Novena to Saint Thérèse of Lisieux (The Little Flower)
Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, the Little Flower of Jesus, teaches us that holiness is found in small acts done with great love. Through her “Little Way,” she invites us to trust God completely, even in weakness, suffering, and simplicity.
This powerful novena is prayed by those seeking confidence in God, peace of heart, and childlike trust, asking for her gentle intercession in everyday struggles.
The Life and Spirituality of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux
Saint Thérèse of Lisieux was born in Alençon, France, in 1873 and entered the Carmelite monastery at the age of fifteen. Living a hidden life of prayer and sacrifice, she developed a simple yet profound spiritual path known as The Little Way, centered on humility, trust, and love in ordinary actions.
Her autobiography, Story of a Soul, written under obedience, revealed her interior life and spiritual wisdom, deeply impacting the Church. She died of tuberculosis in 1897 at only twenty-four years of age. In 1925 she was canonized, and in 1997 she was declared a Doctor of the Church, despite never leaving the convent.
A Documented Miracle
One of the most well-known miracles attributed to Saint Thérèse occurred shortly after her death and contributed directly to her canonization.
A seminarian named Charles Anne was suffering from a severe and incurable pulmonary illness. Doctors had given little hope for recovery. Devotion to the Little Flower was growing rapidly at the time, and Charles began praying fervently through her intercession, asking for healing and offering his suffering to God.
During prayer, he experienced a sudden and inexplicable improvement. Medical examinations confirmed that the disease had completely disappeared, without any medical explanation. Physicians testified that the healing was instantaneous and permanent.
This miracle, carefully investigated and documented by Church authorities, was officially recognized by the Vatican. It became one of the miracles required for Saint Thérèse’s canonization, reinforcing her promise:
“I will spend my heaven doing good upon earth.”
Since then, countless faithful have reported favors, conversions, and spiritual graces through her intercession, often symbolized by the sign of roses.
Why Pray This Novena?
People pray this novena to Saint Thérèse of Lisieux for many intentions, especially:
- To grow in trust and confidence in God
- To find peace during suffering or uncertainty
- To learn humility and simplicity in daily life
- To ask for favors through her gentle intercession
This novena is especially powerful for those who feel weak, overlooked, or discouraged, reminding them that holiness is possible through small acts of love offered to God.
🌹 The Promise of the Roses
Saint Thérèse said:
“After my death, I will let fall a shower of roses. I will spend my heaven doing good upon earth.”
Many people who pray this novena report receiving signs through roses, such as:
- Finding a rose unexpectedly
- Receiving roses from someone without explanation
- Smelling the scent of roses when none are present
- Repeatedly encountering images or references to roses
These “roses” are understood as signs of Saint Thérèse’s intercession and of God’s loving response to prayer — sometimes yes, sometimes wait, and sometimes I have something better.
If you receive a sign, offer thanks to God and to Saint Thérèse, trusting always in God’s perfect will.
📖 Scripture Meditation
“Unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
— Matthew 18:3
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
— Matthew 11:28
“Cast all your anxieties on Him, for He cares for you.”
— 1 Peter 5:7
How to Pray the Novena
This novena is traditionally prayed for nine consecutive days.
Each day includes:
- An invocation to the Holy Spirit
- Acts of Faith, Hope, and Love
- An Act of Contrition
- A daily prayer to Saint Thérèse
- A spiritual reflection (“Thought for the Day”)
- A concluding prayer
Set aside a quiet moment each day, pray with trust, and present your personal intentions with simplicity of heart. Repetition is part of the devotion and reflects childlike perseverance in prayer.
Novena Prayers (Day by Day)
Day 1 – Confidence in God
Invocation to the Holy Spirit
Come Holy Spirit and fill the hearts of the faithful, and kindle in them the fire of divine love.
V. Send forth Your Spirit and they shall be created.
R. And You shall renew the face of the earth.
Let us pray:
O God, who have instructed the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit; grant that by the gift of the same Spirit, we may be ever truly wise and rejoice in His consolation, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Acts of Faith, Hope, and Love
O my God! I believe in Thee: strengthen my faith.
All my hopes are in Thee: do Thou secure them.
I love Thee: teach me to love Thee daily more and more.
