   Adoration of the Magi from the Strozzi Altarpiece (1423) by Gentile da Fabriano (1370-1427) Photos taken in the Uffizi Gallery, March 12, 2025 by Miss Marcel "Three mysteries mark this holy day: today the star leads the Magi to the infant Christ; today water is changed into wine for the wedding feast; today Christ wills to be baptized by John in the river Jordan to bring us salvation." (Divine Office, Epiphany, antiphon for Magnificat) "We keep this day holy in honor of three miracles: this day a star led the Wise Men to the manger; this day water was turned into wine at the marriage feast; this day Christ willed to be baptized by John in the Jordan for our salvation; alleluia." (Divine Office, Epiphany, second vespers antiphon at the Magnificat; alternate translation) * * * This Sunday past, January 4, 2026, my family and some dear friends celebrated an amazing three fold mystery and miracle: On the Feast of the Epiphany (in the new calendar), our two week old grandson Anthony Michael was baptized into the Holy Roman Catholic Church on the first anniversary of his parent's wedding. How marvelous our Trinitarian God is, letting a little child contain in his tiny self the three-fold mystery of this great feast! And yet, that is what happened two thousand (and change) years ago in order that our salvation might be procured - the salvation of this tiny baby we are marveling at in our house this Christmastide, the salvation from the Tiny Babe of Bethlehem which the whole world is invited to marvel at this Christmastide and eternally. I love the liturgical calendar, and I have to say that although I am often frustrated by the multiplicity of calendars extant in the Church and in the world, nonetheless, I am delighted - and it is much more to the joy of Our Savior that we be delighted than that we be frustrated - absolutely gobsmacked that We Get to Celebrate Some of Our Magnificent Feasts Twice! Today, for instance, is Ephiphany. As was this past Sunday. Why waste time asking how? or why? The why is easy: for our delectation, our sanctification, our salvation, or more simply for Our Joy! As to the how, well in my neck of the woods, on Sunday it was Epiphany. And today, by the great condescension of Our Lord who willed to be adored by three Wise Men, it is Epiphany again, and I get to go (if He allows) to a Missa Cantata (extraordinary form) celebrated in the same chapel where I went to Sunday's Mass of Ephiphany (in the ordinary form). If you are befuddled, well, this is nothing new in my world! And one might consider that while the original great condescension of Our Lord, that of being born a sweet babe in Bethlehem, actually took place on December 25th (I wish I could give you the reasons we know this is true, but for now I take it from authority and the wonderful recent sermon of a priest learned in this matter), this next great condescension of allowing Himself to be approached and adored by the Magi was perhaps on a day a year or two and twelve days after the first Christmas: hence Herod's evil plot to kill all males 2 years old and younger in Bethlehem and its environs. Which brings us back to our glorious photos of the event which I gladly share with you at the top of this post. Mysteriously, miraculously, I took these last March, but clearly the event they record in a nearly exact reproduction happened long, long ago, and yet not so long ago as the first Christmas. Look at little Jesus - I can now attest, through recent joyful experience of adoring a newborn, that this is no newborn little Jesus blessing the first Wise Man! No, Jesus is older than brand new . . . so you see that we here at Miss Marcel's Musings use every possible documentary evidence for our theological and liturgical pronouncements! Would it be out of place to take this moment to invite you to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence? When I said just now that "Mysteriously, miraculously, I took these last March," I did mean, quite literally, that my being there - at the Uffizi in Florence - was mysterious and miraculous. I had been there when I was eighteen, lucky girl that I am, and even finding myself again in Florence forty-two years later was mysterious and miraculous enough, but then I didn't plan to return to the Uffizi, thinking it was more than enough to see San Marco and Santa Maria Novella and get my fill of Blessed Fra Angelico (whom I'd missed the first time around). But I have the most wonderful daughter in law in the world, and she took my son to the Uffizi on this day which was the first anniversary or so of their first date (these two seem always to be having first anniversaries, but they are so generous at sharing them that none of us can complain!), and then he, being one of the two most wonderful sons in the world, insisted on taking me . . . which meant that the Holy Spirit had a clear path to guide me to this painting which I don't remember having seen on my first visit in 1983, but which I do remember piecing together in a gorgeous jigsaw puzzle more than once and admiring in wondrous Christmas cards I've received over the years . . . Did you know that there are about 6,000 paintings in the Uffizi gallery? Our January 1st post featured one (scroll down to see it again!) - one that I saw and took a picture of and have returned to again and again in the last months to revive my love and union with Jesus and Mary and the angels . . . And I have a great memory of Raphael's Madonna of the Goldfinch arresting my exit from the Uffizi when I'd seen about 200 paintings (of the 6,000) and didn't think I could manage even one more - ah, but that's what most visitors think, and then God bless those curators or museum designers or whoever is responsible for being His instrument in placing the Madonna of the Goldfinch and adorable little Jesus (standing on her foot) and His cousin St. John right where You Just Can't Miss them as you are heading down the one staircase that will take you back down to the exit . . . (I'll see if we can't put this trio at the bottom of our post, just to brighten your day like they have brightened mine so many times before and after that happy day at the museum). But I digress, as one is apt to do among such uncountable, unseeable, undeserved mysteries and miracles . . . so let me attempt to get back to this one, crazy, fun painting I want you to see for yourself - at least virtually, but as your tour-guide I will point out two more astounding things. First, we saw that Jesus is not an infant. Second, note with me (as I only noticed today as I write) that the painter's first name is Gentile! What mysteries of Providence were at work in this name? And third - the wonder that I beheld when I stood rapt in awe before this painting I've loved in replicas for years but never thought of seeing face to face - please take a moment to check out the third photo above, the one featuring the dog (which looks to me like a greyhound). The collar on the dog, and I'm pleased to say I took this picture just so I could show you (and wonder of wonders it is visible) - the collar on the dog is actually not merely painted on but attached to the painting in 3-D! I wish I had a better grasp of art or more time to look up the correct way to express this, but the long and short of it is that as I stood marveling at this magnificent painting, and as I found myself able at last to look at the details in their original (very large) proportions, I noticed that this dog's collar was quite a sight to behold. I would have loved to touch it, but touching masterpieces is typically frowned upon in European galleries, so I simply gazed in amazement. Who knew? Well now I did, and now you do! And if there weren't two Epiphanies in my world, I never would have had the time to tell you about the dog's collar and what it means. . . It means that He has many more mysteries and miracles in store for you in 2026! Will you find yourself in Florence? I have to confess to you that on January 6th last year, recovering from the Most Beautiful Wedding Ever and calling the doctor to stall my next chemo because I was a bit tired from all the rejoicing, the last thing I suspected was that in 70 days or so I'd find myself in Florence (not to mention Milan, Turin, Padua, Rome, and Castel Gandolfo!). The Holy Spirit, that brilliant 3rd Person of the Blessed Trinity and our dear Comforter and Guide to Truth (and Beauty), somehow brought me to the Adoration of the Magi when that was the last thing I expected or planned . . . and I wonder where He will bring us all this year? Yes, if there's one thing I appreciate, it's a few minutes here and there to ponder the miracles and mysteries that He pours upon us as generously as He's filled the beaches with sand and the sky with stars . . . So join me today in celebrating another Epiphany. Holy Mother Church can't seem to help Herself from spoiling us rotten, and that makes it our joyful duty to let her. As I left the Uffizi, or rather as I intended to leave, when Our Blessed Mother stopped me, she stopped me good. I was drawn like a moth to a flame from the doorway of this room-at-the-top-of-the-stairs into her sweet blue-mantled presence. I stood and looked and looked and looked. I gazed, I pondered, I smiled, and I may have laughed because I realized that everything I loved was in that picture: a book, a flower, a stream, some clouds, a bird, Blessed Mother and hilarious little Jesus stepping on her foot as He had been stepping on mine the whole wonderful European journey . . . I pray that your year will be filled with all the things you love, and that you'll learn to love more things, and that Our Lord will surprise you whether He steps on your foot or simply invites you into His embrace. Happy Epiphany and may His revelations to your dear heart be many! Draw me; we will run!   "And Mary said, 'Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done unto me according to thy word.' And the angel departed from her."
