Quote of the day, 1 October: St. Thérèse

I want to seek out a means of going to heaven by a little way, a way that is very straight, very short, and totally new.

Saint Thérèse of Lisieux

QUESTION 9: The witness’s devotion and love for the Servant of God. Does the witness desire her beatification? Why?

I have a very great affection and confidence in her because I believe she is very close to God and very powerful over His heart. I pray to her often, not because she’s my sister, but because of her holiness. I have a true feeling of respect for her. During her life, I had respect for her, but above all, affection.

I greatly desire her beatification, because it will bring glory to God and will especially make his mercy known. People will have more trust in his mercy and will fear his justice less—what Sister Thérèse called her “little way of trust and abandonment” that she wanted to show to souls after her death.

Mother Agnès of Jesus, o.c.d. (Pauline Martin)

Witness 1: Response to the ninth question, Ordinary Trial

Thérèse of Lisieux, St. 1996, Story of a Soul: The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, 3rd edn, Clarke, J (trans.), ICS Publications, Washington, DC.

Translation from the French text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.

We always refer to the website of the Archives of the Carmel of Lisieux for the vast majority of our quotes concerning Saint Thérèse, Saint Zélie, and Saint Louis Martin. If you would like to purchase English translations for the collected works of St. Thérèse, please visit the website of our Discalced Carmelite friars at ICS Publications. 

Featured image: This is a detail of a stained glass window created by artist Sr. Margaret Agnes Rope, O.C.D. for Holy Name parish in Oxton, Birkenhead (Cheshire) England, which is one of the best-loved stained glass images of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. You can learn more about Sr. Margaret from her sisters at the Quidenham Carmel in England. Image credit: Arthur Rope / Wikimedia Commons (For the common good)

#LittleWay #mercy #MotherAgnèsOfJesus #StThereseOfLisieux #testimony #trust

Saint Thérèse of Lisieux demonstrates that love is expressed through tiny gestures 🌿. Joining the Carmelite monastery during her teenage years, she dedicated her brief existence entirely to God.

Her "Little Way" emphasizes placing trust in God and dedicating every instant—whether filled with happiness, sorrow, or mundane tasks—to Him ✨.

Her narrative inspires us to pursue sanctity in our everyday actions 🌹.

https://young-catholics.com/2143/st-therese-of-lisieux

#SaintTherese #CatholicFaith #LittleWay #trustGod #joy

Quote of the day, 17 March: Venerable Mary Angeline Teresa

During her retreat before final vows, Venerable Mary Angeline Teresa McCrory wrote nine heartfelt petitions to St. Thérèse, seeking holiness, love for God, and the grace to serve her sisters joyfully.

Venerable Mary Angeline Teresa, O.Carm.
(Bridget McCrory)

From the Mother Angeline Society

Note: Venerable Mary Angeline Teresa, O.Carm. (1893–1984) was an Irish-born Carmelite known for her deep compassion and dedication to the elderly. Born Bridget Teresa McCrory in County Tyrone, Ireland, she entered religious life with the Little Sisters of the Poor in France. Sent to the United States, she felt called to serve the aged in a new way, emphasizing dignity, personal care, and a family-like environment. With the encouragement of Cardinal Patrick Hayes of New York, she founded the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm in 1929, bringing the Carmelite charism of prayer and service into elder care.

Throughout her life, Mother Angeline fostered a profound devotion to St. Thérèse of Lisieux and the “Little Way.” Before her final vows, she entrusted her vocation to St. Thérèse, writing nine petitions that reflected her longing for holiness and her desire to love and serve as the Little Flower did.

Recognized for her heroic virtue, she was declared Venerable by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012. Her legacy lives on through the Carmelite Sisters and their mission of compassionate care for the elderly.

Learn more about Venerable Mary Angeline Teresa and her cause for canonization. Visit the Mother Angeline Society to explore her life, spirituality, and ongoing legacy: https://motherangeline.org/

Featured image: Collage created in Adobe Express featuring Venerable Mary Angeline Teresa against a background photo of a group of happy senior citizens playing chess. Stock photo of happy seniors: Drazen / Adobe Stock (Asset ID#: 307190621). Image of Venerable Mary Angeline Teresa: Wikimedia Commons (public domain).

