Happy belated feast day of St. Therese! You know, it’s kind of funny. Growing up, I was quite familiar with St. Therese, but I’ve always tried to steer clear of her. I’ve always been a bit of an annoying “hipster” when it comes to choosing patron saints for myself. I used to always try to find more obscure or lesser-known saints, and St. Therese, being one of the “hotties” of the saint world, wasn’t on my radar. (I know. Who do I think I am?! LOL)
Seeing as September/ October is the time of deliberation, I’ve dedicated a Little Flower Rosary Novena to all of our personal discernments as potential missionaries. To be honest, I only felt it was the right time to pray this novena for the simple fact that St. Therese is the patron saint of Missionaries. At first, I really didn’t put much thought into it.
However, in the thirteen days of praying this novena, I’ve come to know and understand exactly why my soul chose to plead for her guidance, for she is one of the most perfect examples of how to strengthen and prepare one’s heart. I’ve received numerous affirmations from her through my fellow sisters, my prayers, and my readings, so if I were to summarize what her intercession has done for me, I can summarize it in five simple words:
For the love of Jesus.
In her life, everything St. Therese had ever done was simply for the love of Jesus, no matter how small. This purpose is so simple, yet it so strongly embodies the disposition that we should have in our hearts: the disposition of humility and obedience.
Humility: Not everyone is destined to do great things, but everyone has the capacity to do things for the love of the Lord, no matter how small the task. At the end of the day, what matters is not the magnitude of the task nor the title that we assume, but the love we put forth. So fulltime or not, we are destined for greatness… in love ☺
Obedience: I can think of no greater incentive for obeying, other than for the simple fact that we do it for the love of The Lord. If we have the Lord so deeply rooted in the center of our hearts, each “yes” we make to The Lord will be a “yes” that is made beautiful. ☺
I thank Mama Mary and St. Therese for being my greatest intercessors and examples in my journey of discernment. Thank you for asking the Lord to prepare my heart.
Let us continue to pray for one another’s journey with the Lord!
Happy discernment everyone! <3
St.Therese of the Infant Jesus, Patroness of Missions, pray for us!
Your posts, as per usual, always bring so much joy and laughter! I’m so in tune with you, that I can just hear that voice of yours speaking through this. Thank you for making this one public, because I definitely needed to see it. I am affirmed that regardless of where the Lord places you, we will always have prayer to unite our hearts. The skeptic and the emo, what an unlikely peas in the same pod (or so I hope…need I remind you of Sagada, haha!). Thank you for your prayers, and thank you for being an “Ate” to me this year. You have inspired me so much more than you know. Your guidance brought me to Mary and your constant affirmations led me to seek out a more purified prayer life. You are one of God’s greatest blessings to me 🙂