Little Flower, show your power- the One Rose Invitation

You don't have to wait until Valentine's Day to give a young lady roses! The 1st of October is the feast day of The Little Flower, St. Thérèse of Lisieux. Many of us pray to our little saint with the phrase: "Little flower, show your power." There is a wonderful initiative called the 'One Rose Invitation'. Yes, we are a little obsessed with roses on this blog!  So what's the One Rose Invitation about? It is an annual initiative to invite young women to consider the call to consecrated life as a religious sister. It was inspired by St. Thérèse of Lisieux, the patron saint of Imagine Sisters, who said, “After my death I will let fall a shower of roses.”

The Imagine Sisters website extends this invitation: "Do you know a young woman you think would make a great sister? Let her know by giving her a single red rose on October 1st. The rose is a symbol of the invitation to consider religious life, and an affirmation of the beauty of that young woman’s soul. I have written a few times about roses and their symbolism and the Pope Francis connection if you'd like to visit here, here and here.

Tell her that you respect her as a Catholic woman and that you think she would make a great sister if God called her. Encourage her, just don’t pressure her, because no matter what, that also means she would make a great wife and mother, as that’s what a sister is: a bride of Jesus Christ and spiritual mother to the world. St. Thérèse promised to send a shower of roses after her death, and she has done so with countless miracles. Through the One Rose Invitation and groups like Rise of the Roses, we are confident that God will send a new shower of vocations to women’s religious life.