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.

As we finish the first nine days of our triple novena, we find ourselves on the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, originally (in the 12th century) the Feast of Our Lady of Compassion.

Just as she had compassion for Jesus in His sufferings on Calvary, so too she has compassion on us in all our sufferings. On Good Friday of 1946, Jesus explained to our little brother Marcel Van the depth of Our Blessed Mother's love for us, and I can't find any words better for this feast. Jesus said, speaking of His Passion:

Finding myself in the presence of my Mother, I suffered with joy. At that moment, when all the creatures of the world seemed to have abandoned me, only my Mother remained to comfort me. Even God the Father seemed to wish no longer to look at me; but my Mother Mary did not cease to look at me until the time when I escaped from suffering. Oh! Little brother, Mary is your real Mother as well as mine. When she sees you suffer, she is closer to you to console you, for all time until you, too, will have escaped all suffering. Mary, you are the true Mother of Marcel, the real Mother of all souls; never be far from your children.

Mary is your true Mother, and you are really her child. Always think of her; she understands you better than you understand yourself. She knows your sufferings, she is always close to you, carrying you unceasingly in her arms and covering you with kisses . . . 

Little brother, no matter how great your sufferings, always remind yourself that I, also, have suffered, but Mary has comforted Me. It will be the same for you. Mary will never abandon you in your suffering. Besides, when you suffer, it is she who suffers even more, since she is your Mother . . . 

*  *  *

We know from our own experience that those who love each other hate to see each other suffer, and yet what a unique case for Jesus and Mary. They knew the great good this suffering of Jesus on the Cross and Mary at His feet would gain for the rest of us, and so in the mystery of God, they could find joy too. 

Thank you, Blessed Mother, for accepting all your sorrows and suffering with us too. Now as we head toward your beloved son Padre Pio's feast, help his sentiments and his love for you become ours too!

We have nine days to September 23rd, and many miracles to request. Padre Pio, like our sister St. Therese, loves to shower miracles upon those who seek his help. I know for myself I have trouble remembering all the intentions I want to pray for, and new ones are added each day. Let's trust Our Lady to know the deepest desires of our hearts as well as the needs of those we love, and let's begin again:

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!

Draw me; we will run!

​From the canonization homily of Pope Leo XIV:  "In the first reading, we heard a question: "Who has learned Your counsel, unless You have given wisdom and sent Your Holy Spirit from on high?” (Wis 9:17).  This question comes after two young Blesseds, Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis, were proclaimed saints, and this is providential . . . 

Jesus, too, in the Gospel, speaks to us of a plan to which we must commit wholeheartedly.  He says: “Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple” (Lk 14:27); and again: “None of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions” (v. 33).  He calls us to abandon ourselves without hesitation to the adventure that He offers us, with the intelligence and strength that comes from His Spirit, that we can receive to the extent that we empty ourselves of the things and ideas to which we are attached, in order to listen to His word.

Many young people, over the centuries, have had to face this crossroad in their lives.  Think of Saint Francis of Assisi, like Solomon, he too was young and rich, thirsty for glory and fame.  That is why he went to war, hoping to be knighted and adorned with honors.  But Jesus appeared to him along the way and asked him to reflect on what he was doing.  Coming to his senses, he asked God a simple question: “Lord, what do You want me to do?” From there, he changed his life and began to write a different story: the wonderful story of holiness that we all know, stripping himself of everything to follow the Lord, living in poverty and preferring the love of his brothers and sisters, especially the weakest and smallest, to his father’s gold, silver and precious fabrics.

How many similar saints we could recall!  Sometimes we portray them as great figures, forgetting that for them it all began when, while still young, they said “yes” to God and gave themselves to Him completely, keeping nothing for themselves.  Saint Augustine recounts that, in the “tortuous and tangled knot” of his life, a voice deep within him said: “I want you” (Confessions, II, 10,18). God gave him a new direction, a new path, a new reason, in which nothing of his life was lost.

In this setting, today we look to Saint Pier Giorgio Frassati and Saint Carlo Acutis: a young man from the early 20th century and a teenager from our own day, both in love with Jesus and ready to give everything for Him.

Pier Giorgio encountered the Lord through school and church groups — Catholic Action, the Conferences of Saint Vincent, the Italian Catholic University Federation, the Dominican Third Order — and he bore witness to God with his joy of living and of being a Christian in prayer, friendship and charity.  This was so evident that seeing him walking the streets of Turin with carts full of supplies for the poor, his friends renamed him “Frassati Impresa Trasporti” (Frassati Transport Company)! Even today, Pier Giorgio’s life is a beacon for lay spirituality.  For him, faith was not a private devotion, but it was driven by the power of the Gospel and his membership in ecclesial associations.  He was also generously committed to society, contributed to political life and devoted himself ardently to the service of the poor.

Carlo, for his part, encountered Jesus in his family, thanks to his parents, Andrea and Antonia — who are here today with his two siblings, Francesca and Michele — and then at school, and above all in the sacraments celebrated in the parish community.  He grew up naturally integrating prayer, sport, study and charity into his days as a child and young man.

Both Pier Giorgio and Carlo cultivated their love for God and for their brothers and sisters through simple acts, available to everyone: daily Mass, prayer, and especially Eucharistic Adoration.  Carlo used to say: “In front of the sun, you get a tan. In front of the Eucharist, you become a saint!”  And again: “Sadness is looking at yourself; happiness is looking at God.  Conversion is nothing more than shifting your gaze from below to above; a simple movement of the eyes is enough.”  Another essential practice for them was frequent Confession.  Carlo wrote: “The only thing we really have to fear is sin,” and he marveled because — in his own words — “People are so concerned with the beauty of their bodies and do not care about the beauty of their souls.” Finally, both had a great devotion to the saints and to the Virgin Mary, and they practiced charity generously.  Pier Giorgio said: “Around the poor and the sick, I see a light that we do not have."  He called charity “the foundation of our religion” and, like Carlo, he practiced it above all through small, concrete gestures, often hidden, living what Pope Francis called “a holiness found in our next-door neighbors.” 

Even when illness struck them and cut short their young lives, not even this stopped them nor prevented them from loving, offering themselves to God, blessing Him and praying to Him for themselves and for everyone.  One day Pier Giorgio said: “The day of my death will be the most beautiful day of my life."  On his last photo, which shows him climbing a mountain in the Val di Lanzo, with his face turned towards his goal, he wrote: “Upwards."  Moreover, Carlo, who was even younger than Pier Giorgio, loved to say that heaven has always been waiting for us, and that to love tomorrow is to give the best of our fruit today.

Dear friends, Saints Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis are an invitation to all of us, especially young people, not to squander our lives, but to direct them upwards and make them masterpieces. They encourage us with their words: “Not I, but God,” as Carlo used to say. And Pier Giorgio: “If you have God at the center of all your actions, then you will reach the end.”  This is the simple but winning formula of their holiness.  It is also the type of witness we are called to follow, in order to enjoy life to the full and meet the Lord in the feast of heaven."

*    *    *

St. Pier Giorgio and St. Carlo, pray for us, and pray with us as we begin our triple novena of love! We ask you to be near us, and help us see more clearly her whom you now see face to face, our Blessed Mother of Joyful Surprises, the birthday girl! She drew you to Jesus in your lives and in your holy passage to Heaven - ask her to bring Jesus very close to us too, and take care of all the intentions we present before her now: those remembered, and those we have forgotten, the intentions of those we love and of those who need our love. Pray with us brothers, in this octave of your glorification, and ask our Mama with us:

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.

*   *   *

Due to technical difficulties beyond our control (i.e. the Holy Spirit), this post didn't automatically fly to the inboxes of subscribers yesterday when it was first written. As always, God's will is quite a bit more brilliant than ours, and the delay brought to our attention that our triple novena (which started yesterday, but if you missed opening day, just hop in now, there's plenty of days left) began on the Vigil of Mary's Birthday!

This makes more sense of my invoking Our Lady of Joyful Surprises (I'll credit the Holy Spirit with that one too) even though the first of our three novenas ends on the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. Well, now's the time to cash in on that saying which always seemed so dubious to me (though no doubt it's true) that they're all the same Our Lady!

The truth, which I've mentioned here before, is that Marcel and I are not big fans of sorrow. He is constantly complaining (well, he was back in the day when he wrote his wonderful and highly recommended Conversations with Jesus, Mary, and St. Therese) of "degout" which turns out to be a French-Vietnamese version of disgust. Marcel found that while he loved Jesus like crazy and got to spend time with Him every day, he still suffered the typical ups and downs (suffering particularly from the downs) the rest of us experience . . . but Jesus, Mary, and Therese kept reminding him to love Jesus in joy. Whether he experienced sorrow and needed to cry, or happiness and needed to laugh, they encouraged him to be joyful in his love for Jesus.

So with us too, as with Marcel and St. Therese before him, let's ask Our Lady for the Joy that first dwelt incarnate in her womb. She is the cause of our joy and full of joyful surprises because she is the Mother of Jesus, source of all joy. 

Little Jesus, on this day of your beautiful Mother's own birth, please shower us with the gifts she holds in her Immaculate Heart in such abundance: Joy, confidence, hope, charity, love, peace, gentleness, sweetness, and the miracles that will bring all these beautiful sparkling facets of Our Lady to those for whom we pray!

Draw me; we will run!

Last night at the tale end of St. Mother Teresa's feast, I looked for her Collect and found a treasure trove. It turns out that when Holy Mother Church chose the liturgical readings to accompany her feast, she gave us Mother Teresa's last letter, written just a few hours before she died on September 5, 1997. And what a letter it is!

What moved me most in this most moving of letters was the conclusion. In the final words Mother wrote, words of gratitude which the Church now presents to us every year in the liturgy, we find her joyfully pointing us to none other than her patron saint and inspiration, St. Therese, the Little Flower!

I was stunned. The first part of Mother's letter contains a wealth of good counsel, most notably her reminder to her sisters (and now to us) of our route to Jesus through Mary. But then she takes the next step along the Little Way and thanks God for the gift of St. Therese and her newly announced Doctorate. I would have been simply delighted to find that Mother Teresa herself delighted, hours before she went to join her patroness, in the news of St. Therese's impending honors, but to find that the Church has captured and saved these words - not just as a snapshot or memory, but as a liturgical text! - has filled my cup to overflowing.

I think the best way to give you this treasure chest is not to show you its gems one by one, but simply to hand the whole thing over. Here, then, for your enrichment and delectation, is the second reading of the Office of Readings for the Divine Office (Liturgy of the Hours) of September 5th, St. Mother Teresa's feast:

 My dearest Children,

This brings you Mother’s love, prayer and blessing that each one of you may be only all for Jesus through Mary. I know that Mother says often–“Be only all for Jesus through Mary”–but that is because that is all Mother wants for you, all Mother wants from you. If in your heart you are only all for Jesus through Mary, and if you do everything only all for Jesus through Mary, you will be a true Missionary of Charity. Thank you for all the loving wishes you sent for the Society Feast.

We have much to thank God for, especially that He has given us Our Lady’s spirit to be the spirit of our Society. Loving Trust and Total Surrender made Our Lady say “Yes” to the message of the angel, and Cheerfulness made her to run in haste to serve her cousin Elizabeth. That is so much our life--saying “Yes” to Jesus and running in haste to serve Him in the poorest of the poor.

Let us keep close to Our Lady and she will make that same spirit grow in each one of us. September 10th is coming very close. That is another beautiful chance for us to stand near Our Lady, to listen to the Thirst of Jesus and to answer with our whole heart. It is only with Our Lady that we can hear Jesus cry, “I Thirst”, and it is only with Our Lady that we can thank God properly for giving this great gift to our Society.

Last year was the Golden Jubilee of Inspiration Day, and I hope that the whole year has been one of thanksgiving. We will never come to the end of the gift that came to Mother for the Society on that day, and so we must never stop thanking for it. Let our gratitude be our strong resolution to quench the Thirst of Jesus by lives of real charity–love for Jesus in prayer, love for Jesus in our Sisters, love for Jesus in the poorest of the poor–nothing else.

