Prayers of St. Therese (Thérèse) of Lisieux
St. Thérèse never did anything the world would call great. She loved God in little things, and she trusted Him like a child. She called it her little way. These are her own prayers, written in the Carmel of Lisieux, followed by the prayer the Church prays on her feast. Pray them slowly and ask for her help. She promised she would spend her heaven doing good upon earth.
“For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.”
St. Thérèse, quoted in the Catechism of the Catholic Church 2558
Download the printable guide (PDF)
How to pray the novena
A novena is nine days of prayer. Her novena is prayed from September 22 to 30, ending the day before her feast on October 1. You can also pray it at any time of year.
Each day, pray her Morning Prayer, then one or more of the prayers below.
Close with the prayer of her feast, and bring her your intention.
Keep it simple. She would want it that way.
Her prayers
These are her own words, in the English translation published in 1922. Her feast day prayer comes last, in English and Latin.
A Morning Prayer
Her daily offering. Pray it when you wake.
O my God! I offer Thee all my actions of this day for the intentions and for the glory of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. I desire to sanctify every beat of my heart, my every thought, my simplest works, by uniting them to Its infinite merits; and I wish to make reparation for my sins by casting them into the furnace of Its Merciful Love.
O my God! I ask of Thee for myself and for those whom I hold dear, the grace to fulfil perfectly Thy Holy Will, to accept for love of Thee the joys and sorrows of this passing life, so that we may one day be united together in Heaven for all Eternity. Amen.
Prayer to the Holy Face
Her religious name was Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face.
O Adorable Face of Jesus, sole beauty which ravisheth my heart, vouchsafe to impress on my soul Thy Divine Likeness, so that it may not be possible for Thee to look at Thy Spouse without beholding Thyself. O my Beloved, for love of Thee I am content not to see here on earth the sweetness of Thy Glance, nor to feel the ineffable Kiss of Thy Sacred Lips, but I beg of Thee to inflame me with Thy Love, so that it may consume me quickly, and that soon Teresa of the Holy Face may behold Thy glorious Countenance in Heaven.
Prayer to the Holy Child
A prayer of childlike trust, the heart of her little way.
O Jesus, dear Holy Child, my only treasure, I abandon myself to Thy every whim. I seek no other joy than that of calling forth Thy sweet Smile. Vouchsafe to me the graces and the virtues of Thy Holy Childhood, so that on the day of my birth into Heaven the Angels and Saints may recognise in Thy Spouse: Teresa of the Child Jesus.
My Song of To-day
A poem-prayer she wrote in June 1894. Take one day at a time.
Oh! how I love Thee, Jesus! my soul aspires to Thee,
And yet for one day only my simple prayer I pray!
Come reign within my heart, smile tenderly on me,
To-day, dear Lord, to-day!
But if I dare take thought of what the morrow brings,
It fills my fickle heart with dreary, dull dismay;
I crave, indeed, my God, the Cross and sufferings,
But only for to-day!
O sweetest Star of Heaven! O Virgin, spotless, blest,
Shining with Jesus’ light, guiding to Him my way!
Mother! beneath thy veil let my tired spirit rest,
For this brief passing day!
Soon shall I fly afar among the holy choirs,
Then shall be mine the joy that knoweth no decay;
And then my lips shall sing, to Heaven’s angelic lyres,
The eternal, glad To-day!
Prayer to Obtain Humility
Written for one of the novices she guided in Carmel. Where she speaks of her Sisters, think of those you live and work with.
O Jesus! When Thou wast a wayfarer upon earth, Thou didst say: “Learn of Me, for I am Meek and Humble of Heart, and you shall find rest to your souls.” O Almighty King of Heaven! my soul indeed finds rest in seeing Thee condescend to wash the feet of Thy Apostles, “having taken the form of a slave.” I recall the words Thou didst utter to teach me the practice of humility: “I have given you an example, that as I have done to you, so you do also. The servant is not greater than his Lord . . . If you know these things, you shall be blessed if you do them.” I understand, dear Lord, these words which come from Thy Meek and Humble Heart, and I wish to put them in practice with the help of Thy grace.
I desire to humble myself in all sincerity, and to submit my will to that of my Sisters, without ever contradicting them, and without questioning whether they have the right to command. No one, O my Beloved! had that right over Thee, and yet Thou didst obey not only the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph, but even Thy executioners. And now, in the Holy Eucharist, I see Thee complete Thy self-abasement. O Divine King of Glory, with wondrous humility, Thou dost submit Thyself to all Thy Priests, without any distinction between those who love Thee and those who, alas! are lukewarm or cold in Thy service. They may advance or delay the hour of the Holy Sacrifice: Thou art always ready to come down from Heaven at their call.
O my Beloved, under the white Eucharistic Veil Thou dost indeed appear to me Meek and Humble of Heart! To teach me humility, Thou canst not further abase Thyself, and so I wish to respond to Thy Love, by putting myself in the lowest place, by sharing Thy humiliations, so that I may “have part with Thee” in the Kingdom of Heaven.
I implore Thee, dear Jesus, to send me a humiliation whensoever I try to set myself above others.
And yet, dear Lord, Thou knowest my weakness. Each morning I resolve to be humble, and in the evening I recognise that I have often been guilty of pride. The sight of these faults tempts me to discouragement; yet I know that discouragement is itself but a form of pride. I wish, therefore, O my God, to build all my trust upon Thee. As Thou canst do all things, deign to implant in my soul this virtue which I desire, and to obtain it from Thy Infinite Mercy, I will often say to Thee: “Jesus, Meek and Humble of Heart, make my heart like unto Thine.”
