BY

REV. LAWRENCE G. LOVASIK, S.V.D.

Price 5c

ST. THERESE

OF THE

CHILD JESUS

MISSION PRESS, S.V.D.

TECHNY, ILLINOIS



V

Dear Reader:

May you find in this impressive example of
St. Therese inspiration and strength to bear
your daily cross with a generous smile, to resign
yourself humbly to the Will of God. May you
be deeply convinced that what God sends you
or permits to happen to you is for your own
good. He is your Father, and He loves you more
than your earthly father or mother ever could.
You may find it difficult to see His Will in the
particular cross which you have in life, but rest
assured, God knows best! Like St. Therese,
throw yourself into His arms with childlike
confidence and abandonment. He will give you
strength. Divine love will make your sufferings
most fruitful for the glory of God and the sal¬
vation of souls, especially your own.
If you should be afflicted with the disease of

tuberculosis, take courage from the example of
St. Therese. God did not cure her of this dis¬

ease, and yet through her intercession it has
been His Holy Will to cure hundreds of her
clients. He has set her up as a Model of silent
and cheerful suffering for all TB patients, and,
above all, as a Patroness who will surely help
them. Ask her for help to bear patiently, even
cheerfully, the sufferings connected with your
illness. She has a special interest in you, since
she went through all that you are suffering —
and so very much more! She will help YOU!
And if it is God's Will, she will even work a
miracle for you! St. Therese is YOUR SAINT!

If you desire a full account of the life of St.
Therese, order her AUTOBIOGRAPHY by
writing to: Marian Action, 211 West 7th Avenue,
Tarentum, Pa. Price $4.00.
I place this booklet into the hands of Our

Heavenly Mother Mary, the Health of the Sick,
whom St. Therese loved so tenderly.

Father Lawrence G. Lovasik, S.V.D.

Sacred Heart Mission Seminary
Girard, Pennsylvania

2



I. The TB Saint

The Cross of TB

It will be encouraging and helpful for people
to know that there is a patroness for those
afflicted with one of America's most deadly dis¬
eases. She is the little Carmelite, St. Therese
of the Child Jesus, popularly known as The
Little Flower. Her story is told in her Auto¬
biography. Slight glimpses of her spirit are
given in the following pages.
Therese was born January 2, 1873, at Alencon,

France, the youngest of nine children. Of these,
four died in their infancy and five entered the
convent. When Therese was four, her mother
died. Her naturally happy disposition deserted
her, and she became timid and sensitive. Her
childlike soul was on fire with the love of God.
She says: "From the age of three, I never re¬
fused our Good God anything. I have never
given Him anything but love, and it is with
love He will repay." At the age of ten she fell
dangerously ill at the departure of her sister
Pauline for the cloister. The statue of Our Lady
in her room became animated. The gracious
smile of the Blessed Mother penetrated the
depths of her soul and she was suddenly cured.
At the age of fifteen she received the holy

habit of Our Lady of Mount Carmel at Lisieux.
Many, attracted by the sweetness of the Little

Flower's words, by her cheerfulness and by her
frequent expressions of complete happiness, fail
to realize that her life was one long record of
pain and sorrow. Of her convent life she writes:
"I found the religious life just what I expected.
Sacrifice was never a matter of surprise. Every¬
thing in the convent delighted me, yet from the
very outset my path was strewn with thorns
rather than with roses."

Martyrdom had always been Sister Therese's
ideal. "Martyrdom was the dream of my child¬
hood, a dream which has grown with me in my
narrow cell in Carmel . . . Jesus, my heavenly

3



Bridegroom, grant that for Thy sake I may die
a martyr; give me martyrdom of soul or of
body. Or rather give me both the one and the
other."

The martyrdom of body began about a year
and a half before her death. On the evening
before Good Friday, 1896, after carrying out all
the Lenten observances to the letter — fasting,

abstinence, and the rest, Sister Therese was
feeling very well. How greatly should we dis¬
trust that feeling of health and strength in
people who are both upheld and wasted by
some inward fever and — tuberculosis!

"In the early hours of Good Friday, Our Lord
gave me the hope of soon joining Him in His
beautiful home in heaven — a blessed memory,
indeed! I could not obtain permission to re¬
main watching at the altar of repose throughout
the night of Holy Thursday, so at midnight I
went back to our cell. Scarcely had I laid my
head on the pillow when I felt a hot stream rise
to my lips. I thought I was going to die, and
my heart nearly broke with joy. But as I had
just put out our lantern, I mortified my curi¬
osity until the morning and slept in peace. At
five o'clock, when I was called, I remembered
that I had some good news to learn. I went up
to the window, and found, as I had expected,
that our handkerchief was soaked with blood.