- Luke 1:38 "His mother said to the servants, 'Do whatever He tells you."' - John 2:5 "O sinner, be not discouraged, but have recourse to Mary in all your necessities. Call her to your assistance, for such is the divine Will that she should help in every kind of necessity." - Saint Basil the Great "If you invoke the Blessed Virgin when you are tempted, she will come at once to your help, and Satan will leave you." - Saint John Vianney "If you ever feel distressed during your day, call upon Our Lady, just say this simple prayer: 'Mary, Mother of Jesus, please be a mother to me now.' I must admit, this prayer has never failed me." - Blessed Mother Teresa "Let us run to Mary, and, as her little children, cast ourselves into her arms with a perfect confidence." - Saint Francis de Sales "The Son of God became man for our salvation but only in Mary and through Mary." - Saint Louis Marie de Montfort "The world being unworthy to receive the Son of God directly from the hands of the Father, He gave His Son to Mary for the world to receive Him from her." - Saint Augustine "Even while living in the world, the heart of Mary was so filled with motherly tenderness and compassion for men that no-one ever suffered so much for their own pains, as Mary suffered for the pains of her children." - Saint Jerome "As mariners are guided into port by the shining of a star, so Christians are guided to heaven by Mary." - Saint Thomas Aquinas "The greatest saints, those richest in grace and virtue will be the most assiduous in praying to the most Blessed Virgin, looking up to her as the perfect model to imitate and as a powerful helper to assist them." - Saint Louis Marie de Montfort "To give worthy praise to the Lord's mercy, we unite ourselves with Your Immaculate Mother, for then our hymn will be more pleasing to You, because she is chosen from among men and angels. Through her, as through a pure crystal, Your mercy was passed on to us. Through her, man became pleasing to God; Through her, streams of grace flowed down upon us." - Saint Faustina "So your strength is failing you? Why don't you tell your mother about it? . . . Mother! Call her with a loud voice. She is listening to you; she sees you in danger, perhaps, and she, your holy mother Mary, offers you, along with the grace of her Son, the refuge of her arms, the tenderness of her embrace . . . and you will find yourself with added strength for the new battle." - Saint Josemaria Escriva "May the Mother of Jesus and our Mother, always smile on your spirit, obtaining for it, from her most holy Son, every heavenly blessing." - Saint Padre Pio "In trial or difficulty I have recourse to Mother Mary, whose glance alone is enough to dissipate every fear." - Saint Therese of Lisieux * * * Thanks to the Jesuits for these quotes! May Our Lady intercede for them and make them great saints like their holy Father Ignatius and their older brothers St. Francis Xavier and St. Peter Canisius! And now, one more quote, this time from our sponsor, little brother of Jesus and St. Therese, and smallest son of Mary, Servant of God Marcel Van: Mother, you know my great weakness; however my weakness and my misfortune will be a reason for unshakeable confidence. Yes, dear Mother, I hope, I hope always and, even if I should not see little Jesus again, I would still hope nevertheless. You doubtless understand very well also that little Jesus, being more mischievous than me, likes this game of hide and seek a lot. Where, therefore, is He hiding so well? However, where else would He be able to hide than under your cloak? One thing is certain; I will end up by finding Him one day. Little Jesus must find it very amusing to be so well hidden; and when He see me looking for Him everywhere without succeeding in finding Him, He must find in that a greater joy, thinking Himself very skillful. However, dear Mother, since you doubtless know where little Jesus is hiding, I am asking you to pass on to Him this advice: "Little Jesus, be careful; don't rejoice too soon, You could regret it. The day will come when You will have to take the initiative and come to me. I know You very well; if I am not there to play with You, You will be very bored even if the game, in itself is very interesting." Mother, all that remains for me now is to wait. . . Nevertheless, the anchor of my hope always remains secure in the Love of Jesus. - Marcel Van, Conversations (with Jesus, Mary, and Therese of the Child Jesus), February 11, 1946 Wishing you a year full of miracles, Mary, and Marcel! Draw me; we will run!!!  painting by Carl Larsson - Christmas Morning (1894)
If I had the time (and who knows - perhaps someday!), I could give you at least 12 good reasons for giving gifts at Christmas, or perhaps (almost as easily) 40 reasons to go with the 40 days of the whole Christmas season until the Presentation, or honestly (for what do we have, if not the Truth?) I would enjoy coming up with a reason for each day of Advent, and then for all the days of Christmas and Epiphany - maybe that will be my next book! Meanwhile, as if I were Chesterton, I might entitle this post, "In Defense of Gifts at Christmas," but alas, like you, my time is limited, and so I must limit my words, a fitting restraint also imposed by the quote from St. John of the Cross that surprisingly gives me my best reason for giving gifts. It has to do with words, and in fact, The Word, and it does tend to encourage fewer of them on my part. First, though, a petition to you, dear reader: Please never be afraid of our dear holy Father St. John of the Cross! He was not quite four feet eleven inches tall, and St. Therese would admire that - she loved littleness in all things! But his heart was far from little. He may sometimes seem like the Grinch, what with his Spanish Nada, nada, nada and his Dark Nights, but the only way he resembles the Grinch is that despite his diminutive stature, St. John's heart was if anything, two sizes too large! He is such a lover - let his poetry be an indication of that! - and he was a very gentle confessor and spiritual director. I'm sure if he ever had the chance to celebrate Christmas with the Whos in Whoville, he'd be the one carving the roast beast, and he'd certainly be the one singing with the greatest joy! I recently re-watched the classic cartoon Grinch movie, but with even more consolation I recently re-read, from no less an expert and sage than Bishop Guy Gaucher (God rest his soul), the wisdom I had first heard decades ago: It has been the Carmelite tradition to advise newcomers to St. John of the Cross (which could be all of us!) to ALWAYS begin with the end. That is, start reading his works with The Spiritual Canticle and The Living Flame of Love. This is what St. Therese did, she whom Blessed Marie-Eugene of the Child Jesus lauded as the only one to perfectly understand St. John of the Cross! And even better might be the good counsel we received, my husband and I, at the start of our Carmelite days in the early 1990's, from a wise friar from Holy Hill, a director after St. John's own heart, who told us to begin with our holy father St. John's poetry. His commentaries (his famous books such as The Dark Night of the Soul) are "the gloss" on his poems. He wrote them when asked to explain his poetry, but he is clear and says straight out that these are mystical poems and so do not have a word for word commentary (like you might find for Aristotle, for instance) but are best understood by the Holy Spirit explaining them to us without words or in His own words. Thus we should not be bound by the St. John's commentaries (his long and excellent books) but begin and end with the poetry itself, so that God might speak His Word to our soul more directly. So what about Christmas presents? Forgive me - I'm more like my holy mom Teresa with her 3 volumes of Collected Works plus 2 more volumes for her letters, than like my holy dad John with his 1 volume including the very few surviving letters (but oh, how good they are, those letters of his!) . . . Today, however, I will seek to imitate my holy father by giving only One Answer to that perennial Christmas-time question, "Why Give Gifts?" - only one answer, but it's a good one! Here goes: "The Father spoke one Word, which was His Son, and this Word He speaks always