Day Nine of St. Therese's 9-Day Novena
Dear readers:
Today, September 30, is the last day of St. Therese's earthly life. We remember this Little Flower who had complete trust in God and yearned so much to see His Face. This is the last day of our nine-day novena. If this was your very first novena, I am very proud of you. St. Therese must be smiling down on you today.
Beginning tomorrow, on her feast day, you can start another novena that also lasts for nine days. I will post it here tomorrow so you can print it out and keep it handy.
What are your plans for tomorrow? I plan on attending Holy Mass with my family in the morning and then making a special visit to the National Shrine of the Little Flower in Royal Oak, MI. After that I will travel to the Ave Maria studios in Ann Arbor, MI to appear on a live radio show called "Kresta in the Afternoon" to talk about St. Therese and how she inspired me to write Olivia and the Little Way. Of course, I plan to either make or buy some chocolate eclairs, St. Therese's favorite treat. I know my sons are looking forward to those! This will be a very special feast day for me, since it is the first St. Therese feast day since my book came out! God is so good!
Start with:
O St. Therese of the Child Jesus, who during your short life on earth became a mirror of angelic purity, of love strong as death, and of wholehearted abandonment to God, now that you rejoice in the reward of your virtues, cast a glance of pity on me as I leave all things in your hands. Make my troubles your own, speak a word for me to Our Lady Immaculate, whose flower of special love you were—to that Queen of Heaven "who smiled on you at the dawn of life." Beg her powerful intercession the grace I yearn for so ardently at this moment and that she join with it a blessing that may strengthen me during life, defend me at the hour of death, and lead me straight on to a happy eternity. Amen.
DAY NINE
O St. Therese, seraphic virgin, beloved spouse of our Crucified Lord, you who on earth did burn with a love so intense toward your God and my God, and now glow with a bright and purer flame in paradise, obtain for me, I beseech you, a spark of that same holy fire which shall help me to put things of the world in their proper place and live my life always conscious of the presence of God. As I conclude my novena I also beg of you to secure for me the special favor I seek at this time...
St. Therese of the Child Jesus, pray for us.
