Leading up to her feast day on October 1, we will pray a Novena to St. Thérèse, posting reflections from Pope Francis, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul II.

Please join us in this novena, posted each day on the website and social media, praying for Pope Francis, the Church and for all the challenges facing humanity.

–> Click here for previous days

Reflection

“Thérèse died on the evening of 30 September 1897, saying the simple words, ‘My God, I love you!‘, looking at the Crucifix she held tightly in her hands. These last words of the Saint are the key to her whole doctrine, to her interpretation of the Gospel the act of love, expressed in her last breath was as it were the continuous breathing of her soul, the beating of her heart. The simple words ‘Jesus I love you’, are at the heart of all her writings. The act of love for Jesus immersed her in the Most Holy Trinity. She wrote: ‘Ah, you know, Divine Jesus I love you / The spirit of Love enflames me with his fire, / It is in loving you that I attract the Father‘” (P 17/2).”

– Pope Benedict XVI (General Audience, April 6, 2011)

Novena Prayer

St. Thérèse, keep me close to the Heart of Jesus; help me to serve the needs of the Church and the world through my prayer and loving service.

St. Thérèse of Lisieux’s Daily Offering

Oh my God!  I offer You all my actions of this day for the intentions and for the glory of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. I desire to sanctify every beat of my heart, my every thought, my simplest works, by uniting them to His infinite merits; and I wish to make reparation for my sins by casting them in the furnace of His merciful love.

Oh my God! I ask of You for myself and for those dear to me the grace to fulfill perfectly Your holy will, to accept for love of You the joys and sorrows of this passing life, so that we may one day be united together in Heaven for all eternity.  Amen.

Join the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network!!