My vocation is Love

Considering the mystical body of the Church, I had not recognised myself in any of the members described by St Paul, or rather I desired to see myself in them all. Charity gave me the key to my vocation. I understood that if the Church had a body composed of different members, the most necessary and most noble of all could not be lacking to it, and so I understood that the Church had a Heart and that this Heart was burning with Love. I understood it was Love alone that made the Church's members act, that if Love ever became extinct, apostles would not preach the Gospel and martyrs would not shed their blood. I understood that Love comprised all vocations, that Love was everything, that it embraced all times and places . . . in a word, that it was eternal!

Then in the excess of my delirious joy, I cried out: O Jesus, my Love, my vocation, at last I have found it . . . my vocation is Love!

Yes, I have found my place in the Church and it is You, O my God, who have given me this place; in the heart of the Church, my Mother, I shall be Love.

Most loving Father,
you were pleased to give
St Therese of the Child Jesus
a trusting spirit of childhood
and surrender to your will
in every circumstance of life;
help us to follow in the path
of simplicity she traced for us.
May we go forward in peace,
accepting the challenge of life
with courage, and walking
faithfully along the way
of the gospel.

Help us to realise that we too
are called to live a life of love
to the glory of your name
and the spread of your Kingdom.