Dearest Mother, what hope was mine! I was
firmly convinced that on this anniversary of His
death, my Beloved had allowed me to hear His
first call, like a sweet gentle murmur, heralding
His joyful approach . . . On the evening of that
happy day, I returned full of joy to our cell, and
was quietly falling asleep when my sweet Jesus
gave me the same sign of my speedy entrance
into heaven as on the previous night."

Sister Therese had always foreseen that she
would die young. She knew that she had
her death-blow. Because of her characteristic

love of silence, and out of charity too, she said
nothing about these hemmorhages to her three
sisters, who were also Carmelites at Lisieux.
She kept her secret for more than a year.
The summer passed fairly well. Sister

Therese, who had always had a delicate throat

4



and chest, was occasionally shaken by a little
dry cough which she could not manage to hide,
and which proclaimed to the nuns who loved
her the determined progress of the hidden di¬
sease of tuberculosis. Autumn came, then win¬
ter, the terrible winter of 1896.
The fits of coughing became daily more

frequent, longer, and more incessant. The saint
was quite glad to be in a distant cell, so that
the nuns could not hear her coughing. They
had not suspected that she felt the cold exces¬
sively. The tuberculosis which improverished
her blood made her very sensitive to cold.

Suffering with a Smile

The secret of her joy in suffering is divine
love. Love of God is the keystone of all her
virtues. "Beside myself with joy, I cried: 'Sweet
Jesus, at last I have found my vocation. Love
is my vocation ... In the bosom of the Church,
my Mother, I will be love. . . .
Before she would admit that she was beaten

by the tuberculosis which had been wasting her
for nearly two years, Sister Therese had con¬
tinued to take her share of community duties
and to be present at the Divine Office beyond
what was humanly possible. When the nuns
realized the seriousness of her condition, they
began to look after her in real earnest. But she
preferred to be left alone in her cell. She used
to tell the novices who came to see her: "I am

glad to suffer in solitude. As soon as people
begin to be sorry for me and to pamper me, I
no longer have any joy of my suffering . . .
When I suffer much, when painful and dis¬
agreeable things come my way, instead of look¬
ing sad, I greet them with a smile. At first I
did not always succeed, but now it has become
a habit which I am truly glad to have acquired
... I am convinced that no remedies have the

power to cure me, but I have a convenant with
God that they may be for the benefit of poor
missionaries who have neither time nor means

to take care of themselves."

On July 6, 1897, another hemorrhage took
place, and the doctor diagnosed serious con-
jestion of the lungs. It was, therefore, rightly

5



thought that the wretched mattress on which
the invalid lay was too hard for her weak body,
and two days later she was taken down to the
infirmary.

On July 25, Mother Agnes, seeing her in
such pain, told her that she had now come to
desire her death. Sister Therese told her: "You
must not say that, little Mother, for suffering is
just what pleases me most in life . . . Don't
grieve. If I do suffocate, God will give me
strength. I love Him; He will never forsake
me!" When someone asked whether it was very
hard to suffer so much, she replied: "No, I can
still tell Our Lord that I love Him, and that is
enough." She once pointed to a glass in which
was some medicine of a bright red color. "Do
you see this little glass?" she said. "One would
suppose it contained a most delicious drink,
whereas in reality it is more bitter than any¬
thing I take. Well, it is the image of my life. To
others it has been all rose-color. They imagine
that I have drunk of a most delicious wine, but
to me it has been full of bitterness. I say bitter¬
ness, yet after all, my life has not been sad, be¬
cause I have learned to find joy and sweetness
in all that is bitter."

At each visit the doctor could hardly find
words to express his admiration. "If you only
knew," he said, "what she has to endure! I have
never seen anyone suffer so intensely with
such an expression of supernatural joy . . .
What an angel she is! She was not made for
this earth."

On July 30, she received Extreme Unction. As
death seemed imminent, they brought down
her thin mattress to the infirmary to lay her
body out on according to monastic custom.
When the infirmary door was opened she
caught sight of it, and understanding, was glad.
She said, "You must tell people this ... I had a
constant desire to suffer ever since my first
Communion. Yet I never thought of finding my
joy in it. That is the grace which was granted to
me only later . . . Deep down in my soul there
is, I admit, joy and transports of delight . . . but
that would not encourage other people if they
thought I had not suffered much . . . Oh, if they

6



only knew how much I suffer! Last night, utter¬
ly exhausted, I asked Our Lady to hold my
head in her hands so that I might be able to
bear it . .

