October 1, St. Therese of Lisieux, Virgin, Doctor of the Church

[DemBones DemBones]

Everyone knows about St. Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, or "The Little Flower." She's one of the most popular saints. She was called "The Little Flower" because she loved flowers. She considered herself a little wildflower. At a very young age, she began using sacrifice beads to count the small sacrifices and good deeds of her day. Of course, if you use sacrifice beads, you also have to move a bead back if you commit any sin. It's undoubtedly a useful practice.

She is also known for her promise that in Heaven she would work for those on Earth and that she would send "a shower of roses." Many people who have prayed for her intercession say they have unexpectedly received or found a rose or roses.

Therese was raised in a very pious family and her three older sisters all entered the Carmelite order. She wished to become a nun at 14 and when she was refused by the prioress, she and her father went to the bishop, who also said Therese was too young. At 15, she and her family had an audience with Pope Leo XIII, whose Golden Jubilee as a priest was being celebrated, and Therese went against protocol and knelt at the pope's feet to beg him to allow her to enter the convent. Pope Leo said that she would be accepted if it was God's will. The prioress admitted her to the Carmelite community about six months later, when she was 15 1/2.

In the convent, she continued what she called her "little way" of serving God through ordinary chores in the convent and by continuing to make as many small sacrifices as she could.

Therese died at age 25 of pulmonary tuberculosis which had spread to her intestines. Among the four miracles cited for her beatification and sainthood was a case of tuberculosis like hers and another one which remained pulmonary.

Naturally, she is the patron saint of those who suffer from tuberculosis. Pope John Paul II named her a Doctor of the Church.