God's love was in very truth her one and only aim. She longed for heaven, but not to be free from suffering, or to enjoy eternal bliss; it was something else that attracted her: "Oh, it is love! To love, to be loved, and to return to earth to win love for our Love…. One hope alone makes my heart beat fast: the love that I shall receive and the love that I shall be able to give." And again: "What draws me to my heavenly home is the summons of my Lord, together with the hope that at last I shall love Him as my heart desires, and shall be able to make Him loved by a multitude of souls, who will bless Him throughout eternity." So ardent was this desire that she composed a little prayer and sent it to her missionary brother with the request: "Please say this little prayer for me each day; it sums up all my desires: Merciful Father, in the name of Thy sweet Jesus, of the Blessed Virgin, and of all the saints, I beg Thee to consume my sister with Thy Spirit of Love, and to grant her the grace to make Thee greatly loved!" To this she added: "If our Lord takes me to Himself soon, I ask you to continue this prayer, because my longing will be the same in heaven as upon earth: to love Jesus and to make Him loved."
But as her end drew nearer, she realized more and more clearly that this was not only her desire, but also her God-given mission to the end of time: "I feel that my mission is soon to begin—my mission to make others love God as I love Him…." She closed her autobiography with that burning prayer: "I entreat Thee to let Thy divine eyes rest upon a vast number of little souls, I entreat Thee to choose in this world a legion of little victims of Thy merciful love!" From heaven she is still recruiting heroic lovers for her "legion of little victims" of joy in suffering for the love of God. She also extends the invitation to me. And my answer…?
Novena Prayer
Dear St. Therese, little victim of God's merciful love, how rich is the harvest, how beautiful the fruits you have gathered for God and souls, as also for yourself, through your generosity in proving your love by the divine test, suffering. Indeed, the roses with which you so tenderly covered the
