I would like you to meet a dear friend of mine, St. Therese. Her feast day is on October 1. Her favorite treat was known to be eclairs. She is the Virgin Doctor of the Church. Her promise was to “spend heaven doing good on earth…sending down a shower of roses.”
She has been a great friend and sister to whom I have cried desperately, begging that heaven answer my prayers. With my pleading heart, I have poured my concerns into the words of a novena several times. She has never failed to fulfill her promise of showering down roses from heaven whether literally or symbolically. Admittedly, I have doubted her and heaven’s goodness countless times, especially as the end of the novena approaches.
The first time I prayed the novena I asked St. Therese to send me a red rose in particular, with the intention of feeling assured that she hears my prayers. On the ninth day, I visited a friend’s house to lead a chemistry study group of four girls in preparation for our final exam. Before the study session began, I wondered how I would receive a rose, and I felt anxious thinking about the possibility that heaven might pass up my prayer. The study session lasted for three hours, after which my mother took me to Mass.
By this time, it was eight in the evening. “Okay, St. Therese, where is the rose? It’s already getting late. Oh well, I trust you whatever your answer is.” At some point during Mass, I put my hand in my pocket. “Wait, what is this? Oh it’s a rose!” I pulled it out of my pocket. It was a red rose. My tears fell, as I was sincerely apologetic to St. Therese for doubting her. Then, I recalled that the rose was given to me at my friend’s house by the host’s younger brother who was a child of four years old. Her little brother randomly interjected the study session and gave each of us a rose. I was the only one who received a red rose while the other girls were given white. Then, he exited the room.
Remarkably, it was a child who handed me the rose. This reminded me of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, who is known for her “Little Way”. Of course, I didn’t notice the very blessing right under my nose because I was too busy thinking about ions instead of flowers! I was blind-sided, too focused on that which was on the forefront of my brain. This was utterly humbling. It was I who asked heaven for something, and when it seemed like I did not receive that, I threw a small tantrum of doubt only to realize later that my prayer was taken care of in ways beyond my imagination. Usually, it is us who are blind to the God-given answers because our eyes and hearts are too busy and loud.
There have been times when I have asked for a rose but instead received very important revelations and information on the ninth day. There have been other times when I asked for a rose to be given to me by a certain person, but instead St. Therese herself presented the rose to me in my dreams. There was an instance in which I received the rose as an emoji. It is important to note that there have also been times when I needed to wait and pray the novena twice consecutively before receiving an answer. However, St. Therese always answers my prayers eventually and guides me in the right direction. There is abundant evidence for why heaven deserves our trust, with these occurrences serving as reminders. The Lord always hears and answers our prayers. It is we who need to open our eyes, ears, and hearts, submitting ourselves to His Love.
Lourdes Macaspac, graduate of the class of 2021, wrote for The Torch as a C101 writer during her first three years and as a Faith Feature Columnist during her senior year. At BC, she majored in a bunch of things, enjoyed giving her time to service, and cared greatly for her friends. Through the fleeting sweet and sometimes chaotic moments, she rediscovered the meaning of her life: sanctity.
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