Little Flower & The Blessed Sacrament- Chapter II, Part 1

The continuation of The Little Flower and the Blessed Sacrament by Rev. Joseph Husslein, S.J.

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CHAPTER II

THE DIVINE PRISONER OF LOVE

It was Teresa's clothing day in the Carmel. Her father had come to meet her at the enclosure door, his eyes filled with tears of joy. Pressing her to his heart, he exclaimed:

"Ah! here is my little Queen!"

He then gave her his arm, and together they solemnly entered the public chapel.

His two eldest daughters had already joined the Carmel. Celine too had confided to him her wish to leave the world. His gratitude therefore knew no bounds. Where could he better pour forth the gladness of his heart than in the presence of his Eucharistic King? The ardent desire of his saintly wife, during her brief life, was now receiving its last and complete fulfillment.

"I beseech Thee," she repeatedly had asked of Almighty God, "to make me the mother of many children, and to grant that all of them may be dedicated to Thee."

Such, too, had been his own most fervent wish, though he never sought to forestall the workings of the Holy Ghost in the souls confided to him.

"Let us go before the Blessed Sacrament," he now said, "and thank God for all the graces He has granted us and the honor He has paid me in choosing His spouses from my household. God has indeed done me great honor in asking for my children. If I possessed anything better, I would hasten to offer it to Him."

More than ever the Little Flower was henceforth to bloom and spend herself for her Beloved, and draw, in ever greater measure, from the Divine Sun of Love the sweetness and beauty which were so to entrance the world in after years and turn men's hearts to God in new and fuller dedication. Many, indeed, were the lessons she was to learn during the moments of sublime intimacy that were to pass between herself and that hidden Bridegroom of her soul, speaking to her from behind the lattice, in the silence of the Tabernacle.

In her masque, "The Angles of the Crib," she makes the Angel of the Eucharist fly to earth to seek Christ's Altar Throne. She herself might now sing with this celestial Guardian of her Eucharistic God:

"Here shall I dwell in this blest place,

The sanctuary of my King,

And here before His veiled face

My hymns of burning love shall sing."

In the Holy Eucharist she beheld the completion of Christ's profound self-abasement: the Divine King of Glory submitting Himself in wondrous humility to all His priests. They may have less or greater fervor, they may advance or delay the hour of the Holy Sacrifice, yet He is always ready to come down from His high Heaven at their call. The Faithful, too, may heed His invitation. They may hasten to Him with the utmost frequency and affection, or they may delay to follow His invitation and approach Him only with coldness and indifference. Yet He gives Himself to all alike.

"O my Beloved," she exclaimed, in a prayer composed by her for a novice, "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."

The Little Flower & The Blessed Sacrament- Chapter I, Part 4

The conclusion of the first chapter in The Little Flower and the Blessed Sacrament.

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But years passed, and Teresa too, like Our Divine Lord, "advanced in wisdom, and age, and grace with God and men." But never did she lose the simplicity and sweet charm of her childhood days. If then she delighted to cast her flowers before the Eucharistic King, and her heart leaped with joy as her petals touched the sacred Monstrance, she now continued each day to scatter her blossoms before God, but hereafter these flowers were to be her sacrifices and prayers, her joys and sufferings of life, all offered up in the trusting spirit of childhood, with the utmost love and self-abandonment.

"But how should I show my love, since love proves itself by deeds?" she asks, and her answer comes: "Well, the little child will strew flowers. She will embalm the Divine Heart with their fragrance. She will sing Love's canticle in silvery tones."

Well may we fancy her words as joyously reminiscent of those Blessed Sacrament Processions of earlier days, the happy memory of which clung like a perfume to her heart. How redolent with these odors are the thoughts that follow!

