For some reason I have been thinking a lot about Saint Therese recently and read a little potted history of her life last night. I've read many, many books on her and I don;t doubt she is a mega saint, plus a Doctor of the Church, plus so well loved that it is always a good idea to return to her. Some of the facts and numbers jump out at me. She was only 24 when she died. So young! She was only 15 when she entered Carmel..again so young! There were 29 nuns in the Liseaux Carmel when she entered, I found this striking I thought Carmels were a lot smaller. I never realised she was a Victim Soul. But apparently she offered up her life to Jesus as a Victim of Love just before she found she had TB. I don;t know how I missed this.. ,
I love the Little Flower... I reach out to her daily.. to do small things with great love is my favorite quote.. I finally understand it after so many years.
When that happens she is tapping you on the shoulder, trying to get your attention. It happened to me! She said she would shower roses on earth after her death. Don't be surprised if a Rose is given to you unexpectedly out of the blue.
ACT OF OBLATION TO MERCIFUL LOVE J.M.J.T. Offering of myself as a Victim of Holocaust to God's Merciful Love O My God! Most Blessed Trinity, I desire to Love You and make you Loved, to work for the glory of Holy Church by saving souls on earth and liberating those suffering in purgatory. I desire to accomplish Your will perfectly and to reach the degree of glory You have prepared for me in Your Kingdom. I desire, in a word, to be saint, but I feel my helplessness and I beg You, O my God! to be Yourself my Sanctity! Since You loved me so much as to give me Your only Son as my Savior and my Spouse, the infinite treasures of His merits are mine. I offer them to You with gladness, begging You to look upon me only in the Face of Jesus and in His heart burning with Love. I offer You, too, all the merits of the saints (in heaven and on earth), their acts of Love, and those of the holy angels. Finally, I offer You, O Blessed Trinity! the Love and merits of the Blessed Virgin, my Dear Mother. It is to her I abandon my offering, begging her to present it to You. Her Divine Son, my Beloved Spouse, told us in the says of His mortal life: "Whatsoever you ask the Father in my name he will give it to you!" I am certain, then, that You will grant my desires; I know, O my God! that the more You want to give, the more You make us desire. I feel in my heart immense desires and it is with confidence I ask You to come and take possession of my soul. Ah! I cannot receive Holy Communion as often as I desire, but, Lord, are You not all-powerful? Remain in me as in a tabernacle and never separate Yourself from Your little victim. I want to console You for the ingratitude of the wicked, and I beg of you to take away my freedom to displease You. If through weakness I sometimes fall, may Your Divine Glance cleanse my soul immediately, consuming all my imperfections like the fire that transforms everything into itself. I thank You, O my God! for all the graces You have granted me, especially the grace of making me pass through the crucible of suffering. It is with joy I shall contemplate You on the Last Day carrying the sceptre of Your Cross. Since You deigned to give me a share in this very precious Cross, I hope in heaven to resemble You and to see shining in my glorified body the sacred stigmata of Your Passion. After earth's Exile, I hope to go and enjoy You in the Fatherland, but I do not want to lay up merits for heaven. I want to work for Your Love Alone with the one purpose of pleasing You, consoling Your Sacred Heart, and saving souls who will love You eternally. In the evening of this life, I shall appear before You with empty hands, for I do not ask You, Lord, to count my works. All our justice is stained in Your eyes. I wish, then, to be clothed in Your own Justice and to receive from Your Love the eternal possession of Yourself. I want no other Throne, no other Crown but You, my Beloved! Time is nothing in Your eyes, and a single day is like a thousand years. You can, then, in one instant prepare me to appear before You. In order to live in one single act of perfect Love, I OFFER MYSELF AS A VICTIM OF HOLOCAUST TO YOUR MERCIFUL LOVE, Asking You to consume me incessantly, allowing the waves of infinite tenderness shut up within You to overflow into my soul, and that thus I may become a martyr of Your Love, O my God! May this martyrdom, after having prepared me to appear before You, finally cause me to die and may my soul take its flight without any delay into the eternal embrace of Your Merciful Love. I want, O my Beloved, at each beat of my heart to renew this offering to You an infinite number of times, until the shadows having disappeared I may be able to tell You of my Love in an Eternal Face to Face! Marie, Françoise, Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, unworthy Carmelite religious. This 9th day of June, Feast of the Most Holy Trinity, In the year of grace, 1895
So precious and beautiful, I had been reading her earlier today and wonderful to come across her again.
