Dear friends,

Therese Martin was born on January 2, 1873,  in Lisieux, Normandy, France. In 1889, at the age of 15, she entered the cloistered Carmelite convent and took the name, "Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face." She died of Tuberculosis at age 24, on September 30, 1897, uttering the simple words, "My God, I love you."

Her death was unknown to the world except for the handful of nuns and relatives who knew her. She was considered a gentle, pious young nun. But when her autobiography, “Story of a Soul”, was published the following year, this young nun who never left the cloister exploded upon the Church. Today she is regarded as one of the most beloved saints of all time.

Therese appeared to live an ordinary life, but appearances can be deceptive. Life in a monastery is difficult.

"My vocation is love!" she wrote toward the end of her life. Her mission was "to make Love (God) loved,"

"After my death I will let fall a shower of roses," she wrote. She showers us now with roses, blessing us and interceding that God empower us to carry  her mission here at out Parish.

St. Therese teaches us that to pray is very simple since: “prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.”

She  teaches us not to be afraid of God nor of our many sins and shortcomings. We has to trust God’s mercy like little children.

She writes in her autobiography: 'In the evening of this life, I shall appear before you with empty hands, for I do not ask you, Lord, to count my works'.

 In her experience, holiness consists  to recognize our nothingness, to expect everything from God as a little child expects everything from its father. Experience teaches us that children fall often, but they are too little to hurt themselves very much.

Therese therefore sees the ground for hope in God's mercy.

She knew that she would never be perfect. Therefore, she went to God as a child approaches a parent, with open arms and a profound trust.

Her 'little way' seems to put holiness of life within the reach of ordinary people.

Live out your days with confidence in God's love for you. Hope in a future in which love will consume your sinfulness.