in eternal silence, and in silence must it be heard by the soul." - St. John of the Cross (Sayings of Light and Love, #100) This is the truth, and yet our dear Father St. John of the Cross tells us many things in many words (note that this was the one hundredth saying of Light and Love!) because although he knows only God can finally (and firstly) speak this Word to us, he (St. John) cannot help himself from repeating this Word! Similarly, God has given us one Gift, which was His Son, and this gift He gives always in eternal delight, and in delight must it be received by the soul. And yet I, like my holy Father St. John, knowing this truth, yet still must give! I give many gifts because although I know Jesus is God's one true Gift, still I cannot help myself from sharing this delight. I imagine you too want more than anything (well maybe more than anything except a nap!) to bring the delight of Jesus to your family and friends, your home and the world . . . if only you could. And gifts, however small or silly, thoughtful or last minute, are one means we can use. And so, dear reader on your way to Christmas, whether you are "all finished" or in the midst of your material preparations, I offer you a closing prayer (adapted from a dear friend who does things prayerfully and beautifully) . . May Our Blessed Mother, the true Mother of our Brother baby Jesus, guide us to delighting the Father by finding our delight on Christmas day in the one Gift of His Son, and in all the other gifts He can't seem to keep Himself from giving too! Dear Mary, Our Lady of Bethlehem, to you I entrust my Christmas gift giving. You are Our Lady of Joyful Surprises and the Cause of our Joy. Grant that all the gifts we exchange this year bring the Joy and delight of the Father, that is His Beloved Son, into our homes. May the poor and humble gifts we exchange bring us joy from the True Joy you held in your arms and nursed at your breast, may they bring us peace from the True Peace the angels announced to the shepherds, and light from the True Light that guided the Magi to behold their King. Especially, dear Mother Mary, we beg that on Christmas we may receive Holy Communion and embrace little Jesus as you and St. Joseph did, giving Him warmth and smiles, caresses and our hearts, and receiving in Him the one Gift of the Father, that we may bring Him to all we meet, all we love, all who long for Him whether they know it or not. We ask this in Jesus' Holy and adorable name! St. Nicholas, pray for us! Saints Balthasar, Melchior, and Gaspar, pray for us you wise men who met Wisdom! St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, whose last act was wrapping Christmas gifts for the poor Italian children who would otherwise have gone without presents, pray for us! And dear little Saint Therese and our brother Marcel Van, you who both experienced Christmas conversions and miracles, ask God to do in us in a moment what we haven't been able to do for ourselves in years, then teach us to turn suffering into joy, to offer a heavenly smile when the gifts aren't quite right or our feelings are hurt, and to delight in the kiss of baby Jesus on Christmas! Draw me; we will run!   Our Lady of Guadalupe, today, to us:
Hear and let it penetrate your heart, my dear little one: Let nothing discourage you, nothing depress you. Let nothing alter your heart or your countenance. Am I not here who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Am I not your fountain of life? Are you not in the folds of my mantle? In the crossing of my arms? Is there anything else that you need? Do not fear any illness or vexation, anxiety or pain. * * * And there is more. I usually don't quote these words, but Our Lady, as we can see from the picture above, has more to say and more to do, as she did that day (that is today) on Tepayac. . . She says too: Do not be afflicted by the illness (of your uncle) who will not die now of it. Be assured that he is now cured . . . + + + On this day of Our Lady's finding us, of her words of love, of her roses, of her image on the tilma, and of her obtaining the miraculous healing Juan had despaired of regarding one (his uncle) whom he would nonetheless go to the ends of the earth for - if only Our Lady didn't get in his way! - today on this day, let us pour out our hearts to her, our dearest Mother. Let us gaze upon her face, let us ponder her words of love for us, let us revel in her roses, and let us turn to her to obtain the healing of all those who have been commended to our prayers and all those we love, especially those for whom we've been praying so long that we have despaired of their healing . . . Let us look at Juanito Dieguito, the littlest one who didn't even think to ask for his uncle's healing, and yet she, his most loving Mother and ours, gave it at the very moment he was trying to avoid her! How much more does she long to obtain for us these miraculous cures of those whose illnesses we have grown accustomed to, although we continue to go to the ends of the earth in search of what is needed (a priest, a cure, some comfort). Our Lady of Guadalupe, sweetest Mother of our hearts, pray for us and obtain for us every needed grace and healing, for ourselves and those we love! From Servant of God Archbishop Luis Martinez: Do we remember the first word that the Blessed Virgin pronounced on the summit of the Hill? It was a word of love, a word of incomparable predilection: "My son, Juan Diego, whom I love tenderly as a delicate little one." The Virgin did not just speak that word then, but she continues to speak it and will speak it until the end of time. It is necessary to repeat it: we are Juan Diego. He is not only the poor, unfortunate individual who looked at the hill filled with light, who contemplated the heavenly face of Mary, who heard her maternal and most sweet word as music from the heavens. We are Juan Diego. He is four centuries [now five] old. He will live until the end of time. And to the immortal Juan Diego our Lady says, "My son whom I love tenderly as a delicate little one." Do we feel the exquisite sweetness, the heavenly softness of that word of love? When our Lady came to our soul, when she took possession, so to speak, of our people - which is her people - when she adopted our race, the first word that sprang from her most sweet heart, we should not forget. It was a word of love: "My son whom I love." The love of the Holy Virgin was not fleeting. It is not like the affections of our fickle hearts, which change, fade, and suffer eclipses. No, the love of the Virgin is like the love of God. What Mary loved she continues to love, and now that word has a pulsating and divine timeliness. If at this moment we were to hear with our mortal ears that the Blessed Virgin was saying to us from her throne, "My little children, whom I love tenderly as little and delicate ones," these words would have no greater reality, no greater force, no greater sweetness than those spoken four centuries ago. The divine conquers time because the divine is not subject to the changes of the centuries. And through the centuries we receive the loving word in the depths of our heart. We have undoubtedly thought it in the depths of our souls. Mary loves us! She loves us like delicate little children! Can we dream of a greater happiness? Ah, let other peoples boast of the power of their armies, the abundance of their treasures, the splendor of their science, the immensity of their territory, and the glory of their history. For us, the Blessed Virgin's love is worth more than all that! When one by one the nations of the earth come to tell us the marks of their greatness and their glory, we could answer them: Ah, we have more, much more than you because we have the love of the Mother of God! On our coats of arms there is a word that is worth all the glories of the earth. "My son whom I love tenderly as a little and delicate one." Let us not think that Our Lady's love has withered over the centuries. Let us not believe that it has waned little by little because of our ingratitude and our miseries and sins. No, I am pleased to repeat that Mary's love is like the love of God, like a divine gift. It is never withdrawn. She loves us, and she loves us tenderly as little and delicate ones. Draw me; we will run!
