October 1, St. Therese of Liseux

October 1st is the feast in honor of this much loved and very popular saint.  St. Therese touches people of all ages with her "Little Way", which teaches us to find Jesus and do His work with love and sacrifice in every tiny detail of our lives. St. Therese taught that every sacrifice or act of love, no matter how small, is significant to Jesus.  Therese is an excellent saint for busy parents, for her Little Way blends so easily into a life filled with laundry, dishes, homework, runny noses, and soccer practice.  When we offer all of the sacrifices of our parenting to Jesus they become sacred and holy and His love strengthens us to get up and do it again tomorrow.

Therese is  known as the Little Flower and is often associated with roses, which makes it easy to honor her on her feast day. Following are ideas from the simple to elaborate, you choose what works best for your family. Just make sure you take time to put St. Therese's Little Way into practice and love the people God has placed in your path!

Honoring Therese can be as simple as placing roses on your table and sharing with your children a bit about the Little Flower.  If you have a bit more time, how about reading your child a story about St. Therese's life while enjoying a treat of these Pepperidge Farm cookies that resemble roses. Books from about St. Therese are available on Amazon and quite a few are even available in our Valley's library system. If they are not checked in here in Bakersfield, you still have time to transfer from other locations.

Another fairly easy idea is to sprinkle rose petals from your child's room to the breakfast table, where they will find heart shaped pancakes symbolizing Therese's great love.

For those who may be feeling more ambitious I Am Baker makes a beautiful rose cookie that is elegant and surprisingly easy.  I have actually made her rose cake that the cookies are based on and it wasn't too hard!  Either would be a beautiful act of love that can point your family to St. Therese on October 1st.

Another idea is to make chocolate roses and leave them for your children with love notes.  You can find the directions at Catholic Cuisine.

And lastly, if you would like to create a tea party for your family based on St Therese, check out this out the link below for some fabulously creative ideas!