Taken from “Pearls of Wisdom” by M. Susan Lautenbach

How great is the power of prayer!

To be heard, it is not necessary to read from a book some beautiful formula composed for the occasion. There are so many of them it really gives me a headache and each prayer is more beautiful than the others. For me, prayer is an aspiration of the heart: it is a simple glance directed to heaven, a cry of gratitude and love in the midst of trial as well as joy.

What do I say to Jesus? I don’t say anything, I love Him.

Sometimes I would try to fish with my little line, but I preferred to go alone and sit on the grass bedecked with flowers…Without knowing what it was to meditate, my soul was absorbed in real prayer.

-St. Therese

Our Prayer

Woman of wisdom –
even as a child, prayer spilled forth
from the very center of your heart, into the heart of God.

A natural contemplative, you understood the gift
of simply gazing upon the One you loved.

As your soul developed, you continued to honor
that simple opening of your heart to God.
No matter where you found yourself,
you trusted that the heart of God would meet you there.

Be with me, in my own journey of prayer.
Empower me to let go of formulas
that may restrict the love that I feel.

Help me, Therese, to trust that my heart
contains a natural longing to spend time with my Creator.
Fill me with the grace to allow my soul
to be absorbed in the love of my God.