Have you ever asked for a grace and waited for a sign from heaven? Thousands of the faithful wait for one every year through a young French Carmelite who promised to let fall from heaven a shower of roses upon the earth.
That young nun is St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus. A novena to St. Therese is nine consecutive days of prayer asking her to intercede with God on your behalf. The novena in preparation for her feast begins on September 22 and ends on September 30, the anniversary of her death, on the eve of her liturgical memorial on October 1.
In this article you’ll find who St. Thérèse was, why it’s worth praying a novena to her, and the complete texts of the novenas most widely prayed in her honor: the famous Novena Rose Prayer; and the traditional Novena in Honor of the Little Flower, with its own prayer for each of the nine days.
Do you know where novenas come from and why the Church recommends them before an important date or a saint’s feast? The word novenacomes from the Latin “novem,” meaning “nine.” The devotion recalls the nine days the Apostles persevered in prayer alongside the Virgin Mary between the Ascension and Pentecost (Acts 1:14). When you pray a novena to a saint, you ask that saint to intercede for you before God, because the saints already live united to him and walk beside us as friends on the road to heaven.
A novena to St. Thérèse, like any novena, serves to:
- Ask for particular graces, such as health, work, peace in the family, clarity in discerning a vocation, or the conversion of someone you love.
- Strengthen faith and patience so that you learn to trust God’s timing and God’s will.
- Unite you spiritually to the Church, since a novena is a traditional, shared practice.
- Imitate the saint’s virtues as you meditate on her life and example.
To live your novena to St. Thérèse more fruitfully, draw close to the sacraments. The Catholic Mass Times app shows you Mass, Confession, and Adoration times at more than 138,000 churches in every country on earth. Download it now.
Who is St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus?
St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, known to many as St. Thérèse of Lisieux, was a nineteenth-century French Carmelite nun. Marie-Françoise-Thérèse Martin was born on January 2, 1873, in Alençon, in Normandy. She was the youngest of the nine children of Louis Martin and Zélie Guérin, a Catholic couple in trade whom Pope Francis canonized on October 18, 2015.
Her mother’s death in 1877 marked her childhood and left her acutely sensitive. The family then moved to Lisieux. At Christmas 1886, at thirteen, Thérèse received a grace she herself described as her conversion: God freed her from her easy tears and gave her a new strength. A year later she made a pilgrimage to Rome with her father and her sister Céline, and there she begged Leo XIII to let her enter Carmel before the permitted age.
Thérèse entered the Carmel of Lisieux on April 9, 1888, at just fifteen. She lived nine years of hidden life there, between prayer, the humble tasks of the convent, and fraternal charity. On June 9, 1895, she offered herself as a victim to the Merciful Love of God, handing over her whole life so that God’s love could act freely in her.
Tuberculosis consumed her body over her last eighteen months. She died on September 30, 1897, at the age of 24. Her final words, her eyes fixed on the crucifix, were a declaration of love:
“Oh! I love him!… My God, I love you!”
Out of obedience to her superiors, she had written down the memories of her life. Her sisters published those manuscripts in 1898 under the title Story of a Soul, a book that traveled the whole world within a few years.
Pius XI beatified her on April 29, 1923, and canonized her on May 17, 1925. The same pontiff proclaimed her patroness of the missions on December 14, 1927, alongside St. Francis Xavier, though she never once left her convent. Her prayer and her sacrifice, offered for missionaries, were enough for the Church to recognize her as a missionary soul.
St. John Paul II declared her a Doctor of the Church on October 19, 1997, through the apostolic letter Divini Amoris Scientia. The Church grants this title to saints whose teaching gives sure light to the faith of all the faithful. Thérèse was the third woman to receive it, after St. Catherine of Siena and St. Teresa of Ávila.
Worth remembering: St. Thérèse lived only 24 years and never left her convent. Even so, the Church recognizes her as a saint, patroness of the missions, and Doctor of the Church for her teaching on confidence and love. That is why so many of the faithful pray a novena to St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus every year.
