Joy in Suffering (mini) Book Club — Day 5: St. Therese's Impregnable Fortress — Prayer
- Prayer & Productivity
- 5 days ago
- 8 min read
We continue our 9-day book club, reading the book Joy in Suffering.
📖 Day 5: St. Therese's Impregnable Fortress - Prayer 🌹
If you don’t already have the book, you can find the readings online for free here:
What was your favorite quote or takeaway from today’s reading? Share in the comments below!
MY TAKEAWAYS
💬 In Days 1-4, we learned what formed the foundation of St. Therese’s approach to “joy in suffering”, and now on Day 5 we begin to learn more about the practical and spiritual means St. Thérèse used to endure her "triple martyrdom" and live her "joy in suffering." She accomplished this by enclosing “herself up in the impregnable fortress of prayer". She said that God “awaits the prayer of a poor little soul to save a multitude of other souls". And she defined prayer as "an uplifting of the heart, a glance toward heaven, a cry of gratitude and love uttered equally in sorrow and in joy". Her suffering was "one long prayer." During her sleepless nights (as mentioned on Day 3.1), she was asked what she did during that time, “and her simple reply was, ‘I pray’”. And what did she say when she prayed? Her reply was: “I say nothing—I only love Him. I can still suffer and love, and that is enough".
Today, we also learned about her "Little Child" devotion to Mother Mary. Her prayer "centered in very great measure about the Blessed Virgin Mary," the "Cause of our Joy". I thought that title of “Cause of our Joy is so beautiful! St. Thérèse’s devotion to Our Blessed Mother was with “charming ease and simplicity." She was "simply a 'little child' of Mary". She asked Mother Mary not for relief from the cross, but for the strength to bear it. She found strength in Mother Mary’s example and reasoned that since Mother Mary also suffered (the "night of faith, heart's anguish"), "It must be good to suffer... Yea, here to love and suffer is happiness most pure". In St. Thérèse’s own anguish, she pleaded: "Mother, let my tired spirit rest beneath thy veil". And when in too much pain to pray: "I can only look at Mary and say, 'Jesus'". On her last night on earth, in "pure agony," she didn't ask Mother Mary for a cure or relief from her suffering. She asked her "to take my head into her hands, that I might be able to bear it". I thought this was one of the most beautiful prayers in the book so far!
Lastly, today we also learned about St. Thérèse’s great love for the Crucifix, the Holy Face and the Holy Eucharist. She read" the Passion, gazed often at the Holy Face, and drew “almost superhuman" strength from the "Fountain" of the Holy Eucharist. The Crucifix was "in very truth the 'book' of St. Therese; she read in it many times daily and studied it profoundly." “She understood that "true glory and the only royalty to be coveted lies in being unknown and esteemed as naught," like Jesus Crucified.”
She drew her strength from these three specific devotions within the "Book of Jesus Crucified”
1) The Passion: She "resolved to remain in spirit at the foot of the Cross, that I might receive the divine dew of salvation and pour it out upon souls”…"a little flower which unfolded itself under the shadow of the Cross, having for refreshing dew His tears, His Precious Blood, and for radiant sun His Adorable Face."
2) The Holy Face: This was her "home, her kingdom." During her "fearful temptations against faith" (as mentioned on Day 3.3), she practiced her solution: "I looked at the Holy Face all the time and made acts of faith".
3) The Holy Eucharist: This is the "perpetual memorial" of the Passion and the "Fountain of divine strength". It was her "heaven on earth". Her love for the Holy Eucharist was so great that she made "almost superhuman" sacrifices to receive it. “In her exhausting illness she would literally drag herself to the chapel each morning”, saying, "Oh, I do not count this too much to win one Holy Communion!".
As so beautifully said in the Novena Prayer:
Dear St. Therese, by your burning love for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, help me to realize the greatness and the priceless value of even a single Holy Mass and Communion, so that I may gladly make any sacrifice or forego any pleasure, rather than miss even once this opportunity of giving joy to Jesus and of drawing for myself the strength I need to prove my love by suffering for Him.
…Obtain for me a similar grace and assist me to follow you in ever taking refuge in prayer, with promptness and perseverance, and to turn spontaneously and with filial confidence to our heavenly Mother, striving day by day to become more and more a "little child" of Mary.
…May I, too, learn to understand ever more fully the secrets hidden in His Sacred Face and to realize that true greatness lies in being concealed and despised.
📝I look forward to hearing your main takeaway and/or favorite quote from today! Thanks for joining me! 💕
💗My favorite quotes from today:
🌹 (1) Constant Prayer:
For they "lean on God Almighty's power itself and their lever is the prayer that inflames with the fire of love. With this lever they have raised the world—with this lever the saints of the Church Militant still raise it and will raise it till the end of time."
“the Creator of the Universe awaits the prayer of a poor little soul to save a multitude of other souls, ransomed, like herself, at the price of His Blood."
"How wonderful is the power of prayer! It is like unto a queen who, having free access to the king, obtains all that she asks for."
"With me prayer is an uplifting of the heart, a glance toward heaven, a cry of gratitude and love uttered equally in sorrow and in joy. In a word, it is something noble and supernatural, which expands the heart and unites it with God."
