Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus
Prayer for the Morning
How great is our God through all the earth!
Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia!
HYMN
Let all who lovingly avow
Those gifts the Christ Child came to share
Acclaim Thérèse’s virtues now
And praise her name in song and prayer.
Inspired by Jesus to convey
Amazing secrets of his grace,
She taught the world the simple way
Of childhood that the Gospels trace.
More like an angel than a child
She gathered virtue’s flowers at will
By whose sweet scent was God beguiled,
Whose tender fragrance charms us still.
Yet joy itself could not portray
The surge of her immense desire
Nor cloister walls have strength to stay
A love that swept the world like fire.
PSALM 8:2-7, 10
Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it. (Mk 10:15)
In a society that idolizes the surface of youth while forcing its children into artificial adulthood, Saint Thérèse might seem foolishly childish, but in fact she teaches the real wisdom of the child: trustful willingness to be led, taught, and raised to true maturity according to God’s plan rather than her own.
How great is your name, O Lord our God,
through all the earth!
Your majesty is praised above the heavens;
on the lips of children and of babes
you have found praise to foil your enemy,
to silence the foe and the rebel.
When I see the heavens, the work of your hands,
the moon and the stars which you arranged,
what is man that you should keep him in mind,
mortal man that you care for him?
Yet you have made him little less than a god;
with glory and honor you crowned him,
gave him power over the works of your hand,
put all things under his feet.
How great is your name, O Lord our God,
through all the earth!
Glory to the Father….
Word of God (Isaiah 49:15, 26b)
Can a mother forget her infant,/ be without tenderness for the child of her womb?/ Even should she forget,/ I will never forget you.
All mankind shall know/ that I, the Lord, am your savior,/ your redeemer, the mighty one of Jacob.
So you are no longer a slave but a child,
and if a child then also an heir, through God. (Gal 4:7)
CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH
God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong. (1 Cor 1:27)
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
You, my child, shall be called the prophet
of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
to give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness
and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Glory to the Father…
INTERCESSIONS
Saint Thérèse promised to spend her heaven doing good on earth. Through her intercession, let us pray for the good of all in need:
R/Father, hear your children’s prayer.
O Wisdom of God, through you all things were made:
– protect from exploitation all children, created in your image. R/
O Wisdom of God, you are the light by which we see:
– enlighten the hearts of all those deceived by false images of maturity. R/
O Wisdom of God, you are the truth by which we live:
– grant courage to all missionaries who proclaim your truth. R/
O Wisdom of God, you speak through all the wise:
– open the ears of your people to the wisdom of Saint Thérèse for our day. R/
(Personal intentions)
Our Father….
God our Father, you inspired in Saint Thérèse the wisdom that overturns illusions of prowess and power by the Gospel of the cross. Through her intercession, lead all your children to follow the way of Christ your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
