Prayers of St. Therese of Lisieux

Nine days with St. Therese

First Day

St. Therese, privileged Little Flower of Jesus and Mary, 
we approach you with childlike confidence and deep humility. 
We lay before you our desires, and beg that 
through your intercession they may come true.
Did you not promise to spend your heaven 
doing good upon earth? 
Grant us according to this promise 
the favors we are asking from you.
Intercede for us all the days of our life, 
but especially during this Novena and obtain for us from God
the graces and favors we ask through your intercession. Amen.

Thought for the day: Confidence in God. 

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.  If you are nothing, do you forget that Jesus is everything? You have only to lose your nothingness in His Infinity and think only of loving Him.

Concluding Prayer (see Post It note on the Left... You can Move it)

Second Day

O dear little Saint, 
now that you see the crucified Jesus in heaven, 
still bearing the wounds caused by sin, 
you know still more clearly than you did upon earth 
the value of souls, 
and the priceless worth of that Precious Blood 
which He shed to save them. 
As we are those children for whom Christ died, 
obtain for us all the graces we need 
in order to profit by that Precious Blood. 
Use your great power with our divine Lord
and pray for us.
Intercede for us all the days of our life, 
but especially during this Novena and obtain for us from God
the graces and favors we ask through your intercession. Amen.

Thought for the day: Sin

The only grace I ask, O Jesus, is never to offend Thee.  By love and not by fear, does a soul avoid committing the least fault.  Yes, even if I have on my conscience every possible crime, I should lose none of my confidence; my heart breaking with sorrow, I should go and throw myself into the arms of my Savior.  The remembrance of my faults humbles me and makes me afraid to rely on my own strength, which is nothing but weakness.

 Concluding Prayer

Third Day

Dear Little Flower, make all things lead us to heaven and God,
Whether we look at the sun, the moon, the stars 
and the vast expanse in which they float,
or whether we look at the flowers of the field, the trees of the forest, 
the beauties of the earth so full of color and so glorious,
may they speak to us of the love and power of God; 
may they all sing God's praises in our ears. 
Like you, may we daily love God more and more 
in return for the gifts from above. 
Teach us often to deny ourselves in dealings with others, 
that we may offer to Jesus many little sacrifices.
Intercede for us all the days of our life, 
but especially during this Novena and obtain for us from God
the graces and favors we ask through your intercession. Amen.

Thought for the day: The Use of God’s Gifts. 

How much benefit have I received from the beauties of nature, bestowed in such abundance. How they raise me to Him who placed such wonders in this land of exile which is only to last a day.  O sparkling nature, if I did not see God in you, you would be naught but a great tomb.  With your little hand which caresses Mary, You sustain the universe and bestow life; and You think of me, O Jesus my little King.  I do not wish creatures to have one atom of my love. I wish to give all to Jesus, since He has shown me that He alone is perfect happiness.

 Concluding Prayer

Fourth Day

Dear Little Flower of Carmel, 
bearing so patiently the disappointments 
and delays allowed by God, 
and preserving in the depths of your soul an unchanging peace
because you sought only God’s will, ask for us complete conformity to that adorable Will 
in all the trials and disappointments of life. 
If the favors we are asking during this Novena 
are pleasing to God, obtain them for us. 
If not, we wish only God’s Will, and pray in the words you used,
that we "may ever be perfectly fulfilled" in us.Intercede for us all the days of our life, 
but especially during this Novena and obtain for us from God
the graces and favors we ask through your intercession. Amen.

Thought for the day: Abandonment to God. 

I fear only one thing---to keep my own will; take it, my God, for I choose all that You choose.  The only happiness here below is to strive to be always content with what Jesus gives us.  I can demand nothing with fervor, except the perfect accomplishment of God’s will in my soul.  O my Beloved, I offer myself to You, that You may perfectly accomplish in me Your holy designs, and I will not allow anything created to be an obstacle in their path.

 Concluding Prayer

Fifth Day

Little Flower of Jesus, 
from the very first moment of your religious life 
you thought only of denying yourself in all things 
so as to follow Jesus more perfectly; 
help us to bear patiently the trials of our daily life. 
Teach us to make use of the trials, the sufferings, 
the giving up, that come our way, 
to learn to know ourselves better and to love God more.
Intercede for us all the days of our life, 
but especially during this Novena and obtain for us from God
the graces and favors we ask through your intercession. Amen.

Thought for the day: Patience in Sufferings. 

I do not fear trials sent by Jesus, for even in the most bitter suffering we can see that it is His loving hand which causes it.  When we are expecting nothing but suffering, we are quite surprised at the least joy; but then suffering itself becomes the greatest of joys when we seek it as a precious treasure.  Far from resembling those beautiful saints who practiced all sorts of austerities from childhood, my penance consisted in breaking my self-will, in keeping back a sharp reply, in doing little kindnesses to those about me, but considering these deeds as nothing.

 Concluding Prayer