Saint for the Day

• October 3 – St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus

  

  Few Saints have aroused so much admiration and enthusiasm immediately after their death; few have acquired a more astonishing popularity everywhere on earth; few have been so rapidly raised to the altars as was this holy young Carmelite. Marie Françoise Thérèse Martin, known as the Little Flower of Jesus, was born January 2, 1873 at Alençon in Normandy, France, of very Christian parents. The Martins, who lost four of their little ones in early infancy or childhood, regarded their children as gifts from heaven and offered them to God before their birth. Thérèse was the last flower of this blessed stem, which gave four Sisters to the Carmel of Lisieux, still another to the Visitation of Caen. The five sisters were left without their mother, a victim of cancer, when Thérèse was only four years old; but her two oldest sisters were of an age to take excellent care of the household and continue the Christian character formation of the younger ones, which their mother had initiated. Their saintly father was soon to see his little flock separated, however, when one after the other they left to enter religious life. He blessed each one and gave them all back to God, with humble gratitude to God for having chosen his daughters.

  From childhood Thérèse had manifested a tender piety which her naturally lively temperament could not alter. Her mother’s death affected her profoundly, however, and at the age of nine she was visited with a severe trial in the form of an illness the doctors could not diagnose, and which seemed incurable. She was instantly restored to her ordinary good health by the Virgin Mary, in answer to her desolate sisters’ prayers; Thérèse saw Her statue become animated, to smile at her with an ineffable tenderness as she lay on her bed of suffering.

  Before the age of fifteen Thérèse already desired to enter the Carmel of Lisieux, where her two eldest sisters were already nuns; a trip to Rome and a petition at the knees of the Holy Father Leo XIII gave her the inalterable answer that her Superiors would regulate the matter. Many prayers finally obtained an affirmative reply to her ardent request, and four months after her fifteenth birthday she entered Carmel with an ineffable joy. She could say then, I no longer have any desire but to love Jesus even to folly.

  She adopted flowers as the symbol of her love for her Divine Spouse and offered all her little daily sacrifices and works as rose petals at the feet of Jesus. Divine Providence gave to the world the autobiography of this true Saint, whose little way of spiritual childhood was described in her own words in her Story of a Soul. She could not offer God the macerations of the great soldiers of God, only her desires to love Him as they had loved Him, and to serve Him in every way possible, not only as a cloistered nun, but as a missionary, a priest, a hero of the faith, a martyr. She chose all in spirit, for her beloved Lord. Later she would be named patroness of missions. Her spirituality does not imply only sweetness and light, however; this loving child of God passed by a tunnel of desolate spiritual darkness, yet never ceased to smile at Him, wanting to serve Him, if it were possible, without His even knowing it.

  When nine years had passed in the Carmel, the little flower was ready to be plucked for heaven; and in a slow agony of consumption, Thérèse made her final offering to God. She suffered so severely that she said she would never have believed it possible, and could only explain it by her desire to save souls for God. She died in 1897, was beatified in 1923 and canonized in 1925. And now, as she foretold, she is spending her heaven in doing good upon earth. Countless miracles have been attributed to her intercession.

   

  Lives of the Saints for Every Day of the Year. (Reprint of the work of John Gilmary Shea, with Appendix including recently canonized Saints) (Benziger Brothers: New York, 1955. Third Edition: Tan Books and Publishers: Rockford, Ill., 1995); Vie des Saints pour tous les jours de l’année, by Abbé L. Jaud (Mame: Tours, 1950)

  

  St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus coloring page

  Stationery of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus

  Stationery of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus without lines

Sunday Sermon

• Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost ~Bad Company

  

  ” I am the Angel Raphael, one of the seven who stand before the Lord.”

  The history of Tobias, one of the most beautiful narratives of the Old Testament, teaches us many lessons. There we find a charming picture of home-life. The father of the family is at once the example and teacher of virtue to his young son ; the son, a model of filial devotion to his aged parents, succoring them in their need, submissive to their will, delighted to give them pleasure.

  The life of the family is full of peace. Even in affliction they recognize the finger of God, and His blessing rests upon them. He is the sunshine of their home. To serve Him — to keep themselves free from sin — is their chief care. When, there fore, it became necessary that the younger Tobias should make a long journey, the first thought of his father was to find him a suitable companion. He would not trust his child to the guardianship of every man. He felt the necessity of great care in the choice he made. Such a choice is indeed not a trifling matter, not so unimportant an affair as some seem to think it ; the happiness of a whole lifetime, perhaps even eternal salvation itself, may be at stake. Young people especially are very susceptible to the influence of those who are about them. They are open-hearted, unsuspecting, too ready often to give their confidence and friendship to those unworthy of either. They are slow to abandon those upon whom they have bestowed their regard, unwilling to believe evil of them because of their affection for them. And so the danger to their virtue is very great when they fall into bad company, their ignorance of the world and their guilelessness leaving them open to many temptations.

  The bad companion is he who is trying to rob us of our virtue — to rob us of the best we possess.

  Virtue is a precious thing. It is a treasure beyond price. To have virtue is to possess nobility of soul, elevation of mind, a close likeness to’ God. To have habits of virtue marks us out as true men, men who have made their animal nature subject to reason through God’s grace. Virtue is not acquired in a day. The getting of it means work, constant work for a time, perhaps a long time ; but it is worth all it costs. When we have virtue, we have something of a great value ; and because it is so valuable it must be carefully guarded lest we lose it, for we may be robbed of our virtue as well as of our money.

  The bad companion wants to destroy our innocence ; he wants to disturb our peace of soul ; he wants to unman us, to make beasts of us. Where are these bad companions ? How shall we know them ? “By their works you shall know them.” You shall know them when you hear their filthy speech, when they make their dirty jokes and tell their smutty stories. You shall know them when they invite you to low drinking saloons, to places where purity is lost ; when they tell you how to make money at the expense of honesty ; when, in a word, they suggest evil to you. Flee from them ; they are robbers ; they are worse : they are murderers ; they seek to take the life of your soul.

  The Angel Raphael on the other hand, teaches us the offices of a good companion. We find him guiding his young charge, warning him of dangers, instructing him how to overcome difficulties. He is by his side in the hour of need ; his counsel is always at his service ; his advice is good ; his example is good. He is constantly striving to advance the best interests of Tobias and to further the object of his journey. This is true friendship ; this is right companionship. It is unselfish, conscientious endeavor to promote the friend’s welfare. Young people, find yourselves a Raphael, but trust not every man.