Martyrdom of Body

The strength of soul and the inward joy ex¬
perienced by Sister Therese made her better
able to resist the ravages of the disease of
tuberculosis than others. When the doctor gave

her only another day to live, she lingered on for
another month. But her body was wasted be¬
yond belief. For some weeks she had lost all
inclination for food. Every afternoon from
three o'clock onwards she was consumed by a

burning fever, and a heavy sweat exhausted
her still more. Two or three times a day she
was seized by a violent hemorrhage. She was
shaken by fits of coughing and terrible attacks
of suffocation. Painful remedies were applied
to her side. Those in attendance made her in¬

hale ether, but her breathing was so oppressed
that the remedy had no effect. The disease
spared her face, which kept its roundness and
its expression, yet she reached such a degree of
emaciation that the bones came through her

skin, and painful sores formed on various parts
of her body. Tuberculosis of the intestines had
resulted in gangrene, so that the little Sister
could in very truth apply to herself those pro¬
phecies spoken of the Messias: "I am a worm
and no man."

It is clear that suffering united her more
closely to Christ. The more she was crushed
beneath its pains, the more trustfully she sur¬
rendered herself into the arms of her Divine

Master.

She also suffered from a burning thirst
which, as she put it, plunged her into purga¬
tory. Nothing could quench it, for to drink was
like throwing oil on the fire. Whenever the
nuns raised her to a sitting position, in order
to relieve the coughing which sometimes lasted
for hours, she said that "she was sitting on
spikes of iron," and begged them to pray for
her.

Her greatest and dearest devotion was Holy
Communion. But from August 16 until her

7

É



death (Sept. 30), she was unable to receive It
on account of the frequent hemorrhages. This
was a cruel privation to her loving heart. A
large picture of the Holy Face, surrounded with
flowers and lit by a nightlight, was placed be¬
side her bed. "Mother," she said to her sister,
"how I was tempted last night; but I looked
at the Holy Face all the time, and made acts
of faith .

. . Pray for me! If you only knew how
much I am suffering! Ask that I may not lose
patience ... I need God's help . . . And I so
long for martyrdom of every kind!"

The Death of a Saint

Thursday, September 30, 1897, was her last
day on earth. She could only breathe by utter¬
ing little cries. Her agony was terrible. Her
face was wet with a heavy sweat. Yet when the
community entered the infirmary, the little
saint welcomed them with her sweetest smile.

She had reached such a pitch of exhaustion
that the least noise, talking, or whispering, was
more then she could bear. Yet she was wonder¬

fully resigned because her will was entirely
conformed with the Divine Will. She once ex¬

pressed it thus: "Jesus deigns to point out to
me the only way which leads to Love's divine
furnace, and that way is self-surrender; it is the
confidence of the little child who sleeps without
fear in its father's arms." With her eyes fixed
on Our Lady's statue, she declared: "I have
prayed so fervently to Our Lady . . . And yet
it has been unmixed agony, without a ray of
consolation . . . Mother, the cup is full to over¬
flowing! Never should I have thought it possible
to suffer so much ... I can only explain it by
my great longing to save souls. My God, what¬
soever Thou wilt, but have pity on me . . .
Sweet Virgin Mary, come to my aid!" And a
little while after, she added: "All that I have
written of my thirst for suffering is really true.
I have no regret for having surrendered myself
to Love." These last words she repeated several
times. She continued, "Mother, prepare me to
die a good death."

At half-past four, as she gave signs of enter¬
ing on her agony, the community was called.

8



From the moment she saw the Sisters gather
round her, she thanked them with the sweetest
smile; then, clasping the crucifix in her failing
hands, she concentrated on the final combat all
the powers of her soul. The sweat of death lay
thick on her brow, and she trembled. As the
convent bell rang the evening Angelus, she
gazed again with inexpressible tenderness upon
the statue of the Immaculate Virgin, Star of the

Sea, to repeat the words of her last poem:

"Oh thou who cam'st to smile on me, in the
morning of my life,

Come, Mother, once again and smile — for
lo! 'tis eventide!"

A few minutes after seven, turning to the
Prioress, she asked: "Mother, is not this the
agony? Am I not going to die?"
"Yes, my child, it is the agony, but it may

be that Jesus wills it should be prolonged for
some hours."

"Very well, then," she answered sweetly.
"Very well ... be it so .. . Ah! I do not wish to
suffer less." And looking at her crucifix, she
continued, "OH! ... I LOVE HIM! ... MY
GOD, I LOVE . . . THEE!"
These were her last words.