Why pray a novena to St. Thérèse of Lisieux?
What can a young woman who died more than a century ago do for you? She answered that question herself a few months before she died. The Catechism of the Catholic Church gathers her words in paragraph 956, on the intercession of the saints:
“I want to spend my heaven in doing good on earth.”
The Catechism teaches that the saints, being more closely united to Christ, offer the Father the merits they acquired on earth and never cease to intercede for us (CCC 956). St. Thérèse turned that truth of faith into a personal promise. So when you pray a novena to St. Thérèse, you entrust your need to a friend who knows the road to the heart of God.
She also announced that after her death she would let fall a shower of roses. The roses stand for the graces she obtains from God for those who call on her. Ever since, countless devotees have attributed favors of every kind to her intercession, and the rose became her emblem: which is why she is depicted holding a crucifix and an armful of roses.
The second reason to pray to her comes from her doctrine. Thérèse discovered a little way to holiness within everyone’s reach: the way of spiritual childhood. The phrase names the attitude of a soul that abandons itself to God with the confidence of a child in its father’s arms. Thérèse found the key in the words of Jesus:
“Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 18:3).
Jesus asks for conversion, and the conversion Thérèse proposes consists in becoming small. She compared her little way to an elevator: she knew herself too small to climb the rough staircase of perfection, and so she chose the arms of Jesus to lift her up to heaven. Picture a small child at the foot of a very tall staircase. That child raises his arms toward his father and waits to be carried. That is how anyone prays who prays with St. Thérèse.
Pope Francis devoted the apostolic exhortation C’est la confiance (October 15, 2023) to this teaching, on the 150th anniversary of her birth. The title takes up a phrase of the saint’s own:
“It is confidence and nothing but confidence that must lead us to Love.”
That confidence is the soul of any novena to St. Thérèse.
Finally, Thérèse teaches you to pray from the heart. The Catechism quotes her to define prayer itself:
For me prayer si a “a surge of the heart,” a simple look turned toward heaven, a cry of recognition and love that reaches God from inside trial as readily as from inside joy (CCC 2558).
Those words help you live the novena as an encounter with God. Each day of prayer becomes a trusting glance toward heaven, and the grace you ask for is left in the hands of a Father who knows what you need.
Worth remembering: You pray a novena to St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus because the saints intercede for us before God (CCC 956), because she promised to do good from heaven, and because her little way of confidence teaches you to abandon yourself to the Lord like a child.
The Novena Rose Prayer
The 24 Glory Be novena consists in praying the Glory Be twenty-four times a day for nine days. With this prayer you thank the Most Holy Trinity for the gifts God granted St. Thérèse during the twenty-four years of her life on earth. Many of the faithful know it as the novena of the 24 roses, or as the novena to St. Therese to ask for a rose.
Where does the 24 Glory Be novena come from?
Father Putigan, a Jesuit priest, began this novena on December 3, 1925, the same year St. Thérèse was canonized. He needed an important grace and decided to pray twenty-four Glory Bes each day in thanksgiving for the saint’s life. As a sign that heaven had heard his prayer, he asked to receive a freshly plucked rose from someone.
On the third day of the novena, a stranger sought him out and gave him a red rose. On December 24, Father Putigan began a second novena, this time asking for a white rose. On the fourth day, a Sister-nurse from the hospital brought him one. She told him the flower had fallen at her feet in the chapel, in front of an image of St. Thérèse, and that she had felt moved to bring it to him.
The priest received the graces he had asked for and decided to spread the novena as a crusade of prayer in St. Thérèse’s honor. Ever since, the faithful all over the world have prayed it with confidence.
Worth remembering: The rose works as a sign of consolation that God grants when he wills. The fruitfulness of the novena rests on your faith and on the will of God, who always seeks the good of your soul. If no rose comes, don’t be troubled. It doesn’t mean God hasn’t heard you.