"The only way I have of proving my love is to strew flowers before Thee-- that is to say, I will let no tiny sacrifice pass, no look, no word. I wish to profit by the smallest actions, and to do them for Love. I wish to suffer for Love's sake, and for Love's sake even to rejoice; thus shall I strew my flowers. But not one shall I find without scattering its petals before Thee. And I will sing, I will sing always, even if my roses must be gathered for amidst thorns; and the longer and the sharper the thorns, the sweeter shall be my song."

How beautifully Eucharistic, then, the entire concept is! How it reminds us of those ranks of little, white-clad children, with innocence beaming upon their bright and happy faces, as they solemnly strew their blossoms in the path-way of the King, as He is borne aloft between them in His golden Monstrance! And how often, too, the Little Flower scattered those petals of her roses before that Altar Throne in the Carmel's silent chapel, where her soul found its sweetest resting place. "This fragrant shower, these delicate petals of little price, these songs of love from a poor little heart," she knew were pleasing to Jesus, refreshing to His Heart, like as the rose-leaves strewn by children's hands.

"Trifles they are, but Thou wilt smile on them. The Church Triumphant, stooping towards her child, will gather up these scattered rose-leaves, and, placing them in Thy Divine Hands, there to acquire an infinite value, will shower them on the Church Suffering to extinguish its flames, and on the Church Militant to obtain its victory."

Such were the results in large part due to that Eucharistic devotion practised by her from childhood and constantly intensified with the years, until from the shelter of the Carmel she might melodiously sing:

"My Heaven within the Host safe hid and perfect lies,

Where Jesus Christ abides, Divinest, fairest Fair;

From that great fount of love shall life eternal rise,

There night and day my Lord gives heed unto my prayer."

Parents should learn to stimulate in the hearts of their children, even from their tenderest years, those Eucharistic longings and affections which worked so mightily within the soul of little Teresa, and which helped so greatly to keep it always pure, holy and beautiful. Let us not deprive out little ones of their sublimest heritage, the love of Jesus in the Eucharist.

The Little Flower & the Blessed Sacrament- Chapter I, Part 3

And here is another snippet from The Little Flower and the Blessed Sacrament, by Rev. Joseph Husslein, S.J.

I think it important to note that St. Therese's parents, Sts. Louis and Zelie Martin, had a great devotion to the Holy Souls in Purgatory as well, and fittingly instilled the devotion in the hearts of their daughters. I think it is a great testimony to the virtue of this devotion that three of the family are now canonized saints, and the other sisters lived very virtuous and holy lives as well. Perhaps one day the entire Martin family will be numbered among the Church's canonized saints.

Saint Augustine and Poor Holy Souls in Purgatory, orate pro nobis!

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Chapter I, Part 3- St. Teresa and Friendship

Little Teresa, it may be a consolation for some souls to know, was not "popular" at school. Nor did she find it possible even later to enter into long, familiar conversations with her teachers, as others of the older pupils did, or to win any special tokens of favor from them, though she led in her studies. That was God's particular blessing in her regard. It drew her nearer to Him. It made her realize, with her vast capacity and desire for love, that He alone was her true and lasting Friend. If at times it produced within her a natural depression of spirit, it nevertheless taught her in consequence to appreciate more highly the consoling Presence of Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist. His love alone could never fail her. Others might forget or overlook her; He would always have His Heart wide open for her. To us, too, let us remember, that love is extended, and to all who wish to come to Him.

Referring to a period in her life when twice a week she went to take lessons in a convent, just for the sake of being admitted into the Sodality of the Blessed Virgin, she writes:

"So I worked in silence till the end if the lesson, and then, as no one took any notice of me, I went to the tribune in the chapel till Papa came to fetch me home. Here, during this silent visit, I found my one consolation; for was not Jesus my only Friend? To Him alone could I open my heart."

 What graces must have been granted to her by her Divine Spouse in these trysts of love! She applied to herself in their fullest sense those words of Our Lord: "If you ask the Father anything in My name, He will give it you." Nor was she ever disappointed, for she sought always to bring her will into complete conformity with His. Truly, therefore, could she sing:

"All things my love can gain when, heart to heart, I pray,

Alone with Jesus Christ in speechless ecstasy.