A Shower of Roses

No sooner had the soul of the sufferer taken

flight when the joy of that last rapture im¬
printed itself on her brow and a heavenly smile
brightened her face. The Sisters placed a palm
branch in her hand, the same green branch
which thirteen years later was found fresh and
intact in the coffin when her remains were ex¬
humed. At once there began to occur in the
convent extraordinary incidents such as that of
a lay-sister, who on kissing the feet of Sister
Therese was instantly cured of cerebral anae¬
mia.

The eloquence of the miracles wrought by
little Therese soon prevailed upon ecclesiastical
authorities to begin the Cause of her Beatifi¬
cation in the year 1909.
Out of all this abundant "Shower of

Roses," only two miracles were needed to pro-



mote the Cause of Therese's Beatification. The

first of these was a case of tuberculosis.

The miracle was worked by the Little Flower
in the year 1906, in behalf of a young man,
Charles Anne, studying for the priesthood at the
Seminary of Bayeux, France. Charles was
brought to the very brink of the grave by the
consuming disease of tuberculosis. Medical ex¬
amination revealed that the malady had
reached its most advanced stage. Large cavi¬
ties were discovered in either lung. The invalid
had always been a staunch admirer and zealous
devotee of the wonder-worker of Lisieux. He

would not relinquish his hope in her, who had
offered up her whole life for the sake of
priests and priestly vocations. With all the fer¬
vor of his soul, he began a novena to Therese,
reminding her of her promise to spend her
heaven in doing good upon earth. Therese
could not resist his powerful pleadings. One
day, after a violent hemorrhage which an¬
nounced to bystanders the coming of death, the
seminarian cried out to his patroness: "I did
not come here to die! I came to work for God!

You must cure me!" Then, utterly exhausted
and clutching a relic of the Saint in his hands,
he fell asleep. During that sleep, Therese
worked her miracle! When Charles Anne

awoke> he was completely cured. A marvelous
reward for his unbounded trust in the power
of the Little Flower!

After this miracle and that of a cure of a

malignant stomach ulcer were duly examined
and discussed by the Sacred Congregation of
Rites, Pope Pius XI gave his approval. Fresh
showers of miracles fell upon the world on the
day of the Little Flower's Beatification in 1923.
Within twenty-four hours, thirty remarkable
favors were recorded. This overwhelming flood
of graces, together with the thousands of peti¬
tions coming from priests and people through¬
out the world, moved the Holy Father to pro¬
mote at once the Cause of Therese's Canoni¬

zation. Again two new miracles were selected

and examined by the Congregation of Rites.
Both were cures of tuberculosis.

10



The first was the cure of Maria Pellemans of

Brussels, Belgium. Since October of 1919, she
had been a victim of pulmonary tuberculosis,
followed by gastritis and intestinal tuberculosis.
Her devotion to the Blessed Mother prompted
her to make a pilgrimage to Lourdes. The Lady
of the Grotto refused to cure her, reserving that
privilege to the "Little Therese of Lisieux. In
March of 1923, the sufferer accompanied a band
of pilgrims to the tomb of the Little Flower.
While kneeling before the remains of the re¬
cently beatified servant of God, Maria was
suddenly and completely restored to health.
The second miracle used to promote the

Cause of Therese's Canonization was wrought
in favor of Gabriella Trimusi, a nun of the Con¬
vent of the Poor Daughters of the Sacred Heart
in Parma, Italy. Gabriella's trouble began with
a lesion at the knee-joint, caused by breaking
firewood across her knee. Gout of the knee and
tuberculosis of the vertebrae, accompanied by
curvature of the spine, combined to reduce the
nun to an almost hopeless condition. The best
doctors were employed and the best possible
means used to restore her to health. All reme¬
dies failing, Gabriella was advised to take part
in a public novena in honor of the Little Flow¬
er. At the close of the nine days of prayer

(June, 1923), she took off the iron jacket which
she had worn for the support of her spine and
declared herself free from pain. The curvature
of the spine had disappeared and Gabriella was
perfectly cured. Therese was canonized by Pius
XI, Sunday, May 17, 1925.

It is interesting to note that all the miracles,
three of the four chosen for the Beatification
and Canonization of St. Therese were mira¬
culous cures of tuberculosis. It is almost as if
the Church wished to point out that St. Therese
is the special patroness of TB patients, and that
because St. Therese had suffered so terribly of
this disease, God would be all the more inclined
to work miracles through her intercession for
those afflicted by tuberculosis. She is truly The
TB Saint.

