Opening Prayer
You are the eternal God of all creation! To You alone can we look for life. We ruin ourselves and our world. You have brought us low and revealed our emptiness that we might acknowledge You as the source of life and goodness. It is in You that we live and move and have our being. As the farmer and the seed in the soil of our lives, continue to grow, develop and expand within and among us. Gather us as part of Your fruitful harvest. May Your Word so transform us that we shine like the sun forever, reflecting Your glory.
Therese, it must have been frightening when you received the “last rites” this day in 1897. Was it the signal that medical and Church people had given up and were preparing you for the final journey to God? The grace of the sacrament must have helped you in those last dark weeks to know that God was still present even though you experienced His absence. Give us your faith, Therese, to believe even when all seems dark and empty.
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