"All nations shall stream toward it; many peoples shall come and say: Come, let us climb the Lord's mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may instruct us in His ways, and we may walk in His paths." - First Sunday of Advent, Isaiah 2:3
"If all weak and imperfect souls such as mine felt as I do, none would despair of reaching the summit of the mountain of Love, since Jesus does not demand great actions from us, but simply surrender and gratitude . . . How few are the hearts that surrender themselves without reserve to the infinite tenderness of His Love!" - St. Therese (Story of a Soul) We here at Miss Marcel's Musings are thrilled to announce many advents this season. According to my handy internet dictionary, 'advent' means: "the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event." And my goodness, do we have a lot of arrivals of notable persons, things, and events going on around here! 1. St. Therese arrived! Her Brazilian jacaranda wood reliquary came to us at Thomas Aquinas College after having visited Royal Oak, Michigan's National Shrine of the Little Flower and some lovely Carmelite places in sunny SoCal, and before continuing on to more Carmelite places here in California and then all over the country. At last report, our Sister from Heaven visited Winchester, VA, where she had a wonderful time hosted by Fr. Bjorn, a big fan of hers, and all those he could bring to her (and bring her to)! So much to say, but for now, simply: Thank You, Jesus! Thank You for answering our prayer. The Church has requested for millenia, "Teach us, Lord, Your ways, and let us walk in Your path," and You, Love and Mercy Itself, have given us Your Little Way through St. Therese! Thank You for her visits, her miracles, her roses, and above all her doctrine, teaching us that You are not waiting for our great actions, but simply our surrender and gratitude . . . 2. In my own home, we are awaiting the arrival of an already much beloved and prayed for bambino, whose coming is set for around the time of . . . 3. The nativity of our Lord! We are beginning the liturgical season of Advent, and that means: Jesus is coming soon! Hooray for Jesus and HIs many advents, many arrivals, many revelations of His Love to us. Get ready for another because He wants this to be your best Christmas yet! And so, how shall we prepare? Therese has 9 more days of touring around the U.S.A., and this will lead to her last day in Florida on the feast of the Blessed Mother's Immaculate Conception. Nine days . . . now what does that sound like . . . . Yes! You guessed it! We have just time for a handy novena, and I am thrilled to be the first to announce it (as far as I know). Oh, sure, there are others (I sure hope there are!) announcing a novena to the Immaculate Conception. Did you know, actually, that this is what the Bishop of Mexico City was praying when, in answer to his prayers, Our Lady of Guadalupe showed up with roses? Well, let's ask for roses too, from Our Lady through the hands of her littlest handmaid, St. Therese. Let's ask that all those who helped Therese come visit the US, all those who got to visit and will get to visit with her, and especially too all those who didn't and won't get to see her this trip are inundated with roses of heavenly graces, miracles, and joyful surprises! I have three prayers, in honor of the Trinity and for your delectation. There is a full novena prayer, but there are also two mini-prayers, for those who might be in a rush (or just forgetful or trying to cram in this novena in the midst of a few other preparations this time of year). Say them all or just say one. Or you could say them all and repeat twice to have said nine prayers and knock this novena out of the park before tomorrow! O Little Therese of the Child Jesus Please pick for me a rose from the heavenly garden and send it to me as a message of love. O Little Flower of Jesus, please ask God to grant the favors I now place with confidence in your hands . . . St. Therese, help me to always believe as you did, in God’s great love for me, so that I may imitate your “Little Way” each day. Amen. * * * Little Flower, in this hour, show your power! * * * Draw me, we will run! And that's it! A novena of petition, of thanksgiving, of preparation for the Immaculate Conception and for Christmas . . . One stop shopping, we like to call it! I wish I could write forever, but then you'd be stuck reading forever, and we can't have that . . . but what I would like to add is simply this: You're going to hear a lot in the next few weeks from every direction. Some will say, "Shop more!" Others will say, "Don't shop!" Some will say, "Pray more!" Others will say (or imply), "No time for prayer! Hurry up and get the house/gifts/Christmas cards ready!" Whoosh! I'm exhausted already and we haven't even started! So . . . in the spirit of St. Therese, let's take a deep breath. Then breathe out, and in the spirit of our brother Marcel, that's a sigh of love. One thing only is necessary. That's what Jesus said. But don't you often wonder: What is it? What's the one thing? It is Him. As St. John of the Cross so beautifully put it: "The Father spoke one Word, which was his Son, and this Word He speaks always in eternal silence, and in silence must it be heard by the soul." Don't panic at the thought that you won't have much silence in Advent. You will have plenty because (promise me) you'll go to bed each night, and there, just at those hours when Scripture tells us The Word leapt down from His Eternal Throne, you will have some silence, I promise. That means that if you don't get any other silence in daytime hours (oh, but you will, because that's one of my own intentions in this novena I'm starting!), you'll at least have time in the middle of the night, some of which I'm confident you'll spend sleeping. And that's when the Holy Spirit does His best work! Meanwhile, here is Therese's reminder. Whether you shop a lot or don't shop much, whether you start your Christmas music early or put it off till The Day, whether you go to parties or await babies in your own circle or simply continue the usual workaday life until Christmas, here is what she tells us again: Do not despair of reaching the summit of the mountain of Love because Jesus does not demand great actions of us, but simply surrender and gratitude! Thank You, Jesus! Thank You for everything! Do with us and this Advent season what You will, but don't forget to come to us on Christmas, and every day leading up to it! We love You, little Jesus! Draw me; we will run!  "It is God's will that here below souls shall distribute to one another by prayer the heavenly treasures with which He has enriched them. And this in order that, when they reach their everlasting Home, they may love one another with grateful hearts and with an affection far beyond that which reigns in the most perfect family circle upon earth." - St. Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face
Welcome to November and the Octave of All the Saints! In particular, welcome to All Souls Day and the Easiest Plenary Indulgence for a Poor Soul ever known to man! Simply by going to Mass today (Sunday, All Souls Day), we will each already be most of the way to gaining a plenary indulgence for the Holy Souls: 1. At Mass, during Mass, we recite the Creed and the Our Father: and saying these in church on November 2, All Souls day, (today!), gains the plenary indulgence for a Poor Soul! 2. By receiving Holy Communion at Mass, we fulfill one of the "usual conditions" for the plenary indulgence. 3. All that's left are the other "usual conditions" : - Say an Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be (or another prayer) for the Holy Father's intention - Go to confession or have gone to confession within 20 days - Be detached from sin (for this one you might say an Act of Contrition and really mean it :), or ask Our Lady and the Holy Spirit, "Please help me to be detached from sin so that I may gain this plenary indulgence for a Poor Soul!") Then, also, during this whole Octave of All Saints, (November 1-8) the Church gives us a special opportunity to gain indulgences for the departed. A plenary or full indulgence, applicable only to the souls in Purgatory, is granted to the faithful who: 1. On any and each day from November 1 to 8, devoutly visit a cemetery and pray, if only mentally, for the departed; or 2. On All Souls’ Day, devoutly visit a church or oratory and recite an Our Father and Creed. It is also necessary to fulfill the following conditions for the plenary indulgence: 1. Make a sacramental confession within 20 days before or after the indulgenced act (one confession can apply to many indulgences); and 2. Receive Holy Communion (one Holy Communion required for each plenary indulgence); and 3. Pray for the intention of the Holy Father (no particular prayers are prescribed for the intention of the Holy Father, an Our Father and a Hail Mary are appropriate, and adding a Glory Be is a common practice). 