Beside His altar blest with Him I gladly stay:

O, this is heaven for me!"

It was here that in later years she was to pray so earnestly for our Holy Mother the Church; for those entrusted to her care; for friends, relatives, and her own Sisters in Religion; for every soul, that God might enter in and establish there His reign of love, but especially for priests, that they might truly be "other Christs." Here, too, could she plead, like Moses on the mountain, that God might multiply vocations and send ever greater armies of workers into His vineyard and His harvest field.

But neither was the Church Suffering forgotten by her, the souls confined in Purgatory, for whom the Heart in the Tabernacle is moved with such tender affection. She herself tells us how her rose-leaves, made precious by the touch of the Divine Hand, were scattered by It upon those holy sufferers to extinguish their flames.

It is precisely in connection with the Holy Eucharist that so many indulgences can be gained by us for the Poor Souls. The one familiar prayer alone which is to be said after Communion before an image of the Crucified, enables us to gain a Plenary Indulgence each time we receive Our Divine Lord, provided some additional prayers-- e.g., five "Our Fathers," and five "Hail Marys" are recited for the intention of the Holy Father.

A loving zeal to aid these souls in God's prison house, is a devotion which the Heart of Jesus has intimately connected with the Sacred Presence, with Communion and the Holy Mass, as also of course with the Rosary and the Way of the Cross. Our Lord seems to say: "If you love Me in My Sacrament of Love, help the souls whom I love, that you may hasten the day when I can clasp them to My Heart of Love."

Little Flower & The Blessed Sacrament- Chapter I, Part 2

Some lovely thoughts for the Feast of the Seven Joys of the Blessed Virgin Mary...

Postscript- I find it interesting that the Seven (or Five) Joys had a place of honour in pre-reformation England. (More Here) We should pray for devotion to Our Lady to fully return to the Anglicans, and then perhaps we'll see the full fruits of Anglicanorum Coetibus.

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Chapter I cont.- St. Teresa and the Flowers

At about the age of five, while playing among the flowers, of which she was always very fond, she already found her amusement in making little altars within openings that she happened to find in the garden wall. When her tiny structures were completed, she would run to call her father, who invariably shared in her delight. Incidentally, too, these diversions manifest the attraction which Altar and Tabernacle even then exercised over her, and how the Divine Presence had captivated her thoughts and her heart.

   Holiness may be said to have been almost bred in the very nature of this favored child, thanks to the Eucharistic devotion of her wise and pious parents, who knew how to make piety joyous, while play itself was hallowed by piety. Thus the way had been lovingly prepared for that Divine Bridegroom of her soul who at once led her by these sweetly scented paths directly to the great central mystery of our Faith, the Holy Eucharist.

   That love of God which the parents so carefully instilled into the soul of little Teresa was no mere sentiment. It was a love strong in action and in suffering.

   "I offered myself to Our Lord to be His Little Flower," she writes. "I longed to console Him, to draw as near as possible to the Tabernacle, to be looked on, cared for, and gathered by Him."

   The desire of complete self-oblation now took possession of her heart. Such, in particular, were the affections aroused in her while looking at a picture whose charming title was: "The Little Flower of the Tabernacle."

   But her supreme happiness consisted in taking her place in the procession of the Blessed Sacrament, there to await the moment when she could toss her flowers to the Divine King as he was borne along in triumph. She was not content merely to scatter them in His path-- her love was far too intimate for that!-- but she must even then signalize herself in her own daring way. And evidently no one thwarted these acts of childish affection which so delighted the Heart of her virginal Spouse. She herself tells us:

   "Above all, I loved the procession of the Blessed Sacrament: what a joy it was to strew flowers in God's path! But before scattering them on the ground I threw them high in the air, and was never so happy as when I saw my rose-leaves touch the sacred Monstrance."

