Prayers and Petitions Offered for ANF Members

BY STACIE HISERMAN

In December 2023, Michael Gorre and Thomas Shibler represented America Needs Fatima (ANF) members at two very special places in France: Lisieux and Paray-le-Monial.

Roses for “The Little Flower”

Their first stop was Lisieux, a town which lies in the countryside of Normandy. Situated on a hillside in Lisieux, the Basilica of Saint Thérèse attracts some 700,000 pilgrims annually, making it the second most beloved pilgrimage site in France. These numbers attest to how dear “The Little Flower” is to the faithful. She is continuously true to her promise: “I will send down a shower of roses from the heavens; I will spend my heaven doing good upon earth.”

At the holy site of the Basilica, Mr. Gorre and Mr. Shibler presented a wreath made of 8,800 red silk rosettes sent in by ANF members to honor Saint Thérèse. They prayed for all ANF members and benefactors, asking Saint Thérèse to intercede for them in heaven and send them a shower of graces.

Likewise, they took the wreath of rosettes to Les Buissonets, the lovely childhood home of Saint Thérèse. This home is where the Martin family moved when Thérèse was four years old and where she lived until age fifteen when she entered Lisieux’s Carmelite monastery. At her childhood home, among her family and friends, the flame of Thérèse Martin’s love first grew, and she began practicing her “Little Way” to save souls.

From there, the ANF representatives would be remiss if they did not carry the wreath of rosettes to perhaps the holiest site of all in Lisieux: the Carmel of Lisieux, where Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face lived as a Carmelite nun from 1888 until her death in 1897. Prayers were again offered for the intentions of ANF members, especially those who sent in rosettes to honor Saint Thérèse.

Above: Saint Thérèse is presented with a wreath made of 8,800 red silk rosettes.

“City of the Sacred Heart”

Following their cherished time in Lisieux, Mr. Gorre and Mr. Shibler made their way across the heart of France to eastern France, where can be found the “city of the Sacred Heart,” Paray-le-Monial.

In Paray-le-Monial, the ANF representatives offered two thirty-inch tall red candles and a box of consecration pledges on behalf of ANF friends and supporters. Over 13,000 ANF members had consecrated themselves to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and sent in their consecration pledges and little red candles. The thousands of small red candles were melted down to create the two large candles.

Two large red candles and over 13,000 consecration pledges were delivered where Jesus appeared to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque.

The ANF pilgrims took the candles and consecration pledges inside the Convent of the Visitation, where Our Lord appeared to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque 350 years before in December 1673. At that blessed spot, Our Lord revealed to the world His Sacred Heart and made known the First Fridays devotion. It is where the humble French nun, Saint Margaret Mary, rested her head on the Sacred Breast of Our Lord, and He disclosed to her the “marvels of His Love and the inexplicable secrets of His Sacred Heart.”

The two ANF representatives prayed for the intentions of all ANF members, asking Our Lord to have mercy on them and to give them the grace to reciprocate the incomparable love that the Sacred Heart of Jesus has for them all. ■