Wow!! Extraordinary story. Wonderful. I was just thinking there now of an episode in St Therese's life I often recall. She was getting ready for bed when she felt a warm gush of blood in her throat and caught it with a hankie. She had an idea it was the first sign of the TB that would kill her. But instead of looking at once to see she hid it under her pillow to look at next morning. What truly incredible discipline. Astonishing really.
Another thing about Therese that really stands out is her God centreness. She said at one point that she believed she had spent more than three minutes her entire life without thinking about God. Consider that for a while; it's truly incredible; but I fully believe it, you can see it is true from her writings and the way she lived her life. In this she reminds me of the angels. Then again regard her whole entire family. They have been described as a , 'Nest of Saints'. Imagine that a whole family, saints. There are I believe saints then again there are Super Saints sent by God to change the entire world. Little Therese was a super saint. Other super saints? St Benedict. St Anthony the Great. Padre Pio. St Paul. The Apostles. St Francis of Assisi and so on....
I'll be reading / watching videos about these others as well. Of course St. Paul and the Apostles I'm already familiar with from my Protestant upbringing. I found and watched this last evening. Has anyone here visited it? I would like to see her drawings (and paintings?). She had a beautiful "hand" based on what little was shown (drawing, writing).
Although all saints are the same in they exercise Heroic Virtue, growing as St Paul said, 'From one degree of Glory to the next into the image of Christ.' 2 Corinthians 3:18 The Glory of the New Covenant …17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. But in other respects I think there are certain different types of saints. For instance there are the saints who were Great Sinners like St Augustine, radically transformed by grace. But there are others like St Therese who remind me of garden saints. Who you can see the hand of God from at the earliest age. Kind of like green house saints. The devil of course recognises this himself and attacks such souls from an early age as he did Padre Pio, Therese and the Blessed Virgin herself.
Today is the day the St Therese novena starts for her feast day of Oct. first for any one interested. One novena is praying 24 Glory Be's for each year of Therese's life, thanking God for her. Here's another. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Dearest Saint Therese of Lisieux, you said that you would spend your time in heaven doing good on earth. Your trust in God was complete. Pray that He may increase my trust in His goodness and mercy as I ask for the following petitions… (State your intentions) Pray for me that I, like you, may have great and innocent confidence in the loving promises of our God. Pray that I may live my life in union with God’s plan for me, and one day see the Face of God whom you loved so deeply. Saint Therese, you were faithful to God even unto the moment of your death. Pray for me that I may be faithful to our loving God. May my life bring peace and love to the world through faithful endurance in love for God our savior. Loving God, you blessed St. Therese with a capacity for a great love. Help me to believe in your unconditional love for each of your children, especially for me. I love you, Lord. Help me to love you more! Glory be to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Thanks, Sam, for letting us know. The 24 Glory Be's will be easy to remember. Think I'll pray them for the Holy Father because he says he has a devotion to St. Therese.
