Venerable Mother Thecla Merlo is the co-foundress of the Daughters of St. Paul, and this week we celebrated her 125th birthday! As a way of saying Happy Birthday, we wanted to a week's worth of "Mother Thecla Motivation." Celebrate with us and with her and ask her to pray for you this week! God bless you!

1. "Sometimes we have little faith, little spirit of faith. We reason in a human way, 'from the rooftop down.' Instead, we must become more supernatural. We need a greater spirit of faith so as to reason 'from the rooftop up,' that is, in a spiritual way...what should we do, how should we reason, if not in view of heaven, the homeland that awaits us? One day we will arrive there and all will be well."

2. "The Lord loves me. He arranges everything for my good: even the things I don’t like are always for my good. The Lord thinks of me continually; he wants to help and can help me. He has promised this and he will keep that promise."

3. "We can visit Jesus whenever we desire! It might be that we are suffering deeply and have no one in whom to confide. Then let us turn to Jesus! If we cling firmly to the Lord, he will never fail to help us. He will never fail to give us his grace."

4. "God is within me and outside of me; I really live in God. When I'm asleep, the Lord is close to me. When I take a walk, the Lord is with me. The Lord never abandons me. We must have great trust in this fact! The Lord tells us that he is always with us. In the Gospel, he adds: 'even the hairs on your head are counted'."

5. "Lord, see how incapable I am...I am truly nothing! I want to be a docile instrument in your hands! Tell me how to act.... Do what needs to be done and I will follow you! Inspire me and I will follow those inspirations."

6. "Jesus Master, fill my heart with a love that is patient. Love in me so that I may love in you."

7. "Let us see to it that our heart is filled with God so as to bring Him to souls. How beautiful and holy it is to give Jesus to souls--that Jesus whom we want to always keep in the center of our heart."

Prayer through the Intercession of Ven. Mother Thecla Merlo

Most Holy Trinity, we thank you for the singular gifts of light, grace and virtue which you granted to Mother Thecla Merlo and we thank you for having chosen and constituted her the wise mother and sure guide of the Daughters of St. Paul.

Through her intercession, grant that we may live of her great loves: Jesus Master in the Holy Eucharist, the Church, the Gospel and souls – souls sought and served through evangelization with the instruments of social communication to the point of total sacrifice.

O Lord, if it be in the design of your divine wisdom, carry out even on this earth for this very devoted Daughter of St. Paul, your divine promise, “If anyone serves me, my Father will honor him.”

Exalt this faithful servant to the joy of the Church and the good of many souls, and grant us, through her intercession, the favor we ask of you. Amen.