St. Thérèse of Lisieux Novena 2021, Day 8: Possessed by Him

SCRIPTURE READING
Song of Solomon 8:6–7

Many waters cannot quench love

Set me as a seal upon your heart,
as a seal upon your arm;
for love is strong as death,
passion fierce as the grave.
Its flashes are flashes of fire,
a raging flame.
Many waters cannot quench love,
neither can floods drown it.
If one offered for love
all the wealth of one’s house,
it would be utterly scorned.

MEDITATION
Letter 197
17 September 1896

The desire to be possessed by Him

O my dear little Sister, if you don’t understand me it’s because you’re too great of a soul… or rather it’s because I’m doing a bad job of explaining myself; because I’m sure that the Good Lord wouldn’t give you the desire to be POSSESSED by Him — by His Merciful Love — if He didn’t reserve this favor for you… or rather, He’s already done it since you’ve surrendered yourself to Him, since you desire to be consumed by Him, and since the Good Lord never grants desires that He can’t fulfill…

PRAYER

St. Therese of the Child Jesus,
remember your promise to do good on earth;
send your shower of roses in abundance
on those who call upon you,
and obtain for us from God the graces
we are waiting to receive from His infinite goodness.

mention your intentions here

God our Father,
you have promised your kingdom
to those who are willing to become like little children.
Help us to follow the way of Saint Thérèse with confidence
so that by her prayers
we may come to know your eternal glory.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
God, forever and ever. Amen.

All scripture references are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.

Translation from the French text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.

Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Joseph, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Edith Stein.

Let us unite in prayer