Blessing of Roses

by Rev. Cav. William Rock, FSSP, SMOCSG

Most readers of the Missive are no doubt familiar with the prediction made by St. Thérèse of Lisieux that, after her death, she “will let fall a shower of roses.”¹  In the years since her death, a not insignificant number of those who have had recourse to her intercession have received roses, some in a miraculous manner, in answer to their prayers thus manifesting the fulfilment of her prediction.²  It should come as no surprise, then, that, due to her association with roses, the Sacred Congregation of Rites, on 9 December 1925, approved the Blessing of Roses in Honor of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus (Rosarum in honorem S. Teresiæ ab Infante Iesu) for use by the Carmelite Order, which has since been extended to all priests.  The blessing is found in the Roman Ritual, and is presented here in translation:³

℣. Our help is in the Name of the Lord.
℟. Who made heaven and earth.
℣. O Lord, hear my prayer.
℟. And let my cry come onto Thee.
℣. The Lord be with you.
℟. And with your spirit.

Let us pray.
O Lord Jesus Christ, in Thy clemency look upon these roses which we ✠ bless in honor of Thy spouse, St. Thérèse, the Virgin; and grant that all those who scent their fragrance, may run after the odour of Thine ointments, and, through her intercession, deserve to obtain the health of both soul and body: Who livest and reignest for ever and ever.
℟. Amen.

They are sprinkled with holy water.

 

While the blessing is relatively simple, there are a few things which can be noted.  In the first place, the blessing is addressed to Christ, not God the Father, which is more common.  The next is that St. Thérèse is called the spouse of Christ.  This title is commonly given to Virgin Saints for the Magnificat antiphon for Vespers in the Divine Office for a single Virgin begins with the words “Come, O Spouse of Christ / Veni, Sponsa Christi.”  The following part – “all those who scent their fragrance, may run after the odour of Thine ointments” – is inspired by a line found in the Holy Scriptures, in the Canticle of Canticles, said in the voice of the female spouse: “Draw me: we will run after thee to the odour of thy ointments” (1:3 [Vulgate]).  The use of the Canticle of Canticles in this blessing is fitting for this Book is seen as expressing the love-relationship between Christ and the soul of each believer and the Church holds up St. Thérèse and her Little Way as a pattern to the faithful to follow in developing this relationship.  The Canticle of Canticles is also, for this reason, used in the Mass of this Saint, in the introit chant and the tract.  Lastly, it should be noted that effects from these sacramentals, these blessed roses, comes about not by having them or placing them somewhere, as is the case with other sacramentals including other blessed flowers, but by smelling them.  Besides the blessing of incense used in the Alia Benedictio Solemnior Crucis, this is the only other sacramental I am aware of which produces it effects by means of its odour.  It is, however, a nice complement to the traditional ceremony of Extreme Unction in which the nostrils are anointed with the Oil of the Sick and God implored to forgive the sick individual any sins which might have been committed through the sense of smell.

While not everyone will be favored by the miraculous appearance of roses granted through the intercession of St. Thérèse, all may easily obtain roses blessed in her honor, a most fitting way to celebrate her feast.

Rev. Cav. William Rock, FSSP, SMOCSG was ordained in the fall of 2019 and was invested as an Ecclesiastical Knight of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St. George in the summer of 2025.  He currently resides at the FSSP Canonical House of St. Casimir in Nashua, NH, and ministers at St. Stanislaus parish.

In support of the causes of Blessed Maria Cristina, Queen, and Servant of God Francesco II, King 

1. The Story of a Soul – The Autobiography of Saint of Thérèse of Lisieux. ed. Mother Agnes of Jesus, trans. Day, Michael. (Westminster, Maryland: The Newman Press, 1957), p. 167.
2. See, for example, the accounts given here: When St. Thérèse Showers Roses (and Miracles) on Her Friends| National Catholic Register.
3. Rituale Romanum [1957], Titulus IX – Caput 11, 53; English adapted from the translation provided in Griffith, Paul. The Priest’s New Ritual for the Convenience of the Reverend Clergy in the Administration of the Sacraments and Various Blessings. (Baltimore: John Murphy Company, 1933), pp.301-303.