The Year I Did Not Ask For A Rose

Every year without fail I say the novena to St. Therese.  My devotion to her started around the time I was discerning a monastic vocation (at eighteen years of age). I wanted to be a Carmelite. Reading Story of A Soul fueled that fervor even more.  But as we know it, here I am, neither a monastic nor a Carmelite yet Therese remains my patron and friend.  We had a shared link, she was also my mother's patron saint. I was later to find out how St. Therese granted my mother, in her youth, a heavenly favor.  I say heavenly because it wasn't material nor was it solicited. I love unsolicited favors from heaven.

Anyhow, every year when this feast comes around the timing seems to coincide with a personal need.  So my novenas have always been intentional, that is, I am asking for something material.  This year, I am doing a couple of perpetual novenas so I decided not to bug Therese too much.  I still prayed the novena but I did not ask for a sign nor was I impassioned for a favor.  I chanced upon a different version of the novena on EWTN.  The daily meditations were beautiful.  It really allowed me to ponder deeply into her life in Christ and not focus solely on my usual list of needs.

Today the novena ended as we celebrate her feast day. I did not ask for a rose.  What  I received instead is an unsolicited favor that I didn't think I needed until I received it.  It was generous and beyond anything I could ask for.  It was definitely better than a rose ;-)

I truly believe that the Lord could not be outdone in generosity when we seek His kingdom first. And in that generosity He allows our friends in heaven to intercede on our behalf, sometimes without regard to our worthiness.

I hope you had a good feast day and that St. Therese showered you generously this year with roses.