Saint Theresa "The Little Flower"

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yucalyptis

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I couple of years ago I read a bio of St Theresa and I was saddened by her early death. I know she embraced death, but it just seemed tragic that she was so young. It was almost as if becoming a nun was her romantic ideal and early death the crowning glory of that life. It seems like that given todays medicine, she would have recovered and lived a productive long life. I don’t know if that was really God’s will for her. Any thoughts on this?
 
I know if you pray a novena to the little flower you will receive a rose.
 
Of course this was God’s will for her. He is the one who selected the hour and moment of her death.

And I think He also uses this to emphasize her “little way”. It is as a result of her “little way” that she has become a Dr. of the Church.

Her little way helps show people clearly that you do not need to be old, be big, strong, or an adult. Any one can do simple things to enrich the faith and help people by showing love.
 
As tragic as St. Therese’s young death was, consider how many people she has reached and taught and helped after her Earthly death. She was able to glorify God in her small way with her sickly body here on Earth, but in heaven she is mighty in God, and has interceded for untold numbers of miracles and has helped bring so many people home to the Church.

Remember, she’s not really dead. Now that she is unlimited by the constraints of her illness and convent life, she is free to help all of God’s people. I do think that was God’s will for her. In this crazy world where we often wonder “what’s the use, I can’t make a difference”, we can look at St. Therese’s “little way” and realize that we do make a difference just by being here, glorifying God, and doing our best to serve Him and each other in our own way.

And yes, she does often send roses to those who ask for her help. Within a half-hour of asking for her prayers on a serious issue, I was treated to the sight of a red rosebush in full bloom after a hard frost (the leaves were all off the trees and all other flowers were dead). I have not received the answer I originally wanted from God when I prayed, but I have received peace and hope that circumstances will change.
 
I have never received a rose from the novena, but I have had petitions granted through it. I loved her imagery in her autobiography, about how all souls are flowers, but God’s garden is a variety of flowers, which is what makes it so beautiful.

Quite a few inspirational quotes too.

“Jesus has no need of books or teachers to instruct souls; he teaches withouth the noise of words”

“I realize understan however that all souls canot be the same, that it is necessary there be different types in order to honor each of God’s perfections in a particular wat.”

“the fire of love is more sanctifying than the fire of purgatory”

“hcarity must not consist in feelings but works”
 
Michael C:
I know if you pray a novena to the little flower you will receive a rose.
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:amen:

EVERY time…ALL the time. She’s like a close friend in Heaven who always comes through. She’s also is one of the most inspirational souls to read about that I’ve ever “met”. 😃
 
In regards to her life being so short, I think the brevity of her life emphasises how inspired she was. How she entered the convent earlier than what was the norm, and endured many trials to be able to enter at such a young age.

I think if she lived as full a life as normal, then it might even make her appear impatient and lacking virtue, that she could not wait until she was 18, like every one else. But since her life was so brief, it seems even more that she heard God’s voice by insructing her to do what was necessary to spend sas much time in the monastery as posisble.
 
St Therese may not actually deliver a real rose. Here are some other ways she can come through:

I have gotten cards in the mail with a rose on it…flipped open to a magazine with a photo of a rose. My sister in law opened the paper to an ad that read “did you get flowers today?” and there was a picture a roses.

I have had someone call me named Rose. I have had my eyes diverted to a picture on a wall with roses. Seen a rose bush in full bloom in someone’s yard, etc.

Be open to the message.
 
I always thought the rose was suppose to be figurative, e.g. the answer sought in the novena.
 
therese not only embrace death, she was overjoyed with anticipation of it. remember, our life here is only a pilgrimage, we are exiles struggling in a hostile land. our true home is heaven, in our Father’s house.

and therese also knew that, while she could accomplish much in this life here on earth, she could accomplish so much more in heaven. she could cause the graces of God to rain down upon souls in a way she could never do while on earth.

everyone’s journey to God is different. therese reached a remarkable spiritual maturity at a very young age and when it was her time, God called her home. maybe modern medicine would have cured her, but something else might then have taken her life. it seems backwards to us that God would take someone in their prime when we think of all she might have done had she lived, but, then, our understanding is limited, isn’t it?
 
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jrabs:
St Therese may not actually deliver a real rose. Here are some other ways she can come through:

I have gotten cards in the mail with a rose on it…flipped open to a magazine with a photo of a rose. My sister in law opened the paper to an ad that read “did you get flowers today?” and there was a picture a roses.

I have had someone call me named Rose. I have had my eyes diverted to a picture on a wall with roses. Seen a rose bush in full bloom in someone’s yard, etc.

