The Queen of Novenas

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.