Praying with a holy daring

(I realize this isn't a questionI had St. Therese's picture up on my wall during graduate school. I thought she was pretty so that was a good enough reason for me. But I was pretty sure I didn't like her. Come to find out, A LOT of people feel that way about St. Therese until they actually encounter her. I had this intuition that she would help me. That's all. Just an intuition she would be of service to me in some way in the future.

A few months later, my friends and I attended the New York Encounter (I think this was in January 2012) and I was in the midst of spiritual darkness and talking about it with a close friend. She advised me to pray with a HOLY DARING. Literally a minute later, we turn around and at the makeshift Pauline bookstore we both catch a glimpse of this book.

If you need a short yet powerful spiritual book (it's exactly 99 pages) consider this one. And if you don't know much about St. Therese, this is a great place to start. ESPECIALLY (as I did) if you need to grow in bold confidence and fearless trust in God.

Therese was honest, childlike in her simplicity, took her desires seriously and didn't let her personal limitations and weaknesses (which are so relatable) get in the way of asking God or others for what she wanted. She wasn't afraid of God, others, or even herself when it came to her vocation and mission.

During the mass, right before we pray the Lord's prayer the priest says: Let us pray with confidence to the Father in the words our Savior gave us.

We can pray with confidence because we are friends of God. His adopted sons or daughters. Fr. Julian Carron, the leader of Communion and Liberation, once said "let us not act like orphans when we have a father in Heaven." This book really helped liberate me as a daughter of God. That being said, a few years back another dear friend of mine was going to have a letter of hers hand delivered to Pope Benedict. She asked me if I would like to write a letter to go inside her letter. Ha! Here's how I ended the letter:

P.S.-Since St. Therese taught me to ask with a holy daring, dear Holy Father, please write me back at (insert address). Oh, and I love you!

A few months later I got a package from the Vatican with a rosary and some Benedict prayer cards from his trip to the Middle East!

St. Therese is so huge (along with St. Anthony of Padua and St. George) even Egyptian Christians love and venerate her. Pius X called her the "greatest saint of modern times." She even won over my somewhat skeptical sister who only prayed a novena to her to get flowers. (Our seminarian now priest friend at the time randomly decided to buy two red roses for us from a street vendor while we were walking around in Times Square.)

I would love to hear some of your St. Therese stories below!

St. Therese the Little Flower, pray for us. +