We return to the altar rail, this time guiding you to the opposite side of the Basilica, near the altar of the Sacred Heart. Here we see an anachronistic image of Thérèse kneeling before the Madonna and Child. Thérèse stretches out her hand as if to stroke the Child’s face.

At the encouragement of my sister, I began to ask for Thérèse’s intercession. I began to get better, and I was able to slowly return to the life I had been living before my illness. I had a relapse in 2003, but was able to overcome it.

Little Flower Basilica has the distinction of being home to first class relics of many of the Carmelite saints. In the fall of 2021, in order to celebrate All Carmelite Saints and All Carmelite Souls along with the return of many public activities, a special exhibition was held of many of these seldom seen treasures.

Three of the altars of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Little Flower stand behind a Communion rail embellished with small mosaics of the Life of St. Thérèse. These small treasures are easily missed when the grandeur of the high altar dominates the view.

The first window in the Basilica’s St. Elias (Elijah) Adoration Chapel begins in the middle of the story, where we find Elijah drinking from the brook in a ravine in an out-of-the-way spot called Wadi Cherith.

In this Year of St. Joseph, the Universal Church is taking the opportunity to study this saint in more depth. Friendship with St. Joseph is a well-established tradition of the Discalced Carmelite order, beginning with St. Teresa of Jesus.