The Little Flowers

The Little Flower Prayerbook is a vintage manual of prayers combined with a treasury of St. Therese's spiritual writings that showcases the wisdom and contemplation she achieved in her short lifetime. Originally published in 1926 and faithfully re-typeset by TAN Books, The Little Flower Prayerbook: A Carmelite Manual of Prayers is an introduction to the time-honored Carmelite prayers and devotions that St. Therese herself practiced during her lifetime. Features Include: Morning and Evening Prayers, Acts of Faith, Daily Prayers Devotions for Confession and Benediction Extraordinary Form of the Mass Devout Exercises for Every Day of the Week Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel Scapular Devotions Spiritual Writings of St. Therese And so much more . . . Perfect for devotees of the Little Flower, Third Order Carmelites, and all those who wish to follow the Little Way.

These three works form the chief sources of the saint's life and the beginnings of the Franciscan Order which he founded in 1212. Born at Assisi in 1182, St Francis embraced a life of holy poverty after a gay and sometimes extravagant youth. At the age of twenty-two he fought with great spirit and was taken prisoner in a petty feud between the town of Assisi and Perugia. During his captivity he reflected on his former mode of life, but attempted to take up arms once more on his recovery. However, a second illness intervened, and after a period in which wordly pleasure and spiritual counsels sought mastery and he finally determined to dedicate his life and work to God. Through pilgrimage, devotion, example and simple teaching he became one of the great Christian reformers. 'Whatever accretions of legendary material', says Fr McKay in his Introduction, 'have crept in here and there to heighten the colours of St Francis's portrait, they are undoubtedly in keeping with the total impressions which St. Francis made upon the world of his day.' Moreover St Francis was the very opposite of a sour Puritan: we are told he was the 'most joyous of saints, and would have no sad, long faces about him, and always rebuked any friar that was gloomy or melancholy.' He wanted his friars to be joculatores Dei ('the minstrels of God'). The Little Flowers is translated from the 'Fioretti', an Italian translation of a Latin original of which the earliest extant manuscript is one of 1390. It is a narration of miracle and hymn connected with the saint and his friars. The Mirror of Perfection is based on documents and memoirs left by Friar Leo, St Francis's favourite disciple, and was completed about 1318. St Bonaventure wrote the Life of St Francis c. 1260, intending it to stand as an authoritative Life and to supersede the numerous fragmentary biographies then in circulation.

Now in paperback, internationally bestselling author Indu Sundaresan presents a poignant collection of contemporary short stories about the challenges and consequences faced by women in Indian life today. Like Jhumpa Lahiri’s Interpreter of Maladies, Indu Sundaresan’s In the Convent of Little Flowers gives readers an eloquent and illuminating collection of stories about contemporary Indian life, exploring the cutting-edge issues that surround the clash between ancient tradition and modernity. In the collection’s title story, a young woman adopted by an American family in Seattle receives a letter from Sister Mary Theresa, a nun at the Convent of Little Flowers in Chennai, where she stayed as a child. Unbeknownst to the Indian woman, the nun is her biological mother’s sister. In another story, the grandmother of an Indian journalist begs her grandson to intervene and stop a young widow from being burned alive. And when a teenaged daughter bears a child out of wedlock, her entire family is thrown into turmoil. With their lush prose, vividly rendered settings, and complex characters, these and the other stories in this elegant collection bring readers into the experience of Indian women at home and abroad, where modernity offers them lives their grandmothers could never dream of, while at the same time taking away parts of their history. With a delicate touch, Indu Sundaresan weaves the pieces of the conflict together, presenting a nuanced and unforgettable tapestry.

Was St. Therese's mother herself a saint? The Church now says "Yes!" Zelie Martin and her husband, Louis, were declared Venerable by the Church in 1994 for their heroic virtue, and the couple's cause is now complete, ending with their cannonization in 2015. Zelie married at 27, bore 9 children, ran a home business and did a superb job of raising 5 daughters, including "the greatest saint of modern times" (St. Pius X). She died of breast cancer at 45, but her greatness was recognized by her family and friends, and is now known to the world. Zelie suffered many of the ordinary burdens of life, yet she was happy, loved her children madly and enjoyed them immensely. This book was written by her daughter, Celine, who had access to Zelie's letters and to the reminiscences of her older sisters in the Carmel of Lisieux. It is authentic and inspiring, showing what a tremendous life's work and accomplishment it is to be a truly Catholic mother. Looking at Zelie's picture, one can see her incredible character, integrity, goodness, constancy and love.