4. Be detached from all sin (do not let this intimidate you. On this side of Heaven we will most likely feel inclinations and temptations and attractions to sin, but that does not mean you are "attached." Also you can ask the Holy Spirit, "Please grant me the detachment from all sin needed to gain this indulgence for a soul in purgatory." As Our Lord says, if you ask your father for bread, he will not give you a stone. And if our Holy Mother Church offers a plenary indulgence, she won't snatch it back). Gaining a plenary indulgence for a poor soul in purgatory means you launch that soul out of purgatory and into Heaven! How privileged all Catholics are to have this opportunity: the joy of the Mystical Body of Christ which extends through space and time from earth to Heaven and over all the ages. We can even offer these for those who have died long ago in history – or family and friends who have died in more recent times . . . + + + In other indulgence news: In this Jubilee Year of Hope, the Church is indulging us with the extremely rare opportunity of gaining 2 plenary indulgences on any day for the Holy Souls in Purgatory! Typically, normally, usually, always, you can gain only one plenary indulgence a day, for yourself or a soul in purgatory, except on the day of your death, on which day you can gain two. I think this is so that if you have already offered a plenary indulgence for a holy soul on that momentous day of your death, Holy Mother Church gives you the chance to gain one for yourself too, particularly at the hour of death. Also, perhaps she wants to be sure that in case you gained a plenary indulgence and then fell into serious sin, or even committed small sins after the first plenary indulgence and before the moment of your death, you can gain one more, to free you from all punishment due to sin, at the very moment of death. In order to gain 2 plenary indulgences in one day for the Holy Souls in this Jubilee Year, you are required to go to 2 Masses and receive Holy Communion at both (this is allowed in canon law any day, always), and you must perform 2 indulgenced acts - one for each indulgence. This is kind of a crazy program for a day, but just thought I’d let you know 😊 As to every day in November and beyond . . . There are 4 "daily plenary indulgences" (not dependent on a particular feast or season in the Church) you can gain any day of the year: 1. Saying a 5 decade rosary (while meditating on the mysteries) either: in a church, or in a family, or in a religious organization/group 2. Adoring (praying before) the Blessed Sacrament for half an hour (before the tabernacle or before the exposed host) 3. Making the Stations of the Cross in a church 4. Reading Sacred Scripture for half an hour (All of these require also the usual 4 conditions mentioned above: Holy Communion, Confession within 20 days, prayers for the Holy Father's intentions, and detachment from sin.) I don't mean to make this sound as complicated, and I don't want to make anyone scrupulous...Please think of these indulgences as they really are: Gifts that Our Lord wants so much to give to us and the Holy Souls so that He will cement our friendship with them and let us, by our "suffrage" (prayers for the dead), unite with Him to send beloved souls (He loves them infinitely!) straight into His eternal and infinitely loving Presence. As November continues (past the Octave that begins it with its special plenary indulgences November 1 - 8), you can continue to gain plenary indulgences for the Holy Souls by performing one of the acts mentioned above as "daily plenary indulgences." Also... A partial indulgence, applicable only to the souls in Purgatory, is granted to the faithful who: 1. Devoutly visit a cemetery and at least mentally pray for the dead; or 2. Devoutly recite lauds and vespers from the Office for the Dead or the prayer: Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord and let the perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen. I have recently heard several times that the Holy Souls, although they can't pray for themselves, can pray for us. Be sure to commend your special needs and intentions to them too! I'm sure that at this time when we have so many interesting opportunities to pray for them and free them from suffering, they will be more than happy to return the favor! May their guardian angels and ours help us in this thrilling task! As our sister St. Therese tells us: "In Heaven there will be no looks of indifference, because all the Saints owe so much to one another." Even now there are many already There who are grateful for our prayers, and many on their way whom we can launch into Jesus' loving arms today! Draw me; we will run!!! P.S. If you are reading this after you have gone to your Sunday (All Souls Day) Mass, and you didn't know about the indulgence then, well no worries! God is out of time! Let's ask Our Blessed Mother: Dear Mary, today and every day help us to gain every merit and indulgence we can so that you may apply them to the interests of Our Lord's most Sacred Heart . . . and today, let that be our Plenary Indulgence for a Poor Soul, thanks to our Creed and Our Father in the Holy Mass of All Souls Day! God willing, you received Him in Holy Communion. Now say an Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be for the Holy Father's intentions, and get yourself to confession in the next 20 days if you haven't gone in the last 20 days! And . . . do you hear it? . . . Whooooooooosh and Aaaaaaaaah.......Another Poor Soul in Jesus' sweet embrace!
"O my Jesus, each of Your saints reflects one of Your virtues; I desire to reflect Your compassionate heart, full of mercy . . . " - St. Faustina “O help! O help! O holy Mother of God, let me become so inflamed and sanctified that I am not always thinking of breakfast.” - Bl. Francis Xavier Seelos Yesterday, Mother, during the meal I asked little Jesus this question: "Little Jesus, in bygone days, did You eat bananas?" He answered me, laughing, "Marcel, it is not for eating that I came down to earth." But afterwards, acceding to my wish, He added in a more gentle tone, "I have never eaten bananas and there are many things that you eat which I have not eaten. However, at this moment, when you eat something, it is as if I was eating it myself, since we two make only one." On hearing little Jesus speak so, I was very content and I ate two bananas. - Servant of God Marcel Van As I write, it is October 5th, and there are two saints hiding behind the Sunday, Jesus' little Easter. What a delight to remember that today is the feast of St. Faustina, of Divine Mercy fame, and Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos, a Redemptorist priest originally from Germany, but a happy transplant to the U.S.A., ending his days in New Orleans. In her life on earth, which ended on this day in 1938, Faustina was also quite hidden, while Fr. Seelos was better known, touching many lives as a preacher, confessor, formator of seminarians, and much more. After his death he has become known as a wonder-worker, so close is he to Jesus and so compassionate to us still on earth. As for Faustina, she has catapulted to fame as the author of the Divine Mercy Diary, which Jesus has used, along with His image, the Divine Mercy Chaplet, and the novena and Feast of Divine Mercy, to draw the whole world to His dazzling, infinite Mercy and Love. I must add that these two are very special to me because on this, their feast, in 2002, my second son was baptized into the Holy Roman Catholic Church. Hooray for the communion of saints! But what about banana boy? What about St. Therese's beloved little spiritual brother from Vietnam, our own dear little Servant of God Marcel Van? He was hidden and he remains hidden, whether it's Sunday or Thursday or any day of the week at all . . . and yet daily he speaks to my heart, daily he inspires me to understand this tenderness of Jesus and powerful love of the Blessed Trinity that has captured all the saints and consumed them in the fire of a Love that can only be called God. What a funny little boy our Marcel is! People used to ask me, "Oh, is he a saint?" Well, not officially yet! "Oh, then is he blessed?" No, not quite there yet. "Ah, he must be venerable, then?" Well, to be perfectly honest, he has a cause, he is a Servant of God, and whether he'll ever be named more, I really couldn't say. I once had the outrageous privilege of meeting Marcel's current postulator (the one in charge of moving his cause along to the next stages, culminating in canonization), the wonderful Benedictine Pere Olivier de Roulhac of the Abbey of San Wandrille, in Normandy, France. I not only met him, but thanks to a dear friend who knew him, my husband and I got to spend a good half hour (a great half hour!) in conversation with him. Despite the language barrier, and despite my being a Marcel-fanatic, I told Dom Olivier that I thought Marcel wouldn't advance far in the ways of official recognition, and although that was several years ago, I still think the same. Why? Marcel's vocation can be described in many, many words, which is why he wrote what turned out to be four books, and I could write blog posts about him till the