And now I have heard that Jesus is giving us one more gift. This year, one hundred years after she went home to Jesus, Holy Father is declaring Little Flower to be a Doctor of the Church. Can you imagine–for doing little things with great love the Church is making her a Doctor, like St. Augustine and the big St. Teresa! It is just like Jesus said in the Gospel to the one who was seated in the lowest place, “Friend, come up higher.”

So let us keep very small and follow Little Flower’s way of trust and love and joy, and we will fulfill Mother’s promise to give saints to mother Church.

*    *     *

"We will never come to the end of the gift . . . and so we must never stop thanking for it."

These 19 words from St. Mother Teresa constitute my new spiritual maxim. How true! How wise! How encouraging a little way this is! For as St. Therese puts it, our own Doctor encouraging us to become saints as she encouraged Mother Teresa before us:

"Jesus does not demand great actions from us, but simply surrender and gratitude." (Story of a Soul)

And since God's love is infinite, since He is goodness itself and goodness is diffusive of itself, since His mercies never end, but in fact are new every morning, there are more gifts (and thus more gratitude) in our near future . . . 

Tomorrow, Sunday, September 7, 2025, the solemn Canonization Mass for Blessed Carlo Acutis and Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati will take place at 10:00 a.m. in St. Peter's Square, Rome. That's 4:00 a.m. for East Coasters and 1:00 a.m. for West Coasters. Apparently, you can watch the event via livestream through Vatican News or EWTN, or alternatively, in line with another liturgical text, since "He pours gifts on His beloved while they slumber," you can dream happily of the canonization while you sleep (or simply sleep like a rock) and wake to find two new saints lighting the Little Way for us.

I'm thrilled to announce that with the delay of first Carlo's canonization and then Pier's, and finally with their dual canonization happening tomorrow, Holy Mother Church has given us a special double anointing to consecrate the Return of the Triple Novena!

Yes, tomorrow will begin our novena from September 7 (day of canonization of Saints Pier Giorgio and Carlo) to September 15, Our Lady of Sorrows, on which day we'll begin our second novena leading from Our Lady of Sorrows (Sept. 15) to St. Padre Pio (Sept. 23). Then on Padre Pio's day (Sept. 23) we'll begin our third novena to Our Guiding Star, Little St. Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, to end on her feast (October 1st), perhaps in exhaustion, but certainly in exhilaration over all our answered prayers and the miracles raining down like roses around us for our families, our friends, and the Church and the world!

If that looked, sounded like, or felt like a lot of gobbledy-gook and a jumble of dates and feasts and too many novenas, sit back and relax (or close the computer and go for a nice, brisk walk), and leave the details to us. We here at Miss Marcel's Musings started this mess of a triple novena, and it's up to us to finish it. 

As always, we'll be praying for ALL your intentions, and the terms of the Triple Novena, like Calvinball from Calvin and Hobbes of yore, while not quite ever-changing, have a few innovative aspects worth noting. First, just by reading this, you are enrolled! Second, by saying one of the prayers or even a simple, "Help, please" shot up toward Heaven, you're considered to have participated in the whole thing. And third, well worth repeating, Every Single One of your intentions ever - those you remember, those you've forgotten, and those yet to come - will be included in our prayers.

We won't make this complicated, despite the sound of it, because in the words of our little Doctor St. Therese, "Prayer is a burst from the heart, it is a simple glance thrown toward Heaven, a cry of thanksgiving and love in times of trial as well as in times of joy." 

We plan to have one prayer for the whole 25 days (and see how we've made our triple novena, which you'd think would be 3 x 9, so 27 days, come out even littler!), and I'm hoping by the end to have memorized it, though I doubt I'll manage that since I seem to put one more thing in my little Pooh brain only to have something else fall out the other side!

We'll officially begin tomorrow, but if you want to get a jump on things, or simply read to the end of this post, here is our time-honored and well-proven Triple Novena prayer. 

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.

Draw me; we will run!

p.s. I almost forgot: here is a LINK (just click on LINK) to the rest of Mother Teresa's liturgical texts. It is stunningly beautiful how the Church chooses the favorite gospels and messages from the saints to adorn their feasts and inspire us to follow their lead . . . St. Mother Teresa, pray for us!

Times, they're always a'changin', but whether you like to keep up with them or hearken back to the older traditions, either way you gotta admit that Saints Joachim and Anne are the cat's pajamas!

I've only been discovering them in recent years, but how wonderful they are, and how much there is to muse on when we consider their life and the miracles that surrounded them. You don't have to know much (and believe me, I don't!) but can simply start with this:

Joachim and Anne are the parents of Mary who was conceived without sin.
Mary is the Virgin Mother of Jesus, the Incarnate Second Person of the Blessed Trinity.
To put it more simply, as they did at Ephesus, Mary is the Mother of God.
Without worrying about which type of syllogism this is, we can say conclusively from the above:
Joachim and Anne are the grandparents of God!

Above you can see a photo of St. Anne teaching Mary how to read while Joachim looks on proudly and the angels hover about in awe.

And below? I couldn't resist finding a picture (thank you, Getty Images) to illustrate the truth I so happily discovered in my morning prayer (from the Divine Office):

"The saints will exult in glory: they will sing for joy as they bow down before the Lord. Alleluia!"

As I didn't have a photo of Joachim pretending to be a lion while he play-bowed down before his sweet grandson Jesus, I had to settle for this Getty Image which pictures a grandfather kneeling before his grandson while playing blocks. I bet Jesus had a fabulous set of wooden blocks thanks to St. Joseph's ability and love for Him! And can't you guess that Grandpa Joachim would have spent time on the floor, kneeling before his Lord (Who was also his grandson!), playing with the blocks and the Boy? Marcel is delighting in the possible Vietnamese look of these two in the photo, and so am I!

Today we celebrate the feast of Saints Joachim and Anne in the new calendar. I looked up their feasts in the old missal (1962) and discovered that Joachim was separated from Anne, or rather his feast was apart, perhaps so that we could really revel in their privileges - twice! St. Anne was celebrated on this day, July 26, but here is what we find in the explanation for St. Joachim's feast on August 16:

St. Joachim. Confessor, Father of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The holy Patriarch Joachim was the husband of St. Anne, and the father of Our Lady. This feast, originally kept on March 20, was transferred to the day following the Assumption, in order to associate the Blessed Daughter and her holy father in triumph.

*  *  *

I love being reminded that nothing stays the same on this earth, not feasts, and I suppose not famines, despite the constant recurrence of both! I love that St. Joachim and St. Anne have been reunited in one feast, even as I lament that when we come to St. Martha in a few days time, we've now got her sis and bro, Mary and Lazarus, tacked on.

​And yet why should I resent their seeming intrusion? Don't I want the octave day of St. Mary Magdalene to remind us that she who chose the better part was lovingly fed and clothed by her sister Martha-Martha and her brother Lazarus? Don't I want to have another day to recall Bethany, their home, the home they so generously shared with Jesus whenever He came to town? Isn't it awesome that each of these three siblings has a special moment (or several) with Jesus - that He had a particular relationship with each one, and we need to remember them all: All three of the sibs, and as many of the moments as we can cram into the liturgy of these days?

I suppose I'm jealous for Martha-Martha, wanting to give her a day all for herself, a day when she, in perfect Martha fashion, can come to the fore and . . . put up her feet and be feted? That was never her way! My guess is that she much prefers the new combo-pack feast of July 29 so that she can have more of an occasion on which to serve serenely (for I'm sure she learned her lesson just as Emma did - both of these amazing gals, one real and one as true to human nature as the great Jane could make her, learning their lesson with just one scolding from their heroes).

I am grateful for the many liturgical calendars that grace my kitchen countertop, and whether I'm celebrating with the Universal Church in the ordinary or extraordinary calendar, the Carmelites, or the French (thanks to the Sanctuary of Lisieux I can stay on top of Therese's dates and various French feasts along with the rest), there is always more to celebrate.

Dear Saint Anne and Saint Joachim, parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and grandparents of Jesus, our Divine Savior, have pity on thy loving and trusting clients, and listen to the petitions which we present before thee.

Oh, blessed Saints, thou art both most dear to the Heart of Jesus, Whose beloved Mother was thy own tender, devoted child! Can He refuse anything to thee, in whose veins the same blood flowed which afterwards furnished the precious price of our Redemption? Great Saints, nothing was impossible to thy power and influence over the young Jesus "Who grew and waxed strong, full of wisdom" under the maternal care of thy glorious Daughter. In mercy and compassion, be like unto Him "Who went about doing good," and come to the aid of thy servants in our great necessity!

Saint Anne, Saint Joachim, beloved parents of Mary, "our life, our sweetness and our hope," pray to her for us and obtain our requests. Amen.

Draw me, we will run!

"I have said everything! Everything is summed up in love and confidence." - Servant of God Marcel Van

​
When we read this quote, we may think we are hearing from the Little Flower - and we are, but this is Jesus' 2nd Little Flower, Marcel Van, little brother of the 1st Little Flower, St. Therese of Lisieux (also known as St. Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face). Their message is the same, for Therese personally taught Marcel her Little Way, and in it everything is summed up in love and confidence!

And today, on the anniversary of Marcel's release from earthly life - the day that could become his official feast if, God willing, he is someday beatified and canonized - what a perfect opportunity for him to remind us of the importance of love and confidence.

The photo above shows Marcel in Hanoi, Vietnam, not long before the Communists arrested him on trumped up charges as he was returning to the Redemptorist house from the marketplace on May 7, 1955. This was only about eight months after Marcel had returned to North Vietnam from the safety of Saigon in the South. Ah, but he could never resist Jesus' call!  Marcel had said, "I am going back so there is someone who loves God amid the Communists," and in God's mysterious providence, he had taken the last plane that went from the south to the north. The date was September 14, 1954, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Marcel was 26 years old, and as he wrote to his sister Anne Marie, "There was so much insistence in Jesus' voice! And that is why I willingly accept to die in order to give a little consolation to the Heart of my Beloved." He continued, "Pray a lot, little sister, to obtain for me the courage to bear everything right to the end."

We read in Marcel's Conversations that on many occasions Our Lady asked Marcel to pray for her little apostles who would come later. Marcel did so pray, and we were among those for whom he was praying! Let's take a moment now, then, to return the favor. We know Marcel did make it to the end with courage (the end that was the beginning of eternal life), but what joy to be part of the reason Jesus supplied that courage and the necessary abundance of faith, hope, and charity that sustained our little brother. Prayer is so powerful, and so here then is our prayer for Marcel:

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence we fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, Our Mother. To thee do we come, before thee we stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not our petitions, but in thy mercy, hear and answer us.  Amen.

Dear Blessed Mother, thank you for having Marcel pray for us. Hear and answer our prayers for him by presenting them to the Most Blessed Trinity. We thank you for your loving maternal gaze which sustained Marcel and sustains us - may we be united to him and Jesus forever through your loving embrace!

After Marcel's arrest he experienced great suffering but was also given the grace to bring consolation to many of the prisoners he lived with in the camps. A year after his arrest, he wrote to Fr. Paquette, his superior in Hanoi, "My Father, it is hardly a fortnight since they made me change camp. . . and I thank God with all my heart, since on arriving here, I had the good fortune to meet a good number of Catholics and live with them. Thanks to the divine protection, the majority of men and women detained with me are bearing up well . . ."

After asking for rosaries for all and a prayer book (and again later in the letter he asks for medals, rosaries, books of prayers, and even consecrated hosts because "we hunger for divine nourishment"), Marcel explains, "Concerning myself, since the day that I arrived at the camp of Mo-Chen, I am very busy as might be the little priest of a parish. Outside the hours of obligatory work, I have to welcome continuously people who come, one after the other, to seek comfort near me, whom they consider as someone who does not know fatigue. However, they see well that neither am I very strong."

But here is the most beautiful part. Marcel writes:

"I am very happy, for during these months of detention, my spiritual life has not suffered, and God Himself has made known to me that it is His will that I am accomplishing here. Many times have I asked Him the favour to die in this camp, but each time He has answered me: 'I am quite ready to follow your will as you always follow mine, but there are souls who still have need of you: without you, it would be impossible for Me to reach  them. So what do you think, my child?' 'Lord, it is for You to think for me.' "

And still, Marcel begs prayers: "My Father, please pray still more for me, since in thinking of this life full of darkness and pitfalls, I tremble many times and fear takes joy away. However, I am always read to accomplish perfectly all God wishes of me."

