confused or the senses impaired.

Not by a malady that wears out the soul, or at the mercy of evil forces.

Not with a heart filled with hate, or a body racked with pain.

Not abandoned, lonely, without love or care.

Not by my own hand, in a moment of despair.

Jesus, let death come as a gentle friend, to sit and linger with me until you call my name.

Then let me enter your heavenly home to receive your final gift of grace, to be near you forever, and look upon the divine countenance of your Holy Face.

Amen.

And now I would like to share with you some of the entrees from the book 366 Days with the Lord (St. Therese Jubilee 2000 Edition)…

I will spend my heaven doing good on earth.

The only good is to love God with one’s whole heart and to be poor in spirit here on earth.

Suffering alone gives birth to souls.

Love made us find on earth the One whom we were seeking.

Charity is the excellent way that leads most surely to God.

Charity must not consist of feelings but i works.

Charity must not remain hidden in the bottom of the heart.  It must enlighten and give joy not only to those who are dearest to us but "All who are in the house" without destination.

Jesus has no need of our works but only our love.

My way is the way of spiritual childhood, the way of trust and absolute surrender.

If we want to live a life of love of God, we must not fail in our love towards our neighbor.

It is Christ’s hand that guides everything.  We must see Him alone in everything.

The only happiness here below consists in always finding joy in whatever Jesus gives us.

To love means to forget ourselves for the One whom we love.

True love is found only in complete self-forgetfulness, and it is only after we have detached ourselves from every creature that we find Jesus.

Jesus does not demand great actions from us but simply surrender and gratitude.

It is so sweet to serve God in the dark night and in the midst of trial.  After all we have but this life in which to love by faith.

Let us love, since that is all our hearts were made for.

What is sweet joy it is to think that God is Just, that He takes into account our weakness, that He is perfectly aware of our fragile nature.

I assure you that the good Lord is much kinder than you can imagine.  He is satisfied with a sigh of love.

Prayer is a cry of gratitude and love in the midst of trial as well as joy.