How to pray the 24 Glory Be novena
You can pray this novena at any time of year. Tradition recommends praying it from the 9th to the 17th of each month, so that you join in the communion of prayer with everyone else making the novena on those same days. In preparation for the saint’s feast, pray it from September 22 to 30.
Each day follows this order:
- Make the Sign of the Cross.
- Pray the prayer to the Most Holy Trinity.
- Ask for the grace you desire.
- Pray the Glory Be twenty-four times. Between each one, you may add the short invocation below, or one of the twenty-four invocations that follow.
Opening prayer
Holy Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, I thank Thee for all the blessings and favors Thou hast showered upon the soul of Thy servant Theresa of the Child Jesus, during the twenty-four years she spent here on earth, and in consideration of the merits of this Thy most beloved Saint, I beseech Thee to grant me this favor, if it is in accordance with Thy most Holy Will and is not an obstacle to my salvation.
Ask here for the grace you wish to obtain.
24 Invocaciones y Gloria
After this prayer follow the twenty-four Glory Bes, between each of which the traditional English form includes this short invocation:
Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus, pray for us. Glory be…
Little Flower of Jesus,
pray for us. Glory be…
Beloved child of Mary,
pray for us. Glory be…
Faithful spouse of Jesus,
pray for us. Glory be…
Mother of countless souls,
pray for us. Glory be…
Model of holiness,
pray for us. Glory be…
Wonder of virtues,
pray for us. Glory be…
Prodigy of miracles, pray for us. Glory be…
Prudent virgin, pray for us. Glory be…
Heroine of faith, pray for us. Glory be…
Angel of charity, pray for us. Glory be…
Violet of humility, pray for us. Glory Be
Mystic passionflower, pray for us. Glory be…
Purest lily of Carmel, pray for us. Glory be…
Chosen flower of the Church, pray for us. Glory be…
Rose unpetalled for love, pray for us. Glory be…
Martyr of love, pray for us. Glory be…
Delight of heaven and earth, pray for us. Glory be…
Messenger of peace, pray for us. Glory be…
Patroness of the missions, pray for us. Glory be…
Sower of roses, pray for us. Glory be…
Teacher of spiritual childhood, pray for us. Glory be…
Abogada de los sacerdotes, pray for us. Glory be…
You who spend your heaven doing good on earth, pray for us. Glory be…
The traditional Novena in Honor of the Little Flower
The traditional novena proposes a different prayer for each of the nine days, each one dwelling on an aspect of her life and doctrine: confidence in God, the value of souls, God’s gifts, abandonment to his will, patience in suffering, zeal for souls, the love of God, a holy death, and her mission from heaven. Each day invites you to ask for that same grace in your own life, alongside the particular favor you entrust to her intercession.
Each day follows this order:
- Sign of the Cross
- Opening Prayers
- Prayers for each day of the novena
- Thought for the day and petition
- Concluding prayers
- In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Prayers to be said each day
Come Holy Ghost and fill the hearts of the faithful, and kindle in them the fire of Divine love.
V. Send forth Thy Spirit and they shall be created. R. And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.
Let us pray. O God, Who hast 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.
O my God! I believe in Thee: do Thou 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 Thee, 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 Thee, my God, Who art all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to confess my sins, to do penance and to amend my life.
Prayer
O Lord Who hast said: Unless you become as little children you shall not enter the Kingdom of Heaven, grant us, we beseech Thee, so to follow, in humility and simplicity of heart, the footsteps of the virgin, blessed Therese, that we may attain to an everlasting reward. Amen.
Prayers for each day of the novena
First Day — Confidence in God
St. Therese, privileged Little Flower of Jesus and Mary, I approach thee with childlike confidence and deep humility. I lay before thee my desires, and beg that through thine intercession they may be realized. Did thou not promise to spend thy Heaven doing good upon earth? Grant me according to this promise the favors I am asking from thee.
