Words of St. Therese
The ceremony of my reception of the Veil took place, and the day was veiled in tears. Papa was not there to bless his Queen; Fr. Pichon was in Canada; the Bishop, who was supposed to come… did not come at all because he was sick. In a word, everything was sadness and bitterness. And still peace, always peace, reigned at the bottom of the chalice.
That day, Jesus permitted that I was unable to hold back my tears and these were misunderstood. In fact, I had been able to bear up under much greater crosses without crying; however, this was because I was helped by powerful graces. Jesus left me to my own resources on this day, and I soon showed how little these resources really are.
Our Prayer
Jesus, our brother, we need Your healing touch. There are areas of our mind that are paralyzed or underdeveloped; that are plagued with fear, ignorance and blindness; that are crippled in the darkness of poor self-images; that expect disaster and defeat. We have a narrow-mindedness that does not expand our vision or wisdom; attitudes of self-reliance that do not let others touch or minister to us; a need to have the mental control of understanding, which flees before mystery; a brain which does not balance information with the instincts of my heart. We are so serious we no longer laugh at ourselves. There are areas within us that are not whole and do not balance our experience of all the events You send us.
Heal us with peace amid the storms which rock our mental stability. Calm us to carry the crosses You send us to refine and draw us closer. Heal us of our arrogant self-reliance so that we can be more dependent on Your love and presence, deep within and around us. We ask You this, through the intercession of St. Therese, who teaches us confidence and trust in Your love.