OUR LADY OF THE SMILE
36"h x 18"w x 8"d - Material: Bronze - Enlargements available
St. Therese's beloved statue
Being very ill, Therese turned toward her beloved statue of the Blessed Mother that stood on a table by her bed. She prayed that the Blessed Virgin help her. In Therese’s own words, this is what happened…
“All of a sudden the Blessed Virgin appeared beautiful to me, so beautiful that never had I seen anything so attractive; her face was suffused with an ineffable benevolence and tenderness, but what penetrated to the very depths of my soul was the “ravishing smile of the Blessed Virgin.” At that instant, all my pain disappeared and two large tears glistened on my eyelashes, and flowed down my cheeks silently, but they were tears of unmixed joy. Ah! I thought, the Blessed Virgin smiled at me, how happy I am…”
From that moment on, this statue has been known as “Our Lady of the Smile.
St. Therese Parish, Shrine of the Little Flower, Albuquerque, NM
We are blessed and honored to announce that "Our Lady of the Smile" sculpture was featured in the April 2017 edition of the "People of God" magazine. You can click on the link below to read all about her on Page 23 (continued on Page 27) of the publication:
People of God feature "Our Lady of the Smile"
Tradition has it that after the Annunciation, when the Blessed Mother Mary traveled to greet her cousin Elizabeth, beautiful Columbine flowers sprang up in each of the footprints that she left behind.
"If you put all the love of all the mothers into one heart it still would not equal the love of the heart of Mary for her children."
- St. Louis de Montfort
"With the divinest Word, the Virgin
Made pregnant, down the road
Comes walking, if you'll grant her
A room in your abode."
- St. John of the Cross
Walking, swirling skirt
traveling.....
Blessed girls body
Carrying Light;
Bare feet in sandals
leaving bouquets of
flower infused footprints,
hastily to the Visitation,
Yes on her breath.
Our Lady of the Smile shown outside the Shrine of the Little Flower, ABQ, NM.
With gratefulness to Our Lord, St. Therese, and Pastor Vincent Chavez for his unending support and accompanying me on this miraculous adventure!
