|
"As a lifelong fan of St. Therese, I offer
an enthusiastic "thumbs up!" for Shower of Heavenly Roses. The
stories of her intercessions range from tender to stunning, and involve such
ordinary people that any reader will feel right at home. Author Elizabeth
Ficocelli has done a wonderful job helping us get to know this thoroughly modern
saint."
—
Joan Wester Anderson, author of Where
Angels Walk and In The Arms Of Angels
"Saint Therese of Lisieux compared herself
to a "little flower," and unfortunately this image has, over the
decades, become slightly sappy and romanticized. On the contrary, for Therese
the "little flower" image was one of strength and endurance, like the
flower that pushes up through a crack in a rock and thrives. This is the Saint
Therese we meet in Elizabeth Ficocelli's book, in the frequently astonishing,
always inspiring stories she collected. This is the Therese who understood well
the biblical image of God's "mighty arm" (Psalm 89:13), and she is
with us still and active in the risen Lord. Read these pages and rejoice."
— Mitch Finley, author of
The
Joy of Being Catholic
Wonderful and
inspiring! I believe that my own strong devotion
to St. Therese of Lisieux, lovingly known as "The
Little Flower", stems from the fact that she gives
me such great hope - hope that someone who spends
most of every day doing mundane little tasks (like
washing laundry and driving car pools), can make
these little acts holy by offering them to God
with a loving heart.
In her new book Shower of Heavenly Roses: Stories
of the intercession of St. Therese of Lisieux
(Crossroad Publishing Company, September 2004,
paperback, 227 pages), author Elizabeth Ficocelli
shares stories of countless hearts touched through
the intercession of St. Therese. For those not
acquainted with St. Therese and her wonderful
autobiography Story of a Soul, Ficocelli's
introduction relates the life history and
spirituality of this magnificent woman. In her
Prologue, Ficocelli shares her own personal faith
journey and the role in that journey played by St.
Therese, as well as the meaning of the sign of the
rose.
Millions have turned to St. Therese for aid and
intercession in times of difficulty and despair.
The stories shared in Shower of Heavenly Roses are
stirring accounts of prayers answered by miracles,
great and small. St. Therese inspired many with
her words "I want to spend my heaven doing good on
earth." Shower of Heavenly Roses shows that St.
Therese's spirit of love and service, her "little
way", lives on in our world.
— Lisa Hendey, CatholicMom.com
Solid addition to Theresian literature. There are
literally hundreds of books about St. Therese of
Lisieux and her spirituality, but I don't think
that in recent times there has been one quite like
this one. This book is a lovely compilation of
stories relating St. Therese's "intervention" in
the lives of those who love her still. Yet, there
is not a trace of saccharine sentimentality or
trite ritualism here. The stories, some of them
quite simple, are pure reaffirmations of faith.
Prayer, St. Therese once noted, is a loving glance
towards heaven. This volume recounts Therese's own
loving glances towards earth.
— J.C. Marrero, Louisiana
I am a huge fan of St. Therese and your book
Shower of Heavenly Roses and I have purchased
numerous copies to give as gifts. Your book has
been a great source of comfort and hope for me and
I have read it several times over the years.
— Maggie G.
>
This is such a wonderful account of people's
experience with St. Therese and the myriad of ways
that she uses to show people which direction to go
when faced with a difficult decision or whether
their petition for a favor has been granted.
I believe in all cases through St. Therese's
intercession that everyone's sincere prayers are
answered but not always in the way they would
expect. Though, I might add in this book of
'Little Stories' it certainly seems that most
prayers are answered in the most apparent way.
It is difficult not to be touched to the point of
tears when reading and rereading this book, which
I call 'The Handbook of Heavenly Guidance'!
— Jack W., Missouri
Wow! I recently came across your book, Shower of
Heavenly Roses. Purchased it though Amazon, with
some other Catholic publications. Although I'm
sure that I've heard of her before, I really had
no idea who St. Therese of the Little Flower was,
other then wanting more Catholic books to read
over.
WOW!!! What an eye opener!!! Instead of
skimming, It's hard to put it down, so I'm spacing
it out each day.
— Bill O. California
These inspirational stories will appeal to all
ages, men and women. You will be surprised how
reading these personal accounts will inspire you
and obtain favors too! After reading, pass it on
to a friend!
— Ruth B., Iowa
Shower of Heavenly Roses – growth for the
spiritual garden. A Jesuit priest once noted that
the actions of the saints in our lives build our
faith on a personal level, but they are also meant
to edify the entire Body of Christ. In other
words, when the Saints "talk" to us, they are
addressing all our brothers and sisters as well.
Food that nourishes us must be shared with those
around us. That's exactly what Shower of Heavenly
Roses, Elizabeth Ficocelli's heart-warming and
inspiring story collection of people's experiences
with St. Therese of the Child Jesus, does. The
story collection feeds our faith and energizes our
prayer life, exciting us with new spiritual
discoveries and promising avenues of prayer. For
those who are not Catholic and not familiar with
the "Communion of Saints," this is a wonderful
introduction to that teaching and practice in the
Church. Lest anyone think that praying to a Saint
demeans our relationship with Christ, we must
remember that the Lord himself AUTHORIZED the
apostles (and the saints through the ages) to heal
and deliver and work the same wonders he did.
Therefore, to shy away from their help is to shy
away from the One who gave them the authority to
dispense that help. Each story opens up beautiful
new vistas where we can stroll and meditate, then
return to our everyday lives, refreshed and
renewed for the next challenges we face. Elizabeth
Ficocelli has done a splendid job in choosing
these vistas; now, it's your turn to avail
yourself of them. It's a decision you won't
regret.
— Bonnie B., Louisiana
All stories in
this book serve as inspiration to many to become
more and more closer to Jesus through the little
flower's intercession. All those whom I shared
this book with told me that once they start
reading the book, they could not put it down. Some
even experience little miracles themselves. And to
others, they got to know St. Therese more and now
invoke her powerful intercession as well. One lady
I gave the book to shared with me that she didn't
really know St. Therese that well, but after
reading the book, she wanted to have a picture of
St. Therese with her little prayers on it. To her
amazement, she found a little card with St.
Therese' picture on her bedroom, but nothing was
printed on it. It was a two fold card but inside
was blank. She wished it contained some kind of
novena prayers as she would like to start a novena
with her. The following day, that same card had
the 24 Glory Be's novena inside. When she came to
see me before she left for the Philippines, I had
the prompting to give her a beautiful 11 x 14
picture of St. Therese. She was just so thrilled
to see the picture as she also wished for a bigger
picture of St. Therese.
Thank you Elizabeth for putting together such
inspiring stories.
— Lilia B., Texas
RETURN TO ADULT BOOKS
|
