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“Archimedes said: ‘Give me a lever and a fulcrum, and I will raise the world.’ What he was unable to obtain because his request had but a material end and was not addressed to God, the Saints have obtained in full measure. For fulcrum, the Almighty has given them Himself, Himself alone! For lever, prayer, which enkindles the fire of love; and thus it is that they have uplifted the world, thus it is that saints still militant uplift it, and will uplift it till the end of time.” – St. Therese

Today is the 125th Anniversary of St. Therese’s entrance into Carmel. Reflecting today on Therese, I tried to imagine the world without her YES. I tried to imagine myself without her friendship and influence and intercession. I tried to imagine the world without the Little Way.  I am so grateful for her YES to follow Christ in the Religious Life at the age of 15 – a YES that was daring and uncompromising. Her YES to Jesus – so full of freedom and hope – changed the world.

Yesterday we celebrated the Solemnity of the Annunciation. We remembered Our Lady’s YES and we remembered the YES of the Son. How can our hearts be filled with anything but gratitude and wonder! “And the Word was made Flesh and dwelt amongst us…”

And, in the midst of all this celebration, I think of my own YES. And of your YES.

A YES that daily we have the opportunity to repeat and deepen. A YES that finds a voice in the YES of our Mother Mary, in the Saints, in our brothers and sisters striving for holiness. A YES that uplifts the world, though we be hidden and little. A YES that enkindles a fire of love, though it be spoken in the midst of an arid desert. A YES that delights the heart of the Father, and from where flows all our joy.

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Look who joined us for dinner! St. Therese! – and she even brought us some of her favorite sweets – eclairs! (with a little help from Sr. Marie Andre!)