Be open to the message.
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In our climate and Hallmark society, it is not difficult at all to see roses. Therefore we should be careful not to read too much into chance encounters with roses, particularly pictures of roses. I am not at all denying the fact that St. Therese may “deliver” roses in response to prayer. We should simply be aware of our psychological tendencies.

That being said, St. Therese was an important factor in my entrance into the Church this past Easter. At one point, I secretly prayed to God (being careful to pray silently lest someone or something overhear me besides God) and asked him to scatter a bunch of yellow roses on my front porch as proof that he wanted me to become Catholic.

Thanks be to God, my request was not granted. I was asking God for a sign which would be proof to my mind, but God knew that I didn’t need my mind changed or convinced. No, He knew that it needed to be a conversion of the heart, and that is what he did. If he had granted my request for a sign, I don’t know whether I would have continued in prayer, waiting for the conversion of my heart. I may have become Catholic purely for intellectual reasons, which would have been a great tragedy in my opinion.
 
Has anyone seen the Therese movie yet? Lindsay Younce portrays her beautifully. I live in Southern California. To find out if Therese is playing near you, go to www.theresemovie.com. When I went, there were only 12 people in the theater. It’s sad that many don’t want to see a movie today unless it’s laced with sex and violence.
 
I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I just finished reading “The Story of a Soul” which moved me to tears. I feel, or I guess I should say, I asked if she would be the ‘big sister’ I never had. My wife has seen the movie twice and we’ll both go again soon.

As far as seeing a rose after a prayer request. My wife called me one day when things were not going well at all at work. She said I should pray to St. Theresa and ask for a rose. Well I did allbeit kind of half heartidly. As I drove down the street after our conversation, I noticed “The Rose” motel on the left complete with a Rose on the sign. As far as I’m concerned that did it.

I’m looking foward to getting into her more and more. Any reading suggestions ??
 
attended Mass on Sunday at the Shrine of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle, where the custom is to hand out roses to those celebrating birthdays or wedding anniveraries. Got my yellow rose for 36 yrs of marriage, because MIL made sure we got a seat in the front row for one of the most crowded Masses of the season, she has a knack for that. Did I mention her name is Teresa?
 
What is so inspiring and amazing to me is that her virtues were so hidden. Very heroicly, she bore the disdain of her Sisters who sometimes misjudged her motives and the purity of her selfless love. Small matter to her, for she wanted only to please her Beloved. She did not need the approval or esteem of others.

Nor did she need the approval of God Himself, being often in utter darkness of faith, yet she continued scattering her beautiful flowers to give Him pleasure.
 
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jrabs:
St Therese may not actually deliver a real rose. Here are some other ways she can come through:

…
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Talk about receiving a ROSE! Therese sent me one in a person…

Shortly after the diagnosis of my 1st husband’s terminal cancer we began attending a perpetual novena to Therese every Tuesday at a church in another town. (he had a deep devotion to her as I do). A lot of our family and friends from our parish and prayer group attended it for him.

When he became bedridden, while in the hospital a woman named Rosa, who was in charge of the volunteer program which aided the families of the terminally ill, befriended him in a very “special way”…She made him laugh…she listened to him and comforted him when he cried… We called her our angel. After he passed we continued our friendship. She helped me through the most difficult time in my entire life.

On one occasion when I was having some serious thoughts of “giving up”, she happened to telephone me… Things like this occurred many times… I used to call her my angel… One day she shared w/ me that her maiden name was Engel, which means angel in German… She was also Jewish and a cancer survivor.
 
Thanks for all of the interesting posts regarding St. Therese the little flower. I’ll look for the name of the book I read if anyone is looking for another to read about her. This one had alot of photographs. I guess that’s why her youth touched me so. Her photos were so haunting to me and her journal entries of her love for Jesus were so touching. I remember feeling that way over my childhood sweetheart. That’s stupid I guess and maybe laughable, I don’t know. But that is what made me identify with her so much, it reminded me of that innocent, idealistic type of love. I’ll try the prayer I really need a rose. God Bless, yucalyptis
 
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yucalyptis:
I know she embraced death, but it just seemed tragic that she was so young. It was almost as if becoming a nun was her romantic ideal and early death the crowning glory of that life.
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Her life reminds me of St. Paul’s conundrum: he wished very much to reach death and so reach heaven, but also wanted very much to stay on earth and do God’s work. He didn’t know which to prefer. In the end, what God chooses for you is the best. As I tell my kids, there is no reason to fear death if you are in God. When God picks the day you die, hard as it is for those you leave behind, it is always the right day.
 
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