Showers of Roses: Miracles in My Life Through the Intercession of St. Therese, Virgin, and Doctor of the Church

St. Therese is so special to me. I think of her as a close friend with whom I can share my most intimate thoughts and feelings. I know that she will send me a fragrant rose on her special day -- whether visible or invisible-- it is always real.

I first learned about St. Therese of the Child Jesus when I was 15 years old, a sophomore in a Catholic high school. In English class, her autobiography, Story of a Soul, was one of the options on our required reading list. As I read her love for Jesus and learned of her "Little Way", I couldn't help but admire and desire to emulate this beautiful saint, who expressed so much joy in the midst of suffering. I cheered when this young woman who of my age acted with such strong faith and determination and did the forbidden , speaking out when she was told to remain silent, pleading with the Pope to let her enter Carmel. I loved the poetic way she expressed herself, her love for flowers, her deep insights into the faith, and the humor she interjected into her personal anecdotes. She quickly became a close friend and a prayer intercessor for me.

When I was preparing for my Oblature with the Community of St. John and going through a dark night of the senses, I entered the refectory at the monastery and was met by a very large and reassuring portrait of St. Therese. I later learned that she is one of the secondary patrons of the Community, which was founded by Fr. Philippe, a Dominican from France.

As I was losing my own "French - American" family at this time (my parents to their eternal reward), St. Therese was leading me to another family, in many ways similar to my own. It was the family of St. John, whose main charism is that of love.

Through her intercession, St. Therese has worked many mini miracles for me, as well as for others. One of these miracles involved a dear friend, Therese, from my Community, who was miraculously healed of a cancerous tumor through the intercession of St. Therese. Her healing is described in detail in my short story, "Joy in the Midst of Suffering," which is contained in Elizabeth Ficocelli's anthology, "Shower of Heavenly Roses".

Today, I have just finished my novena to St. Therese and something happened that I consider a miracle. Most of you know that my dear husband's company had a reorganization last February and quite abruptly let him go along with a few other top managers and engineers. He has been without a full-time job for seven months now. Our funds are basically exhausted at this point in time and his unemployment compensation runs out very soon. We had no idea of where we would get the money to make our next house payment. In my work as a crisis pregnancy counselor, I am very aware of what happens to people in these kinds of situations and I refer them to shelters. Unfortunately, most of the shelters are full in these difficult times. Money is tight everywhere.

Today, the money for our next house payment arrived. It came from an unexpected source in an unexpected way on the final day of the novena to St. Therese. A coincidence? You might say that, but I prefer to think of it as a God - incidence, especially after that tete-a-tete I had with St. Therese last night. A framed picture of her as a teenager with her hair up hangs on the wall next to my bed. She smiles down on me just as the Blessed Virgin Mary smiled at her when she was cured of a mysterious illness following the death of her mother. She tells us, "At that instant all my pain disappeared and two large tears glistened on my eyelashes and flowed down my cheeks silently, but these were tears of unmixed joy. Ah! I thought, the Blessed Virgin smiled at me, how happy I am..."

To read my brief biography of St. Therese, go here.


Here are a few of my favorite quotes from St. Therese:

“Time is nothing in Your eyes, and a single day is like a thousand years. You can, then, in one instant, prepare me to appear before You."

“Oh! How sweet is the way of Love! How I want to apply myself to doing the will of God always with the greatest self-surrender!”

“Jesus does not demand great actions from us but simply surrender and gratitude…See, then, all that Jesus lays claim to from us; He has no need of our works but only of our love.”

“I thank You, O my God for all the graces You have granted me, especially the grace of making me pass through the crucible of suffering. It is with joy I shall contemplate You on my the Last Day, carrying the scepter of Your cross.”

“For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and love, embracing both trial and joy.”

“Our Lord needs from us neither great deeds nor profound thoughts. Neither intelligence nor talents. He cherishes simplicity.”

“How happy I am to see myself imperfect and be in need of God’s mercy.”

“We can never have too much confidence in the good God who is so powerful and so merciful. We obtain from Him as much as we hope for.”

“Prayer is a cry of gratitude and love in the midst of trial as well as joy.”

“Oh my God, You have surpassed all my expectations.”