Marcel our dear brother was very little just like us - in fact, Jesus in their Conversations identifies him as the littlest soul - yet he was able to do what Jesus asked because Jesus supplied everything, even amidst fears. And yet always, always, Marcel would return to confidence and love - the lessons Jesus, Mary, and Therese had taught him and which they (with his help) want to teach us. 

It was May 7, 1955 when Marcel was arrested, and his release - by Jesus, through that first real kiss He had promised, that breaking of the bonds of earthly life - was not until 4 years later on June 10 (today!) 1959 when Marcel breathed his last at noon.  He had not been able to send out any clandestine messages for quite a long time, but we have our brother's final message from the end of his Autobiography:

"And now here is the last word that I am leaving to souls . . .  I leave to them my love; with this love, small as it is, I hope to satisfy the souls who wish to make themselves very small to come to Jesus. That is something I would wish to describe, but, with my little talent, I do not have to words to do so . . . "

This little love is so pleasing to Jesus, this love which helps us make ourselves very small and come to Him and snuggle next to His Heart. Marcel does not here on this last page say more, but all through his Conversations, his Autobiography, his Correspondence, his Other Writings, he says plenty, and his sister (and ours), the eloquent St. Therese, certainly has many words in her own writings (and Marcel's) to spur us on to love in littleness also. I have often thought and suggested that we should take Therese's confidence - ask it of her as our inheritance since she is now seeing God face to Face and does not need her confidence any more. So too we can ask of Marcel what he has already freely offered: his love with which to love Jesus. 

In another echo of his sister Therese, Marcel said, "From the heights of heaven I will look down on my little brothers and sisters, and just as much as I have loved them on earth, will I love them also in heaven." 

Actually, Therese promised not only to watch over us  and love us from heaven, but to come down. We can surely say she would have taught this one last lesson to Marcel when he arrived at her side in heaven, safe on Mary's lap with Jesus as He had promised. So Marcel, little brother, come down and bring us this love that filled your heart and made you, by God's grace, faithful to the end! On this your little feast, comfort all who suffer as you comforted those who suffered with you in the camps, obtain for us the Bread of Life as you so desired to obtain it for them, and teach us incessantly the Little Way which St. Therese taught to you, that we may turn to Jesus always with confidence and love!

Finally, little brother, we ask that you fulfill for us today a debt we owe but can never repay. Come down and give a special cupful of joy to your translator, Jack K, the one who gave so unstintingly of himself that we might have your words (and those of Jesus, Mary, and Therese) in English. Now that you are able to play all day, take a moment on this your feast and bring again the kisses you promised in your letter of 30 November 1947 when you wrote (as we know thanks to Jack): 

"I am giving you a kiss with the pretty lips of little Jesus, my little friend and also the friend of souls. I am adding to it a double kiss: that of my Mother Mary and of my sister little Therese, who are both very dear to me."

I will join you! At Holy Mass on this your feast, I will offer the kisses of Jesus in Holy Communion, and those of Mother Mary and Therese and you who are sure to be there with Him with me, to all your friends in Heaven and especially to (and for) all your friends on earth: from Jack K and his lovely B to Madame Anne de B and her successors, from Cyrgue to Dom Olivier, from Miss Marcel East to Miss Marcels in Michigan to Miss Marcels in Oklahoma, from Brother Mark to Father Bjorn to dear Patrick, and so many, many, many more! Although the remainder of the recipients are unnamed here, the angels will help deliver these kisses . . . 

Draw me, little Jesus, with Therese and Marcel; we will run!

"For simple souls, there must be no complicated ways." - St. Therese of the Child Jesus

Recently I read a marvelous account of the friendship between Servant of God Don Dolindo (also a friend of Padre Pio's) and Blessed Maria Giuseppina Catanea. You can find the whole story at my own friend Maura McKeegan's substack "Stories of Don Dolindo" HERE, but what especially struck me was a form of prayer Don Dolindo taught Sister Giuseppina - lovely in itself but also very reminiscent of a way to pray that Jesus taught our own little Servant of God, Marcel Van.

First, then, from Maura:

Don Dolindo went one day to the Carmelite convent to visit his dear friend Sr. Maria Giuseppina. Years earlier, Sister Maria Giuseppina, on the brink of death from tuberculosis and spinal meningitis, had received a miraculous healing through the intercession of St. Francis Xavier, and Don Dolindo had been present when it happened. The miracle had bound these two saintly souls together in a close spiritual connection . . . 

On this day when Dolindo came to the convent to visit her, Sr. Maria Giuseppina was taking longer than usual to come down. As Dolindo sat in the parlor, he began to pray in an unusual way: overcome with love for Our Lord, he started telling the objects in the room of his love.

“Jesus, I love You, and I say it to you, door,” he prayed. “Jesus, I love You, and I say it to You, table.” Everything from the table to the bench to the grating became an occasion to declare his effusion of love for Jesus.

When Sr. Giuseppina finally arrived in the parlor, she looked around in amazement.
“Father, what is happening?” she exclaimed. “Why is everything inside here shouting, ‘Jesus, I love You?’ How is it possible that from every wall, piece of furniture, and object in this room, I hear a distinct voice of God’s love?”

Maura goes on to explain her own use of this prayer:

After I read this story, it remained in my heart as a reminder that when I am just waiting somewhere, or my mind is blank, or I’m too tired to focus on other forms of prayer, I, too, can follow Dolindo’s method of using what I see around me to help me pray.

This morning, as I was taking a walk through my neighborhood, I saw a deer at the edge of the woods nearby. As I watched it pass in front of me, I felt inspired to imitate Dolindo’s prayer.

Jesus, I love You, and I say it to you, deer.

After I interiorly prayed those words, the deer stopped, turned its head, and looked straight at me. At the same time, the first verse of Psalm 42 flooded my mind: “As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God.” The deer continued to gaze at me for a few long moments, then turned and walked into the woods toward a stream.

I looked around again.

Jesus, I love You, and I say it to you, trees.
Jesus, I love You, and I say it to you, flowers.
Jesus, I love You, and I say it to you, birds.

The more I prayed Dolindo’s prayer, the more everything around me began to feel alive with God’s love. . . . I was suddenly noticing everything. The tiny white flowers on the side of the road. The notes of birdsong emerging from the field. The misty drops of rain filling the air. Everything I saw around me, the whole of creation, was exquisite—and it was resounding with God’s love for His people.

The declarations of love that I offered Him through His creation had started with Him, as all love does, and now they came right back to me. The “voice of God’s love,” as Sister Maria Giuseppina called it, was flowing all around me, filling the air like those misty drops of rain, covering everything in His glistening grace.

And in that moment, I knew two things:
The world is alive with the love of God, and Don Dolindo is showing souls how to see that love everywhere we look.

*     *     *

Now we come to the prayer Jesus taught Marcel. Our little brother wrote about this on April 28, 1946, saying:

I remember one day when I had absolutely nothing to say to little Jesus, I kept looking at Him, full of disgust, trying to meditate but without knowing how to begin. Seeing me in this state, little Jesus called me in order to teach me a way to occupy my mind with Him. He told me first of all to look at the bench and He added: "Little brother, say: "I love You in this bench.'" He then told me to look at everything in the oratory and to repeat for each object: 'Jesus, I love You in . . . the dust, in the fly, in the window, in the foot of the bench, in the flower, in the plant, in the flower pot, in the earth in the pot, in the shelf where it is placed, in the brick, in the pillar; I love You in the bird, in the bird's song, in the frog, in the white tree frog, in the noise it makes, in the aeroplane, in the motor car . . . etc." 

While little Jesus was teaching me this lesson, I felt like laughing and I was very distracted. I then had the following distraction: I said to myself that if it was my job to teach children, I would do such and such a thing to indulge them. Then little Jesus, once more, invited me to say: "Little Jesus, I love You in my little brothers who are playing."

Finally, little Jesus said to me: "Little brother, you can always make use of this method, and so you will be able, while resting, to make this prayer continually. In addition, this method will help you never to commit any fault in your distractions. Where the Spirit leads you, your love also leads you, in such a way that I am loved by you in every place . . ."

Since then, when I have nothing to say, I use this method, but I often want to laugh. I once said, "Little Jesus, I love You in the fly." And He said to me, laughing: "The fly smells terrible. It is very dirty, nevertheless, you love Me truly, in it. In comforting Me like this, in very ordinary things, even in a simple grain of sand, you force Me to follow you step by step in order to give you My kisses. . . "

At this point in Marcel's Conversations, Jesus takes over. He says:

"Marcel, on this day of 28 April 1946 [and we can add, on this day of 30 June 2025], how many very ordinary little things there are that people never think of, that they could offer to Me to please Me. In the eyes of Love, these little things, far from being ordinary, are very precious. However, one thing saddens Me, it is that these little things do not know how to love Me and there is no one to love Me in them and to offer them to Me. From now on, little brother, remember that My Love hides itself in the dust and the grains of sand, waiting until your words of love come to comfort Me. In loving Me in these little things, you love Me equally in the souls who do not wish still to belong to Me; I receive consolations even in these souls, since I find your love there."

*    *    *

Which method appeals to you?

"Jesus, I love You, and I say it to you, fly."
Or if you're lucky, you can say it to a deer, or if you're indoors (without a fly or a deer), you can say, as Don Dolindo did: "Jesus, I love You, and I say it to you, door."

"Little Jesus, I love You in the fly."
Or, again, perhaps you will get to say someday, "Little Jesus, I love You in the deer."
And I am almost certain you can say, if not now then soon,
"Little Jesus, I love You in the door."

I have been going for a walk each morning, and at one short juncture of a sidewalk I tread, I have found a snail crossing. One day there were ten snails crossing! Today I counted six. I forgot to say it then, but it's never too late with snails, because my son recently told me they don't have the gift of hearing anyhow. (Although that initially sounds sad, upon reflection you can see it might be one of God's great mercies. There are dogs that cross that neck of the sidewalk too, and can you imagine how loud a big dog would sound to a snail?)

Here goes then:

Jesus, I love you, and I say it to you, snails!
Jesus, I love you in the snails!

The variations on both prayers are uncountable, and I hope you have fun telling Jesus of your love - tell the world, one creature and one object at a time, whether you speak to them or to Jesus, loving Him aloud to them, loving them (whether aloud or silently) in them. The important thing is that you get to enjoy some prayer time that's less stressful and less distracted than it might have been. Or perhaps you can take a time that wasn't looking prayerful at all (for instance, while you wait in line somewhere), and interject some love for Jesus wherever you find yourself.

His love for us never ends, and He finds a million ways to tell us each day. If we play our cards right, our love for Him can find a million expressions in return - we can begin now and enjoy telling Him and all the world!

Draw me, we will run!

Happy Pentecost! Welcome to our first Octave of Pentecost post, complete with a triple feature, in honor of the Blessed Trinity!

First, my theory of miracles.
Second, a guest post by Monica Seeley on the joy the Holy Father's election brought to a wonderful Catholic school in sunny Southern California. 
And third, a mini-celebration of St. Therese's offering to Merciful Love, which she first made 130 years ago today!

*  *  * 

My theory of miracles is that they usually last about 10 minutes. Not that they then poof out of existence, but that we adjust so quickly to the wonderful that we forget to be grateful for what was brand new a few moments ago but is now, 10 minutes later, old hat!

Have you experienced any miracles lately? If you have, you'll know what I mean, and if you haven't, let's keep praying so that soon you can be in this happy position of taking for granted the grace you've been begging God for, lo these many moons.

Our little sister Therese, who has more to tell us in Part III of this post, wants to remind us at the outset that she's spending her Heaven doing good on earth, letting fall a shower of roses. That means miracles, and she'd hate for you to miss out simply because you got tired of asking. May we ask for you?

Little Flower in this hour show your power!

Our little sis is all about simplicity, so we'll let that suffice for our prayer . . . and while we wait for new miracles, let's remember one from the recent past.