🌹 Which of Venerable Mary Angeline Teresa’s petitions to St. Thérèse resonates most with you? Her longing for holiness, her desire to see God’s will in everything, or her deep love for her sisters? Let’s reflect together—share your thoughts in the comments below!

#CarmeliteSistersForTheAgedAndInfirm #foundress #grace #LittleFlower #LittleWay #MotherAngelineSociety #petitions #StThérèseOfLisieux #VenerableMaryAngelineTeresa

History of the Canonization of Saint Thérèse

On May 17, 1925, Pius XI, surrounded by 23 cardinals and 250 bishops, processed to the canonization [Mass] of Thérèse. Among the 50,000 faithful who came to Rome, only 5,000 were able to enter St. Peter’s Basilica and hear the pope pronounce the solemn formula declaring that the humble Carmelite of Lisieux could henceforth be called: “Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus.”

Two miracles were required at the time of Thérèse’s canonization process to move from beatification to canonization. Once these miracles were authenticated, the pope could proclaim the canonization and authorize and recommend the veneration of this new saint in the universal Church.

In Thérèse’s case, the two miracles chosen for her canonization were:

• The healing of Sister Gabriela Trimusi, from the Poor Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (Parma, Italy), from tuberculosis of the vertebrae (1923);
• The healing of Maria Pellemans (a Belgian who came on pilgrimage to the tomb of Blessed Thérèse) from intestinal tuberculosis. She had suffered from her illness since 1919.

Maria Pellemans sent her testimony to the Carmel of Lisieux:

It was in the parlor of the Carmel that I conceived the desire to ask for my healing, so that I could realize the dream of my life, to become a Carmelite. (…) Despite my extreme fatigue, I wanted to return to the tomb. As soon as I was there, a very sweet and supernatural feeling completely enveloped me… A heavenly sense of well-being penetrated my soul and body, I felt as if I were in another world, flooded with an ocean of peace. (…) Filled with such extraordinary emotion, I thought to myself: I am surely healed! (…)

On Tuesday, March 27, we returned home. My father, very moved, could not believe my healing. The doctor, having heard of the miracle, came to visit me. He examined me thoroughly, then, shaken as well, he concluded:

“I don’t understand, I find you completely changed, this cannot be explained naturally, as the stomach and intestines were incurable… Yes, if this transformation persists, it could be said that it is a great miracle.”

Guy Gaucher, O.C.D.

History of the Canonization of Saint Thérèse

Note: The Archives of the Carmel of Lisieux share this account from Antoinette Guise Castelnuovo concerning the “miracle of Gallipoli“:

Another miraculous event was the subject of a canonical investigation due to the stir it caused, both locally and among Sister Thérèse’s friends: it is the miracle of Gallipoli. Accounts tell that Thérèse appeared to the prioress of a poor Carmelite monastery in Apulia in 1910. She provided material assistance to her community and confirmed the validity of her spiritual path by telling Mother Carmela: ‘My way is sure, and I was not mistaken in following it.’ Gallipoli has since become a place of pilgrimage and an important center for spreading Thérèsian spirituality in Italy.

We always refer to the website of the Archives of the Carmel of Lisieux for the vast majority of our quotes concerning Saint Thérèse, Saint Zélie, and Saint Louis Martin. If you would like to purchase English translations for the collected works of St. Thérèse, please visit the website of our Discalced Carmelite friars at ICS Publications. 

Translation from the French text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.

Featured image: Photographer Jason Shallcross captures an image of creamy white roses. Image credit: Jason Shallcross / Flickr (Some rights reserved)

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/09/23/guy-miracles/

#canonization #CarmelOfLisieux #DiscalcedCarmelites #GuyGaucherOCD_ #history #LittleWay #miracles #StThérèseOfLisieux #tuberculosis