When her whole body and soul were racked with pain, and she spent night after night without sleep, she was asked what she did during her long vigils; she replied: "I pray."
"What do you say to Jesus?" she answered: "I say nothing—I only love Him. I can still suffer and love, and that is enough."
Our Lord has said: "Ask, and you shall receive." St. Therese took Him at His word and asked for strength to suffer with joy.
🌹 (2) A "Little Child" of Mary:
Just as a little child often thinks of its mother, goes to her with confidence in every need and danger, does all it can to please her and give her joy, and especially delights in trying to imitate her in everything, so St. Therese did with regard to her heavenly Mother.
"Since the King of Heaven hath willed His Mother dear, The night of faith, heart's anguish to endure, It must be good to suffer, to taste the cup of sorrow here; Yea, here to love and suffer is happiness most pure."
This also made her feel that Mary's motherly heart was filled with tender compassion for her children's suffering, and so in her anguish she pleaded: "Mother, let my tired spirit rest beneath thy veil."
When she was in such pain that she could no longer pray as she was formerly wont to do, she said: "I can only look at Mary and say, 'Jesus.'"
“I asked Our Lady to take my head into her hands, that I might be able to bear it…."
🌹 (3) The Book of Jesus Crucified:
The Crucifix was in very truth the "book" of St. Therese; she read in it many times daily and studied it profoundly.
She understood that "true glory and the only royalty to be coveted lies in being unknown and esteemed as naught," like Jesus Crucified.
"My heart was torn with grief to see the Precious Blood falling to the ground with no one caring to treasure It as It fell, and I resolved to remain in spirit at the foot of the Cross, that I might receive the divine dew of salvation and pour it out upon souls."
She called herself "a little flower which unfolded itself under the shadow of the Cross, having for refreshing dew His tears, His Precious Blood, and for radiant sun His Adorable Face."
she delighted, in imitation of Veronica, to wipe the image of the Holy Face with rose petals, "to offer my Jesus some little consolation."
the perpetual memorial of the Passion with its abiding presence of Jesus Crucified—the Holy Eucharist…was her heaven on earth:
"
My heaven lieth hid in the little white host, Unto this Source divine I go to draw my life. Thou comest, my Beloved, to transform me in Thee, This union of love, this ineffable delight, Is truly heaven to me!"
The sacrifices she made to receive even a single Holy Communion seem almost superhuman and clearly showed how great was her esteem for the Fountain of divine strength.
"Oh, I do not count this too much to win one Holy Communion!"
🌹 Quotes from the Novena Prayer:
May I, too, learn to understand ever more fully the secrets hidden in His Sacred Face and to realize that true greatness lies in being concealed and despised.
Dear St. Therese, by your burning love for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, help me to realize the greatness and the priceless value of even a single Holy Mass and Communion, so that I may gladly make any sacrifice or forego any pleasure, rather than miss even once this opportunity of giving joy to Jesus and of drawing for myself the strength I need to prove my love by suffering for Him.
Reflection Questions & Action Items
5.1 Constant Prayer
Reflection Questions
What is my definition of prayer? How does it compare to St. Thérèse's "uplifting of the heart"?
When I am in "fearful anguish", I often find I cannot "say" prayers. St. Thérèse shows me that it is ok to "say nothing." She said, “I can still suffer and love, and that is enough." How does this change my approach to prayer in times of suffering and when I struggle to find the “words” to say in prayer?
Action Item
The next time you are in pain (physical, emotional, or spiritual), pray without trying to form words. Instead, be silent, “glance toward heaven," and think of St. Therese’s words: "I say nothing—I only love Him."
5.2 A 'Little Child' of Mary
Reflection Questions
St. Thérèse's spirituality is the "Little Way" of Spiritual Childhood. What is more essential to a child than a Mother? Is my relationship with Mother Mary that of a "little child"? How can I work on this?
St. Thérèse's prayer on her last night was absolutely beautiful. She did not pray for her cross to be removed; rather, she prayed for the strength to carry it. When I am in pain or suffering, do I ask Mother Mary to take away my suffering, or do I ask her to come and sit with me in it, to "take my head into her hands" so I can bear it?
Action Item
The next time you are suffering, do not ask for the cross to be removed. Instead, pray something like this: "Mother Mary, you stood at the foot of the Cross. 'Take my head into your hands, that I might be able to bear this cross with you and your Son."
5.3 The Book of Jesus Crucified
Reflection Questions
Do I treat the Crucifix as a "book" to be "read," or do I tend to pass by it without reflection?
How great is my effort to get to Mass? Thérèse dragged herself, dying, to "win one Holy Communion." How do my efforts compare?
Her tactic for facing temptations against faith was to look at the Holy Face and make acts of faith. Could this work for me?
Action Items
.
Today, spend five minutes alone "reading" a Crucifix. Don't "say" anything (as described in 5.1). Just look at His Face, His Wounds.
Make one extra "sacrifice" this week to "win one Holy Communion" (e.g., go to a daily Mass, go to Confession to prepare, or spend 10 extra minutes in thanksgiving after Sunday Mass).
Comments