It was about a month ago that we saw (or heard about) the white smoke at the Vatican, and today we have the privilege of posting an article that recently appeared on Catholic Exchange. It's by our friend Monica Seeley, whose bio states only that she raises children and chickens on the West Coast . . . I don't doubt it, but I can attest that she does much more than that! She brought my family a delicious dinner when we needed one, and she frequently organizes local 40 Days for Life events. She's what I'd call a champion for life, and a terrific writer to boot, so it's with great pleasure that we here at Miss Marcel's Musings share her story of the day the pope was elected.

Here is a LINK (just click LINK) to Monica's other articles at Catholic Exchange, but first and foremost we offer you "Habemus Papam 3 Weeks Out: Happy to be Catholic." Enjoy!

​May the Holy Spirit awaken our hearts to the miracle of Pope Leo while enlightening his mind and enflaming his heart with Eternal Wisdom and Infinite Love!

Habemus Papam 3 Weeks Out: Happy to be Catholic
by Monica Seeley

When I dropped off my high schooler at St. Augustine Academy each morning last week, a large, hand-lettered yellow sign still greeted me, propped against a stucco wall, proclaiming “Viva Il Papa!”
As exams and award ceremonies marked the end of the school year and carpools pulled out for the last time, no one wanted to take it down. It was a reminder of a day that students, teachers, and parents will long remember as one of the happiest in our little school’s 31-year history.

On Thursday morning, May 8th, the 7th grade students in headmaster Tim Moore’s Latin class weren’t doing declensions; they were discussing what happens at a papal conclave, while keeping one eye on the “chimney watch” on his laptop. When the class period ended, Tim had to go back to his office, taking his laptop with him. A mere two minutes later, white smoke billowed from the iconic smokestack.  The 7th grade will never let him forget it, he says, and he can’t blame them.

As Tim told it in his weekly “blue letter” to parents, as soon as the white smoke appeared, “the students, with some of the teachers, immediately grabbed the Vatican flag and ran out to the street with signs saying, ‘Habemus papam!’ They wanted to tell the world.”

Half an hour later, the entire student body watched the new pope appear and give his first Urbi et Orbi blessing. 

At the news that the Church had an American pope, more than a hundred students ran back out to the street, jubilantly waving more signs, an American flag now fluttering alongside the Vatican flag. Joyful chaos ensued. Students waved and shouted; trucks and cars honked enthusiastically as they drove by on the busy street.

“The students then ran back to the campus and spontaneously began singing—no teacher had prompted them,” Tim said, recounting that “beautiful day.”

Gathered on the playing field, they sang hymns. They sang patriotic songs. A video shared by Tim shows high schoolers and middle schoolers singing a French hymn to Mary with unselfconscious piety. They followed that up with a rousing “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” Wild cheering, applause, and dancing broke out at “Glory, Glory Hallelujah.” 

“When the next pope is elected, I hope I am still here at St. Augustine Academy because I don’t think any other school partied like us,” Tim said in an email later that day. The partying ended on a very American note, with ice cream sandwiches for all.

When that morning began, very few of us knew much, if anything, about Cardinal Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV. Twelve years ago, I can remember a similar scene of tumultuous happiness at the election of Jorge Bergoglio, also an unfamiliar name.

Among the parents and staff at our little school, where students attend daily Mass and learn Latin polyphonic hymns in choir, there was a certain amount of trepidation. I lie; there was a great deal of trepidation as we anxiously watched the papal balcony, wondering what kind of man had been chosen to fill the shoes of St. Peter. 

Putting your faith at the center of your life gives you a greater emotional stake in a papal election. But when Leo stepped out onto the balcony, anxiety suddenly took a backseat to joy that the Church was no longer sede vacante. The uncomplicated rejoicing of our students brought home the reality of those words and the fact of Christ’s presence in His vicar on earth.

The vague unrest that had filled me for the past few weeks—welling up at the Eucharistic prayer as the priest stumbled over “We pray for our Holy Father,” and at the end of the Rosary when we could no longer pray for the pope’s intentions—resolved itself into peace, plain and simple. 

Habemus papam! We have a father!

As our new pope stood on the balcony, looking out over the vast crowds in St. Peter’s square with tears in his eyes, discussion of his leanings—liberal, conservative, centrist?—was already buzzing.
But that went over the heads of a crowd of kids in Catholic school uniforms, trooping triumphantly down the sidewalk waving the gold and white, and red, white, and blue. Celebration was the order of the day.

“We don’t know what he will bring for the Church,” Tim said, “However, we do know who the pope is, and that is the successor of St. Peter—and like Peter, he holds the keys to the Kingdom of heaven. We know that Pope Leo is our leader and represents Christ as the leader of the Church here on earth. That is well worth celebrating.”

There will be days for discussion. But almost three weeks out, a large yellow sign proclaiming “Viva Il Papa!” reminds me that we’re still basking in the glow of the day when a bunch of school kids were just happy to be Catholic, and thrilled to have a Holy Father once again.

                                *   *   *                                   *   *   *                                *   *   *

And now, a word from our sponsor, or rather a word about her on a special anniversary . . . 

130 years ago today, history was made. Or perhaps a better way to put it is that 130 years ago today, Sister Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, the youngest of Louis (and the late Zelie) Martin of Alencon and Lisieux, gave herself as a victim of Love to the Blessed Trinity, and the world hasn't been the same since.

She was only 22 years old, and at 24 she left this exile for Heaven, where she was finally able to fulfill her greatest dreams and desires: to love God and to make Him loved to the ends of the earth.

While she was still an unknown nun in the tiny Carmel of the tiny town of Lisieux, she couldn't do much anyone would notice, but that didn't bother her a bit. In fact she loved being hidden and unknown, which made it all the more interesting and extremely strange that in the last months of her life she began to speak prophetically of the great glory she would have, the great good she would do, the great importance of her sisters saving not only her last words, but the rose petals she dropped on her crucifix (which saved petals were later distributed and mysteriously responsible for miracles) as well as the fingernails they clipped from her!

I was just reading a few pages of a book long recommended to me, The Passion of Therese of Lisieux by the great fan (and scholar) of St. Therese, Bishop Guy Gaucher of Lisieux (God rest his dear soul), and there I found - as I often do when reading of our sister - a new anecdote. New to me at least, because as much as one knows about this Little Flower, so much more is there (and then some) yet to know!

Therese was talking to her sisters (the Martin sisters who were also her sisters in Carmel) from her bed in the infirmary. She told them, "You're taking care of a little saint." I knew that line, but I didn't know that Sister Marie of the Sacred Heart (her eldest sister and godmother) was so moved that she left the room and thus didn't hear Therese's next line: "And you're saints too."

Therese has full confidence - she had it then, and she's now exchanged it for full knowledge - that we too can become saints by following her Little Way wherein sanctity consists in simply abandoning ourselves into the Father's arms and letting Him do the heavy lifting.

One of the most exciting ways she found to perform this simple act of resting in God's embrace was her offering of herself to Merciful Love, and even more exciting to me is that she wants us all to imitate her in this offering.

I've written a whole book about just one line of her offering: 

"Remain in me as in a tabernacle; never separate Yourself from Your little victim."

I've written lots of books, and I have no hesitation in recommending all of them, but this one is the bomb! It will explode your fears into a million smithereens and replace them with the ardent love God has for you, filling you with a renewed and exceedingly consoling love for Him . . .

Considering that Something New with St. Therese: Her Eucharistic Miracle is about just one line of Therese's Act of Oblation, you can imagine how many volumes upon volumes could be written about the rest of her prayer, and that's in addition to the many volumes that already have been written!

For now I will merely repeat that this day 130 years ago changed history . . . and I'll add that this day TODAY can change history again, because you too can offer yourself to Merciful Love!

Therese assured Sister Marie of the Sacred Heart that offering oneself to God in this way is NOT to invite suffering. Marie was a marvelously down to earth woman who had NO INTEREST in suffering any more than she had to. I bet that like me she didn't even have an interest in suffering as much as she had to! So there was no way she was going to invite more suffering, and when Therese asked her to join in offering herself to God's Love, Marie immediately responded "No!" She explained her complete refusal to open herself up to more suffering, and Therese explained that this offering to Love was different from the offering of oneself as a victim to God's justice that they'd both heard about in the lives of the saints. They'd even listened a few weeks before to the account of a Carmelite nun who'd recently died after offering herself to God's justice, and Therese is very clear in her Story of a Soul that this was the inspiration for her to make a totally different kind of offering. She clearly states that the offering to God's justice was very generous, but didn't attract her at all . . .

But here I am, beginning my next volume already. 
Enough blathering . . . let me share with you our little sister's Offering to Merciful Love, the offering of oneself to receive all the love God wants to give but that others reject.

Therese's first offering of herself as a victim to this Love (on June 9, 1895, Trinity Sunday that year) was made in the Carmel's chapel after Mass. She then grabbed her sister Celine and dragged her to their older sister Pauline (Mother Agnes) to ask her permission to make this act. Permission granted, Therese wrote up the formal Act over the next two days. Then on June 11, she and Celine made it together. (Sister Genevieve was Celine's name as a nun, and she is pictured above with Therese at the stone cross in the Carmel's courtyard about a year after their Oblation.)

The next December, Therese invited Sister Marie of the Trinity, her protege and favorite novice, to make the offering to Merciful Love too. After immediately saying yes, a few hours later Marie said no, she wasn't worthy or ready. Therese happily informed her that the only thing one needed to be ready was to know one wasn't worthy! Voila! The Little Way strikes again! Marie then made the Offering the next morning after Mass, with Therese beside her, offering Marie as a priest offers Jesus to the Father. (You can see Marie sitting beside Therese in the picture above, taken about 3 months after her Offering.)

Would you like Therese beside you to help offer you? I'm sure she will oblige!
She loves nothing more than making God's love known, unless it's making Him loved as she loves Him, and her Offering is her favorite method for doing just that. She put it best:

"O Jesus! why can't I tell all little souls how unspeakable is Your condescension? I feel that if You found a soul weaker and littler than mine, You would be pleased to grant it still greater favors . . . But why do I desire to communicate Your secrets of Love, O Jesus, for was it not You alone who taught them to me, and can You not reveal them to others? Yes, I know it. I beg You to cast Your Divine Glance upon a great number of little souls. I beg You to choose a legion of little victims worthy of Your love!"

Here, for your delectation and participation then, is Therese's Act of Oblation to Merciful Love:

O My God! Most Blessed Trinity, I desire to Love You and make You Loved, to work for the glory of Holy Church by saving souls on earth and liberating those suffering in purgatory. I desire to accomplish Your will perfectly and to reach the degree of glory You have prepared for me in Your Kingdom. I desire, in a word, to be a saint, but I feel my helplessness and I beg You, O my God! to be Yourself my Sanctity! 

Since You loved me so much as to give me Your only Son as my Savior and my Spouse, the infinite treasures of His merits are mine. I offer them to You with gladness, begging You to look upon me only in the Face of Jesus and in His heart burning with Love. 

I offer You, too, all the merits of the saints (in heaven and on earth), their acts of Love, and those of the holy angels. Finally, I offer You, O Blessed Trinity! the Love and merits of the Blessed Virgin, my dear Mother. It is to her I abandon my offering, begging her to present it to You. Her Divine Son, my Beloved Spouse, told us in the days of His mortal life: "Whatsoever you ask the Father in my name he will give it to you!" I am certain, then, that You will grant my desires; I know, O my God! that the more You want to give, the more You make us desire. I feel in my heart immense desires and it is with confidence I ask You to come and take possession of my soul. Ah! I cannot receive Holy Communion as often as I desire, but, Lord, are You not allpowerful? Remain in me as in a tabernacle and never separate Yourself from Your little victim. 

I want to console You for the ingratitude of the wicked, and I beg of You to take away my freedom to displease You. If through weakness I sometimes fall, may Your Divine Glance cleanse my soul immediately, consuming all my imperfections like the fire that transforms everything into itself. 

I thank You, O my God! for all the graces You have granted me, especially the grace of making me pass through the crucible of suffering. It is with joy I shall contemplate You on the Last Day carrying the scepter of Your Cross. Since You deigned to give me a share in this very precious Cross, I hope in heaven to resemble You and to see shining in my glorified body the sacred stigmata of Your Passion. 

