PRAYER OF ST. THERESE LISIEUX

O Jesus, who in Thy bitter Passion

didst become "the most abject of men,

a man of sorrows,"
 

I venerate Thy Sacred Face

whereon there once did shine the beauty

and sweetness of the Godhead;

but now it has become

for me as if it were the face of a leper!
 

Nevertheless, under those disfigured features,

I recognize Thy infinite Love and I am consumed

with the desire to love Thee

and make Thee loved by all men.
 

The tears which well up abundantly

in Thy sacred eyes appear to me as

so many precious pearls that I love to gather up,

in order to purchase the souls

of poor sinners by means

of their infinite value.
 

O Jesus, whose adorable face
ravishes my heart,
I implore Thee to fix deep within me
Thy divine image and to set me
on fire with Thy Love,
that I may be found worthy
to come to the contemplation
of Thy glorious Face in Heaven.

Amen.