Novena to

St. Therese of the Child Jesus

Prayer for the Day

DAY 8

O Little St. Thérèse, Novena to

we too are little to perform great actions.
Pray for us
St. Therese of the Child Jesus
that our aspirations be to trust in God’s love
alone,
and to beg the eagles – the saints-
to obtain for us
the favor of flying towards the Sun of Love
with the Divine Eagle’s own wings. Amen.

(Short Silence)

Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory be…

Litany of the Little Flower of Jesus

(Turn to page 8)

Diocesan Shrine of St. Therese of the Child Jesus

UPLB, Los Baños, Laguna
Philippines 4031
 Prayer for the Day

DAY 9

Dear St. Thérèse,

many of us
are always in search of truth and meaning of life,
to the point that we forget God
and the need for others.
You have always highlighted the truth,
that to become saints, that is,
adults in God’s eyes.
It is necessary to become like “little children.”
Help us to accept
that we are loved by God
inspite of our limits and our sins
at our own place, and to see
that the love which others have for us
is a sign of God’s love. Amen.

(Short Silence)
With ecclesiastical permission:
Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory be…
Bishop Ramon C. Arguelles, D.D.
Military Ordinariate of the Philippines Litany of the Little Flower of Jesus
Feast of St. Therese (Turn to page 8)
October 1, 2003

ST. THERÉSÈ OF LISIEUX Prayer for the Day

A Brief Biography DAY 7

Thérèse Martin was born into a devout
Catholic family on January 2, 1873. She was the
youngest of nine children born to Louis Martin and
Azelie Guerin. The death of her mother when
Thérèse was only four-and-a-half years old,
followed a few years later by the entrance of her
two eldest sisters in the Carmel of Lisieux, deeply
afflicted her. The once lively and joyful girl became
withdrawn and extremely touchy and self-centered.
On the night of Christmas 1886 God performed a
miracle and did in an instant what Thérèse efforts
for the past ten years could not obtain: this singular
grace made her come out of herself and her
disturbed childhood. She writes in her
autobiography: “I felt charity enter into my soul,
and the need to forget myself and to please others;
since then I’ve been happy.” She discovered God-
as-Love. She matured in an instant and became
ready and eager to respond to the call which she
had heard at very tender age. At the age of fifteen
years she entered the Carmel of Lisieux.
O Dear Little Flower,
true lover of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
obtain for us some share in the ardent love
with which your whole heart was filled.
Implore for us
the grace to empty our hearts
of earthly cares and anxieties,
and direct them to God,
that we may always be united with Him
in divine love in this life,
and merit to possess Him
for all eternity in the next life. Amen.
(Short Silence)
Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory be…
Litany of the Little Flower of Jesus
(Turn to page 8)
 You have infused
into her tender heart from her childhood,
a wonderful love of You
and the Blessed Mary ever virgin.
We humbly beseech You,
by the powerful intercession of St. Thérèse,
to infuse into our cold hearts
a perfect love of You
so that we may be able to radiate that love
to all our fellowmen.
O dear Little Flower
help us to fill our lives with good works
performed with the intention as pure as yours
that when called by our Divine Maker,
we may meet Him
with bouquets of good works in our hands,
that may be admitted to the heavenly hosts,
forever and ever. Amen.
(Short Silence)
Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory be…
Litany of the Little Flower of Jesus
(Turn to page 8)
as we endeavor to live our Christian lives
to the full
by the daily accomplishment of
our duties of state
as you yourself did.
Lead us through the “little way”
of confidence and love,
to the summit of holiness
to which we are called. Amen.
(Short Silence)
Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory be…
Litany of the Little Flower of Jesus
(Turn to page 8)
Prayer for the Day
DAY 6
O God, You have chosen St. Thérèse of the
Child Jesus as model of love.
On September 8,1890, she made her perpetual
profession and took the name Sister Thérèse of the
Child Jesus of the Holy Face. She wrote not only
the story of her life but also her many poems and
letters in which she conveys her “little way” which is
a way to sanctify by absolute trust and confidence in
God who is Love.
Stricken by tuberculosis for which there was no
cure at that time. Thérèse spent the last year of her
in a deep trial of faith which made her abandon
herself totally in the hands of God-Love. She died
on September 30, 1897. She was canonized by
Pope Pius XI on May 17, 1925, and was proclaimed
on December 14, 1927 Patron of the Missions of the
Word. On October 19, 1997, Mission Sunday, Pope
John Paul II declared her the 33rd Doctor of the
Universal Church.
One year before she died, Thérèse had declared:
“I have the vocation of an Apostle. I would like to
travel over the whole earth to preach Your Name, O
Jesus, and to plant Your glorious Cross on infidel
soils… I would want to preach the Gospel on all five
continents simultaneously and even to the most
remote isles. I want to be a missionary, not for a few
years only, but from the beginning of creation until the
consummation of the ages.
“Thérèse:
Her Life and her “Lttle Way
Primer
“If we want
to live a life of love of God,
we must not fail in
our love towards
our neighbor.”
-St. Thérèse

