Words of St. Therese
I understand so well that it is only love which makes us acceptable to God – that this love is the only good I ambition. Jesus deigned to show me the road that leads to this Divine Furnace, and this road is the surrender of the little child who sleeps without fear in its Father’s arms.
I had a certainty of going far away from this land of sadness and gloom one day – it had been given to me as early as my childhood… I felt the desire for a more beautiful place from the bottom of my heart… another place will provide me a stable home. But, all of a sudden, the fog which surrounds me becomes even thicker; it penetrates my soul and surrounds me in such a way that I cannot find the gentle image of my homeland there anymore, and everything disappears.
Our Prayer
Faithful Jesus, You are always with us. We need the healing touch of Your presence. Sometimes we feel abandoned and lost – abandoned by unfulfilled dreams and evasive possibilities. Our passion is gone – darkness and emptiness permeate our spirits. People disappoint or disappear. The energy that fired my enthusiasm seems diminished in cool ashes. Cynicism born of disappointments shrinks my heart. The depression of quiet desperation defines our soul – listless emptiness swirls within.
We feel abandoned by security because of the tumultuous changes in our world, our Church and our lives. We are ungrounded and need Your healing and centering presence, Lord Jesus. Just as St. Therese stepped through the abandonments of mother figures and dreams, help us to reach out to You in expectant faith and hungry hope. Burn out of us all the attachments which we deify and allow to define us. Embrace us, Faithful Jesus, even amid the dark emptiness and lonely abandonment which engulfs us! Heal us with faith and hope.
We ask You this, through the intercession of St. Therese, who teaches us confidence and trust in Your love.