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The relics of St. Thérèse of Lisieux visited 91����� Aquinas College�s California campus Tuesday and Wednesday as part of their , drawing in pilgrims from all over the West to venerate the beloved saint.

Students, faculty, and guests welcomed the relics, as they arrived on campus, encased in a magnificent reliquary, in a solemn yet joyful procession into Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel. Inside, the faithful queued up to venerate the saintly remains, reverently touching their hands, Rosaries, and prayer cards to the reliquary�s surrounding glass.

Perpetual veneration continued from Tuesday afternoon until Wednesday afternoon. Although the reliquary was on campus for a short 23 hours, the College hosted numerous visitors from near and far, all eager to encounter the relics of the Little Flower. �I�ve been a fan of St. Thérèse since I was a little girl. I think that�s where I started my devotion to her,� one visitor shared. �I loved the fact that she sends roses from heaven; and she�s the patron saint of little things done with love.�

Throughout the visit, College chaplains and visiting priests offered several Masses in honor of St. Thérèse, and several Carmelite friars shared their personal testimonies. �I think, inside of us, we all have something that is very deep and very tender. To the world, it looks like nothing. But on the inside, it looks like something so big that we�ve never been able to conquer it by ourselves,� observed Br. Quan Elijah, O.C.D. �Thérèse teaches us that it is not by our power that we are able to conquer this; but rather, it is in our meeting with Jesus that this miracle can take place. In fact, I think she would go so far as to say, �I need that weakness in order to encounter Christ, in a way that is most deeply personal to me.��

On Wednesday afternoon, when the time came to bid St. Thérèse farewell, guests gathered in the Chapel to pray the Chapletof Divine Mercy, shedding bittersweet tears and giving thanks for the gift of the saint�s presence. Soon afterwards, accompanied once more by a procession of admirers and song, the relics departed from campus, bound for the next destination on the .

St. Thérèse has touched the world in an unimaginable way through her humility, her unmeasured love for and complete reliance upon Christ, and her small but mighty approach to an everyday life that so glorified God. She famously said, �After my death, I will let fall a shower of roses. I will spend my Heaven doing good on earth.�

Her short visit to 91����� Aquinas College was simply another little flower in the beautiful bouquet that St. Thérèse is arranging for us, her earthly brothers and sisters.

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