S
Snugglebugmom
Guest
On Friday night I watched “Therese”, a movie about the life of St Therese of Lisieux for, I think, the third time that week. Then I went online and read about her, and I found a post by a lady who wrote that she prayed for St Therese’s intercession in a particular manner: she asked St Therese if someone she knew was in heaven, and for St Therese to send her a rose if this was the case. A few days later, a rose crossed her path in a manner she could not have foreseen.
This spoke to my heart. My mom was a fallen-away Catholic who stopped going to church when my dad left us for a younger woman. Her heart was broken, and she was never the same. She died of cancer the day after my twentieth birthday, at the age of 43. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of her, and worry about her, whether or not she is still in Purgatory or if she is in heaven with God.
So I sank to my knees, folded my hands, and prayed:“St Therese, I ask for your intercession. Please, if my mom is in heaven, let me know by sending me a flower.” I did not say rose, I’m not sure why not.
The next day, I was grocery shopping with my husband and two little girls. We were at a supermarket where we’ve been going weekly for the past two and a half years. While I was picking out some oranges, my two and a half year old said:“Mommy, there is a flower on the floor.”
I looked around, and noticed a small flower stand close to the fruit displays. It’s been there before, but in all the time we have been going there, I have never seen flowers on the floor. This time there was this single, perfect, red carnation lying on the floor next to it.
My first thought was:“I’d better pick that up.” because that is what I do with things that are not supposed to be on the floor (I’m a mom
). And then I stopped dead in my tracks and remembered my prayer to St Therese the night before. And I couldn’t help but pick up the flower with reverence, I put it in my purse and brought it home.
When I did some research about carnations, I discovered that around Mothers Day, churches, schools and charity organizations have Mothers Day Carnation Sales. There seems to be a connection between carnations and Mothers Day. I thought it was absolutely perfect. St Therese’s “hallmark” red rose was a red carnation in my case, because I was asking about my mom.
Okay, I know this may just be wishful thinking (so all you skeptics out there, you can gracefully bow out now) but I truly believe that St Therese sent me a flower, and the Lord allowed me to have peace of mind, assured of the fact that my mom is heaven.
This spoke to my heart. My mom was a fallen-away Catholic who stopped going to church when my dad left us for a younger woman. Her heart was broken, and she was never the same. She died of cancer the day after my twentieth birthday, at the age of 43. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of her, and worry about her, whether or not she is still in Purgatory or if she is in heaven with God.
So I sank to my knees, folded my hands, and prayed:“St Therese, I ask for your intercession. Please, if my mom is in heaven, let me know by sending me a flower.” I did not say rose, I’m not sure why not.
The next day, I was grocery shopping with my husband and two little girls. We were at a supermarket where we’ve been going weekly for the past two and a half years. While I was picking out some oranges, my two and a half year old said:“Mommy, there is a flower on the floor.”
I looked around, and noticed a small flower stand close to the fruit displays. It’s been there before, but in all the time we have been going there, I have never seen flowers on the floor. This time there was this single, perfect, red carnation lying on the floor next to it.
My first thought was:“I’d better pick that up.” because that is what I do with things that are not supposed to be on the floor (I’m a mom
). And then I stopped dead in my tracks and remembered my prayer to St Therese the night before. And I couldn’t help but pick up the flower with reverence, I put it in my purse and brought it home.When I did some research about carnations, I discovered that around Mothers Day, churches, schools and charity organizations have Mothers Day Carnation Sales. There seems to be a connection between carnations and Mothers Day. I thought it was absolutely perfect. St Therese’s “hallmark” red rose was a red carnation in my case, because I was asking about my mom.
Okay, I know this may just be wishful thinking (so all you skeptics out there, you can gracefully bow out now) but I truly believe that St Therese sent me a flower, and the Lord allowed me to have peace of mind, assured of the fact that my mom is heaven.
she is a great friend and a great Saint. That is wonderful that you were given that sign