Two evening prayers by Saint Thérèse of Lisieux

Here are two Catholic prayers written by Saint Thérèse de l'Enfant Jésus, also known as Saint Thérèse of Lisieux or Little Thérèse. These prayers can be read, recited and meditated on in the evening, before going to bed, in order to entrust oneself fully to God and ask for the Lord's help and grace.

"Jesus, make me expire with love for You! "

"In Your love, exiling Yourself on earth, divine Jesus, You immolate Yourself for me. My beloved, receive my whole life; I want to suffer, I want to die for You. Lord, you told us yourself: "We can do nothing more than die for those we love". And my supreme love is you, Jesus! It's getting late, already the day is fading, stay with me, celestial pilgrim. With your cross I climb the hill; come guide me, Lord, on the way! Your voice echoes in my soul, I want to be like you, Lord. I ask for suffering... Your word of flame, burn my heart! Before entering eternal glory, "the God-Man had to suffer", it was through his cross that he won victory; oh sweet savior, didn't you tell us? For me, on the foreign shore, what scorns have you not received! I want to hide on earth, to be the last in everything, for you, Jesus. My beloved, your example invites me to lower myself, to despise honor in order to steal you away, I want to remain small; by forgetting myself, I will charm your Heart. My peace is in solitude, I ask for nothing more. Pleasing you is my only study, and my beatitude: it's you, Jesus! You, the great God whom the universe adores, you live in me, a prisoner night and day, your sweet Voice implores me at all hours, you repeat to me: "I thirst! I thirst for love! "I'm your prisoner too, and I too want to repeat your tender, divine prayer, my beloved, my brother: "I thirst for love! I thirst for love! Fill my hope, increase in me, Lord, your divine fire! I thirst for love! Great is my suffering. Ah! I would like to fly to you, my God! Your love is my only martyrdom; the more I feel it burning within me, the more my soul desires you. Jesus, let me die of love for you! Amen."

In this prayer of love, Saint Thérèse of Lisieux shows us the way to total surrender to God's will. Little Thérèse understood extraordinarily well what the goal of our spiritual life was: to accept becoming smaller and smaller, so that the Lord can take up all the room in us.

"O God hidden in the prison of the Tabernacle! "

"O God hidden in the prison of the tabernacle! It is with happiness that I return to you each evening, to thank you for the graces you have granted me and to implore my forgiveness for the faults I have committed during the day that has just passed like a dream. O Jesus! How happy I would be if I had been faithful, but alas! I'm often sad in the evening, because I feel I could have responded better to your graces... If I were more united with you, more charitable with my sisters, more humble and more mortified, I would have less trouble talking to you in prayer. However, O my God! Far from being discouraged by the sight of my miseries, I come to you with confidence, remembering that: "It is not those who are well who need a doctor, but the sick". So I beg you to heal me, to forgive me, and I will remember, Lord, "that the soul to whom you have given more must also love you more than the others!" I offer you every beat of my heart as so many acts of love and reparation, and I unite them to your infinite merits. I beg you, O my divine spouse, to be the repairer of my soul, to act in me regardless of my resistance.And tomorrow, with the help of your grace, I will begin a new life, each moment of which will be an act of love and renunciation. After having come each evening to the foot of your altar, I will finally arrive at the last evening of my life, and then will begin for me the sunsetless day of eternity when I will rest on your divine heart from the struggles of exile! Amen."

Saint Thérèse is a magnificent example of humility. In this prayer, she modestly acknowledges and accepts her lowliness, and doesn't hesitate to throw herself wholeheartedly into the arms of Jesus, who alone can give her the grace to love perfectly.

Who is Saint Thérèse of the Infant Jesus?

Saint Thérèse of Lisieux is undoubtedly one of France's most popular saints. She was born in 1873, and from childhood wanted to become a nun. From an early age, she developed a close relationship with Jesus and Mary. She was miraculously cured of an illness at the age of 10 when she saw the Blessed Virgin smiling at her.

In 1888, when she was just 15, Thérèse entered the Carmelite convent and took the name Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus. A few years later, her Mother Superior asked her to write down her childhood memories. After two years spent writing Histoire d'une âme, Thérèse died of tuberculosis, and her book was published shortly afterwards. At the time of her death, Thérèse was just 24 years old.

"Saint Thérèse was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1925, after the Church had recognized four miracles among many other testimonies.

In Histoire d'une âme, Thérèse reveals her memories, her spiritual struggles, her reflections, her prayers... In short, it's the whole spirituality of Saint Thérèse that we discover over the pages. The work is an extraordinary success: it has now been translated into 50 languages and, since its publication, has sold over 500 million copies.

Pray to Saint Theresa with Hozana!

Are you convinced of the power ofSaint Therese's intercession with God? Would you like to know more about the little Thérèse, her story and the miracles attributed to her? Then Hozana has a number of spiritual suggestions for you: for example, you can pray daily with Saint Teresa, or say a novena to Saint Teresa. You'll also find all the communities offered by Hozana, many of which can enrich your prayer on a daily basis or in the run-up to Christian feast days!