   Every Sunday was a day of joy to her, when, as she tells us, "the whole family went to High Mass." Here she could satisfy her longing to be in the presence of Christ, to pour out her little heart before Him, and to listen to His own voice speaking to her from the silent Tabernacle.

   Of the Little Flower's ardent desire for Holy Communion, almost from the days of babyhood, much remains to be said elsewhere in this volume, and also of her other Eucharistic attractions, so remarkable in one of her tender years. These were the first sparks of that great Eucharistic love which was to inflame her soul.

"Never was I so happy as when I saw my rose-leaves touch the sacred Monstrance."

Little Flower & The Blessed Sacrament- Chapter I, Part 1

As promised, here is the first in a long series of some meditations on St. Therese and the Blessed Sacrament, from the book The Little Flower and the Blessed Sacrament, written by Rev. Joseph Husslein, S.J. (1925).

PART I

BEFORE THE TABERNACLE

CHAPTER I

-Early Eucharistic Attractions-

Love of the Holy Eucharist was early instilled into the soul of the little Teresa. Like a quickening dew it slipped into the heart of the "Little Flower," long before its tiny petals had unfolded in all their beauty. From the age of two, she tells us, she was already drawn to the Divine Spouse of virgins.

   At what time she first came to know and love Him in His Blessed Sacrament we are not informed by her. The words she puts upon the lips of her sister Celine, in that delightful poem, "What I Used to Love," may well lead us to conclude she was there in reality describing her own experience no less than that of her playmate and praymate in that springtime of her childhood. In simple language she thus records these earliest intimacies of virginal affection for Christ in the Holy Eucharist:

"O, how I loved my heavenly Lord,

In His blest Sacrament adored!

He bound me to Him by His plighted word:

That He my spouse would be

From infancy."

   She was not yet four years of age when the following conversation between herself and Celine was overheard by their mother:

   "How can God be in such a tiny Host?" asked Celine.

   "That is not strange," replied little Teresa, "because God is Almighty."

   "And what does 'Almighty' mean?"

   "It means that He can do whatever He likes."

   Happy little children, brought so early to the knowledge and love of the Supreme Good by the tender care of a wise and loving mother!

   The delightful autobiography of St. Teresa of the Child Jesus, written in obedience to the wish of her Mother Prioress, gives us only passing glimpses of this noble woman after God's own Heart; but they are enough to reveal her to us in all the charm of domestic affection, gentle as she was firm in her control, winning as she was saintly in her life. We find her always with her little ones, saying their prayers with them, accompanying them in their walks, training them with all the skill of personal experience in the art of sanctity, and so finally, like St. Paul, making them imitators of herself as she also was an imitator of Christ. Thus reared in holiness from their tenderest years, it was only necessary to point out to them the Virgin Christ in His Holy Eucharist that they might love Him with all their hearts.

   At the early death of this valiant woman the full responsibility of the home fell upon the "incomparable father" of that family, a man like St. Joseph, hidden and saintly in his life. St. Teresa, referring to his custom of daily reciting the family prayers with his children, wrote: "I had only to look at him to know how the saints pray."

   But he was no less humanly tender than he was heroic in his faith and sacrifice. Constantly he deepened and strengthened in little Teresa the love of her Divine Spouse and of His Presence in the Eucharist. As an instance I may cite her own words in which she describes the rambles she was wont to take with him.

   "Every afternoon," she says, "I went out for a walk with him, and we paid a visit to the Blessed Sacrament in one or other of the churches." It was in this way that St. Teresa of the Child Jesus first saw the chapel of the Carmel in which she was to spend so many happy hours.

   "Look, little Queen," he observed, using the pet name he had given her, "behind that big grating there are holy nuns who are always praying to Almighty God." Little did she then think that soon she, too, would be kneeling there with them before the Divine Presence in the Blessed Sacrament.