The extraordinary abundance of favors at¬
tributed to the intercession of St. Therese

11



proves that she had a divine mission to per¬
form. While still alive she said, "I WILL
SPEND MY HEAVEN IN DOING GOOD UPON

EARTH. I SHALL LET FALL FROM HEAVEN

A SHOWER OF ROSES. MY WORK BEGINS

AFTER MY DEATH ... I COUNT FULLY ON

NOT REMAINING IDLE IN HEAVEN. MY

LONGING IS TO LABOR EVEN THERE FOR

THE CHURCH AND SOULS. I ASK IT OF

GOD AND I AM CERTAIN HE WILL HEAR

MY PRAYER. EVEN NOW I KNOW IT. ALL

MY HOPES WILL BE REALIZED. YES, OUR
LORD WILL WORK WONDERS FOR ME

THAT WILL INFINITELY SURPASS MY

BOUNDLESS DESIRES."

Her prophecies have been marvelously ful¬
filled. Back in 1934 accurate accounts of mar¬
vels of help, healing, conversion and vision, al¬
ready filled seven volumes entitled Showers of
Roses. They form only a drop in the torrent of
testimonies that have ceaselessly flowed to
the various shrines of St. Therese since. And
think of the countless unrecorded favors that
could be added to these. Truly The Little Flow¬
er is everywhere, and her loving care reaches
all who invoke her with confidence!

Pius XI said authoritatively of her Shower of
Roses, "We have invoked her as our advocate
and our patron because of the Shower of Roses
which, as she promised, she does not cease to
pour down upon men."

The nuns of Lisieux said to the Little Flower
during her last illness, "You will look down
upon us from the heights of Heaven, will you
not, Sister?"

"No," she replied, "I WILL COME DOWN."

12



Various Prayers

Prayer to St. Therese

Dear St. Therese of the Child Jesus and the

Holy Face, Model and Patroness of those who
suffer, especially of those who are afflicted by
tuberculosis, I confidently turn to you for aid
in my present sickness. (Mention it~)
Behold how much I am afflicted in body as

well as in soul. Lest my courage begin to fail,
and impatience and sadness oppress me, I beg
your kind intercession. Good St. Therese, ask
God to relieve me of this illness, if it be His

Holy Will. Plead with the Blessed Virgin, who
cured you with her gracious smile in your child¬
hood and who was your constant companion in

suffering, that She may help me with her all-
powerful prayers and sweet consolation.

But if it should be God's Holy Will that I bear
this illness, obtain for me courage and strength
to accept all these trials from the loving hand
of God with patience and resignation, above all,
with childlike confidence and love. May suffer¬
ing lead me to a better life and enable me to
atone for my own sins and the sins of the
world.

Little Therese, help me to imitate you in bear¬
ing my suffering. Unite me ever more closely
with Jesus Crucified and the Mother of Sorrows,
so that I may offer my pains to God with all the
love of my heart, for His glory and the salvation
of souls, especially my own. Amen.

Say one Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory be,
in honor of St. Therese.

13



Novena Prayer

To the Most Holy Trinity through the
intercession of St. Therese.

Eternal Father, You crown in heaven the merits

of those who in this life serve You faithfully. For
the sake of the most pure love Your little

daughter Therese had for You — a love that all
but binds You to give her whatever she desires
— since she always did Your Holy Will on earth,
hear her prayers in my behalf in heaven, and
grant me the grace I ask. (Mention your request)

Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be.

Eternal Son of God, You promised to reward
the least service rendered to You in the person

of our neighbor. Cast a glance of gentle love on
Your little spouse St. Therese, who with such
great zeal had ever at heart the salvation of souls,
and even offered herself as a victim of love for
them; for the sake of all she has done and suf¬
fered for the love of You, fulfill her wish of

"spending her heaven in doing good upon earth,"
and through her intercession grant me the grace
I plead for so earnestly from You.

Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be.

Eternal Holy Spirit, You made perfect with
so many graces the beloved soul of St. Therese.
I beg You for the sake of the fidelity she always
showed in using Your graces well, hear the
prayers she offers to You in my behalf, and
having before You her promise of "letting fall
from heaven a shower of roses," mercifully grant
me the grace of which I stand in such great need.

Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be.

*

Saint Therese of the Child Jesus, who during

your short life on earth became a mirror of
angelic purity, of love strong as death, and of
14



wholehearted abandonment to God, now that you

rejoice in the reward of your virtues, cast a
glance of pity on me as I leave all things in your
hands, especially this my request. (Mention it)
Make my troubles your own; speak a word

for me to Our Lady Immaculate, whose "flower"
of special love you were — to that Queen of
Heaven "who smiled on you at the dawn of
life." Beg her as Queen of the Heart of Jesus to
obtain for me by her powerful intercession the

grace I yearn for so ardently at this moment, and
to join with it a blessing that may strengthen me
during life, defend me at the hour of death, and
lead me straight on to a happy eternity. Amen.

Litany of Saint Therese

(For private use)

Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ, have mercy on us.

Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ, hear us.

Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of heaven, have mercy on us.

God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have

mercy on us.

God, the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us.
St. Therese of the Child Jesus, pray, etc.

St. Therese of the Holy Face,
St. Therese, child of Mary,
St. Therese, devoted to St. Joseph,
St. Therese, angel of innocence,
St. Therese, model child,

St. Therese, pattern of religious,
St. Therese, flower of Carmel,

St. Therese, converter of hardened hearts,

St. Therese, healer of the diseased,

St. Therese, filled with love for the Blessed

Sacrament,

15



St. Therese, filled with angelic fervor,
St. Therese, filled with an apostle's zeal,
St. Therese, filled with loyalty to the Holy

Father,

St. Therese, filled with a tender love for the

Church,

St. Therese, filled with extraordinary love for
God and neighbor,

St. Therese, wounded with a heavenly flame,
St. Therese, victim of divine love,

St. Therese, patient in sufferings,
St. Therese, eager for humiliations,
St. Therese, consumed with love,

St. Therese, rapt in ecstasy,
Who desired always to be as a little child,
Who taught the way of spiritual childhood,
Who gave perfect example of trust in God,
Whom Jesus filled with a desire for suffering,
Who found perfection in little things,
Who refused God nothing,
Who sought bitterness in this life,
Who told us to call you little Therese,
Who offered your life to God for priests and

missionaries,

Who gained countless souls for Christ,
Who promised, after your death, a shower of

roses,

Who foretold: "I will spend my heaven doing

good upon earth,"
Special patroness of those afflicted by

tuberculosis,

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the
world, spare us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the
world, graciously hear us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the
world, have mercy on us.

y. Pray for us, St. Therese.

J$. That we may be made worthy of the
promises of Christ.



Let us pray

O Lord, since You have said, "Unless you
become as little children, you shall not enter
the Kingdom of Heaven," grant us, we beg of
You, so to follow in the footsteps of the virgin,
St. Therese, in humility and simplicity of heart,
that we may attain our eternal reward. Who live
and reign forever. Amen.

Prayer to Jesus, the Divine Physician

Jesus, Divine Physician, You have created
nature and all the wondrous functions of the

human body. You are the Master of Your crea¬
tion. You can and do suspend the laws of nature
for those who have faith in Your goodness and
entreat You in fervent prayer. You promised that
my prayers would be heard when You said,
"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you
shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives; and he who
seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it shall be

opened" (Matt. 7, 7). You also said, "All things
whatsoever you ask in prayer, believe that you
shall receive, and they shall come to you" (Mark
11, 24). Full of confidence in these promises, I
beg You to help me in my present affliction.
(Here mention your request)
Jesus, Divine Physician, during Your lifetime

You cured sickness and disease, and even raised

the dead to life, because people asked You to do
so in prayer. I firmly believe that You will hear
my prayer also, if this should be the Will of God.
Through the intercession of St. Therese, who
offered herself to You as a victim of love for the

salvation of souls, and who was so closely associ¬
ated with You and Your dear Mother of Sorrows

during Your holy Passion, I ask for the grace to
understand more and more the infinite love of

17



Your Sacred Heart for me. I firmly believe that
You love me with a love that ordains all things
for my own good even though this should be
difficult for my nature to bear; a love that would
turn to good all that I may at the moment con¬
sider evil. I love Your Heart that loves me so

much.

Jesus, Divine Physician, I thank You for being

my best Friend in my illness and my Companion
in suffering, loving me with a Heart human like
my own; a Heart that can understand my sorrows
and problems since It has experienced all that I
must bear; a Heart that can sympathize with me
and befriend me in my hour of need; a Heart that
can love me with the love of the best of friends.

Like a real furnace of fire Your Heart burns all

for me with a love that knows no end because

It has its source in the depths of the Godhead —
all for me, as if there were no other to share its

infinite warmth. Not all the affection You pour

out upon countless other souls lessens Your love
for me. Even when I forget You and begin to

complain in my illness, You pray for me. Even
when I disappoint You by trying to shake off the
cross You have placed upon my shoulders, You
sacrifice Yourself for me at Holy Mass. When
I have pain, You are ready to console and
strengthen me, for Your Sacred Heart ever calls
to me, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are
burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11, 29).
Dearest Jesus, Divine Physician, behold how I
am burdened with this cross of illness. I come

to You and beg You to give me rest.

