"Stop and Smell the Roses"

Happy feast day of St. Therese, young woman who had a missionary spirit but mostly remained within the walls of her Carmelite convent.

Nevertheless, at the bottom of the picture of her that I keep on the wall of my office, it says, "St. Therese of Lisieux, Patroness of the Missions." I assert that she not only prayed for missionaries, but she showed the way to be a missionary among ordinary tasks.

Indeed, her renowned "little way" of seeking to do ordinary tasks with great love gives rise to an appreciation of the simple blessings that allow the Lord's presence to be recognized in unlikely places.

St. Therese is known as the "Little Flower" perhaps because of her desire to "send roses from heaven" once she died. But perhaps this connection with roses also provides a motto which is consistent with her ways. I hand-wrote my own caption for the top of her picture: "Be sure to stop and smell the roses."