Act of Contrition
O my God! I am heartily sorry for having offended You, and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell, but most of all because they offend You, my God, who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Your grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life. Amen.
Daily Prayer
St. Thérèse, privileged Little Flower of Jesus and Mary, I approach you with childlike confidence and deep humility. I lay before you my desires, and beg that through your intercession they may be realized. Did you not promise to spend your heaven doing good upon earth? Grant me according to this promise the favors I am asking from you.
Intercede for us all the days of our life, but especially during this Novena, and obtain for us from God the graces and favors we ask through your intercession. Amen.
Thought for the Day
Confidence in God
We can never have too much confidence in the good God who is so powerful and so merciful. We obtain from Him as much as we hope for.
If you are nothing, do you forget that Jesus is everything? You have only to lose your nothingness in His Infinity and think only of loving Him.
Concluding Prayer
O Lord, You have said: Unless you become as little children you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven; grant us, we beg You, so to follow, in humility and simplicity of heart, the footsteps of the Virgin blessed Thérèse, that we may attain to an everlasting reward. Amen.
Day 2 – Sin and Mercy
(Invocation, Acts, and Act of Contrition as above)
Daily Prayer
O dear little Saint, now that you see the crucified Jesus in heaven, still bearing the wounds caused by sin, you know more clearly than you did upon earth the value of souls and the priceless worth of that Precious Blood which He shed to save them. As I am one of those children for whom Christ died, obtain for me all the graces I need in order to profit by that Precious Blood. Use your great power with our divine Lord and pray for me.
Intercede for us all the days of our life, but especially during this Novena, and obtain for us from God the graces and favors we ask through your intercession. Amen.
Thought for the Day
Sin
The only grace I ask, O Jesus, is never to offend Thee.
By love and not by fear, does a soul avoid committing the least fault.
Yes, even if I had on my conscience every possible crime, I should lose none of my confidence; my heart breaking with sorrow, I should go and throw myself into the arms of my Savior.
Concluding Prayer
(same as Day 1)
Day 3 – The Use of God’s Gifts
(Invocation, Acts, and Act of Contrition as above)
Daily Prayer
Dear Little Flower, make all things lead me to heaven and to God. Whether I look at the sun, the moon, and the stars, or at the flowers of the field and the beauties of the earth, may they speak to me of the love and power of God. Teach me to deny myself daily in my dealings with others, that I may offer to Jesus many little sacrifices.
Intercede for us all the days of our life, but especially during this Novena, and obtain for us from God the graces and favors we ask through your intercession. Amen.
Thought for the Day
The Use of God’s Gifts
How much benefit have I received from the beauties of nature! How they raise me to Him who placed such wonders in this land of exile.
I do not wish creatures to have one atom of my love. I wish to give all to Jesus, since He alone is perfect happiness.
Concluding Prayer
(same as Day 1)
Day 4 – Abandonment to God
(Invocation, Acts, and Act of Contrition as above)
Daily Prayer
Dear Little Flower of Carmel, bearing patiently the disappointments and delays allowed by God, preserving an unchanging peace because you sought only His will, ask for me complete conformity to that adorable Will in all the trials of life. If the favors I ask are pleasing to God, obtain them for me. If not, help me to desire only that His holy will be perfectly fulfilled in me.
Intercede for us all the days of our life, but especially during this Novena, and obtain for us from God the graces and favors we ask through your intercession. Amen.
Thought for the Day
Abandonment to God
I fear only one thing — to keep my own will. Take it, my God, for I choose all that You choose.
Concluding Prayer
(same as Day 1)
Day 5 – Patience in Suffering
(Invocation, Acts, and Act of Contrition as above)
Daily Prayer
Little Flower of Jesus, help me to bear patiently the trials of my daily life. Teach me to use sufferings, humiliations, and difficulties to learn to know myself better and to love God more.
Intercede for us all the days of our life, but especially during this Novena, and obtain for us from God the graces and favors we ask through your intercession. Amen.
Thought for the Day
Patience in Suffering
My penance consisted in breaking my self-will, in keeping back a sharp reply, in doing little kindnesses to those about me.
Concluding Prayer
(same as Day 1)
Day 6 – Zeal for Souls
(Invocation, Acts, and Act of Contrition as above)
Daily Prayer
St. Thérèse, Patroness of the Missions, be a great missionary throughout the world. Obtain for those who labor for souls a burning zeal, and beg God to multiply their numbers, that all may come to know and love Jesus.