After earth's Exile, I hope to go and enjoy You in the Fatherland, but I do not want to lay up merits for heaven. I want to work for Your Love alone with the one purpose of pleasing You, consoling Your Sacred Heart, and saving souls who will love You eternally. 

In the evening of this life, I shall appear before You with empty hands, for I do not ask You, Lord, to count my works. All our justice is stained in Your eyes. I wish, then, to be clothed in Your own Justice and to receive from Your Love the eternal possession of Yourself. I want no other Throne, no other Crown but You, my Beloved! 

Time is nothing in Your eyes, and a single day is like a thousand years. You can, then, in one instant prepare me to appear before You. 

In order to live in one single act of perfect Love, I OFFER MYSELF AS A VICTIM OF HOLOCAUST TO YOUR MERCIFUL LOVE, asking You to consume me incessantly, allowing the waves of infinite tenderness shut up within You to overflow into my soul, and that thus I may become a martyr of Your Love, O my God! 

May this martyrdom, after having prepared me to appear before You, finally cause me to die and may my soul take its flight without any delay into the eternal embrace of Your Merciful Love. 

I want, O my Beloved, at each beat of my heart to renew this offering to You an infinite number of times, until the shadows having disappeared I may be able to tell You of my Love in an Eternal Face to Face!

*  *  *

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 the favors
we now place with confidence in your hands . . . 

St. Therese, help us always to believe as you did,
in God’s great love for us,
so that we may imitate your “Little Way” each day.
Amen.

*  *  *

Alleluia! He is risen! And He has raised up with Him our sister St. Therese, canonized this day, May 17, in the Jubliee Year 1925, that is, 100 years ago today!

With joy and gladness, then, let us celebrate the Little Way our sister has opened up for us. As Pope Pius XI exhorted in his homily at the canonization Mass:

We have proof that on entering into Paradise she began at once, there also, this work among souls, when we see the mystical shower of roses which God permitted her, and still permits her to let fall upon earth, as she had ingenuously foretold.

Therefore do We desire earnestly that all the Faithful of Christ should render themselves worthy of partaking in the abundant profusion of graces resulting from the intercession of "little Thérèse." But We desire much more earnestly that all the faithful should study her in order to copy her, becoming children themselves, since otherwise they cannot, according to the oracle of the Master, arrive at the Kingdom of Heaven.
​
If the way of spiritual childhood became general, who does not see how easily would be realized the reformation of human society which We set ourselves to accomplish at the commencement of our Pontificate, and more especially in the promulgation of this Jubilee. We, therefore, adopt as our own the prayer of the new St. Thérèse with which she ends her invaluable autobiography: "O Jesus, we beseech Thee to cast Thy glance upon the vast number of little souls, and to choose in this world a legion of little victims worthy of Thy love." 

+  +  +

We pray that your day, your year, and the rest of your life in exile is simply a joyful beginning of the eternal life we share with St. Therese. May her example, her intercession, and her teaching make her for you, as she was for Pope Pius XI, "a guiding star." She promised her sisters that she would not merely watch over them, but that she would "come down," and she continues to fulfill this promise!

The book I was hoping to soon announce did indeed arrive in my mailbox like a splendid rose from our sister just in time for her centenary. A Shower of Roses, written by Camille Burette and published by Angelico Press, should be available on May 23, and you can pre-order it here:

A Shower of Roses


It is marvelous! As the subtitle announces, this book contains, "The Most Beautiful Miracles of Saint Therese of Lisieux," although I must warn that it may not actually contain The VERY Most Beautiful Miracle of St. Therese - because our sister reserves the right to have reserved that very most beautiful rose for YOU!

I'm certainly confident she has quite a few roses left up her heavenly sleeve, and she loves nothing more than to draw us into the arms of our good Jesus, there to receive His loving embrace and a free ride to Heaven. Let's not forget to ask for the moon - by which I mean every single need we can think of! Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and He is charmed by our confidence in Him as He was charmed by the confidence of little St. Therese . . .

For your reading pleasure, I've pasted in the Homily of Pius XI for Therese's Canonization, as well as the Bull of Canonization. Don't be alarmed if you notice, like I did, his cataloguing of some of her heroic virtues. She would want you to remember above all that hers is truly a Little Way and within the reach of us all, for it is God who begins and completes His work in us. Our job is to let Him! That's hard enough for us little ones who want our own way, but rest assured His way is not only better, but easier than ours, for He will do the heavy lifting.

Let's pray for each other! Let's pray that sometime we can meet on this earth to smile and laugh together in the knowledge of Jesus' great love for us, and then meet in Heaven for that ecstatic union with God that also will encompass our reunion with those we love and those hosts of angels and saints, many unknown to us until then, who have loved us, 

Hooray for Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! Hooray for their littlest son and brother, Marcel Van! And three cheers of Hip, Hip, Hooray for their littlest daughter, sister, Saint and Doctor of the Church, Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face of Lisieux, the Little Flower!!!

Draw me, we will run!!!

Homily of Pope Pius XI at the Canonization of St. Thérèse on 17 May 1925.

Source: Taylor, Rev. Thomas N., Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, The Little Flower of Jesus. New York: P.J. Kennedy & Sons, 1930, 271-274.

Blessed be God and the Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Father of mercies, and God of all consolation; who in the midst of the countless cares of our apostolic ministry, has granted Us the joy of inscribing as our first Saint in the calendar the Virgin who was also the first to be beatified by Us, at the beginning of our Pontificate. This maiden became a child in the order of grace, but her spirit of childhood was united to such greatness of soul that, in accordance with the promises of Christ, she merited to be glorified before the Church upon earth, as well as in the Heavenly Jerusalem.

We give thanks to God likewise for permitting Us, who hold the place of His Only Son, to repeat insistently today from this chair of Truth and during this solemn ceremony the salutary teaching of the Divine Master. When the disciples asked: "Who will be the greater in the Kingdom of Heaven?" calling a child and setting him in their midst, He pronounced these memorable words: "Amen, I say to you, unless you be converted and become as little children, you shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven." (Mt 18:2)

The new St. Thérèse had learned thoroughly this teaching of the Gospels and had translated it into her daily life. Moreover she taught the way of spiritual childhood by word and example to the novices of her monastery. She set it forth clearly in all her writings, which have gone to the ends of the world, and which assuredly no one has read without being charmed thereby, or without reading them again and again with great pleasure and much profit. For this simple child, this flower that blossomed in the walled garden of Carmel, not content with adding to Thérèse the name of the "Child Jesus," retraced in herself His living image, so that it may be said that whosoever honors Thérèse honors the Divine Model she reproduced.

Therefore We nurse the hope today of seeing springing up in the souls of the faithful of Christ a burning desire of leading a life of spiritual childhood. That spirit consists in thinking and acting, under the influence of virtue, as a child feels and acts in the natural order. Little children are not blinded by sin, or disturbed by the passions, and they enjoy in peace the possession of their innocence. Guiltless of malice or pretense, they speak and act as they think, so that they show themselves as they really are. Thus Thérèse appeared more angelic than human in her practice of truth and justice, endowed as she was with the simplicity of a child. The Maid of Lisieux had ever in memory the invitation and the promises of her Spouse: "Whosoever is a little one, let him come to Me." (Prov. 9:4) "You shall be carried at the breasts, and upon the knees they shall caress you; as one whom the mother caresses, so will I comfort you." (Is. 64:12-13)

Conscious of her weakness she abandoned herself entirely to God, and leaning upon Him she labored to acquire -- at the cost of every sacrifice, and of an utter yet joyous abdication of her own will -- the perfection she arrived at. We need not be surprised if in Thérèse was accomplished the word of Christ: "Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, he is the greater in the Kingdom of Heaven." (Mt 18:4) In her catechism lessons she drank in the pure doctrine of Faith, from the golden book of The Imitation of Christ she learned asceticism, in the writings of St. John of the Cross she found her mystical theology. Above all, she nourished heart and soul with the inspired Word of God on which she meditated assiduously, and the Spirit of Truth taught her what He hides as a rule from the wise and prudent and reveals to the humble. Indeed, God enriched her with a quite exceptional wisdom, so that she was enabled to trace out for others a sure way of salvation.

That superabundant share of divine light and grace enkindled in Thérèse so ardent a flame of love, that she lived by it alone, rising above all created things, till in the end it consumed her; so much so that shortly before her death she could candidly avow she had never given God anything but Love.

Evidently it was under the influence of that burning charity that the Maid of Lisieux took the resolution of doing all things for love of Jesus, with the sole object of pleasing Him, of consoling His Divine Heart, and of saving a multitude of souls who would love Him eternally. We have proof that on entering into Paradise she began at once, there also, this work among souls, when we see the mystical shower of roses which God permitted her, and still permits her to let fall upon earth, as she had ingenuously foretold.

Therefore do We desire earnestly that all the Faithful of Christ should render themselves worthy of partaking in the abundant profusion of graces resulting from the intercession of "little Thérèse." But We desire much more earnestly that all the faithful should study her in order to copy her, becoming children themselves, since otherwise they cannot, according to the oracle of the Master, arrive at the Kingdom of Heaven.

If the way of spiritual childhood became general, who does not see how easily would be realized the reformation of human society which We set ourselves to accomplish at the commencement of our Pontificate, and more especially in the promulgation of this Jubilee. We, therefore, adopt as our own the prayer of the new St. Thérèse with which she ends her invaluable autobiography: "O Jesus, we beseech Thee to cast Thy glance upon the vast number of little souls, and to choose in this world a legion of little victims worthy of Thy love." Amen.


Bull of Canonization of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face. (Vehementer exultamus hodie)

Source: Taylor, Rev. Thomas N., Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, The Little Flower of Jesus. New York: P.J. Kennedy & Sons, 1930, 279 - 289.

Vehemently do We exult this day, and We are filled with the greatest joy, because it is granted to Us who beatified the daughter of Carmel, Thérèse of the Child Jesus, and proposed her as a model, to celebrate now her canonization, under the authority of Our Lord Jesus Christ, of the holy Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul, and under our own authority.

This Virgin, truly wise and prudent, walked in the way of the Lord in the simplicity of her soul, and being made perfect in a short space, fulfilled a long time. Thereafter while still in the flower of her years, she was called to Paradise to receive the crown which her heavenly Spouse had prepared for her. During her lifetime she was known only to a few, but immediately after her saintly death her fame spread abroad in marvelous fashion throughout the whole Christian world, on account of the innumerable wonders wrought by Almighty God at her intercession. Indeed, it seemed as if, in accordance with her dying promise, she were letting fall upon earth a shower of Roses. Hence it came to pass that Holy Church decided to bestow upon her the high honors reserved for the Saints without observing the statutory delays.

The child was born at Alençon in the diocese of Séez, in France, on January 2, 1873, of a father and amother remarkable for their piety, Louis Stanislaus Martin and Marie Zélie Guérin. [They were canonized October 18, 2015.] On January 4 she was baptized, receiving the name of Marie Françoise Thérèse.

Scarcely had she passed the age of four years and a half when she was bereft of her mother, and so became a prey to the deepest sorrow. Her education was thenceforth entrusted to her sisters, Marie and Pauline, whom she strove to obey perfectly in all things, the while she lived under the watchful care of her well-beloved father. Thanks to her teachers, Thérèse hastened like a giant along the way to perfection. From her earliest years it was her chief delight to talk frequently of God, and she always kept before her mind the thought that she must not inflict the slightest pain on the Holy Child Jesus.

Inspired by the Holy Spirit she longed to lead a most holy life and promised earnestly that she would refuse God nothing He should seem to ask of her, a resolution she endeavored to keep until death. As soon as she had reached the age of nine she was given into the charge of the Benedictine nuns of Lisieux, with whom she spent the day, returning home at nightfall. Though younger than the other scholars, she outstripped them all in progress and piety, studying the mysteries of our Faith with such zeal and insight that the chaplain of the convent styled her his "theologian," or the "little doctor." As time passed she learned by heart the whole of that admirable book, The Imitation of Christ, while the Sacred Scriptures became so familiar to her, that in her writings she used them aptly, frequently, and with authority.

In her tenth year, she was long afflicted by a mysterious and deadly disease from which, as she herself narrates, she was freed through Our Blessed Lady, to whom she had been making a novena under the invocation of Our Lady of Victories, and who appeared to her with a smile upon her lips. Thereafter, filled with angelic fervor, she made her soul ready for the sacred Banquet in which we partake of the Body of Christ.