Something Different

After I said my Rosary this evening, I happened to glance over at the bookshelf where the religious books are kept. My eye almost instantly fell upon a book that my dear Grandmother (God rest her soul) had given me for my Confirmation. The book was a fitting gift, being about St. Therese of Lisieux, who I had chosen as my Confirmation saint.

Unfortunately, I did not read it for many years, not being inclined to do any spiritual reading that was outside of what was necessary for catechism class. When I finally picked it up ten years later, I was so pleased to find that my Grandmother had given me a veritable treasure chest of spiritual wealth.

The book is entitled The Little Flower and the Blessed Sacrament. It was written by the Rev. Joseph Husslein, S.J. (Jesuit, I believe?) in the year of Our Lord, 1925.

After many fruitless searches, I've been unable to find another copy of the book. I wish it was still in print, because I'd give it to everyone I knew.

And then, tonight, after spying it on my bookshelf, I decided that the book needed to be shared. It is too precious and full of beautiful, edifying thoughts to sit on my bookshelf. Some further research reveals that the book was copyrighted in 1925, but after the initial 23 years the copyright wasn't renewed by the author, which makes it public domain, to the best of my knowledge.

Therefore, I've decided to post bits from the book for my reader's enjoyment. With God's grace, I hope it will bring people closer to The Little Flower, and through her to the Blessed Sacrament and the Catholic Church.

St. Therese of Lisieux, ora pro nobis!

The Little Flower and the Blessed Sacrament- Beautiful cover illustration of a young St. Therese showering rose petals on Our Lord.

Signature inside cover- Monsignor Joseph J. Gavenda, S.T.D., J.C.D.

(It seems my great-great uncle had a devotion to the Little Flower as well!!)

Lovely image of St. Therese sending forth her "Shower of Roses" with the Blessed Mother and the Christ Child looking on.

Imprini Potest- Lawrence J. Kelly, S.J. Nihil Obstat- Arthur J. Scanlan, S.T.D.
Imprimatur- +Patrick Cardinal Hayes, Archbishop of New York

New York, October 25, 1925

Dedicated to St. Therese of the Child Jesus on the occasion of the 28th International Eucharistic Congress, Chicago 1926

Grave news...

Sunday at Mass, Father Braveheart announced something terrible and terrifying.

It seems that someone broke into a local Catholic Church with the sole intention of stealing the Blessed Sacrament. The thief entered the church through a window, opened the tabernacle and stole the ciborium containing the Holy Eucharist. They did not take anything else from the church, although there were plenty of other valuable items. The theft of the Blessed Sacrament desecrated the church and the bishop had to re-consecrate the parish.

The news was utterly shocking and, even now, thinking about it makes me want to cry. Clearly, whoever stole the Blessed Sacrament has dark purposes, the likes of which I don't even want to imagine.

Satanism isn't something that I think about often (which is good), but when it does come up, there's always this feeling of detachment. It's like I always thought, "Oh, it'll never happen here. It can't really happen that often, anyway."

But now that this has happened in my own backyard... ugh. It makes me shiver.

And it makes me wonder... if the Satanists believe in the True Presence, why do so many Catholics deny Our Lord? Especially when the Great Mystery of Transubstantiation is central to our Faith?

My heart is so heavy...

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The Divine Praises
(To be said in reparation for blasphemy and profanity)


Blessed be God.
Blessed be His Holy Name.
Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true man.
Blessed be the name of Jesus.
Blessed be His Most Sacred Heart.
Blessed be Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.
Blessed be the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete.
Blessed be the great Mother of God, Mary most holy.
Blessed be her holy and Immaculate Conception.
Blessed be her glorious Assumption.
Blessed be the name of Mary, Virgin and Mother.
Blessed be Saint Joseph, her most chaste spouse.
Blessed be God in His angels and in His Saints.

May the heart of Jesus, in the Most Blessed Sacrament, be praised, adored, and loved with grateful affection, at every moment, in all the tabernacles of the world, even to the end of time. Amen.