cows come home (and since I live in a suburban neighborhood with no cows, this means till the end of time, or at least until city zoning changes, which I don't foresee) - and still neither Marcel nor I could fully explain all that Jesus has planned from all eternity for Marcel to do - all the souls he has helped Jesus save and will help Jesus save. Heavens, I could write for another 50 years, God willing, about Marcel and never reach the end of what he has said just to me, let alone his message for us all! And yet . . . I think I can spare us all a lot of time and trouble by saying that Marcel's vocation can be summed up this simply: He is the second St. Therese. He is the second Little Flower, and his job is to continue Therese's work, to help her to spread the good news of her Little Way, that is, the great news of God's limitless love for us, His kindness, His condescension, His mercy that seeks us out with great compassion and gentleness, His goodness that finds its satisfaction and delight in dwelling with the children of men. We have nothing to fear, and everything to enjoy: namely, God who is Love. Now I admit, there could be (and are) a whole library full of books on St. Therese and her Little Way. But my point here is that Marcel is doing nothing new - except insofar as we need to hear again and again, every single day, about how God loves us. The Fall certainly did a number on us - no, not the autumn, but that great non-seasonal affect disorder which we call original sin, and the way it has turned us upside down. God loves us! That is the truth! So like a child who's disobeyed, we tend to think God hates us. Wrong again, little mustard seed! Yes, we've all disobeyed, but yes too, He always keeps loving us and can't wait for us to throw ourselves into His arms, or at least stop fighting a little when He picks us up and presses us to His Heart and covers us with kisses. . . Marcel is here to repeat that to us, and the only difference that matters between himself and Therese is this: While their single message is that we are nothing and God is All, but He loves our littleness and loves to stoop down to our weakness and poverty and fill us with this All, the difference between Marcel and Therese is that while she has been glorified after her earthly death - raised quickly to canonized saint and named co-patroness of the missions with the great St. Francis Xavier, co-patroness of France with St. Denis and her heroine, St. Joan of Arc, and Doctor of the Church with St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Augustine, St. Francis de Sales, St. Alphonsus, et al., and in short, loved by the whole world - Marcel remains still merely a Servant of God and nearly, relatively, almost entirely unknown on earth! But this is a marvel in itself and wholly wonderful, because the one thing that becomes hard for us is that while Therese preaches littleness and our acceptance and even our joy in littleness, she doesn't seem quite as little as she once was - especially if you have the chance to venerate her relics (see SCHEDULE HERE) when she's on a rock star tour of the USA, or if you have the chance to go to Lisieux and see her Basilica, built on the direct order of Pope Pius XI and magnificent, or if you do the easiest thing of all and call upon here wherever you are at this moment - Little Flower, in this hour, show your power! - and become (keep your eyes open or if it's time for a nap or bed, let your heart stay open!) the recipient of one of her countless roses, a heavenly grace of which you stand (or sit or lie down) in need. This shouldn't vitiate her message, and it won't as long as copies of Story of a Soul are in print - and our latest estimate is (from the book A Shower of Roses by the lay archivist of the Lisieux Carmel, Camille Burette, who is the one who would know) 500 million copies exist by now. And yet it's kind of wonderful, kind of miraculous even, to have her message re-presented to us by someone so little and hidden that we don't even have relics. (Our little brother had the privilege of giving his life as a martyr in a communist concentration camp in Vietnam, and his body is lost to us.) And yet, and yet, and yet . . . ah, the mysterious and wonderful plans of God who is Wisdom Incarnate. Jesus, thank You! Thank You for hiddenness, which You have chosen even till today in the years You spend with good St. Joseph and our Blessed Mother . . . which You spend at this moment in the Blessed Sacrament . . . which You give to us in the lives of so many of Your favorite saints: men and women we thank You for letting us know, even when they are hidden from the rest of the world! One of my favorite sayings of Jesus to a saint was also loved by Therese. She put it at the top of her poem, "Jesus, My Beloved, Remember" written for her sister Celine. Therese quotes Jesus' adorable revelation to St. Gertrude: "My daughter, seek those words of mine which most exude love. Write them down, and then, keeping them preciously like relics, take care to reread them often. . . Be assured that the most precious relics of mine on earth are my words of love, the words which have come from my most sweet Heart." In my favorite book of all time, Marcel's Conversations with Jesus, Mary, and Therese of the Child Jesus, we have the relics of both Jesus and Marcel (not to mention Mary and Therese), because we have their words which most exude love. I'm delighted from the tips of my toes to the very top of my new gray-curly-mop-of-post-cancer-treatment-hair that day after day I get to write about (and especially read) these words of love. Thank You, Jesus, for the hidden saints. Let them remain hidden, but be sure to reveal their words of love - Your words of love - to every soul in need of them. Blessed be God in His angels and in His saints! Draw me; we will run!!!  O Little Therese of the Child Jesus Please pick for me a rose from the heavenly garden and send it to me as a message of love. O Little Flower of Jesus, please ask God to grant us the favors We now place with confidence in your hands . . . St. Therese, help us to always believe as you did, in God’s great love for us, so that we may imitate your “Little Way” each day. Amen. + + + Happiest Feast of our little sister, St. Therese!!! I'm delighted to announce that roses are on sale at Costco! This might help you to help St. Therese to shower roses on those around you today in honor of her feast, and especially in honor of the tenderly solicitous love of Jesus shown to us in and through her life. But if these Costco-Therese roses in the photo above are the only roses that cross your path today, consider yourself showered! I've had the pleasure lately of speaking a lot (more than usual!) about St. Therese because I'm helping Angelico Press get the word out about a glorious book, also pictured above. Written by Camille Burette, lay archivist of the Lisieux Carmel (yes, she has my dream job, but yes, the Holy Spirit not having yet infused French into my sieve-like brain, I'm a bit underqualified to take her place), A Shower of Roses: The Most Beautiful Miracles of Saint Therese of Lisieux is a very easy book to talk about because it is MARVELOUS! - Literally full of marvels taken from the over 13, 500 miracles catalogued and accounted for in the Lisieux Carmel. That's a lot of roses! No wonder I have so much to say! Then there's rock-star Therese's Jubilee US tour of hope that starts today at her National Shrine in Royal Oak, Michigan and continues on until December 8, Our Lady's day, taking Therese to 11 states (maybe yours!!!) including my own, with a special stop at my alma mater down the street, Thomas Aquinas College. I hope you can meet her at one of her 40 stops, but if not, know that I am asking my angel to bring you with us when we get to spend 24 hours in her august if sleepy presence. Which one of us will be sleepy? Well, she promised not really to rest in Heaven since she planned to do good on earth until the end of time, so I guess I'll be the one snoozing in the front pew! This is good because I'll give her full access to my heart, where she'll find YOU and then she can get to work while I dream. I've been talking so much about St. Therese because there are something like a million awesome Catholic radio hosts and podcasters out there, and they all know that Therese is a saint ready to befriend us and lead us straight into the arms of Jesus. I am so edified!!! And what have I been saying? Let's boil it down to three main ingredients: 1. Therese's whole raison d'etre (that's her reason for being) is JESUS, our Brother, our True Love, our Best Friend, and the Spouse of our souls. She wants us to know Him like she did so that we can love Him like she does. And what exactly does she want us to know? His infinite love for us, and the absolute safety, comfort, and relief of abandoning ourselves into His arms like a child asleep in its Father's arms. This is her Little Way and why she is a Doctor of the Church. The book to read to find out more is her Story of a Soul. 2. She promised, "I will spend my Heaven doing good on earth. I