As soon as she had tasted of the Eucharistic Bread, she felt an insatiable hunger for that heavenly Food, and, as if inspired, she begged of Jesus, her sole delight, to "change for her into bitterness all human consolation." Then, all aflame with love for Christ and His Church, she had a most keen desire to enter among the Discalced Carmelites, so that by her self-denial and continual sacrifices "she might bring help to priests and missionaries and the entire Church," and might gain innumerable souls for Jesus Christ. At the approach of death she promised that when with God she would continue this work.

While yet but fourteen years old, on account of her tender age, she met with serious opposition on the part of the ecclesiastical authorities regarding her vocation to the cloister. These difficulties she surmounted with a strength of soul well-nigh incredible, and in spite of her natural shyness, she revealed her intention to our predecessor, Leo XIII of happy memory. The Pontiff remitted the matter to the decision of the Superiors. though balked of her desire, and stricken with grief, nevertheless she was perfectly submissive to the divine will.

After this stern trial of her patience and her vocation, on the night day of April 1888, with the approval of her Bishop, she entered the Carmelite Monastery of Lisieux. In Carmel God wonderfully trained the heart of Thérèse, who, imitating the hidden life of Our Lady at Nazareth, like a well-watered garden put forth the flowers of every virtue, but most of all those of a burning love for God and most ardent charity of her neighbor, inasmuch as she had thoroughly understood that commandment of the Lord: "Love one another as I have loved you."

In order more and more to give pleasure to Jesus Christ, having dwelt upon the invitation given in Scripture: "If anyone is little, let him come unto Me," she desired to be a little one in spirit, and thenceforth with a childlike and perfect trust she surrendered herself entirely and for ever to God, as to a most loving Father. This way of spiritual childhood, in keeping with the doctrine of the Gospel, she taught to others, especially to the novices, whom out of obedience she had undertaken to train in the exercise of the virtues of the religious life, and then filled with a holy and apostolic zeal [by her writings] she enthusiastically opened up the way of evangelical simplicity to a world puffed up with pride, "loving vanity and searching after falsehood."

Jesus, her Spouse, set her completely on fire with a longing to suffer both in body and in soul. Realizing with the utmost sorrow how Divine Love was on all sides forgotten, two years before her death she offered herself wholeheartedly as a victim to "God's Merciful Love." Then, as it is reported, she was wounded by a flaming dart, so that, consumed by the divine fire, rapt in ecstasy, with the cry of "My God, I love Thee!" upon her lips, she went to her reward at the age of twenty-four. It was on September 30, 1897, that she took flight to her Spouse, and thus, according to the well-known eulogy of Holy Scripture: "having been made perfect in a short space, she fulfilled a long time."

The funeral rites were duly carried out, and she was buried in the cemetery of Lisieux. From there her fame spread throughout the world and her sepulcher became glorious. Scarcely had she entered Paradise than she began to fulfill by innumerable miracles -- as she still continues to fulfill -- her promise of sending down to earth a perpetual shower of Roses, that is, of graces. The high esteem which she enjoyed among those who knew her in life was wonderfully increased after her death.

Urged by her great reputation for holiness, many Cardinals, Bishops, and Religious Superiors sent petitions to Pope [St.] Pius X, begging that her cause of canonization would be introduced. the Holy Father hearkened to the many prayers, and on the ninth of June, 1914, signed the decree of the Commission of the Introduction of the Cause, which was entrusted to the Postulator-General of the Discalced Carmelites, Reverend Father Rodrigo of St. Francis of Paola.

The Process having been carried through its various stages, and the heroic nature of the virtues practiced by Thérèse having been duly inquired into, the General Congregation was held on August 2, 1921, in presence of Pope Benedict XV. His Eminence, Cardinal Vico, Ponent of the Cause, submitted for discussion the question of the heroism of the Servant of God in practicing the theological virtues of Faith, Hope, and Charity, as also the cardinal virtues of Prudence, Fortitude, Justice, and Temperance. The Cardinals and Consulters present gave their vote, and after delaying in order to obtain further light from God, Our Predecessor promulgated his decision on the eve of the Assumption, to the effect that the Venerable Thérèse had practiced the above virtues to an heroic degree.

So rapid and triumphant was the progress of the Cause that at once two miracles were proposed for examination, chosen out of a multitude of prodigies said to have been wrought throughout the Christian world by the powerful intercession of the Venerable Thérèse. The first concerned Sister Louise of St. Germain, of the Daughters of the Cross, victim of an organic disease, namely, a grave ulcer in the stomach, of hemorragic nature. On having recourse to the intercession of Thérèse, she was restored to perfect health, as three eminent doctors have unanimously testified at the request of the Sacred Congregation of Rites. The second miracle, somewhat similar to the first, was the cure of the young seminarist, Charles Anne, victim of pulmonary haemoptysis, of the cavitary stage. He confidently invoked the aid of the Servant of God and was perfectly cured. This is clear from the testimony of the three doctors, and from the reasons on which they based their decisions.

After the Antepreparatory and Preparatory Congregation, the General Congregation, on January 30, 1923, discussed in our presence the miraculous nature of three cures. According to custom, We reserved our decision in order to obtain further assistance from God, and on Quinquagesima Sunday, February 11, 1923, Feast of the Apparition of Our Lady at Lourdes, and eve of the first anniversary of our coronation, We decided to make it known. In the presence of Cardinal Vico, Prefect of the Congregation of Rites, and others of its members, We solemnly declared the above instantaneous and complete cures to be beyond doubt miraculous, and We gave orders for the promulgation of a Decree to that effect.

Shortly after, on March 6, Cardinal Vico, at another general reunion of the Congregation of Rites, put the question: "The virtues of the Venerable Servant of God and the two miracles required having been formally recognized, can the Beatification safely be proceeded with?" The decision was unanimously in the affirmative. After a brief delay, on the Feast of St. Joseph, We solemnly declared that in all safety Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus could receive the honors of Beatification, and We ordained the publication of the Brief for the ceremony in the Vatican Basilica. In the same Patriarchal Basilica of the Prince of the Apostles amid an outpouring of universal joy, the Servant of God became Blessed Thérèse.

Hearing of the fresh prodigies accomplished by Thérèse of the Child Jesus, We commissioned the Sacred Congregation of Rites on July 27, 1923, to take up anew the Cause of the Beata. On July 11, 1924, We ratified a decree of the Sacred Congregation which declared that the examinations in the dioceses of Parma [Italy] and Malines [Belgium], concerning miracles attributed to Blessed Thérèse were valid processes.

Gabriella Trimusi, who at the age of twenty-three had entered the Convent of the Poor Daughters of the Sacred Heart in Parma, began in 1913 to suffer in her left knee. She was in the habit of breaking the firewood across her knee, and this caused a lesion at the joint which prepared the way for a tuberculous infection. The trouble began with a dull pain, then the knee became swollen, and finally loss of appetite brought about emaciation. She was attended by two physicians, but without success, so that three years later she was sent to Milan, where injections, sunbaths, and various other forms of treatment were tried in vain; at the end of four years the spine itself became affected. The invalid returned to Parma, where several doctors diagnosed it as a case of tuberculous lesion, and prescribed general remedies. A radiograph of the knee revealed at this period the existence of periostitis at the head of the tibia. Taken to the hospital, she was once more subjected to X-rays, but while there was attacked by Spanish influenza, and began to suffer fresh and constantly increasing pain in the vertebral column. All remedies proving ineffective, she was recommended by a priest on June 13, 1923, to join in a public novena in honor of Blessed Thérèse. She joined in the prayers, more concerned, however, over the health of the other nuns than her own. The close of the novena coincided with the close of a triduum in a neighboring Carmel, and several of the nuns -- Gabriella among the rest -- sought permission to attend the ceremony. On her return, after slowly and painfully effecting the short journey, she entered the chapel of the Community, where the others were already assembled. The Superioress exhorted her to pray with confidence, and bade her go to her place. Strange to say, the invalid knelt down unconsciously on her knee without feeling the slightest pain, nor did she realize what she had done, on account of the increase of suffering at the moment in the spine. She next went to the refectory with others, and, the meal finished, slowly mounted the stairs. Going into the first room she saw, she took off the apparatus she wore to support the spine, and cried out loudly: "I am cured, I am cured!"

Sister Gabriella Trimusi returned at once to her labors and the exercises of religious life, without either pain or fatigue. The doctors appointed by the Sacred Congregation discussed the miracle at great length, and decided that the lesion at the knee was chronic arthrosynovitis and the spinal trouble was chronic spondulitis. These two lesions, rebellious to all other treatment, yielded to God's power, and Sister Gabriella by a miracle recovered the health which she still enjoys.

The story of the second miracle is more brief. In October 1919, Maria Pellemans was a victim of pulmonary tuberculosis, and this was followed by gastritis and enteritis, both of them likewise of a tuberculous nature. She was medically attended at home, then in a sanatorium. In August 1920, she went to Lourdes, but all to no purpose. In March, 1923, she accompanied a small band of pilgrims to Lisieux, and while kneeling at the tomb of the Blessed Thérèse she was suddenly restored to perfect health. Three specially appointed doctors made a favorable report to the Sacred Congregation on both miracles.

In these cures, the reality of the miraculous nature admitted of no doubt whatsoever, indeed it shone with unwonted splendor on account of the special circumstances in which the prodigies occurred. For that reason, on March 17, 1925, in a General Congregation, Cardinal Vico sought the verdict of the Cardinals and Consulters, based on the unanimous decision of the medial experts. We ourselves reserved our opinion until March 19, Feast of St. Joseph, when in the presence of the Cardinal Prefect and other dignitaries of the Sacred Congregation of Rite We solemnly proclaimed the two cures to be of a certainty miraculous. On March 29, after having received the unanimous vote of the Cardinals and the Consulters, We solemnly declared the Canonization of the Blessed Thérèse could be proceeded with in safety.

After all these preliminaries, in order to comply with the prescriptions laid down by our Predecessors, and to enhance the splendor of the august ceremony, We convoked a Secret Consistory of the Cardinals on March 30, to ask their advice on the question of the solemn canonization. Cardinal Vico spoke eloquently on the life and miracles of Blessed Thérèse of the Child Jesus, and warmly begged that she be raised to the highest honors. Each of the Cardinals expressed his opinion on the matter in question. On April 2 We held a Public Consistory, at which after an able discourse by the Consistorial advocate, John Gusco, all the Cardinals exhorted Us to give a final decision. We, however, invited by special letters not merely the neighboring Bishops, but also those most remote to come to Us and pronounce their opinion. Many came from various countries, and on April 22 took part in a semi-public Consistory, after having acquainted themselves -- by means of an abridgment -- with the life and miracles of the Beta, and all the process gone through by the Congregation of Rites. Patriarchs, Archbishops, and Bishops united themselves to the Cardinals, urging upon Us to celebrate this canonization.

We therefore decided to celebrate it on May 17, in the Vatican Basilica, and exhorted the faithful to redouble their prayers, both for their own spiritual benefit and for our guidance by the Spirit of God.
On this most happy and desired day, the secular and regular clergy of Rome, the Prelates and Officials of the Curia, and finally all the Patriarchs, Bishops and Abbots then in the Eternal City gathered in the Vatican Basilica, the same being magnificently decorated. We ourselves brought up the rear of the procession. Then our Venerable Brother, Anthony Cardinal Vico, after a speech by Virgil Jacoucci, Consistorial advocate, set forth to Us the desire of the Episcopate, and the Order of Discalced Carmelites, that We should place among the Saints Blessed Thérèse of the Child Jesus, whom already We had proclaimed the patroness of the Missions and Noviciates of the Order. A second and third time they renewed their petition. Then after earnest prayers for light: "In honor of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, for the glory of the Catholic Faith, by the authority of Jesus Christ, of Peter and Paul, and by our own authority, after mature deliberation and at the request of the Cardinals, Patriarchs and Bishops, We declared that the professed nun of the Order of Discalced Carmelites, Thérèse of the Child Jesus, was a Saint and was to be inscribed in the calendar of the Saints, memory of her to be kept on October the third of each year. [With the change of the liturgical calendar, St. Thérèse's feast day was moved to October 1st .] Finally, We returned fervent thanks to God for so great a favor, celebrated the Holy Sacrifice, granted a Plenary Indulgence, and ordained the publication of the Decree, to be signed by all the Cardinals and by ourselves.