Novena to
St. Therese of the Child Jesus
Opening Prayer
Come Holy Spirit
Fill the hearts of Your faithful
And enkindle in them
The fire of Your Love.
Send forth Your Spirit 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
instruct the hearts of the faithful.
Grant us by the same Holy Spirit,
To relish what is right and just
And always rejoice in His consolation.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
and whose life was consumed with love
at the age of twenty four.
You are a credible witness
of how life can be so meaningful
since it is offered of Jesus Christ.
Teach us your “little way” to Jesus,
Convince us
That it is possible to hope
that the mercy of God
is infinitely greater than our mistakes,
failures, and sins.
We wish to truly believe
That in possessing God,
we possess everything else worth possessing,
and that in finding Jesus,
we will find the joy of an eternal springtime,
a fountain of youth forever flowing. Amen.
(Short Silence)
Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory be…
Litany of the Little Flower of Jesus
(Turn to page 8)
Prayer for the Day
DAY 5
St. Thérèse you were born
in the bosom of a deeply Christian family.
From heaven, gaze with compassion on
modern families deprived of peace and serenity,
shaken by culture of death,
surrounded by moral deterioration.
Through your intercession,
obtain for us the gift of love and communion,
of trust in God’s love for us.
Convert and strengthen
the hearts of mothers and fathers
towards holiness of life.
Protect the many children in our country,
and in the world,
from the power of the evil one.
We entrust into your care our Filipino families
as they struggle
to keep the little seed of faith alive.
Help each one of us
to be faithful and courageous,
Invocation to St. Thérèse
Our Father in heaven,
You want to remind the world,
through St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus,
of the merciful love that fills Your Heart
and the filial trust that
we must have towards You.
We humbly thank You
for having filled with so much glory,
St. Thérèse, Your ever faithful child,
and for having given her a marvelous power
to attract towards You, each day,
a great number of souls
who will glorify You eternally.
St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus,
remember your promise to do good on earth.
Let an abundant shower of roses
fall on those who invoke you.
Obtain for us from God,
the graces which we await
from His infinite goodness.
Amen.

around the globe,
in all of us,
the love of the word of God
and the desire
to be witnesses of God’s merciful love.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
(Short Silence)
Our Father … Hail Mary… Glory Be…
Litany of the Little Flower of Jesus
(Turn to page 8)
DAY 3
Humble little flower of Jesus,
we beseech you by your great humility,
to obtain for us
the grace to be humble and little in our eyes
in the eyes of people.
Pray for us,
Through your powerful prayers,
Holy Mary, Pray for us
Our Lady of Mount Carmel,
Our Lady of Victroy,
Little Thérèse, servant of God,
Little Thérèse, Victim of the merciful love of God,
Little Thérèse, spouse of Jesus,
Little Thérèse,gift of heaven
Little Thérèse, remarkable in childhood,
Little Thérèse, ann example of obedience,
Little Thérèse, resigned to the Divine Will of God,
Little Thérèse, lover of peace,
Little Thérèse, lover of patience,
Little Thérèse, Lover of gentleness,
Little Thérèse, searcher of truth,
Little Thérèse, heroice in sacrifices,
Little Thérèse, generous in forgiving,
Little Thérèse, generous in forgiving,
Little Thérèse, lover of Jesus,
Little Thérèse, devoted to the Holy Face,
Little Thérèse, consumed with the Divine Love of God
Little Thérèse, advocate of extreme cases,
Little Thérèse, showering roses,
Little Thérèse, doing good upon earth,
Little Thérèse, answering all prayers,
Little Thérèse, lover of chastity,
Little Thérèse, lover of voluntary poverty,
 Prayer for the Day
(Please turn to pages 12 to 22)
Litany of the Little Flower of Jesus,
St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus and
of the Holy Face
Lord have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ have mercy on us,
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord have mercy on us,
Lord, Have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father in heaven,
Have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the World,
Have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit,
Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God,
Have mercy on us.
Little Thérèse, lover of obedience,
Little Thérèse, burning with zeal for God’s glory,
Little Thérèse, inflamed with the Spirit of Love,
Little Thérèse, child of benediction,
Little Thérèse, perfect in simplicity,
Little Thérèse, so remarkable for trust in God,
Little Thérèse, gifted with unusual intelligence,
Little Thérèse, never invoked without some answer,
Little Thérèse, teaching us the sure way,
Little Thérèse, victim of Divine Love,
Little Thérèse, Doctor of the Church.
Thanksgiving Prayer
Let us pray….
God our Father, it is Your will that you gather us
today, to honor our patroness St. Thérèse of the
Child Jesus. We praise and glorify You for all the
“Little things” she had done here on earth, for the
salvation of souls, and love for the missions.
the grace of constant recollection,
and for complete detachment
from the fleeting goods of this earth,
that God alone may belong to our hearts,
undivided and undisturbed.
Implore for us, O Therese,
the grace to build all our trust
and total confidence in God, so that
when times of trouble and temptation come,
our eyes will be fixed to Jesus. Amen.
(Short Silence)
Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory be…
Litany of the Little Flower of Jesus
(Turn to page 8)
Prayer for the Day
DAY 4
Our dear Patron Saint, St. Thérèse,
you message is the message of someone
who committed her life to God
at the age of fifteen
through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
(Short Silence)
Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory be…
Litany of the Little Flower of Jesus
(Turn to page 8)
Prayer for the Day
DAY 2
Almighty God and Father,
You gifted the world and the Church
with the remarkable life
and relevant message of a young saint,
You raised up St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus and
of the Holy Face,
to proclaim the gospel
to the faithful of the third millennium.
Awaken in the hearts of priests,
Religious, and lay people,
including the millions of Filipino migrants
scattered in so many countries