Saint Therese of Lisieux: A Gateway

The Vatican has published in Italian a worship aid for the Vigil of Prayer for Peace that is going to be conducted in Rome on September 7, 2013.  The vigil will include the five joyful mysteries of the rosary, and, after each decade, the stanza of St. Therese's poem "Why I Love You, O Mary" that corresponds to that mystery will be read.  See Deborah Thurston's English translation of the vigil worship aid at her blog, Karmalight.   You may download the Italian booklet here.  Be aware the download may be slow.

Therese wrote "Why I Love You, O Mary," her last poem, in May 1897.  It is a long meditation on Mary in the gospels: Mary's humble, hidden, ordinary life; Mary's union with Jesus; Mary, our mother.  It is impossible to exhaust the poem's riches here.  Please read the twenty-five verses and see the handwritten manuscript of "Why I Love You, O Mary" here.

To explore the riches of all Therese's poetry, please see The Poetry of Saint Therese of Lisieux, translated by Donald Kinney, O.C.D.  Washington, D.C.: Washington Province of Discalced Carmelite Fathers, 1995.  The introductions and notes to each poem are invaluable in setting each poem in the context of Therese's life and community. 

One of Therese's most extraordinary assertions is "Mary, you love us as Jesus loves us."  May we place our prayer for peace in the hands of St. Therese and in the hands of Mary, and may they obtain for us the gift of peace in the world.