Sample Prayer Service

Shalom Class!

To further help you with your Prayer Service, I have prepared a sample prayer service for my favorite saint, Saint Therese of Lisieux.


Saint Therese of the Child Jesus
virgin and doctor of the Church
Feast Day: October 1

Brief Biography

Saint Therese of the Child Jesus was born as Marie Therese Francoise Martin to an upper middle-class family in Lisieux, a rural village of France. The youngest child, Therese was raised in piety, surrounded by the love and care of her family. At age fifteen, she was called by God to serve him as a Carmelite nun in a life of prayer and sacrifice. In Carmel, she had to live the simple and disciplined life of a contemplative nun, very far from the comfortable and sheltered environment she was accustomed to in childhood. Yet she offered herself to God, doing the most ordinary things like sweeping floors, folding towels and washing kettles always with great love. She contracted tuberculosis and died at the tender age of 24, still uttering on her deathbed of pain with undiminished faith and devotion, "My God, I love you!"

After her death, many people from all walks of life have been inspired and led by her simple way of sainthood: to do the most ordinary things with great love. She was soon declared a saint, and soon after, despite the simplicity of her teachings, proclaimed a Doctor of the Church, foe she taught and showed people how to be a great saint even if one is able to do only simple things for Jesus. Even if she considered herself very small, Jesus' Little Flower, she is regarded by many as "The Greatest Saint of Modern Times."

Scripture Reading

Psalm 131
LORD, my heart is not proud; nor are my eyes haughty.
I do not busy myself with great matters,
with things too sublime for me.
Rather, I have stilled my soul, hushed it like a weaned child.
Like a weaned child on its mother's lap, so is my soul within me.

Reflection on the Saint's Virtue

Although she wanted to accomplish great things for God, Saint Therese knew her weakness and chose instead to offer Him the simple, ordinary things she does everyday with great love, like a little child to her Father. She can be our model in following the commandment, "You shall love the LORD, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength," for she teaches us that to please God, we do not need to do great things, we only have to do all things with great love, that is, with all our heart, all our soul and all our strength.

Prayer

Loving Father,
you raised your little one,
Saint Therese of the Child Jesus
and made her great, even in her simplicity,
by teaching her to do even the smallest things
with great love for you.

Be with us as we journey through life
and help us imitate the way of Saint Therese.

May we always remain simple as a little child before you,
and learn to do our ordinary duties with joy and faith
through Christ our Lord.

Amen.