St. Teresa's Feast Day and the Story of a Cross!

Saint Teresa of Lisieux is the patron saint of my parish! Every year on October,
1rst a grand celebration is held by the parish with a Mass which is celebrated by the Bishop of Lincoln, NE. Usually the Bishop presides over an evening Mass but this year he was the main Celebrant of the Children's daily Mass which was held this morning.

Banners were placed throughout the Church with pictures of the life of St. Teresa. The pictures above and below are two of them. The banners will stay up the entire month of October bringing an extra feeling of warmth inside the church. They are a beautiful reminder of the Saint's journey on this earth. On the first of November they will be returned to the St. Teresa museum inside the rectory.

The school posted the cutouts below on the front of their entry way. What a great reminder to the school children of Saint Teresa's promise to shower down roses here on earth when we pray for her intercessions. She is a most powerful Saint who has the ear of Jesus. She is also a doctor of the Church.

A beautiful procession in and out of Church for the Feast Day Mass included 25-35 girls dressed as Saint Teresa. Below is a picture of a couple of the girls who dressed and had processed in the Mass.

I wish I could really express how wonderful this morning was and I didn't even capture the beauty completely in these few pictures that I've posted. But I can tell more about how great Saint Teresa the little flower is in a personal testimony below.

While my daughter Michaela was being treated for her leukemia our family prayed very hard for her. The kindness of the parishioners of Saint Teresa's came through in the most unexpected ways and places. These were some of the answers to our prayers!!

One totally unexpected blessing was a cross which was given to my husband, Will, one evening when he was at a holy hour. He thought he was alone in the Church when a fellow parishioner came up to him and offered him the cross that slides open and has a relic of St. Teresa inside. Will could tell that this cross was very special to the man who gave it to him. He could tell that it surely was a sacrifice to give up this cross. The man gave us the cross to help Michaela heal and survive her cancer.

Will brought the cross home and gave it to Michaela. She came to depend on this cross for every sadness, pain and worry that she had. She was 7-8 years old at the time the cross was given to her. Her cancer treatments ended when she was about 9 1/2. She learned to pray for herself and would sleep with her cross.

The cross has since made it's rounds. One day when Will was at work he started experiencing chest pains. A co-worker took him into the emergency room and he went through a battery of heart tests. The doctors decided to keep him in the hospital over night. Michaela didn't think twice to give her dad her cross. Will also slept with the cross. In the end his heart cathaterization showed an all clear. No heart problems.

The cross is now with Michaela's grandpa who battled cancer for a year. Two years after his diagnosis his cancer is in remission.

These kinds of stories are endless for people around the world! We are but one family who have been touched by this incredible Saint. If you don't know much about her learn about her. Her story is simple and powerful. She can be your friend too. You can google her name, look her up in a Catholic book store or talk to any Catholic priest or religious. They all know her. Don't delay...she can aid you in any way!