Thought for the day
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. What offends Jesus, what wounds His Sacred Heart, is lack of confidence in Him.
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.
Pray 3 Hail Maries and ask for the grace you need.
Second Day — Sin
O dear little Saint, now that thou seest the crucified Jesus in Heaven, still bearing the wounds caused by sin, thou knowest still more clearly than thou didst 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 thy great power with our Divine Lord and pray for me.
Thought for the day
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 voluntary fault.
Yes, even if I had on my conscience a possible crime, I should lose none of my confidence; my heart breaking with sorrow should go and throw myself into the arms of my Saviour. The remembrance of my faults humbles me and makes me afraid to rely on my strength, which is nothing but weakness.
Pray 3 Hail Maries and ask for the grace you need.
Third Day — The use of God’s Gifts
Dear Little Flower, make all things lead me to Heaven and God. Whether I look at the sun, the moon, the stars and the vast expanse in which they float, or whether I look at the flowers of the field, the trees of the forest, the beauties of the earth so full of color and so glorious, may they speak to me of the love and power of God; may they all sing His praises in my ear. Like thee may I daily love Him more and more in return for His gifts. Teach me often to deny myself in my dealings with others, that I may offer to Jesus many little sacrifices.
Thought for the day
How much benefit have I received from the beauties of nature, bestowed in such abundance. How they raise me to Him Who placed such wonders in this land of exile which is only to last a day.
O sparkling nature, if I did not see God in thee, thou wouldst be naught but a great tomb.
I do not wish creatures to have one atom of my love. I wish to give all to Jesus, since He has shown me that He alone is perfect happiness.
Pray 3 Hail Maries and ask for the grace you need.
Fourth Day — Abandonment to God
Dear Little Flower of Carmel, bearing so patiently the disappointments and delays allowed by God, and preserving in the depths of thy soul an unchanging peace because thou didst seek only God’s Will, ask for me complete conformity to that adorable Will in all the trials and disappointments of life. If the favors I am asking during this Novena are pleasing to God, obtain them for me. If not, it is true I shall feel the refusal keenly, but I too wish only God’s Will, and pray in the words thou didst use, that it “may ever be perfectly fulfilled in me.”
Thought for the day
I fear only one thing, to keep my own will; take it, my God, for I choose all that Thou choosest.
The only happiness here below is to strive to be always content with what Jesus gives us. I can demand nothing with fervor except the perfect accomplishment of God’s will in my soul.
O my Beloved, I offer myself to Thee, that Thou may perfectly accomplish in me Thy holy designs, and I will not allow anything created to be an obstacle in their path.
Pray 3 Hail Maries and ask for the grace you need.
Fifth Day — Patience in sufferings
Little Flower of Jesus, from the very first moment of thy religious life thou didst think only of denying thyself in all things so as to follow Jesus perfectly; help me to bear patiently the trials of my daily life. Teach me to make use of the trials, the sufferings, the humiliations, that come my way, to learn to know myself better and to love God more.
Thought for the day
I do not fear trials sent by Jesus, for even in the most bitter suffering we can see that it is His loving hand which causes it. When we are expecting nothing but suffering, we are quite surprised at the least joy; but then suffering itself becomes the greatest of joys when we seek it as a precious treasure.
Far from resembling those beautiful Saints who practiced all sorts of austerities from childhood, my penance consisted in breaking my self-will, in keeping back a sharp reply, in doing little kindnesses to those about me, but considering these deeds as nothing.
Pray 3 Hail Maries and ask for the grace you need.
Sixth Day — Zeal for souls
St. Therese, Patroness of the Missions, be a great missionary throughout the world to the end of time. Remind our Master of His Own words, “The harvest is great, but the laborers are few.” Thy zeal for souls was so great, obtain a like zeal for those now working for souls, and beg God to multiply their numbers, that the millions to whom Jesus is yet unknown, may be brought to know, love and follow Him.
