Novena to Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus
September 22 to 30
Feast day: October 1
Prayers to be said each day
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love.
Send forth your Spirit, O Lord, and they shall be created, and you shall renew the face of the earth.
Let us pray.
O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit have instructed the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Spirit we may be truly wise and ever rejoice in his consolation. Amen.
Act of faith, hope and love
Lord God, I believe in you: increase my faith. All my hope is in you: make it strong. I love you: teach me to love you more each day.
Act of contrition
My Lord and my God, I am sorry with all my heart for all my sins, because by sin I have lost my soul and the eternal goods and deserved the pains of hell. And I am sorry even more because I have offended you, my Lord and my God, who are worthy of all honour and love. For this reason I hate sin above every evil, and with your grace I would rather die than offend you again. I firmly resolve to avoid every occasion of sin and to make up, as far as I can, for the sins I have committed. Amen.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
Closing prayer
O God, you said: “Unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” We beg you to grant us to walk, in humility and simplicity of heart, in the footsteps of the blessed virgin Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, so that we may obtain an eternal reward. Amen.
Novena to the Little Flower
First Day
Saint Thérèse, chosen little flower of Jesus and Mary, I come to you with a child’s trust and deep humility. I lay my wishes before you and beg you to obtain them for me through your intercession. Did you not promise to spend your heaven doing good on earth? According to your promise, obtain for me the grace I ask of you.
Prayer
Intercede for us all the days of our life, and especially during this novena, so that through your intercession we may obtain from God all the graces we need. Amen.
Thought for the day: trust in God
We can never have too much trust in the good God, who is so mighty 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 little nothing in his infinity and think of nothing but his love.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
Closing prayer: “O God, you said…”
Second Day
Little saint, now that you have seen Jesus crucified in heaven, still bearing the wounds caused by sin, you know more clearly the value of souls and the price of the precious blood he shed to save them. Since I am one of the children for whom Christ died, obtain for me all the graces I need to benefit from this precious blood. Use your power with God and pray for me.
Prayer
Intercede for us all the days of our life…
Thought for the day: sin
The only grace I ask of you, O Jesus, is never to offend you.
It is out of love, not fear, that the soul avoids even the smallest faults.
Yes, even if I had on my conscience every sin that can be committed, I would not lose my trust: I would go, my heart broken with sorrow, and throw myself into the arms of my Saviour.
The memory of my faults humbles me all the more and makes me afraid to rely on my own strength, which is nothing but weakness.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
Closing prayer: “O God, you said…”
Third Day
Little Flower, let all things lead me to God and to heaven. When I look at the sun, the moon and the stars, and the vast space in which they float, or at the flowers of the fields, the trees of the forest and the wonders of the earth in all their splendid colours, let them speak to me of God’s love and power, and let them all sing his praises in my ear. Like you, let me love him more each day in return for his gifts. Teach me often to deny myself in my dealings with others, and to offer Jesus many little sacrifices.
Prayer
Intercede for us all the days of our life…
Thought for the day: using God’s gifts
How much I have gained from the beauties of nature, given to us in such abundance! How they lift me up to the One who made these wonders in this land of exile, which lasts only a day!
Shining nature, if I did not see God in you, you would be nothing but a great tomb.
With your little hand that caressed Mary, you held up the world and gave it life, and you were thinking of me, Jesus, my little King.
I do not want creatures to have a single atom of my love; I want to give it all to Jesus, because he has shown me that he alone is perfect happiness.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
Closing prayer: “O God, you said…”
Fourth Day
Little Flower of Carmel, you bore patiently the disappointments God allowed, keeping in the depths of your soul an unchanging peace, because you sought only to do God’s will. Obtain for me perfect conformity to that will in all the trials and disappointments of life.
If the graces I ask in this novena are pleasing to God, obtain them for me. If they are not, I will of course be saddened by the refusal, but I desire only that God’s will be done, and I pray in the words you used: “Let your will be done in me.”
Prayer
Intercede for us all the days of our life…
Thought for the day: surrender 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 always to be content with whatever Jesus gives us.
I no longer desire anything with passion, except that God accomplish his will perfectly in my soul.
O my Beloved, I offer myself to you so that you may accomplish your holy will in me, and I will not let any creature stand in the way.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
Closing prayer: “O God, you said…”
Fifth Day
Little Flower of Jesus, from the first moment of your religious life you thought only of denying yourself in all things, so as to follow Jesus more perfectly. Help me to bear patiently the trials of daily life. Teach me to profit from the trials, sufferings and humiliations that come my way, so that I may come to know myself better and love God more.
