This is what the Lord asks of us:

Only this:

To act justly

To love tenderly

And to walk humbly with your God

Micah 6:8

This quote makes it seem easy to live out our days.  When thinking how I could contribute for this Blog, I gave it a lot of thought and hoped I could come up with some unique inspirations. I put off writing and just prayed for something to come to me.  Sometimes when I hear a hymn at church, I cry because the words of the hymns are so meaningful. Finally, I sat down to type and the following is what flowed from my heart and memory.

In the 1960s when I was attending a Catholic all girl high school, we had many wonderful devoted nuns who taught us religion among all the other subjects.  One religion story stands out and has remained with me all these years.  It is about St. Theresa of the Little Flower.

Well, the story about St. Theresa of Lisieux is that if you wanted to ask God for a favor, you prayed through the intercession of St. Theresa of the Little Flower to have your prayer answered.  If God was going to answer your prayer, as you went along your daily journey you would see a rose.   This did not mean someone would give you a rose, but it was uncanny how it just happened.  You may have come across a rose that was just hanging on for life at the end of a season, but a rose you saw.  This was a sign from God or so we believed. Today I don’t look so much for signs, but I do get messages in my heart about the right things to do. Sometimes just when I am sitting in church reflecting on the many things that are in my heart, some interesting thoughts and  ideas of what to say and do regarding kindness in daily life just pop into my head.  A sign?  Maybe.

In reading the quotes of St.Theresa, there is no doubt in my heart that her words are just as powerful today as when she shared them in her writings before her young death at age 24 in 1897.  Her life was simple and full of love and prayer. Maybe with Lent upon us, we could all practice a bit of being like this beautiful saint whose words and life have remained alive till this day.

With love and peace,

Mary Ann Petersen