Thought for the day
Let us work together for the salvation of souls. We have only the day of this life to save souls and to give them to the Lord as proofs of our love.
I cannot perform brilliant works; I cannot preach the Gospel or shed my blood. But what matter? My brothers work in place of me, and I, a little child, keep very close to the royal throne. I love for those who are carrying on the warfare.
My deeds, my little sufferings, can make God loved all over the world.
Pray 3 Hail Maries and ask for the grace you need.
Seventh Day — Love of God
O little martyr of Love, thou knowest now even better than in the days of thy pilgrimage that Love embraces all vocations; that it is Love alone which counts, which unites us perfectly to God and conforms our will with His. All thou didst seek on earth was love; to love Jesus as He had never yet been loved. Use thy power in Heaven to make us love Him. If only we love Him we shall desire to make Him loved by others; we shall pray much for souls. We shall no longer fear death, for it will unite us to Him forever. Obtain for us the grace to do all for the love of God, to give Him pleasure, to love Him so well that He may be pleased with us as He was with thee.
Thought for the day
What attracts me to the Kingdom of Heaven is the call of our Lord, the hope of loving Him as I have so desired and the thought that I shall be able to make Him loved by a great number of souls who will bless Him forever.
When Christ said, “Give Me to drink,” it was the love of His poor creatures that He, the Creator of all things, desired. He thirsted for love.
Remember that the dear Jesus is there in the Tabernacle expressly for you, for you alone. Remember that He is consumed with a desire to come into your heart.
Pray 3 Hail Maries and ask for the grace you need.
Eighth Day — Death
Dear St. Therese, like thee I have to die one day. I beseech thee, obtain from God, by reminding Him of thine own precious death, that I may have a holy death, strengthened by the Sacraments of the Church, entirely resigned to the most holy Will of God, and burning with love for Him. May my last words on earth be “My God, I love Thee.”
Thought for the day
It says in the catechism that death is nothing but the separation of the soul and body. Well, I have no fear of a separation which will unite me forever with the good God. I am happy to die because I shall be able to help souls who are dear to me, far more than I can here below.
Life is not sad; it is very joyous. We are wrong to give the name “life” to something which will end; it is only to the things of Heaven that we should apply this beautiful name.
Pray 3 Hail Maries and ask for the grace you need.
Ninth Day — The mission of the Little Flower
Dear little St. Therese, by love and suffering while on earth, thou didst win the power with God which thou doth now enjoy in Heaven. Since thy life there began, thou hast showered down countless blessings on this poor world; thou hast been the instrument made use of by thy Divine Spouse to work countless miracles. I beg of thee to remember all my wants. Sufferings must come to me also, may I use them to love God more, and follow my Jesus better. Thou art especially the little missionary of love. Make me love Jesus more, and all others for His sake. With all my heart I thank the most Holy Trinity for the wonderful blessings conferred on thee, and upon the world through thee.
Thought for the day
I do not intend to remain inactive in Heaven. I want to work for the Church and for souls. I have asked this of God and I am certain that He will grant my request. I will spend my Heaven doing good upon earth. This is not impossible, since the Angels, though always enjoying the Beatific Vision, watch over us. No, I cannot be at rest until the end of the world.
I beseech Thee, O Jesus, to cast Thy Divine glance on a great number of little souls. I beg Thee to choose in this world a legion of little victims, worthy of Thy Love.
Pray 3 Hail Maries and ask for the grace you need.
Final Prayers
Prayer to Our Lady
We fly to thy patronage, O holy Mother of God. Despise not our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us from all dangers, O ever glorious and blessed Virgin.
V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God. R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Concluding prayers
Let us pray. Grant, O Lord God, we beseech Thee, that we Thy servants may rejoice in continual health of mind and body; and through the glorious intercession of blessed Mary, ever Virgin, may be freed from present sorrow and enjoy eternal gladness, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
O God, Who didst inflame with Thy Spirit of Love the soul of Thy Servant, Therese of the Child Jesus, grant that we also may love Thee and make Thee much loved.