Today, faithful flock of Christ, the Church offers a new and most noble model of virtue for all of you to contemplate unceasingly. For the peculiar characteristic of the sanctity to which God called Thérèse of the Child Jesus lies chiefly in this, that having heard the Divine call she obeyed with the utmost promptness and fidelity. Without going beyond the common order of things, in her way of life she followed out and fulfilled her vocation with such alacrity, generosity, and constancy that she reached an heroic degree of virtue. In our own day, when men seek so passionately after temporal goods, this young maiden lived in our midst practicing in all simplicity and devotedness the Christian virtues in order to honor God and to win eternal life. May her example strengthen in virtue and lead to amore perfect life, not only the cloistered souls but those living in the world.
​
In our present needs let us all invoke the patronage of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, that by her intercession a shower of Roses, that is, of the graces we require, may descend upon us. All of which We solemnly affirm out of the fullness of the Apostolic authority, and if anyone contravene our Decree -- he shall incur the wrath of God and of St. Peter and St. Paul. Given in Rome, at St. Peter's, May 17, 1925, in the fourth year of our Pontificate, I, Pius, Bishop of the Catholic Church, et cetera.

We're late, but then we're almost always late . . . The question is, what are we late for this time?


We joyfully announce that it is time and past time to start our novena leading to the centenary of our little sister Therese's canonization. Yup, time flies, and it's already been almost 100 years since May 17, 1925!

Technically, our novena started yesterday, so forgive me for waiting until today to let you know. If you want excuses, I'll trot up the old standard that we were all distracted praying for a new pope. God took care of that in quick time, though, so now we can get back to our important work of piling up all our other needs before Him. The good news is that thanks to a friend of mine reminding me here (God bless and reward you, dear Mary!), Marcel and I started for the novena for us all yesterday, so we've got your back! Jump in now and we'll pray together until, before you know it, 100 years will have passed - from Therese's canonization to our centenary celebrations of the same!

This is a feast you don't want to miss because whether you're ready or not, our favorite Heavenly florist is sure to do what she does so well and shower you with roses upon roses. As we used to say when I was a kid, "Expect it when you least expect it!" As for when you most expect it, well you're absolutely right to expect it then too! St. Therese has her statue in just about every Catholic church in the world for good reason: she LOVES to show us God's love, and this past 100 years of her coming down in order to draw us back up to Him is just the very beginning.

Before we lose any more time, though, let's get our novena started:

Novena to St Therese

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 us always to believe as you did,
in God’s great love for us,
so that we may imitate your “Little Way” each day.
Amen.

*  *  *

I had the joy of speaking with Marcel's translator recently, and he surprised me by teasingly calling me the Queen of Novenas. While it's true that I love a good novena, I've been inspired by a local friend who might possibly love novenas even more than I do! And then when considering candidates for the title, I'm wondering if the Queen of Novenas should really be our Blessed Mother. After all, she was there in the upper room with the Apostles at the first novena leading to Pentecost, and then she is (although Marcel has to plug his ears because he will only call her Mother and never worry about her being something as grand as Queen), well, she is the Queen of everything, so why not Queen of Novenas too?

Ah, but we are Miss Marcel's Musings because we want to follow Marcel in all things (just as he wanted to follow Therese in all things), so perhaps we can find a fourth candidate for the title . . . 

St. Louis, Therese's Papa, was fond of calling the Little Flower his Little Queen! Surely, then, we can pass the title off to Little Queen Therese. This is quite fitting, too, because she is arguably the one in Heaven to whom the most novenas have been said, at least since she flew there herself in 1897. 

I'd like to submit, as Exhibit A on Therese's behalf, a soon-to-be-released book coming to us from France, courtesy of Angelico Press, God bless them. I'll alert you as soon as I know more about the when, but as for the what, this is a book of testimonies of miracles worldwide, testimonies taken from the many volumes of Shower of Roses published by the Lisieux Carmel in the years before and just after Therese's canonization. The online archives of the Lisieux Carmel have this to say about the original volumes (from which the new book's Roses are taken):

"The Shower of Roses is a one-of-a-kind collection of miracle stories. Published between 1907 and 1926, in 10 volumes including 7 chronological, 2 thematic and an anthology, it presents more than 3,200 testimonies of graces and healings obtained through the intercession of Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus, before her canonization."

The lay archivist of the Lisieux Carmel has compiled a selection from these wonderful old books, and now Angelico Press has had her book translated into English, soon to be released as evidence for Therese's new title: Queen of Novenas! You'll discover just a fraction of her answers to the gazillions of novenas said in hopes of her obtaining miracles, and the awesome news is that SHE DID OBTAIN MIRACLES! Better yet: She still does obtain miracles!

One of the delightful and hilarious things about little Therese (or, I should say, about the Queen of Novenas) is that she loves to tease by making us say several novenas before she gives in and lets go of all those roses she's holding. I smile and start laughing just thinking of the miracle stories I've read that start typically enough with a desperate person saying a novena to little Therese . . . and then as the story continues, the person gets no answer at the end of the novena so . . . starts another novena to Therese . . . and continues with novenas until the answer finally comes! Don't get me wrong, often people have their prayers answered on the first or second day of their first novena to Therese. She's known for promptness, attention to detail, and HUGE miracles! But she is also known, as Marcel reveals her in his Conversations, as very mischievous and also very clever. 

I don't know about you, but once my prayer is answered and my miracle obtained (and yes, I have definitely seen miracles!), it takes about ten minutes, sometimes less, for the miracle to become just the most normal thing in the world. That's how miracles work for us humans, and that's why we need so many! As soon as one terrible problem is solved, another one rears its unwelcome head! Or to look at things a little more positively, as soon as God has answered our prayers, we adjust to the new normal and forget that this was a longed for and almost unhoped for grace!

Sheesh, what a bunch of maroons we are, as Bugs Bunny long ago noticed!
No wonder Our Heavenly Father and little St. Therese sometimes conspire to make us wait for our needed miracles . . . 

We have our good points too, however, like always turning again to God in search of the next miracle. Some might call this greedy, but Therese and Marcel and I are assured by Jesus that it is actually endearing.

As Therese told her sister Marie, what pleases the Good Lord is to see us love our littleness and our poverty. She assures us that what He loves in her isn't some greatness, but rather, "It is the blind hope that I have in His mercy . . . This is my only treasure, why shouldn't this treasure be yours?"

Let's start and end there. We are delightful to God precisely because in our poverty we look to Him for our daily bread, not to mention sundry and assorted daily miracles. I've got a long list I'm insistent He take care of asap. How about you? Do you need miracles? I'm adding yours to my list, and feel free to add all mine to yours. Then, let's pray! We've said the novena prayer once already, but if we say it again, you'll be all caught up, and if by chance you started yesterday, you'll be ahead of the game! It's a joyful race to May 17, and following our little sister, I say:

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 the favors
we now place with confidence in your hands . . . 

St. Therese, help us always to believe as you did,
in God’s great love for us,
so that we may imitate your “Little Way” each day.
Amen.

From today's Mass, Thursday of 3rd week of Easter:
Blessed be God, Who refused me not my prayer or His kindness!

From today's Divine Office:
Like a shepherd He will gather the lambs in His arms and carry them close to His heart, alleluia.

From the depths of our hearts:
Viva il Papa!

Today is May 8, the anniversary of St. Therese's First Holy Communion and also (from a much earlier date) the anniversary (and feast) of the apparition of St. Michael the Archangel in the cave of Gargano, a place more recently much beloved by St. Padre Pio, who sent many a penitent there to pray.

Today is also the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii, the church built by St. Bartolo Longo in honor of Our Lady. On this day in 1876 the foundation stone was laid of what is now a magnificent pilgrimage site. On this day a few years later, in 1884, Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii graciously healed Fortuna Agrelli. I'll include a wonderful timeline of the history of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii below, thanks to "the Miracle Hunter." (Hey, we share what we find because all truth is from the Holy Spirit!)

And today today - not a repetition, but rather on this day today, Our Heavenly Father has given us a new Holy Father. And so we say, Viva il Papa!

Please join me in thanking God and, if you are so inclined, join me too in offering a Rosary and some sacrifice for Pope Leo XIV. I like prayer much more than I like sacrifice, but I've decided such a momentous occasion deserves both! I'm thinking we can up our Rosaries as the days go on (because however wonderful this very day is, it will only be 24 hours long, and then Our Holy Father will, with each succeeding day, need our prayers more than ever), and perhaps offer an ongoing sacrifice of some sort. Don't hurt yourself, but have fun with it because God loves a cheerful giver!

I absolutely love that Pope Leo XIV's first words were reminiscent of Pope St. John Paul II's - both quoted Our Lord, and both gave us words to dwell on and abide in.

"Be not afraid," said Our Lord and JPII.

"Peace be with you," said Our Lord and Leo XIV.

To quote him more fully, Pope Leo said in his first words to us, his children, his flock:

Peace be with you! Dearest brothers and sisters, this was the first greeting of the risen Christ, the Good Shepherd who gave His life for the flock of God. I, too, would like this greeting of peace to enter your hearts, to reach your families and all people, wherever they are; and all peoples, and all the earth: Peace be with you.

This is the peace of the Risen Christ, a disarming and humble and persevering peace. It comes from God. God, who loves all of us, without any limits or conditions. Let us keep in our ears the weak but always brave voice of Pope Francis, who blessed Rome - the Pope who blessed Rome and the world that day on the morning of Easter.

Allow me to continue that same blessing. God loves us, all of us, evil will not prevail. We are all in the hands of God. Without fear, united, hand in hand with God and among ourselves, we will go forward. We are disciples of Christ, Christ goes before us, and the world needs His light. Humanity needs Him like a bridge to reach God and His love. You help us to build bridges with dialogue and encounter so we can all be one people always in peace.

Thank you Pope Francis!

Thank you to my Cardinal brothers who chose me to be the Successor of Peter and to walk together with you as a united Church searching all together for peace and justice, working together as women and men, faithful to Jesus Christ without fear, proclaiming Christ, to be missionaries, faithful to the gospel.

I am a son of Saint Augustine, an Augustinian. He said, “With you I am a Christian, for you a bishop." So may we all walk together towards that homeland that God has prepared for us.

To the Church of Rome, a special greeting:

We have to look together how to be a missionary Church, building bridges, dialogue, always open to receiving with open arms for everyone, like this square, open to all, to all who need our charity, our presence, dialogue, love.

[In Spanish]:
Hello to all and especially to those of my diocese of Chiclayo in Peru, a loyal, faithful people accompanying the bishop and helping the bishop.

[Returning to Italian]:
To all you brothers and sisters of Rome, Italy, of all the world, we want to be a synodal church, walking and always seeking peace, charity, closeness, especially to those who are suffering.

Today is the day of the Supplicatio [Plea] to Our Lady of Pompeii.
Our Blessed Mother Mary always wants to walk with us, be close to us, she always wants to help us with her intercession and her love. So let us pray together for this mission, and for all of the Church, and for peace in the world.

We ask for this special grace from Mary, our Mother.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
​

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Draw me, we will run!

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Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii
​
Summary

Bl. Bartolo Longo founded the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary and enshrined a miraculous image there. Many healings have ensued including one involving Fortuna Agrelli. The Virgin appeared as the Queen of the Rosary on March 3, 1884 to Fortuna Agrelli after she and her parents had prayed for her recovery from an illness. The girl was healed on May 8 of that year.

​Aug 24, 79
Pompeii was destroyed when nearby Mount Vesuvius erupted and covered the city in molten lava.

ca. 300
In the fourth century, Christians settled in the area. Early records indicate that a large church dedicated to the Most Holy Savior was erected there.

ca. 1000
The church there was entrusted to the care of the Benedictines. In time, the church was destroyed and a small chapel built on the site. The lands were eventually ceded to a Neapolitan noble who allowed the property to deteriorate. Local inhabitants acquired the right of patronage, and Valle di Pompeii became one of eighteen parishes in Italy where the priest was elected by the people.

