Thursday, July 27 : Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus

Oh Jesus, I know that love is repaid with love alone, and I have searched and found the way to soothe my heart by returning to you Love for Love. “Make friends for yourselves through your use of this world’s goods, so that when they fail you, a lasting reception will be yours.” (Lk 16:9) That is the advice you gave your disciples, Lord, after telling them that “the children of darkness are more capable of looking after their affairs than the children of light.” As a child of light, I understood that my desire to be everything, to embrace every vocation, was a wealth that could easily make me unrighteous, so I used it to make friends for myself. I remembered Elisha’s request of his father Elijah when he dared to ask him for a “double portion of his spirit” (2 Kings 2:9), and I came before the angels and saints and told them: “I am the smallest of creatures, I know my poverty and weakness, but I also know how much noble and generous hearts love to do good. So I beg you, Oh blessed inhabitants of Heaven, I beg you to adopt me as your child. To you alone will be the glory that you let me acquire, but deign to hear my prayer. It is foolhardy, I know, however I dare to ask you to obtain for me a double portion of your Love.

Roman Extraordinary (Tridentine) Daily Readings – rosary,team