St. Therese, the Little Flower

Clare's middle name is Therese. We named her after Shawn's maternal grandmother, Therese, who passed away in October 1999, a month before we were married. Shawn was very close to his grandmother, and it means a lot to us that she lives on in our little Clare Therese. Clare's middle name is also for me (Teresa), and I am named for my maternal grandmother, Teresa. Plus I have always had a devotion to St. Therese, the Little Flower. So Clare has many wonderful people she is named after!

We are very faithful people, and this has helped us tremendously during this whole experience. I honestly don't know how we would be getting through this except for our faith in God. We know He is holding Clare Therese in the palm of His hand, and He has a plan for her. I don't know how many people reading this are faithful, but I feel if I wasn't a follower of Jesus, what would all this mean to me? Probably nothing. However, believing that we are all children of God, I have faith that God is watching out for Clare and our family.

Saints are powerful intercessors, and St. Therese is a very powerful intercessor. My grandmother Teresa has been receiving signs from St. Therese that she is watching out for her little namesake. When my grandmother first shared this with me (and I hope I am not embarassing you, Granny!), I admit I was a little peeved (not at my grandmother but in general) that I wasn't receiving the signs. After all, I am Clare's mother - shouldn't St. Therese be telling me that she is here watching over Clare? Once I stopped to think about it, though, I realized that I am so busy dealing with the day-to-day business of being Clare's mother that even if St. Therese was sending me signs, I wouldn't notice them. So I thank her and I thank God that my grandmother is able to notice these messages from St. Therese - they are a source of hope and comfort for us. Sometimes it takes other people to pass along the message.

I wanted to share a couple of these signs because they mean so much to me, especially the fact that my grandmother is praying for us to St. Therese and taking the time out of her own busy life to listen to what St. Therese is telling her. On Sunday evenings, my grandmother works the crossword puzzle in the Showtime. This week there was a clue to which the answer was "Therese." A friend mailed her a St. Therese Chaplet set of beads and the directions how to say the Chaplet - a prayer of intention, then 24 Glory Be to the Father (for the 24 years of St. Therese's life.) My grandmother turned on the television one day to see a quote from St. Therese on the screen. There have been other signs, too. It's amazing.

So thank you, Granny, and thank you, St. Therese!