Intercede for us all the days of our life, but especially during this Novena, and obtain for us from God the graces and favors we ask through your intercession. Amen.
Thought for the Day
Zeal for Souls
I cannot perform brilliant works, but my little sufferings can make God loved all over the world.
Concluding Prayer
(same as Day 1)
Day 7 – Love of God
(Invocation, Acts, and Act of Contrition as above)
Daily Prayer
O little martyr of Love, obtain for us the grace to do all things for the love of God, to love Him so well that He may be pleased with us as He was with you.
Intercede for us all the days of our life, but especially during this Novena, and obtain for us from God the graces and favors we ask through your intercession. Amen.
Thought for the Day
Love of God
When Christ said, “Give Me a drink,” it was love that He desired. He thirsted for love.
Concluding Prayer
(same as Day 1)
Day 8 – A Holy Death
(Invocation, Acts, and Act of Contrition as above)
Daily Prayer
Dear St. Thérèse, obtain for me the grace of a holy death, strengthened by the Sacraments, resigned to God’s holy will, and burning with love for Him.
Intercede for us all the days of our life, but especially during this Novena, and obtain for us from God the graces and favors we ask through your intercession. Amen.
Thought for the Day
Death
I am happy to die because I shall be able to help souls far more than I can here below.
Concluding Prayer
(same as Day 1)
Day 9 – The Mission of the Little Flower
(Invocation, Acts, and Act of Contrition as above)
Daily Prayer
Dear Little St. Thérèse, little missionary of love, make me love Jesus more and all others for His sake. May I use sufferings to love God more and follow Him better. With all my heart I thank the Holy Trinity for the blessings granted to you and to the world through you.
Intercede for us all the days of our life, but especially during this Novena, and obtain for us from God the graces and favors we ask through your intercession. Amen.
Thought for the Day
The Mission of the Little Flower
I will spend my Heaven doing good upon earth.
Concluding Prayer
O Lord, You have said: Unless you become as little children you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven; grant us, we beg You, so to follow, in humility and simplicity of heart, the footsteps of the Virgin blessed Thérèse, that we may attain to an everlasting reward. Amen.
About Saint Thérèse of Lisieux
Saint Thérèse of Lisieux is the patroness of missionaries, florists, and those seeking simplicity of heart. Known as The Little Flower, she reminds the faithful that love alone gives value to actions. Despite her cloistered life, she is honored as a universal missionary through prayer and sacrifice. Her spirituality continues to inspire millions worldwide.
Related Devotions
- Prayer to the Holy Face of Jesus – devotion loved by Saint Thérèse
- Mary the Mother of God – Marian trust and surrender
- Short Daily Prayers – living the Little Way daily
- How to Pray a Novena – guide for beginners
FAQ – Saint Thérèse of Lisieux Novena
Saint Thérèse of Lisieux (1873–1897), also known as The Little Flower, was a Carmelite nun from France whose short life was marked by extraordinary love, humility, and trust in God. Through her spiritual autobiography Story of a Soul, she taught that holiness is attainable by all through small acts done with great love. She is one of the most beloved saints in the Catholic Church.
The Little Way is Saint Thérèse’s spiritual path of simplicity, childlike trust, and total confidence in God’s mercy. Instead of extraordinary penances or heroic works, she offered ordinary daily actions—sufferings, sacrifices, and acts of kindness—out of pure love for God. This way teaches that holiness is not about greatness, but about love.
Saint Thérèse promised before her death, “I will spend my heaven doing good upon earth.” Roses have become a sign of her intercession, symbolizing spiritual favors, answered prayers, and God’s grace obtained through her prayers. Many devotees report receiving roses—literal or symbolic—after praying to her.
Yes. This novena may be prayed for any intention, including spiritual growth, family needs, healing, conversions, vocations, or personal struggles. Saint Thérèse encourages complete trust in God’s will, asking with confidence while surrendering the outcome to divine love.
Yes. Saint Thérèse was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1997 by Pope Saint John Paul II. Despite her young age and simple life, her teachings on love, mercy, and spiritual childhood have had a profound impact on the Church, making her one of the youngest Doctors of the Church.
