A Shower of Roses

Betsy Kerekes reviews a book recounting miracles attributed to Saint Thérèse of Lisieux.

A Shower of Roses: The Most Beautiful Miracles of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux

By Camile Burette

Published by Angelico Press

Author Camille Burette has the privilege of being the archivist at the Carmel of Lisieux. For A Shower of Roses: The Most Beautiful Miracles of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, she combed through the records and chose what is ultimately only a fraction of the miracles and favors recorded therein. The book notes that these, in turn, are likely only a small portion of all those that have actually taken place since Saint Thérèse’s death in 1897. 

Before she died, Saint Thérèse said she wished to forego the joys of heaven to instead spend her time doing good on earth. When her autobiography, The Story of a Soul, was published in 1898, devotion to her grew, and a “hurricane of glory” began.  

The book begins with stories from World War I, where soldiers wearing medals or carrying relics were saved from certain death. In one story, however, a soldier lost his relic on the battlefield. He was sad but knew there was nothing he could do about it. The next day, when riding across the field, his horse stopped suddenly, refusing to move, and bobbed its head toward the ground. The soldier got off the horse to see what the matter was and found his relic.   

Another chapter shares stories of miraculous healings, including to people who didn’t know Thérèse. For instance, a suffering young woman “saw a radiant girl approaching her bed, all smiles.” After placing rose petals on the woman’s injured eye, “the apparition said in a very gentle tone: ‘I am Thérèse of Lisieux. There you go. I must go. You know, I am in high demand presently.’” 

This occurred in 1973, the centenary of Thérèse’s birth, and “she was being particularly solicited throughout the entire world.” The next morning, the woman received a letter from her sister stating that she’d been praying to Thérèse for the sister’s healing.  

Literal Showers of Roses 

A doctor who worked, gloveless, with radiation in 1925, was instantly healed of chemical burns to his hands and a cancerous finger.  In his letter to the Carmel, he wrote, “I wanted to report it so you too could see how your holy little sister keeps her promise to let fall a shower of roses.” 

There was another case where a family, surrounding a dying child’s hospital bed, looked out the window and saw a literal shower of roses falling from the sky. The child was cured. 

Another woman, in a story from only a few years ago, received confirmation of her answered prayers when she found her car covered in roses. 

There are a series of stories involving people who smelled roses, other flowers, and incense. As soon as the recipient realized the perfumed scent was a favor from Thérèse, the smell vanished. 

Supporting the Missions and Convents 

Since Thérèse wanted to be the saint of missions, and indeed is their patroness, there is a chapter devoted to her assistance to missionaries, including tough cases of conversions that were brought about thanks to dust from Thérèse’s gravesite. 

A Carmel in Italy was in dire straits. In the middle of the night, Thérèse woke the mother superior and gave her the necessary funds to pay off a debt. However, that didn’t solve the convent’s ongoing financial struggles. Each month, the nuns found money that couldn’t have appeared by natural means. These supernatural funds only stopped coming when townspeople, apprised of the convent’s situation, thanks to word spreading about these miracles, took more care to meet the needs of the sisters themselves.  

Saint Thérèse Must Smile even upon Stubborn Children 

Not all the stories of Thérèse assisting in money matters are so profound. In 1930, a little girl who had been taught to pray to Thérèse wanted a square of chocolate that cost a halfpenny. Her mother couldn’t afford that, however.  

The girl said to Thérèse, “I won’t pray to you anymore if I don’t find this money after saying one last Hail Mary.” She knelt outdoors to pray, and just before reaching the “Holy Mary,” saw something shiny in nearby sand. She ran toward it and found a whole penny. She bought her chocolate, gave her mother the halfpenny remainder, and eventually remembered to finish her Hail Mary.  

A Shower of Roses is a quick, delightful read that will likely bring tears to your eyes and make you want to renew your devotion to Saint Thérèse of Lisieux in a big way. I highly recommend picking up a copy. 

Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, pray for us.  

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Copyright 2025 Betsy Kerekes
Images: (top) detail from cover