Jesus, Divine Physician, help me to realize that
it is only through the cross that I can attain to
glory; that it is only through suffering that I can
possess the kingdom of heaven. Before Your
own dear Mother was crowned Queen of heaven,

18



she became the Mother of Sorrows. All the

saints suffered during their lifetime. Though St.
Therese lived on earth only twenty-four years,
her whole life was filled with suffering of soul
and body, especially the martyrdom of tubercu¬
losis. I, too, have been blessed with suffering.
This is the only way I can follow You, for You
said, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him
deny himself, and take up his cross and follow
Me" (Matt. 16, 24).

Jesus, Divine Physician, I unite myself with
You as You offer Yourself during the Holy Sacri¬
fice of the Mass and renew Your Sacrifice of

Calvary. Give my heart sentiments like Your
own, so that through frequent Holy Communion
and prayer I may become a worthy co-victim
with You, holy and pleasing to God, and that all
the actions, sufferings, tears, and disappointments
of my life may be thus consecrated to You as a
sacrifice for the glory of God and the salvation of
souls, especially my own. Everything that You
send me, or permit in my life, whether favorable
or unfavorable, sweet or bitter — even this illness

which I must bear, is acceptable to me, for I have
resolved to conform myself to the Divine Will in
all things. You invite me to do so, for You said,
"Take My yoke upon you . . . My yoke is easy
and My burden light" (Matt. 11, 29). May God's
Will always be my will! Jesus, Divine Physician,
cure me! Amen.

Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be.

Jesus, Divine Physician, have mercy on us.

Mother of Sorrows, Health of the Sick, pray

for us.

St. Therese, patroness of those afflicted by
disease, pray for us.

*

19



IL Tuberculosis

The White Plague

In 1900, one in every nine deaths in the
United States was due to tuberculosis. Now the
killer is being beaten back in one of the great
medical and social achievements of our century.

Today tuberculosis is responsible for one in
every thirty deaths among Americans.
But TB is not licked. Probably half a mil¬

lion Americans have active tuberculosis. And

half or more of these 500,000 don't know they
have it. Of every 1,000 apparently healthy
adults who have their chests X-rayed, three to
five are found to have active TB. Without treat¬

ment, they risk much more serious illness, or
even death. And they may spread the disease
to others.

TB is still a vicious killer. It still kills from

45,000 to 50,000 people in the United States
each year. It ranked seventh in 1947 among the
causes of death, but it is almost as bad as heart
diseases or cancer in its robbery of young lives
between the ages of 15 and 45. It well earned
its name of the White Plague!
For years tuberculosis was called consump¬

tion. It comes from a Latin word meaning "to
eat up" or devour. When TB germs lodge in the
lungs or elsewhere in the body, they begin to
"eat up" and destroy the living tissue. Because
the process takes time, TB is a chronic or long-
lasting disease. The chances of recovery are far
better when the disease is discovered early.
Tuberculosis is a communicable disease. It

spreads from one person to another by coughing
and sneezing, by kissing, or by being taken
somehow into the mouth. The greatest danger
of spread is from intimate contact with some
one who has the disease in active form. Heavi¬

ly populated cities could be expected to have
more cases. One cough may broadcast thou¬
sands of germs. But TB can be spread by con¬
taminated articles too.

You don't inherit TB. You have to catch the

germ yourself. It is true, however, that chil-

20



dren may inherit a constitution that makes
them more or less resistant to certain disease
germs. Eut environment is also very important.
If people live under conditions where they are
repeatedly exposed to tuberculosis, they run a
risk of getting the disease, whether or not their
parents or grandparents ever had it. Children,
or adults, shouldn't have to live with anyone
who has TB. The TB patient should be hospit¬
alized to prevent spread of the germ.

The Killer Cornered

The tuberculin test is a quick simple test
which tells whether TB germs have ever at¬
tacked you. It uses a germ-free liquid made
from TB germs. If there is reaction, it means
that TB germs are present.
X-ray or shadow pictures of the lungs are

very useful in TB control programs.
Rest is most important. A lung that is in¬

fected with TB germs needs rest in order to
get well. The germs are at work twenty-four
hours a day. The body has to fight them each
hour. With rest, the body doesn't need as much
oxygen. The lungs do not have to work so hard
in doing the ordinary business of living. They
have more chance of walling off the invading
germs by surrounding them in a growth of scar-
tissue, and thus healing the hole torn in the
lung by the TB germs.
Good food is essential to help the body fight

infection and get well. So is fresh air, which
means air that is cool and moving slightly.
That does not mean that a change of climate is
necessary. No worry or strain should be
allowed to counteract the benefits of rest.
These defenses can best be supplied in a hos¬

pital, under the care of trained doctors and
nurses. There special precautions can be taken
against passing along this disease to others. For
advanced cases, the stay in the hospital may
run for three or four years.

