*This story is the last of the 9-week story series on St. Therese. Hope the stories added inspiration to your days. I have devotions to many saints. In fact, there are three or four saints I say "Good morning!" to every single day. But one of my closest friendships is with St. Thérèse of Lisieux, the "Little Flower." Over the decades, I’ve experienced her quiet guidance more times than I can count. Late last winter, I found myself standing at a major crossroads. A dilemma wa

*This story (a repost) is the eighth of a 9-week series on St. Therese's promise of helping those in need manifested usually through a shower of roses. In 2018, our family went on a cruise to Northern France. A week before our departure, my godmother called and asked if we were visiting St. Therese in Lisieux. I said it's not in our plan because I believe that Lisieux is far from our port at Le Havre. Two days later, a cousin asked me the same question, and I answered the sam

*This story (a repost) is the seventh of a 9-week series on St. Therese's promise of sending a shower of roses after her death. And sometimes, roses aren't even needed. More often than not, I pray to St. Therese for guidance (as I do not know what's best for me) rather than a specific request for something to happen. I've been struggling with the issue of pride after a very painful experience. I was deeply hurt and saddened by a dear friend who suddenly unloaded her years-lon

*This story (a repost) is the sixth of a 9-week series on St. Therese's promise of helping those in need manifested sometimes through a shower of roses. In 2014, I was led to writing stories of God's graces. The book was published in 2016. I have so many more stories from people who've felt God's presence in their lives. (Is there anything better at inspiring us to our Lord than listening to incredible grace stories?) But I did not want to publish another book, unless Jesu

*This story (a repost) is the fifth of a 9-week series on St. Therese's promise of helping those in need manifested mostly through a shower of roses. As far back as I can remember, October 1 has almost always been a special day for me knowing that it is St. Therese's feast day. Though I don't make elaborate plans to celebrate her feast day (outside of lighting a special candle, saying special prayers, and sending out St. Therese posts to family and friends), I carry her consc

*This story (a report) is the fourth of a 9-week series on St. Therese's promise of helping those in need manifested mostly through a shower of roses. There are times when there are no favors asked, no manifestations through roses, but knowing for sure that St. Therese knows our hearts. A few years ago, our church had a talk by Fr. John on St. Therese of Lisieux. He talked about her life, her family, her personality traits, and her legacy of showering roses. When Fr. John ope

While living in San Francisco, our oldest son, AJ, used to rave about a hole-in-the-wall eatery near his apartment that served incredible, inexpensive Taiwanese beef rolls. Down here in LA, beef rolls cost around $20 for two small wraps. You can cut them in half to make them look like more, but your stomach knows better! When AJ visited us one time, he brought two orders. They were absolutely scrumptious. He told us about the restaurant: just one elderly woman managed the ent

*This story (a repost) is the third of a 9-week series on St. Therese's promise of helping those in need manifested sometimes through a shower of roses. Uncle Mike, Auntie Ludy's husband, was diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer. They prayed unceasingly to Jesus with special prayers to St. Therese of Lisieux. They both decided to visit the Basilica of St. Therese in Lisieux during his last days. The church was empty except for a nun whom they both saw inside the church. T

Image credit: Leslie Yu, Unsplash *This story (a repost) is the second of a 9-week series on St. Therese's promise of helping those in need manifested mostly through a shower of roses. Lily was invited to join a medical mission in the Philippines. She and her husband wanted to go, but their finances were tight, the trip wasn't incorporated into their budget, and it was peak season for traveling. Lily prayed to St. Therese for guidance asking for yellow roses if they should

On Sunday, August 2, around 8:00 p.m., while working on my laptop, I noticed a dull headache above my right eye. At the same time, I also noticed a subtle haze over my vision. It was like looking through a very thin film of white, something that one sees during a cold and misty morning. For the next hour, I asked myself and my husband what it could be. I thought that maybe I could simply sleep it off, and the pain would be gone by morning. My cloudy vision didn’t concern me.

Credit: Danish Ali, Unsplash I am reposting this St. Therese story for the first of the nine weeks leading to her feast day on October 1. If you'd like to get some roses, ask St. Therese! Last year, I had a heated argument with a friend over the phone. Like most misunderstandings, it came completely out of the blue. I felt so indignant that she wouldn't even listen to my side of the story. As I hung up, I thought to myself, "I will not be calling her for a long, long time."

Have you ever played "Connect the Dots"? It used to be a game I played as a child, but lately, I’ve been thinking about what it means in real life. It started on a lazy Sunday morning, the kind of quiet Sunday I used to take for granted until our youngest son, Josh, started his candy-making venture. Since then, Sundays (and pretty much the whole week!) have been filled with the madness of running a small business. A few months back, my husband and I were reflecting on his jou

We choose personal saints for our Confirmation. (Do you remember yours? I don't.) Our parents picked one for our Baptism. Some couples pick saints for their weddings, and the religious I believe choose them when taking vows. But they say saints can choose us, too. Over a decade ago, someone asked if I knew St. Sharbel. I didn't. A few weeks later, I ran into his name again. A month or so passed. Then someone visited and handed me a framed picture of St. Sharbel! For a thick

Even as a teenager, I was easily distracted, especially during Mass. I remember making a quiet promise to God back then: no matter how many times my mind drifted, I would always bring my focus back to Him. The past two years have been full of distractions. I set aside my writing and YouTube Shorts to help our youngest launch a full-time business. But deep down, I knew I’d return to writing whenever God gave the word. Well, this month, He gave me that nudge! I’m so glad to be

I have a small trinket box stored in a place time forgot. It contains various religious medals that were given to me over many decades. ...

*This story is the last of the 9-day story series on St. Therese. Hope the stories added inspiration to your days. It was a week before...

*This story is the eighth of a 9-day series on St. Therese's promise of helping those in need manifested usually through a shower of...

*This story is the seventh of a 9-day series on St. Therese's promise of sending a shower of roses after her death. And sometimes, roses...

*This story is the sixth of a 9-day series on St. Therese's promise of helping those in need manifested sometimes through a shower of...