September 30: Transitus of St. Thérèse
On September 30, a special ceremony, the Transit of St. Thérèse, is held followed by the Vigil Mass for the Feast of St. Thérèse. Instituted in 2008, the ceremony commemorates the saint’s death of tuberculosis at age 24, narrating the saint’s final conversations before her death on Sept. 30, 1897. Just after entering the infirmary on June 9, 1897, Thérèse wrote: “I am not dying; I am entering a new life.” We invite you to contemplate her encounter with the Lord through her final words. The saint’s final months were spent in agony. She was unable to complete her memoirs, which her superiors had assigned, and which was to become one of the most popular spiritual autobiographies of all time: The Story of a Soul. It was during this time that she spoke of her future: “I feel that my mission is about to begin, my mission of making others love God as I love Him, my mission of teaching my little way to souls. If God answers my requests, my heaven will be spent on earth up until the end of the world. Yes, I want to spend my heaven doing good on earth.” Donate to Little Flower: Make a Donation | Support the Basilica — Little … Basilica of the National Shrine of the Little Flower, San Antonio, TX