Physicians and surgeons have developed new
ways of helping the lung to rest. In an oper¬
ation called pneumothorax, they put air into the
chest through a needle, and it becomes a cush¬
ion around the lung. As the lung becomes

21



smaller, so does the cavity in the lung, and
hence it has a better chance of healing. The
lung is prevented from moving very much when
the patient breathes. But the air is slowly ab¬
sorbed, and the operation must be repeated
from time to time..

Another way of putting the diseased lung at
rest is by removing ribs on the affected side.
This operation is called thoracoplasty. When a
few of the ribs are taken out, the muscles and
other tissues in that region fall inward, relax¬
ing the diseased part of the lung. It is collapsed
permanently. This does not prevent a return
to active normal fife after the disease is brought
under control.

Surgeons have made tremendous advances in
taking out diseased portions of the lung, or
sometimes even an entire lung. Another
method of resting the lung is by paralyzing the
phrenic nerve which controls the diaphragm,
the muscle that moves up and down with each
breath. The nerve is crushed with an instru¬

ment at a point where it runs through the neck.
The diaphragm on that side is temporarily
paralyzed, until the nerve grows back again in
about six months' time. Meanwhile the lung on
that side is saved from much motion and stays
up higher in the chest.
Streptomycin is a drug that does not kill the

germs, but stops their growth in many cases of
tuberculosis, but by no means all. Another drug
called PAS can be given by mouth, instead of
by injection. No drugs will heal the cavities
made in the lungs by the germs. But if drugs
can knock out the germs quickly, the cavities
may not develop. And in any event the body
will be able to repair the damage more quickly
and effectively, by growing new fibrous tissue
around the cavity.

Teamwork against TB

Control of tuberculosis starts with finding
people who are sick. It goes on by putting them
in hospitals where they can be treated and
where they cannot infect others. Getting an
X-ray is the easiest and quickest way to check
up on TB.

22



tfcf (#02>0%
The newest method of helping the TB patient

puts at his side a team of specialists, working
with and for him. The doctor runs the team;
he directs the care, makes the rules of rest and
treatment. Nurses carry out his orders and edu¬
cate the patient and his family in the pecu¬
liarities of TB. Local health organizations co¬

operate in this educational work and in getting
people to take X-rays and other TB tests. The
social worker aids in handling the emotional
and economic problems of TB patients. Job
training also begins in the hospital, through
state and federal vocational training services.
Agencies help patients to go back to normal
living with full-time jobs. Surveys show that
most of these former patients stay well, and do
well. More than half a million Americans who

have licked the disease prove that.

Even while the death rate of TB has been

chopped down by 11 per cent in 1947, the number
of new reported cases went up by 9 per cent. This
means that vigilance against TH cannot be relaxed.
Hospital beds are needed for those stricken, and
not for the dead! This country now has 830 TB in¬
stitutions with about 100,000 beds for patients out¬
side mental and penal institutions. This is not
enough, for we know there are about 500,000 per¬
sons who have the disease. We must provide nurses
and other personnel to keep beds fully serviced
when patients are found and brought in.
Support your Tuberculosis Association. Maintain

your own general health and resistance, so that
you can throw off the TB bug if it attacks you.
Don't gamble if you notice any of the signs that
could mean you are coming down with TB, such
as general weariness or loss of pep, loss of weight,
a cough that lasts for ten days or more, spitting
of blood, sometimes a sharp pain in the side, bad
digestion, rough feeling in the throat. See your
doctor, or visit a clinic. Even if you feel perfectly
well, have a chest X-ray periodically. You wil be
playing it wisely and safely.
Information about tuberculosis and everything

related to it can be gotten by writing to: Public
Affairs Committee, Inc., 22 East 38th Street, New
York 16, N. Y.

Imprimi Potest. Robert C. Hunter, S.V.D.
Provincial, Girard, Pa.

Nihil Obstat. A. H. Wiersbinski, LL.D., Cens. Lib.

Imprimatur. John Mark Gannon, D.D., D.C.L., LL.D.
January 28, 1952 Bishop of Erie

Printed in U.S.A.

23



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I Accuse Myself

Joy in Suffering

Knight's Dream, A

Living With God in My Heart

Mary, Our Mother

Mass in Your Life, The

Our Priceless Heritage

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Secrets of Purgatory

Souls Aflame with Holy Fires

Speaking of Purity

Speaking With God

Theresa Neumann

This Thing Called Love

Twelve Promises of the Sacred Heart, The

What They Ask About Our Blessed Mother

World's Best Prayer, The

Cheer Up !

Have Confidence!

Be of Good Heart!

Take Courage !

Lift Up Your Hearts!

Red Rose of Suffering, The

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T.B. Saint, The

Why Pray for Priests

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