Tony Worner, our Leader of Formation, presents our Gospel Reflections this week and today reads from the Gospel of Matthew (18: 1-5), in which Jesus says, ‘anyone who welcomes a child in my name welcomes me’. Afterwards, Tony shares a little about St Therese of the Child Jesus whose memorial we celebrate today.

Tony says St Therese of the Child Jesus, is also known as St Therese of Lisieux and sometimes as “The Little Flower”.

Therese felt an early call to religious life, and overcoming various obstacles, in 1888 at the age of just 15, became a Nun and joined two of her elder sisters in the cloistered Carmelite Community of Lisieux in Normandy. She rapidly became one of the most popular saints of the twentieth century. She was canonized in 1925.

Pope John Paul II declared her the thirty-third Doctor of the Church, the youngest person, and only the third woman to be so honoured as such.  (A ‘doctor’ of the Church means that someone is recognised as having made a significant contribution to theology or doctrine through their research, study, or writing.)

Therese suffered a painful death with Tuberculosis, but never complained or took her eyes off Jesus; rather, she fully united herself with Him. She died at the early age of 24.

Therese wrote an autobiography entitled The Story of a Soul. She is the patron saint of missionaries, France, AIDS sufferers, florists, gardeners, and is invoked against illness, tuberculosis, and loss of parents.

And so, Tony invites us to pray, …

God, Beacon of Hope, in St Therese you gave us a person who overcame many obstacles and accepted the suffering through her illnesses. Through all this she is revered as a doctor of the Church. Open the eyes of our heart so that we too may find grace when our dreams are dashed, life diminished or our visions waylaid. Strengthen us on the journey to trust in Christ, your Son.

St Therese … pray for us!