Online novena
Enter into Hope with Saint Thérèse of Lisieux
Day 5
The Communion of Saints
Listen to this novena
Word of God
A reading from the Book of Daniel (3:21-24, 91-96)
They were bound and cast into the white-hot furnace with their coats, hats, shoes and other garments, for the king’s order was urgent. So huge a fire was kindled in the furnace that the flames devoured the men who threw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into it. But these three fell, bound, into the midst of the white-hot furnace. They walked about in the flames, singing to God and blessing the Lord.
King Nebuchadnezzar rose in haste and asked his nobles, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” “Assuredly, O king,” they answered. “But,” he replied, “I see four men unfettered and unhurt, walking in the fire, and the fourth looks like a son of God.” Then Nebuchadnezzar came to the opening of the white-hot furnace and called to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: “Servants of the most high God, come out.” Thereupon Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire. When the satraps, prefects, governors, and nobles of the king came together, they saw that the fire had had no power over the bodies of these men; not a hair of their heads had been singed, nor were their garments altered; there was not even a smell of fire about them. Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who sent his angel to deliver the servants that trusted in him; they disobeyed the royal command and yielded their bodies rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore I decree for nations and peoples of every language that whoever blasphemes the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be cut to pieces and his house destroyed. For there is no other God who can rescue like this.”
Listening to Saint Thérèse
When Marie entered Carmel, I was still very scrupulous. No longer able to confide in her I turned toward heaven. I addressed myself to the four angels who had preceded me there, for I thought that these innocent souls, having never known troubles or fear, would have pity on their poor little sister who was suffering on earth. I spoke to them with the simplicity of a child, pointing out that being the youngest of the family, I was always the most loved, the most covered with my sisters’ tender cares, that if they had remained on earth they, too, would have given me proofs of their affection. Their departure for heaven did not appear to me as a reason for forgetting me; on the contrary, finding themselves in a position to draw from the divine treasures, they had to take peace for me from these treasures and thus show me that in heaven they still knew how to love! The answer was not long in coming, for soon peace came to inundate my soul with its delightful waves, and I knew then that if I was loved on earth, I was also loved in heaven. Since that moment, my devotion for my little brothers and sisters has grown and I love to hold dialogues with them frequently, to speak with them about the sadness of our exile, about my desire to join them soon in the Fatherland!
Manuscript A, 44
Excerpts from Saint Thérèse’s autobiography: Story of a Soul, translated by John Clarke, O.C.D.
Published by ICS Publications. Copyright © The Discalced Carmelite Friars, Washington Province.
Used with permission. www.icspublications.org
Reflection
The way Thérèse addresses the “four little angels” who are her older brothers and sisters who died before she was born, and who precede her in heaven, is wonderfully funny. She negotiates with them. “See,” she seems to say to them, “you didn’t know me on earth, but I guarantee you that I was always the favorite and most cuddled of all the Martin children. My big sisters showered me with love and tenderness. Had you lived longer, there’s no doubt you would have loved me too, and spoiled me with kisses and attention. But since you’re no longer here, you must show me this love from heaven, because my dear Marie has gone to Carmel and I need a new support.” These negotiating skills reveal two things: first, through all her literary artistry and irony, Thérèse confesses the anguished nature of her situation at the time of her beloved big sister’s departure for the convent; second, and most importantly, she reveals her extraordinary understanding of the communion of saints. It’s quite simple: all we have to do is talk to each other and help each other.
It was in this faith in the communion of saints that Thérèse was able to perform the heroic deeds of hope, in particular praying for sinners and accepting suffering in order to bear the price of others’ sin. The reciprocity of merits, which was to form an important part of her struggle in Carmel, is one of the summits of faith in the communion of saints, and one of the finest points of hope. For we are one body. And although she will no longer suffer as she did on earth, Thérèse foresees that once in heaven, she will send us her roses, as she announced from her bed of pain a few weeks before dying: “Yes, I want to spend my heaven doing good on earth. It is not impossible, since within the beatific vision itself, the Angels watch over us.”
By Jean de Saint-Cheron
Prayers
Psalm
Psalm 91:1-13
You who dwell in the shelter of the Most High,
who abide in the shade of the Almighty,
Say to the Lord, “My refuge and fortress,
my God in whom I trust.”
He will rescue you from the fowler’s snare,
from the destroying plague,
He will shelter you with his pinions,
and under his wings you may take refuge;
his faithfulness is a protecting shield.
You shall not fear the terror of the night
nor the arrow that flies by day,
Nor the pestilence that roams in darkness,
nor the plague that ravages at noon.
Though a thousand fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
near you it shall not come.
You need simply watch;
the punishment of the wicked you will see.
Because you have the Lord for your refuge
and have made the Most High your stronghold,
No evil shall befall you,
no affliction come near your tent.
For he commands his angels with regard to you,
to guard you wherever you go.
With their hands they shall support you,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.
You can tread upon the asp and the viper,
trample the lion and the dragon.
Hail Mary
Our Father
Intercessions
Lord, you give us attentive and loving brothers and sisters in those who have gone before us to be with you. Through the intercession of Saint Thérèse, who promised to send a shower of roses from heaven to earth, we beseech you:
R/ Lord, hear us!
Your Son has shown us that death is not the end of everything: may those who are grieving be comforted, may they receive, following in the footsteps of Saint Thérèse, the grace of knowing that they are loved in heaven. R/
In Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, we are all one body: may our prayers benefit our beloved dead. R/
You made us for an eternal face-to-face in communion with you: at the hour of our birth into heaven, like the three young men in the furnace, may we present ourselves to you singing and blessing you. R/
Almighty God, through the Resurrection of your Son, you have opened the gates of eternal life for us; keep us faithful to your commandments in this life, so that, made worthy of your love, we may share in your praise on the last day in the choir of the saints. Through Jesus Christ, your Son.
Painting: Amédée and Paul Buffet, Saint Thérèse and the Trenches, Saint Joseph des Carmes Church, Paris. © City of Paris, COARC / Jean-Marc Moser.
Photo of Saint Thérèse: © Office central de Lisieux.
Flower paintings: © Alamy.