1841
Bartolo Longo was born the son of a doctor near Brindisi, on Italy's Adriatic coast. He became an easygoing, intelligent man devoted to the Church.

Bartolo went through a crisis of faith in his university years as he studied to be lawyer, where he joined a sect and was ordained as a priest of Satan. He publicly ridiculed Christianity and did all in his power to subvert Catholic influence.

A good friend, Vincent Pede, eventually showed Bartolo the gentleness of Christ and arranged for him to meet a saintly Dominican priest, Alberto Radente. The Dominican had a deep, personal devotion to Mary and fostered the devotion of the rosary.

When Bartolo Longo was baptized, he chose the second name, Maria, to be his baptismal name. He saw Mary as a 'Refuge of Sinners' and attributed his miraculous conversion to her. She was the 'Refuge' who would lead him to Christ. After his conversion, Bartolo Maria Longo wanted to do penance for his past life and serve the Church he had so viciously slandered. He made a promise to work for the poor and destitute. He also published a pamphlet entitled, The Rosary of New Pompeii and did all in his power to spread the devotion.

One evening, as he walked near the ruined rat- and lizard-infested chapel at Pompeii, he had a profound mystical experience. He wrote:

As I pondered over my condition, I experienced a deep sense of despair and almost committed suicide. Then I heard an echo in my ear of the voice of Friar Alberto repeating the words of the Blessed Virgin Mary: "If you seek salvation, promulgate the Rosary. This is Mary's own promise." These words illumined my soul. I went on my knees. "If it is true ... I will not leave this valley until I have propagated your Rosary."

1872
When he arrived in Pompeii to administer the property of a wealthy widow, the Countess Marianna De Fusco, he was struck by the human and religious poverty of the local peasants. He dedicated himself to teaching the catechism and spreading devotion to the rosary, and he organized yearly festivals in the fall to bring people together for catechesis and to pray the rosary.

1873
Bartolo then sponsored a festival on the Feast of the Holy Rosary. His first effort failed. It rained, and the preacher spoke in classical Italian instead of the local dialect which the people understood.

1874
He tried the next year; he wasn't much more successful, but he had taught some of the people to pray the rosary.

1875
The third year, he invited the Redemptorist Fathers to hold a two-week mission. In preparation, he fully restored the little church. The mission, blessed by the bishop, was a successful revival. It was, in fact, the bishop who envisioned a large church and pilgrimage place in the future.

Feb 13, 1876
He thought, if the people had a proper church and, most especially, an image of Our Lady of the Rosary as the focal point, their hearts might be converted. Bartolo began searching the stores of Naples, and found and restored a painting, considered to be of dubious beauty and quality.

The only one he could afford was an oleograph on paper. At the time, church law required sacred images to be painted in oils on canvas or wood. He was told about a painting of Our Lady of the Rosary being kept in a convent that had been purchased in a junk shop for 3,40 Lire. Longo described it himself:

Not only was it worm-eaten, but the face of the Madonna was that of a coarse, rough country-woman ... a piece of canvas was missing just above her head ... her mantle was cracked. Nothing need be said of the hideousness of the other figures. St. Dominic looked like a street idiot. To Our Lady's left was a St. Rose. This I had changed later into a St. Catherine of Siena ... I hesitated whether to refuse the gift or to accept ... I took it. (Queen of the Valley by Martin A. Stillmock)

The image was too large to carry from Naples to Pompeii, but Bartolo finally found someone who would take it to the chapel for him. When it arrived, it was lying on a wagon of manure. An attempt was made by an amateur to restore it, and it was placed in the church on the day of the foundation for the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary there.

1880
The famous Italian painter, Federico Madlarelli, offered to restore the image.

1883
The new shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary was completed. Within the month, miraculous events began to take place at the shrine. Four healings were recorded including that of Fortuna Agrelli (see below). From that time on, especially between 1891 and 1894, hundreds of miracles have been officially recorded at the sanctuary.

Bartolo appealed to the people:
In this place selected for its prodigies, we wish to leave to present and future generations a monument to the Queen of Victories that will be less unworthy of her greatness but more worthy of our faith and love.

Jan 1883
Fortuna Agrelli became ill with 3 separate incurable diseases and her doctors had given up on her case saying it was hopeless.

Oct 1883
A special devotion known as the Supplication to the Queen of Victories was begun on October 1883 and is recited all over the world, especially on May 8 and on the first Sunday in October. The devotion includes a request thought to have been given by Our Lady to one of the children healed at Pompeii, "Whoever desires favors of me should make three novenas of petition and three of thanksgiving."

Feb 16, 1884
She and her relatives began a novena of Rosaries for her recovery.

March 3 , 1884
The Blessed Mother appeared to Fortuna. She was sitting on a high throne profusely decorated with flowers with the Infant Jesus on her lap. She held a Rosary in her hand and was accompanied by St. Dominic and St. Catherine of Siena. Our Lady and the Child were clad in gold-embroidered garments.

Fortuna petitioned Our Lady, "Queen of the Holy Rosary, be gracious to me, restore me to health." The Blessed Virgin replied, "You have invoked me by various titles and have always obtained favors from me. Now, since you have called me by the title so pleasing to me, 'Queen of the Holy Rosary,' I can no longer refuse the favor that you petition; for this name is most precious and dear to me. Make three novenas, and you will obtain all."

May 8, 1884
Fortuna was cured. Afterwards, Our Lady appeared again. This time she said, "Whosoever desires to obtain favors from me should make three novenas of the prayers of the Rosary in petition and three novenas in thanksgiving."

1891
The neoclassical pontifical shrine and Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii, in all its frescoed, marble splendor, was dedicated sixteen years after Longo began to collect pennies from the peasants to build this temple to Mary.

1894
Bartolo and his wife, Countess Marianna Farnararo De Fusco, gave the new church to the papacy, in whose care the shrine has remained since. The image was crowned immediately after its enthronement on the inauguration day of the opening of the new shrine.

1926
Bartolo Longo died in 1926.

1934
The present structure of The Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary
was begun at the request of Pope Pius XI.

1965
The image was again finally restored by Vatican artists. In 1965, after the third restoration of the image, Pope Paul VI said the following during a homily: "Just as the image of the Virgin has been repaired and decorated ... so may the image of Mary that all Christians must have within themselves be restored, renovated, and enriched." At the end of this solemn celebration, Pope Paul VI placed two new precious diadems on the heads of Jesus and Mary, crowns that had been offered by the people.

Oct 21, 1979
Pope John Paul II first visited the shrine.

Oct. 26, 1980
Pope John Paul II beatified the founder of the shrine, Bartolo Longo. His feast day is Oct. 6. Blessed Bartolo, a Third Order Dominican, founded the Sisters of the Holy Rosary of Pompeii and he also established homes for the poor, for orphans and for the children of people in prison. He was called 'the man of the Madonna' and the 'Apostle of the Rosary'.

Oct 7, 2003
John Paul II made his second visit to Pompeii on the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.

Feb 24, 2025
Pope Francis approved the votes made by the Ordinary Session of the Cardinals and Bishops of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints in favor of the canonization of Blessed Bartolo Longo, layperson of the territorial prelature of Pompeii; married; member of the Lay Dominicans and founder of the Congregation of the Dominican Sisters of Pompei; born in Latiano, Brindisi (Italy) on 10 February 1841, and died in Pompei, Naples (Italy) on 5 October 1926; beatified on 26 October 1980.

*   *    *

As a sweet postscript, the canonization of Bartolo Longo will fall into the hands of our new Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, elected this day on the feast of Our Lady whom Bartolo so honored and esteemed. 

Penultimately, in a memory of my own (and Jesus laughs, saying, "You see, I do let you retain some memories! Plenty, in fact!"), I first encountered Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii in a Maronite convent and hostel in Jerusalem, where I stayed with my father in the summer of 1984. The sisters had a little gift shop, and I bought a canvas print of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii. I didn't know who she was in particular (only knowing she was Our Lady of the Rosary because she and little Jesus held out rosaries to St. Dominic Guzman and St. Catherine of Siena) . . . and I really didn't know why she was so ugly! I didn't think her face was beautiful, but she was still my Mom, so I got the print. Only much, much later did I discover that part of the joy of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii is that even though she falls aways from the magnificent beauty of Our Lady even more than most images do, she has been venerated and loved because she, too, showers us with graces and miracles galore. May she watch over our new Holy Father and the whole Church and the world!

And finally, last but not least: if you read the timeline carefully, you may have noticed the institution of the 54 day Rosary novena! Hooray for Our Lady of Victories! Hooray for Our Lady of Pompeii! Hooray for Our Lady of the Rosary!

If you'd like to say the special prayer to Our Lady of Pompeii, the "Supplica" or Supplications that Pope Leo mentioned, here you go!

Supplica to Our Lady of Pompeii

O August Queen of Victories, O Sovereign of Heaven and Earth, at whose name the heavens rejoice and the abyss trembles, O glorious Queen of the Rosary, we your devoted children, assembled in your temple of Pompeii (on this solemn day), pour out the affection of our heart and with filial confidence express our miseries to you. 



From the throne of clemency where you are seated as Queen, turn, O Mary, your merciful gaze on us, on our families, on Italy, on Europe, on the world. Have compassion on the sorrows and cares which embitter our lives. See, O Mother, how many dangers of body and soul, how many calamities and afflictions press upon us. 



O Mother, implore for us the mercy of your divine Son and conquer with clemency the heart of sinners. They are our brothers and your children who cause the heart of our sweet Jesus to bleed and who sadden your most sensitive heart. Show all that you are the Queen of Peace and of Pardon.

Hail Mary...

It is true that although we are your children we are the first to crucify Jesus by our sins and to pierce anew your heart. 

We confess that we are deserving of severe punishment, but remember that on Golgotha you received, with the divine blood, the testament of the dying Savior, who declared you to be our Mother, the Mother of sinners. 



You, then, as our Mother are our Advocate, our Hope. And we raise our suppliant hands to you with sighs crying, "Mercy!" O good Mother, have pity on us, on our souls, on our families, our relatives, our friends, our deceased, especially our enemies, and on so many who call themselves Christian and yet offend the heart of your loving Son. Today we implore pity for the misguided nations throughout all Europe, throughout the world, so that they may return repentant to your heart. 



Hail Mary...

Kindly deign to hear us. O Mary! Jesus has placed in your hands all the treasures of His graces and mercies. You are seated a crowned Queen at the right hand of your Son, resplendent with immortal glory above the choirs of angels. Your dominion extends throughout heaven and earth and all creatures are subject to you. 



You are omnipotent by grace and therefore you can help us. Were you not willing to help us, since we are ungrateful children and undeserving of your protection, we would not know to whom to turn. Your motherly heart would not permit you to see us, your children, lost. The Infant whom we see on your knees and the blessed Rosary which we see in your hand inspire confidence in us that we shall be heard. We confide fully in you, we abandon ourselves as helpless children into the arms of the most tender of mothers, and on this day, we expect from you the graces we so long for. 



Hail Mary...

One last favour we now ask of you, O Queen, which you cannot refuse us (on this most solemn day): Grant to all of us your steadfast love and in a special manner your maternal blessing. We shall not leave you until you have blessed us. Bless, O Mary, at this moment, our Holy Father. To the ancient splendors of your crown, to the triumphs of your Rosary, whence you are called the Queen of Victories, add this one also, O Mother: grant the triumph of religion and peace to human society. Bless our bishops, priests and particularly all those who are zealous for the honor of your sanctuary. Bless finally all those who are associated with your temple of Pompeii and all those who cultivate and promote devotion to your Holy Rosary.

O blessed Rosary of Mary, sweet chain which unites us to God, bond of love which unites us to the angels, tower of salvation against the assaults of hell, safe port in our universal shipwreck, we shall never abandon you. You will be our comfort in the hour of agony: to you the last kiss of our dying life. And the last word from our lips will be your sweet name, O Queen of the Rosary of Pompeii, O dearest Mother, O Refuge of Sinners, O Sovereign Consoler of the Afflicted. Be blessed everywhere, today and always, on earth and in Heaven. Amen. 


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Hail, Holy Queen...