May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
To get the most from a novena to St. Therese, repeating the prayers isn’t enough. She taught that God looks at the love you put into each thing more than at the greatness of the work itself. Live these nine days with the same simplicity with which she lived in Carmel.
You can enrich your novena if you:
- Meditate each day on her little way of confidence, and read a few pages of Story of a Soul.
- Offer small acts of love, such as a smile for someone who irritates you, a hidden service, a quiet sacrifice. Thérèse called these gestures her flowers.
- Bring a clear intention, ready to accept God’s will with peace and confidence.
- Join yourself to other devotees, even if only spiritually, since a novena is a shared prayer that strengthens the faith of the Church.
We’d also encourage you to use these days to go to Mass, to Confession, and to Communion. St. Thérèse found the strength of her little way in the Eucharist. The Holy Mass is the most perfect prayer, the place where you can offer God your petitions and your sacrifices. If sometimes is difficult for you to go to Mass, this article may help: Is it okay to go to Mass without really feeling like it? Find the nearest church in the Catholic Mass Times app.
If you like novenas, pray the novena to Saint Cajetan for bread and work, or join the Mother of the Lord in this prayer to Our Lady of Expectation.
Open your heart like a child and entrust your petition to St. Thérèse. She promised not to rest while there are souls to save. You can also pray this short novena for asking St. Thérèse for a rose, and it may be the best-loved prayer to her in the English-speaking world. It’s prayed once a day for nine days, and nothing else is required. Its simplicity is part of its appeal, and it fits well with the spirit of the saint who taught that God looks at the love you put into things rather than at their size.
O little Thérèse of the Child Jesus, please pick for me a rose from the heavenly gardens and send it to me as a message of love.
O little Flower of Jesus, ask God today to grant the favors I now place with confidence in thy hands…
(mention your specific requests)
St. Thérèse, help me to always believe as thou didst, in God’s great love for me, so that I might imitate thy “Little Way” each day. Amen.
What is St. Thérèse the patroness of?
St. Thérèse is patroness of the missions, alongside St. Francis Xavier, by decision of Pius XI in 1927. Pius XII also proclaimed her co-patroness of France in 1944, alongside St. Joan of Arc. Many of the faithful also call on her for priests, for the sick, and for the needs of their families.
What do St. Thérèse’s roses mean?
The roses stand for the graces St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus obtains from God for those who call on her. Before she died, the saint promised to let fall a shower of roses upon the earth. That is why she is depicted with an armful of roses and a crucifix, and why some devotees recount receiving a rose as a sign of consolation during the novena.
What’s the difference between the 24 Glory Be novena and the traditional novena?
The 24 Glory Be novena repeats the same prayer to the Most Holy Trinity each day, followed by twenty-four Glory Bes, in thanksgiving for the saint’s twenty-four years of life. The traditional Novena in Honor of the Little Flower offers a different prayer for each of the nine days, each one centered on an aspect of her life and doctrine, with common prayers at the beginning and the end.
When does the novena to St. Thérèse of Lisieux begin?
The novena to St. Thérèse begins on September 22 and ends on September 30, the eve of her feast. Devotees traditionally pray the 24 Glory Be novena from the 9th to the 17th of each month. Either one, though, can be prayed at any time of year.
When is the feast of St. Thérèse?
The Church celebrates the memorial of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus every October 1. Until the reform of the liturgical calendar in 1969, her feast was kept on October 3, a date some communities still observe.
Do you need to receive a rose to know God heard your novena?
The rose appears in the story of the novena as a sign God grants freely to some of the faithful. God hears every prayer made in faith and answers according to his will and the good of your soul. If no rose comes, hold on to your confidence: St. Thérèse taught that confidence pleases God more than any sign.