will let fall a shower of roses!" And she has! And she does! And she will! If you need encouragement, I highly recommend reading A Shower of Roses, as well as asking for some! 3. Relics are powerful witnesses to God's love because they connect us physically to one (a saint) whom the Church has assured us in Heaven and thus wholly integrated with Christ. As St. Thomas, our big Doctor says: "Now it is manifest that we should show honor to the saints of God, as being members of Christ, the children and friends of God, and our intercessors. Wherefore in memory of them we ought to honor any relics of theirs in a fitting manner: principally their bodies, which were temples, and organs of the Holy Ghost dwelling and operating in them, and are destined to be likened to the body of Christ by the glory of the Resurrection. Hence God Himself fittingly honors such relics by working miracles at their presence." Which means that St. Therese, fulfilling her dream to bring the Gospel, that is, Jesus, to the ends of the earth, is touring the USA now in order that she might obtain for us many and sundry miracles! So if you can go to visit her relics (see SCHEDULE HERE), please do go! And if, alas, you cannot, then don't mope, just repeat after me: Little Flower in this hour show your power!!! The one thing I remember best from Pope Francis' pontificate is his amazing Apostolic Exhortation on St. Therese, "C'est le Confiance." And in particular, I like to return to the beginning: “C’est la confiance et rien que la confiance qui doit nous conduire à l’Amour.” “It is confidence and nothing but confidence that must lead us to Love.” These striking words of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face say it all. They sum up the genius of her spirituality and would suffice to justify the fact that she has been named a Doctor of the Church. * * * If you, like most of us, feel sometimes bereft of confidence, then do what I do: ask the little Queen of Confidence, our sister St. Therese, to give you hers. Remind her: She doesn't need it anymore because she's right there with God who is Love, and she KNOWS His infinite mercy even more than ever! Therefore, she can spare her confidence, giving it to us so that we too might throw ourselves without fear into our Father's arms, sure of His delight in having us there. Before I fall asleep in my chair (practicing for the relics visit), let me close by wishing you again the happiest feast ever of St. Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face! And don't forget that after we take a happy frolic and respite with the guardian angels tomorrow on their feast, the old (extraordinary form) calendar gives us St. Therese again the next day! May she take every possible opportunity in these festive days to shower you with roses and leave you in no doubt of God's absolutely limitless love for you and all those you love! We've finished our triple novena, but just to conclude on a high note, let's throw in one last prayer: Our Lady of Joyful Surprises, pray for us! St. Padre Pio, pray for us! St. Therese, the Little Flower, pray for us! Little Servant of God Marcel Van, pray for us! Blessed be God in His angels and in His saints! Draw me, we will run! P.S. For more Therese, you can go to my article on Catholic Exchange today, "The Twofold Secret of St. Therese of Lisieux." There are many fun links to more Therese-stuff there, but best of all is the photo of her that tops the article. It isn't this one (below), but I can't resist giving her the parting gaze. She is so wise and so wonderful! We love you, little Therese! 
Happy Feast of St. Padre Pio! Are you ready for a good and true story? Once when Padre Pio was a young priest, a Frenchwoman brought him a picture of Sister Therese of Lisieux. He was filled with joy and exclaimed, "She is a saint! A very great saint!" When, however, the woman asked him to bless the picture, Padre Pio refused, saying, "I cannot bless the image of this nun, for she has not yet been beatified, but one day she will ascend all the altars because she is Saint, a very great Saint!" A few years later Padre Pio was seen at the beatification of St. Therese, even though he never left his friary at San Giovanni Rotondo. How sweet a devotion he had to her, using his gift of bilocation to witness this big step in her glorification. What a wonderful holy affection our Padre had for this "very great saint!" I like to think that in the picture above he's reading Story of a Soul, the book that took the whole world by storm. Pio's appearance at Therese's beatification was the only instance I knew of his bilocating for his own edification, until I recently read about his trips to the tomb of St. Pius X in the crypt of St. Peter's. Witnesses saw him there on five different occasions. Later, Padre Pio said, "I never met Leo XIII nor Pius X, but certainly this last one is the most sympathetic of all the popes I know from St. Peter down; for he is so simple and humble that he, more than anyone else, resembles Christ through his simplicity and humbleness." Considering St. Padre Pio's gift for reading souls, it's fair to guess that his estimation of the popes "from St. Peter down" has more than a mere human calculation to it. And how wonderful that he seizes upon the very virtues that Christ has held up for our imitation in Himself, which are also (no accident!) Therese's most prized "possessions." Or to speak more accurately, her own favorite gifts from God. I've been rejoicing lately, as Jesus did, in the Father's unexpected but eternal decrees. We didn't get to celebrate St. Matthew's feast on Sunday (because the solemnity of our "little Easter" takes precedence), but here is a passage we can thank him for, even at the same time as we join Our Beloved in thanking the One from Whom all good and perfect gifts come: At that time, Jesus declared, "I thank Thee, Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, that Thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little ones. Yes, Father, for such was Thy gracious will. All things have been delivered to Me by My Father and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him. Come to Me, all who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." Our little sister St. Therese and our big brother Padre Pio both took Jesus at His word. She insisted on a little way to God that would be "very direct, very short, and entirely new," and found that way smack dab in the middle of Jesus' embrace. Let Him do the heavy lifting, she counsels! As for Padre Pio, I love asking him to give us his love of the Rosary, for while this was one prayer our dear Therese found (to her surprise, for she loved the Blessed Virgin so much) nearly impossible to say alone, one more charism of Pio's was his indefatigable devotion to saying his beads. When asked, "How can you say so many rosaries each day?" he answered, "How can you not?" I love that the saints find easy what we (and even other saints!) may find far beyond our ken. And yet, how natural, or rather how supernatural, for it is His yoke, not ours, that is easy. O Jesus, let's trade!!! It is literally wonderful to ponder the resemblances between these two very great saints so seemingly different. Last year at this time, I found the time and place to wax eloquent (and I resemble Therese in that I'm surprised, for I didn't remember these public appearances) at both Catholic Exchange and on Ave Maria in the Afternoon, and you can read or listen, depending on your preference and whether you click on THIS (to read the article at CE) or THIS (to listen to my 10 minutes with Dr. Marcus Peters). Finally, though, and this time completely unsurprisingly because she is the Doctor of the Church among us, Therese expresses her and Pio's similarities and common sanctity most pithily and best when she says, explaining our Blessed Mother's words in the Magnificat: "I prefer, therefore, to own in all simplicity that, 'He that is mighty hath done great things to me,' and the greatest of all is that He has shown me my littleness and how of myself I am incapable of anything good." (Story of a Soul, Manuscript C) Ah, mystery of sanctity and love! How can we be so relieved to find ourselves entirely poor? Again St. Matthew comes to our assistance with his inerrant account of Jesus' answer: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven! In our poverty, let's not forget to ask for EVERYTHING we need (and for everything needed by those we love, those who've asked for our prayers, and those for whom we've promised to pray - and then those who need our prayers too) with a simple prayer to conclude the second part of our triple novena: St. Padre Pio and St. Thérèse, come down from Heaven and show us the love that the Blessed Trinity has for us, inspire in us a love for the rosary, and obtain for us the grace to be living tabernacles for Jesus. Amen. I slipped in that last bit about being living tabernacles because it was another miraculous grace Pio and Therese shared, and one which they highly recommend to us! I'm so convinced of their determination to share this gift that