What have these 4 got in common? SUFFERERS ALASKA AIRLINE PILOTS AUSTRALIA PATRON SAINT

'I would like to be a missionary, not just for a few years, but ’til the end of time!' IRAQ LEBANON BELGIUM AUSTRALIA KAZAKHSTAN ITALY IRELAND MAURITIUS PHILIPPINES BURKINA FASO TAIWAN COLOMBIA GUAM CAMEROON HONG KONG BENIN USA 'I would like to be a missionary, not just for a few years, but ’til the end of time!'

FULL NAME: Marie Françoise Thérèse Martin BORN: Alençon in Normandy, France 11:30pm on January 2nd in 1873 FAMILY: 7 girls, 2 boys Thérèse and 4 older sisters survived TRAGEDY: 2 girls, 2 boys died young HER FAMILY WERE FULL OF FAITH Thérèse

Thérèse’s mother died when she was only 4.

Age 8 'Suddenly the Blessed Virgin glowed with a beauty beyond anything I had ever seen. Her face was alive with kindness and an infinite tenderness, but it was her enchanting smile which really moved me to the depths. My pain vanished!'

CHRISTMAS CONVERSION 'I do not know how I could think of entering Carmel when it needed a miracle to overcome my childishness...'

PILGRIMAGE TO ROME 'Be obedient, if it’s God’s will you will enter...' HOLY DARING NOW THEN

Age 15 RESPONDING TO GOD’S CALL In her struggle to enter religious life, Thérèse: showed courage, conviction & perseverance accepted authority AND took action CHALLENGES: faith, hope and love PRACTICAL : seek God’s Will do what you can to put it into practice, then leave it in God’s hands In her struggle to enter religious life, Thérèse: showed courage, conviction & perseverance accepted authority AND took action CHALLENGES: faith, hope and love PRACTICAL :

Sr Theresa of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face

LIFE IN CARMEL'...deep and serene peace beyond description...' 'I found a nun’s life was just what I imagined it would be. None of its sacrifices surprised me, though there were at first more thorns than roses on my path.'

DEATH IN CARMEL 'I feel that my mission is soon to begin, to make others love God as I do... I will spend my Heaven doing good on Earth. After death I shall let fall a shower of roses.'

PAIN AND PEACE physical pain emotional suffering 'When we surrender to discouragement or despair, it is usually because we are thinking too much of the past or the future.' spiritual darkness

Declared a Saint by Pope Pius XI, May 17 th 1925 Translated into over 50 languages Miracles galore! Declared a Doctor of the Church by John Paul II, October 19 th 1997 LIFE AFTER DEATH

'...my mission is to teach souls my little way... the Way of Spiritual Childhood, the way of trust and absolute self-surrender' LITTLE WAY 'Sanctity does not so much depend upon doing extraordinary actions… as doing our ordinary actions extraordinarily well.' Bishop Challoner 'Our Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, nor even at their difficulty, but at the love with which we do them.' 'In the evening of this life, I shall appear before you with empty hands for I do not ask You, Lord, to count my works...'

Sr Mary Patricia of Jesus on St Thérèse of Lisieux

'Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven.' Matt 18:3 Jesus said, 'Let the little children alone, and do not stop them from coming to me; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of Heaven belongs.' Mt 19: 14

Go out to the whole world proclaim the Good News. Mk 16:15 Old Testament 2 Kings 2:14, 2 Kings 13:21 New Testament Acts 19:12 ST AUGUSTINE: Saints’ bodies were so full of the Holy Spirit that God’s presence lingers ST JEROME: honouring relics honours God who made our bodies

Our nearest local event is: PORTSMOUTH CATHEDRAL on 16 th September

Quotations from St Thérèse I am a very little soul, who can offer only very little things to the Lord. I will spend my Heaven doing good on earth. After my death I will let fall a shower of roses. Jesus, my Love, my vocation, at last I have found it... my vocation is love! Yes, I have found my place in the Church and it is You, O my God, who have given me this place; in the heart of the Church, my Mother, I shall be love. Do you realise that Jesus is there in the tabernacle expressly for you; for you alone? He burns with the desire to come into your heart… For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward Heaven… which enlarges my soul and unites it to God.... I have not the courage to look through books for beautiful prayers.... I do as a child who has not learned to read, I just tell our Lord all that I want and He understands. I see now that true charity consists in bearing with the faults of those about us, never being surprised at their weaknesses, but edified at the least sign of virtue… One can never have too much confidence in the good God. I shall love him to the point of recklessness. I will never put limits to my confidence.

God our Father, You have promised Your Kingdom to those who are willing to become like little children. Help us to follow the way of Saint Thérèse with confidence so that by her prayers we may come to know Your eternal glory. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, forever and ever, AMEN

Images of St Thérèse: Copyright ‘Office Central de Lisieux’ If you have information about the copyright of some of the other images used in this presentation please