October 3
St. Theresa of the Child Jesus, V
feast day in the Traditional Roman Rite Calendar
Commemoration of SAINT TERESA
Therese Martin (1873-97) entered the Carmelite convent in Lisieux, France, at the age of 15. Her simple but heroic religious life of nine years was dedicated to saving souls and to praying for priests. The young Carmelite longed to lead her hidden life of prayer in a pagan land, but illness kept her in France. Yet so well did she fulfill the essential vocation of a missioner that in 1927, two years after her canonization, Pope Pius XI declared her the patron of all missions, together with St. Francis Xavier, Apostle of the Orient.
O Lord, You have said, "Unless you become as little children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven." May we imitate the humility and the simplicity of heart of the blessed virgin Teresa, so that we too may win an eternal reward; who lives and rules with God the Father . . .
