I recently served on a retreat where my main job was to spend as much time as possible in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. 

The peace and grace my heart received was some of the most gentle and tender pursuit I have ever received. 

During one of my holy hours, I felt the Holy Spirit nudging me, urging me to really look at the Eucharist and listen to Him. In the depths of my heart, I heard my Lord tell me: 

“You, to Me, are a rose. Soft and sweet-smelling.” 

I received this beautiful image of a delicate flower growing up to the heavens, with the consolation of our gracious God—our tender Gardener—who desires nothing more than to watch us grow closer and closer to Him. 

I share this with you today so you might see the kind face of Jesus smiling down on you, a precious, delicate, and beautiful flower, worthy of love and care. 

As St. Thérèse of Lisieux, The Little Flower, reminds us: 

“Just as the sun shines simultaneously on the tall cedars and on each little flower as though it were alone on the earth, so Our Lord is occupied particularly with each soul as though there were no others like it.”

You are unique and beautiful, and the Lord smiles just because you are His.