The Power of Therese

I don’t always blog about the Carmelite saint of the day but who could pass this day without speaking about St Therese?  She is an incomparable treasure, her little book feeds and nurtures the spiritual life of many thousands of believers today, as it has done ever since she died.  I have a friend for example who was a Baptist, and his Pastor at the time actually gave him a copy of Story of a Soul.  Tony credits that book with marking the start of his journey to the Catholic Church.  One of my favourite conversion stories involves Dr John Wu (1899-1986), an eminent Chinese intellectual, jurist, and author of several books.  John Wu wrote: ‘I heard the name of Therese of Lisieux for the first time at the home of my dear friend, Mr. Yuan Kia-hoang, a most zealous Catholic. In the Winter of 1937, I was living in Mr. Yuan's house, and I was impressed by the way the Yuans recited their family Rosary. Seeing a portrait of Saint Therese, I asked him, "Is this the Virgin Mary?" He told me that it was the "Little Flower of Jesus." "Who is this Little Flower of Jesus?" I asked. …  Then he gave me a French pamphlet … which contained a short account of her life and many specimens of her thoughts. Somehow I felt those thoughts expressed some of my deepest convictions about Christianity which I happened to entertain at that time. I said to myself, "If this saint represents Catholicism, I don't see any reason why I should not be a Catholic."  Being a Protestant, I was free to choose whatever interpretation suited best my own reason, and her interpretation was exactly the right one for me, and that made me a Catholic! When I confided my decision to Mr. Yuan, he almost fainted with joy, for, as he told me afterwards, he had been praying for my conversion for ten years! God answered his prayers in his own house.’  [Dr John Wu, The Science of Love]

Intercessions

RIP Chinaka, Jacqui

Cancer: Brian Davis, Bernard (and wife Angela caring for him), Catherine, Alex (43 with five children), Theresa K, Elena

Ivy – sick child

Brian (recovering from Pneumonia)

Kevin (heart attack)

William Gove (in recovery)

Illness:  Katy Keeling, Noreen

David OCDS – housebound

Grace – troubling ailments, job difficulties, family (deceased mother and health of father)

Mark – brain infection

Michael, Kira – vulnerable youngsters

Defence of the unborn and the elderly