I even wrote a book about it: Something New with St. Therese: Her Eucharistic Miracle. One of my favorite passages from St. Therese, and one which I never tire of quoting, is her letter to her sister and godmother Marie of the Sacred Heart (the famous Letter 197 from September 17, 1896) in which she joyfully insists that "It is confidence and nothing but confidence that must lead us to Love." What a perfect note on which to begin the final jaunt of our triple novena to her feast. If you worry that you don't have enough confidence, relax, because our sister in Heaven is ready to share hers! Let's listen to her reassurance: "Ah! I feel that what pleases the Good Lord in my little soul is to see me love my littleness and my poverty, it is the blind hope that I have in His mercy... This is my only treasure, darling, why shouldn't this treasure be yours?... O my darling Sister, please understand your little girl, understand that to love Jesus, to be His victim of love, the weaker one is, without desires or virtues, the more fit one is for the operations of this consuming and transforming love... The mere desire to be a victim is enough, but you have to agree to remain poor and without strength and that is the difficult thing because “The truly poor in spirit, where to find him? You have to look for it far away” said the psalmist... He does not say that you have to look for it among great souls, but “far away,” that is to say, in nothingness ... Oh! so let's stay far away from everything that shines, love our littleness, love to feel nothing, then we will be poor in spirit and Jesus will come to get us, however far away we are, He will transform us into flames of love... Oh ! how I wish I could make you understand what I feel!... It is confidence and nothing but confidence that must lead us to Love... Since we see the way, let's run together. Yes, I feel it, Jesus wants to give us the same graces, he wants to give us His Heaven for free." And to this, I hear Padre Pio concluding with his Italian accent, "Amen!" But wait, dear Pio! We don't want to forget to say our novena! O Little Therese of the Child Jesus Please pick for me a rose from the heavenly garden and send it to me as a message of love. O Little Flower of Jesus, please ask God to grant us the favors We now place with confidence in your hands . . . St. Therese, help us to always believe as you did, in God’s great love for us, so that we may imitate your “Little Way” each day. Amen. Our triple novena ends on October 1st, our sister's feast AND the day her relics arrive in the USA! I hope you can find your way to her since she's traveling so far to get to us. You can check the schedule here: https://stthereseusa2025.com/ And just in case you, like Padre Pio, can't get enough of prayer, here's a final one specifically for the joys and graces of the relic visit to come to fruition: Heavenly Father, we thank You for bringing the relics of St. Thérèse here to us very soon. Continue to bless our preparations, and give us Your guidance, Your strength and Your peace. May our prayers and sacrifices help build up the Church: Give us conversions, healings and vocations. Fill our churches and our hearts with Your presence and Your joy. “May we love You and make You greatly loved.” Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Our Lady of the Smile, pray for us. St. Joseph, pray for us. Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, pray for us. St. Thérèse, pray for us. Draw me, we will run! And now, since it's our dear Padre's feast day, how about one last laugh?    Today is the feast of St. Joseph of Cupertino, a saint who is described (in traditional accounts) as "remarkably unclever." And yet, mysteries ever ancient, ever new, he's the very one whom generations of students have called upon to help them in exam time. Why? Let's allow St. Therese to tell the story, for she too knew of our hero. Her sister Celine (Sister Genevieve in the Carmel) remarked to Therese on July 12, 1897 (just 2 and a half months before Therese flew the coop for Heaven): "God will not be able to take me immediately after your death because I won't be good enough." Therese replied: "It makes no difference; you remember St. Joseph Cupertino, his intelligence was mediocre, and he was uninstructed, knowing perfectly only this verse of the Gospel: Beatus venter qui te. Blessed is the womb that bore thee from St. Luke. Questioned precisely on this subject, he answered so well that all were in admiration, and he was received with great honors for the priesthood, along with his three companions, without any further examination. For they judged after hearing his sublime answers that his companions knew as perfectly as he did." Therese concludes: "Thus I will answer for you, and God will give you gratis all He will have already given to me!" This is glorious news for the rest of us! I take from this that all we need to do is hang onto the skirts or coattails of some kindly saint (and they are ALL kindly!), and we're in! Who will it be for you? I've got the bottom of Marcel's soutane in one hand, and Therese's habit in the other. But if you are looking for someone bigger (they are awfully little), you could grab that rope tied around Padre Pio's waist! He had a lot to say too on the subject of getting his friends and spiritual children into Heaven. Let's see what we can find for our happy contemplation. He and St. Joseph Cupertino were both Franciscans, and it's just the Franciscan way to generously help others (the poorer the better) into the embrace of Christ. . . Oh, here's a good Padre Pio quote! Forget holding onto coattails - why not climb on his shoulders? For it was our dear father Pio who said: "When the Lord entrusts a soul to me, I place it on my shoulder and never let it go." And what else does he say? I've found something even better, just in case you were worried you'd be lonely up there on his shoulder with all your loved ones grabbing at the skirts and cassocks of other saints, or worse yet, not having seen this post, perhaps your loved ones aren't grabbing at all! But no worries, it's against our religion! Instead, listen to Padre Pio's reassurance: "I love my Spiritual Children as much as my own soul and even more." and "Once I take a soul on, I also take on their entire family as my spiritual children." Okay, then! What shall we do to become spiritual children of Padre Pio? Well first off, let's stop being afraid of him. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I'm going to give you a good thousand on not fearing such a loving father:  And he's not only smiling, he's holding a book in his arms. What do you think? Therese's Story of a Soul? Marcel's Conversations? Perhaps it's a P.G. Wodehouse! It's sure making him chuckle!
The point is, no more worries any more ever, as Jesus told Marcel. And we here at Miss Marcel's Musings add: Not even a worry about whether Padre Pio will take you on as his spiritual child (and whether he'll be gentle and mild with you if he does). We have it on good authority: the Church has proclaimed Padre Pio a saint, and we know saints are like Jesus. What is Jesus like? He tells us, "Learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble of heart." No more worries then, just confidence that you'll be treated like the remarkably unclever child that you are. Which means Padre Pio will get Joseph of Cupertino or St. Therese or even St. Thomas Aquinas to answer the tough questions for you. Your job is simply to sit on his shoulder and enjoy the view! Here, then, in the midst of our triple novena, is a prayer to become a spiritual child of Padre Pio's. Don't be scared - there's no scary thing, only Love here! Ready, set, go! Dear Padre Pio, I recall your promise to the Lord, “I will stand at the gates of heaven until I see all my spiritual children have entered.” Encouraged by your gracious promise, I ask you to accept me as your spiritual child. And just to keep up with our triple novena prayer to Our Lady: Blessed Mother of those whose names you can read in my heart, watch over them with every care. Make their way easy and their labors fruitful. Dry their tears if they weep; sanctify their joys; raise their courage if they weaken; restore their hope if they lose heart, their health if they be ill, truth if they err, and repentance if they fall. Amen. St. Padre Pio, pray for us! St. Joseph of Cupertino, pray for us! Remarkably unclever but delightful little brother Marcel, pray for us! St. Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, pray for us and don't forget to shower down roses on all those who have asked for our prayers, all those for whom we've promised to pray, all those needing our prayers, and . . . us! Draw me; we will run! |
Miss MarcelI've written books and articles and even a novel. Now it's time to try a blog! For more about me personally, go to the home page and you'll get the whole scoop! If you want to send me an email, feel free to click "Contact Me" below. To receive new posts, enter your email and click "Subscribe" below. 
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