Prayer
Intercede for us all the days of our life…
Thought for the day: patience in suffering
I do not fear the trials Jesus sends, for even in the midst of the fiercest sufferings we can see that it is his loving hand that causes them.
When we expect nothing but suffering, the smallest joy surprises us; but suffering itself becomes the greatest joy when we seek it as a precious treasure. Without imitating those wonderful saints who practised every kind of austerity from childhood, my penance consists in breaking my own will, turning away from what pleases nature, stripping myself of my selfishness, and not taking pride in any of it.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
Closing prayer: “O God, you said…”
Sixth Day
Saint Thérèse, patroness of the missions, be a great apostle for the growth of the Church throughout the world until the end of time. Remind our God of his words: “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few.” Your zeal for souls is great. Obtain a similar zeal for those who work for souls today, and beg the Lord to increase their number, so that the millions who do not know Jesus may come to know him, love him and follow him.
Prayer
Intercede for us all the days of our life…
Thought for the day: zeal for souls
Let us work together for souls: we have only the one day of this life to save souls and offer them to God as proof of our love.
I tell Jesus that I am happy not to see, with the eyes of my soul, the beautiful heaven that awaits me, if only he will open it for ever to poor unbelievers.
I cannot do great deeds; I cannot preach the Gospel or shed my blood. But what does it matter? My brothers work in my place, and I, a little child, stay close to the royal throne and love on behalf of those who carry the torch.
My actions and my little sufferings spread the love of God throughout the whole world.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
Closing prayer: “O God, you said…”
Seventh Day
Little martyr of love, you now know even better that love embraces every vocation, that love alone matters, and that it is love that unites us to God and conforms our will to his.
All you sought on earth was love: to love Jesus as he had never been loved before. Use your power in heaven to make us love him. When we love him, we will want others to love him too. We will pray much for souls. We will not fear death, because it will unite us with him for ever.
Obtain for us the grace to do everything for the love of God and to please him. Let us love him so much that he may delight in us as he delighted in you.
Prayer
Intercede for us all the days of our life…
Thought for the day: love of God
I will love God alone, and I will no longer live the misery of being attached to creatures, now that my heart has understood what he keeps for those who love him.
What draws me to the kingdom of heaven is the Lord’s call, the hope of loving him at last as I have longed to, and the thought that I will be able to make a great number of souls love him and glorify him for ever.
When Christ said, “Give me a drink,” he, the Creator of all, was longing for the love of his poor creatures. He was thirsting for love. Remember that beloved Jesus is present in the Eucharist especially for you, for you alone.
And remember that he is burning with desire to reign in your heart.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
Closing prayer: “O God, you said…”
Eighth Day
Saint Thérèse, like you, I will die one day. I beg you to obtain for me from God, by reminding him of your precious death, a holy death, strengthened by the sacraments of Holy Church, surrendered to God’s holy will and burning with love for him.
May my last words on earth be: “My God, I love you.”
Prayer
Intercede for us all the days of our life…
Thought for the day: death
The catechism tells us that death is simply the separation of the soul from the body. Well, I do not fear a separation that will unite me with God for ever.
Death makes me glad, because then I will be able to help the souls I love far more than I can here below.
Life is not sad; it is very joyful. If you said, “This exile is sad,” I could understand you. We are wrong to give the name of life to something that must end. That beautiful name belongs only to the things of heaven.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
Closing prayer: “O God, you said…”
Ninth Day
Saint Thérèse, through your love and your sufferings on earth you won the power with God that you now enjoy in heaven. Since you began your life there, you have showered countless graces on this poor world. You have been the instrument your heavenly Bridegroom has used to work countless wonders. I beg you to remember all my requests. I too must suffer, in order to love God more and follow Jesus.
You are the little apostle of love. Make me love Jesus more and more, and love others for his sake. I thank the Most Holy Trinity with all my heart for the wonderful graces given to you, and through you to the whole world.
Prayer
Intercede for us all the days of our life…
Thought for the day: the mission of the Little Flower
I do not intend to remain idle in heaven. I want to work for the Church and for souls. I have asked this of God, and I am sure he will answer me.
I want to spend my heaven doing good on earth. This is not impossible, since the angels, who always enjoy the beatific vision, watch over us. I will not be able to rest until the end of the world.
I beg you, O Jesus, to cast your divine gaze on a great number of little souls. I beg you to choose on this earth a legion of little victims worthy of your love.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