Well yesterday was my happiest yet in Spain. So many good things happened I can't count them all Just one of those happy days. On the other hand I must admit, frankly that her sufferings scare me. I suspect women are much better than handling suffering than men . There are many,many accounts of female saints offering up their lives as Victim souls, not so many men. I can see why. To do this when they are young and their whole lives in front of them is especially touching.
God must have asked this off her and she responded. This reminds me of what one demon saint about Our Lady, that she never ever thought if herself. That anything God asked of her she did at once without hesitation. I Have been thinking of St Thereses bio recently and it seems to me that every single word is centred on God and the things of God. Every single word. It reminds me of the Dialogues of St Catherine of Siena.
Yes, such a sincere, heartfelt prayer written out at only 22-years-old! I am so glad I was born on her birthday and privileged to be named in her honor!
A thought has come to me based on Therese's prayer of self offering above. At the age of 22, her purity shines forth: Since You loved me so much as to give me Your only Son as my Savior and my Spouse, the infinite treasures of His merits are mine. I offer them to You with gladness, begging You to look upon me only in the Face of Jesus and in His heart burning with Love. It seems to me that even at such a young age, she had already possessed a sanctity that needed very few upgrades. Perhaps later, her trial with TB, in one sense completed her purification from earthly attachments, but even prior to that she couldn't grasp anyone's preoccupation with purgatory. In the year before her death, she wrote to a seminarian named Maurice concerning her puzzlement with those preoccupied with thoughts of Purgatory. I am not at such a state of detachment, and certainly both Isaiah and Malachi speak of the Fear of the Lord which is the beginning of Wisdom: Isaiah 6:1 In the year that King Uzzi′ah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim; each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.” 4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” 6 Then flew one of the seraphim to me, having in his hand a burning coal which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin forgiven.” Malachi 3:2 But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Still, I marvel at Therese!
Mario, this is an amazing post. I loved it. I especially loved the Scriptures you quoted. The one from Isaiah is one of my favorites. That passage is alluded to in the TLM.
Wow! I just sent an email to these people to see where in the DC area the relics will be. The last time they were here was in the 1990’s. My husband and I went to Carmel of Port Tobacco, MD to venerate them. When I get a response from my email, I will post. Thank you so much, Mario. Will you be able to venerate her relics?
The Carmel of Port Tobacco in La Plata, Maryland, the first convent of religious women in the original 13 states and the first American Carmelite monastery, serves as one of the stops and will house the relics Nov. 23-25. "Our biggest hope for the people who venerate the relics of St. Thérèse is for them to desire to learn more about her, read her writings, and practice her 'Little Way' of spirituality," Mother Marie Bernardina of Divine Mercy, prioress of the Discalced Carmelite Nuns of the Carmel of Port Tobacco, told OSV News in emailed comments. "We hope everyone grows in their love and confidence in God's Mercy and constant goodness and graciousness." In preparation for the visit, they are, among other things, organizing a novena to St. Thérèse that leads up to her feast day. "We are looking forward to all the many graces and blessings that will descend upon the pilgrims and their families who come to this location to visit her relics," Mother Marie Bernardina said. "We are looking forward to all the many graces and blessings that will descend upon the 11-12 sisters here, and hopefully spark new vocations to consecrated and priestly life." 'A little heaven on Earth': St. Thérèse relics tour US in 2025 Katie Yoder | OSV News May 30, 2025 • found this online, the relics are coming back to the Carmel near us
https://www.osvnews.com/national-pi...turnouts-to-counter-anti-catholic-protesters/ Speaking of pilgrimages, please pray for this one which is facing mild harassment.
