Novena to St. Therese of Lisieux

The Novena to St. Thérèse of Lisieux is one of the most loved novenas in the Church, prayed by people who want a small, humble saint to carry their needs to God. St. Thérèse is known everywhere as the "Little Flower," and this novena is sometimes called the Little Flower Novena or the Rose Novena, because of her famous promise to send roses from heaven as a sign that a prayer has been heard.

A novena is nine days of prayer for a particular intention. The number nine recalls the nine days the apostles and Our Lady spent in prayer in the upper room between the Ascension and Pentecost. When we make a novena to St. Thérèse, we join our request to hers and ask her to place it before the throne of God with the confidence of a child.

Who Was St. Thérèse of Lisieux?

Marie Françoise Thérèse Martin was born on January 2, 1873, in Alençon, France, the youngest of nine children in a deeply devout family. Her mother died when Thérèse was only four, and the family moved to Lisieux in Normandy, where she was raised by her father and older sisters. Even as a young girl she felt drawn to give herself completely to God.

She longed to enter the Carmelite convent so strongly that, on a pilgrimage to Rome, she knelt before Pope Leo XIII and begged him for permission to enter early. She was allowed to join the Carmel of Lisieux at fifteen, taking the name Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face. There she lived a hidden life of prayer, obedience, and small sacrifices, never leaving the enclosure again.

Under obedience she wrote the story of her life, later published as Story of a Soul. That little book carried her teaching across the world. She contracted tuberculosis and, after a long and painful illness that she offered up in love, died on September 30, 1897, at the age of twenty-four. Her last words were, "My God, I love You."

Pope Pius XI canonized her in 1925, only twenty-eight years after her death, and called her the greatest saint of modern times. In 1997 Pope John Paul II declared her a Doctor of the Church, one of only a handful of women given that title. She is also a co-patroness of the missions, though she never left her convent, and her feast is celebrated on October 1.

The Shower of Roses

As she lay dying, St. Thérèse made a promise that has moved countless hearts ever since. She said, "After my death I will let fall a shower of roses," and, "I will spend my heaven doing good on earth." She meant that from heaven she would keep working for souls, sending down graces like petals falling from above.

Because of this promise, a beautiful tradition grew up around her. When people pray to St. Thérèse for a favor, they often ask her for a rose as a sign that their prayer has been heard and carried to God. Many report receiving a rose in an unexpected way: a single flower given by a stranger, the scent of roses where there are none, a rose appearing at just the right moment. These signs are not the point of the devotion, but they are her gentle way of reminding us that heaven is close and that God hears the smallest prayer.

How to Pray the Novena

There are two traditional ways to make this novena, and you may choose whichever fits your circumstances. Both are simple, and both can be prayed at home.

The Nine-Day Novena

1. Choose your intention. Decide on the particular favor or need you wish to bring to God through St. Thérèse.
2. Pray for nine days in a row. Each day, in a quiet moment, pray the novena prayer below with attention and trust.
3. Add the short prayer. Many people close each day by asking St. Thérèse for a rose as a sign her prayer has been heard.
4. Stay faithful to the end. Do not stop if you feel nothing. Perseverance itself is part of the prayer, and God often answers in His own way and time.

The 24 Glory Be Novena

There is also an older custom, sometimes prayed in a single day, of saying the Glory Be twenty-four times in honor of St. Thérèse. The number twenty-four recalls the twenty-four years of her earthly life. Each Glory Be is prayed slowly in thanksgiving to the Holy Trinity for all the graces given to her, while asking her to grant your request. Some pray all twenty-four in one sitting; others spread them through the day.

The Novena Prayer to St. Thérèse

Pray this prayer each of the nine days, naming your intention where it is asked.

Short Prayer to St. Thérèse

This brief prayer can be said any time you turn to the Little Flower during the day.

Spiritual Benefits of This Novena

Praying this novena does far more than ask for a single favor. It slowly reshapes the heart. Turning to St. Thérèse for nine days teaches us her confidence in a Father who loves us, and it lifts our eyes off our own weakness and onto God's mercy.

Her Little Way frees us from the discouragement of thinking holiness belongs only to great heroes. We begin to see that a small task done with love, a hidden sacrifice, or a moment of patience can be pleasing to God. In this way the novena becomes a school of humble, trusting love that stays with us long after the ninth day.

Whether or not a rose ever appears, the deeper gift is a heart made more childlike before God, more willing to abandon itself into His hands, and more ready to love Him in the small ordinary moments that fill our days.