St. Therese Novena

When I was 13, just before I graduated, our grade eight teacher gave all of us a copy of a novena to St. Therese, the Little Flower, who told us to try it. He claimed it worked for him.

In the Novena you pray: 'St. Therese, the Little Flower, please pick me a rose from the heavenly garden and send it to me with a message of love. Ask God to grant me the favor I thee implore [state intention here], and tell him I will love him each day more and more.' Tradition holds that if you say the novena prayer, followed by five Our Fathers, five Hail Marys, and five Glory Be's each day for five days, you will receive a shower of roses on the fifth day.

Now, not being a superstitious person or having an unquestioning type of faith, I was skeptical to say the least, but I gave it a try anyway. At least four or five times over the intervening years, whatever I fervently prayed for was answered by the receipt of a rose. Sometimes the rose came in unexpected ways, but I was never disappointed. I always knew it was *the rose* I was waiting for, even once when I ran into 3 women named Rose within the space of an hour. Even when I was feeling far from God, I remember praying the novena because I was desperate to know I was on the right path and I received a rose.

Well, I have had a very special intention on my heart, I started to pray the novena again last Monday asking for a special favour that a certain situation would work out. Imagine my shock when this Saturday, my out-of-town friend arrived bearing the ingredients for Chinese herbal tea to help me to sleep better - one ingredient of which is rose buds. A huge, massive bag of I would guess over 200 rose buds.

If that isn't an answer to my prayer, coupled with the mode by which it was delivered... I don't know what is. Thanks, St. Therese.