Act of Oblation to Merciful Love
She made this offering on Trinity Sunday, June 9, 1895, and carried it in her copy of the Gospels until she died. It is the fullest prayer she left us.
O my God, O Most Blessed Trinity, I desire to love Thee and to make Thee loved, to labour for the glory of Holy Church by saving souls here upon earth and by delivering those suffering in Purgatory. I desire to fulfill perfectly Thy Holy Will, and to reach the degree of glory Thou hast prepared for me in Thy Kingdom. In a word, I wish to be holy, but, knowing how helpless I am, I beseech Thee, my God, to be Thyself my holiness.
Since Thou hast loved me so much as to give me Thy Only-Begotten Son to be my Saviour and my Spouse, the infinite treasures of His merits are mine. Gladly do I offer them to Thee, and I beg of Thee to behold me only through the Eyes of Jesus, and in His Heart aflame with love. Moreover, I offer Thee all the merits of the Saints both of Heaven and of earth, together with their acts of love, and those of the holy Angels. Lastly, I offer Thee, O Blessed Trinity, the love and the merits of the Blessed Virgin, my dearest Mother. To her I commit this Oblation, praying her to present it to Thee.
During the days of His life on earth her Divine Son, my sweet Spouse, spake these words: “If you ask the Father anything in My Name, He will give it you.” Therefore I am certain Thou wilt fulfill my longing. O my God, I know that the more Thou wishest to bestow, the more Thou dost make us desire. In my heart I feel boundless desires, and I confidently beseech Thee to take possession of my soul. I cannot receive Thee in Holy Communion as often as I should wish; but, O Lord, art Thou not all-powerful? Abide in me as Thou dost in the Tabernacle; never abandon Thy Little Victim. I long to console Thee for ungrateful sinners, and I implore Thee to take from me all liberty to sin. If through weakness I should chance to fall, may a glance from Thine Eyes straightway cleanse my soul, and consume all my imperfections, as fire transforms all things into itself.
I thank Thee, O my God, for all the graces Thou hast granted me: especially for having purified me in the crucible of suffering. At the Day of Judgment I shall gaze on Thee with joy, as Thou bearest Thy sceptre of the Cross. And since Thou hast deigned to give me this precious Cross as my portion, I hope to be like unto Thee in Paradise and to behold the Sacred Wounds of Thy Passion shine on my glorified body.
After earth’s exile I trust to possess Thee in the Home of our Father; but I do not seek to lay up treasures in Heaven. I wish to labour for Thy Love alone, with the sole aim of pleasing Thee, of consoling Thy Sacred Heart, and of saving souls who will love Thee through eternity.
When comes the evening of life, I shall stand before Thee with empty hands, because I do not ask Thee, my God, to take account of my works. All our works of justice are blemished in Thine Eyes. I wish therefore to be robed with Thine own Justice, and to receive from Thy Love the everlasting gift of Thyself. I desire no other Throne, no other Crown but Thee, O my Beloved!
In Thy sight time is naught; “one day is a thousand years.” Thou canst in a single instant prepare me to appear before Thee.
In order that my life may be one Act of perfect Love, I offer myself as a Victim of Holocaust to Thy Merciful Love, imploring Thee to consume me unceasingly, and to allow the floods of infinite tenderness gathered up in Thee to overflow into my soul, that so I may become a very martyr of Thy Love, O my God! May this martyrdom, after having prepared me to appear in Thy Presence, free me from this life at the last, and may my soul take its flight, without delay, into the eternal embrace of Thy Merciful Love!
O my Beloved, I desire at every beat of my heart to renew this Oblation an infinite number of times, “till the shadows retire,” and everlastingly I can tell Thee my love face to face.
The Prayer of Her Feast
The Church’s prayer for her feast in the traditional Roman Missal (1962). It echoes Our Lord’s words in Matthew 18:3. English translation by Domini.
O Lord, who hast said: Unless you become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven; grant us, we beseech Thee, so to follow the footsteps of the holy virgin Thérèse in humility and simplicity of heart, that we may obtain the rewards everlasting. Who livest and reignest with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen.
In Latin:
Dómine, qui dixísti: Nisi efficiámini sicut párvuli, non intrábitis in regnum cælórum: da nobis, quǽsumus, ita sanctæ Terésiæ Vírginis in humilitáte et simplicitáte cordis vestígia sectári, ut prǽmia consequámur ætérna. Qui vivis et regnas cum Deo Patre in unitáte Spíritus Sancti, Deus, per ómnia sǽcula sæculórum. Amen.
“My vocation is love! Yes, I have found my place in the bosom of the Church, and this place, O my God, Thou hast Thyself given to me: in the heart of the Church, my Mother, I will be LOVE!”
St. Thérèse, Story of a Soul
Sources & further reading
Soeur Thérèse of Lisieux: The Story of a Soul, translated by T. N. Taylor (8th ed., 1922), with her prayers and selected poems (Project Gutenberg, public domain)
Catechism of the Catholic Church 2558, on prayer
St. John Paul II, Divini Amoris Scientia (1997), declaring St. Thérèse a Doctor of the Church
Roman Missal of 1962, prayer for the feast of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus (English translation by Domini)
Sacred Scripture: Matthew 18:3 (Douay-Rheims)
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