I’ve recently been rereading the spiritual classic Story of a Soul, the autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, which I highly recommend to all. One passage has reminded me of the importance of praying fervently and persistently for the conversion of others. If we’ve experienced the goodness of the Lord and have the hope of eternal life with Him, how could we not long for others to share in that? Thérèse writes about this experience that she had just before entering the Carmelite monastery at the young age of fifteen:

One Sunday, looking at a picture of Our Lord on the Cross, I was struck by the blood flowing from one of the divine hands. I felt a great pang of sorrow when thinking this blood was falling to the ground without anyone’s hastening to gather it up. I was resolved to remain in spirit at the foot of the Cross and to receive the divine dew. I understood I was then to pour it out upon souls. The cry of Jesus on the Cross sounded continually in my heart: “I thirst!” These words ignited within me an unknown and very living fire. I wanted to give my Beloved to drink and I felt myself consumed with a thirst for souls. As yet, it was not the souls of priests that attracted me, but those of great sinners; I burned with the desire to snatch them from the eternal flames.

To awaken my zeal God showed me my desires were pleasing to Him. I heard talk of a great criminal just condemned to death for some horrible crimes; everything pointed to the fact that he would die impenitent. I wanted at all costs to prevent him from falling into hell, and to attain my purpose I employed every means imaginable. Feeling that of myself I could do nothing, I offered to God all the infinite merits of Our Lord, the treasures of the Church, and finally I begged [my sister] Céline to have a Mass offered for my intentions. I didn’t ask this myself for fear of being obliged to say it was for Pranzini, the great criminal. I didn’t even want to tell Céline, but she asked me such tender and pressing questions, I confided my secret to her. Far from laughing at me, she asked me if she could help convert my sinner. I accepted gratefully, for I would have wished all creatures would unite with me to beg grace for the guilty man.

I felt in the depths of my heart certain that our desires would be granted, but to obtain courage to pray for sinners I told God I was sure He would pardon the poor, unfortunate Pranzini; that I’d believe this even if he went to his death without any signs of repentance or without having gone to confession. I was absolutely confident in the mercy of Jesus. But I was begging Him for a “sign” of repentance only for my own simple consolation.

My prayer was answered to the letter! In spite of Papa’s prohibition that we read no papers, I didn’t think I was disobeying when reading the passages pertaining to Pranzini. The day after his execution I found the newspaper “La Croix.” I opened it quickly and what did I see? Ah! my tears betrayed my emotion and I was obliged to hide. Pranzini had not gone to confession. He had mounted the scaffold and was preparing to place his head in the formidable opening, when suddenly, seized by an inspiration, he turned, took hold of the crucifix the priest was holding out to him and kissed the sacred wounds three times! Then his soul went to receive the merciful sentence of Him who declares that in heaven there will be more joy over one sinner who does penance than over ninety-nine just who have no need of repentance!

What an unspeakably sweet response! After this unique grace my desire to save souls grows each day, and I seemed to hear Jesus say to me what he said to the Samaritan woman: “Give me to drink!” It was a true interchange of love: to souls I was giving the blood of Jesus, to Jesus I was offering these same souls refreshed by the divine dew. I slaked His thirst and the more I gave Him to drink, the more the thirst of my poor little soul increased, and it was this ardent thirst He was giving me as the most delightful drink of His love (Story of a Soul: The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, pp. 99-101, italics in original).

Every single human heart has longing for truth, beauty, and goodness that can be satisfied only by the love of Jesus Christ. This experience of young Thérèse is a reminder that Jesus thirsts for every single one of us to encounter his saving love. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church succinctly states, “God thirsts that we may thirst for him” (CCC 2560). In a mysterious way, we can help to satisfy this thirst of Jesus by praying for the conversion of our friends, our family, and of the world. Through intercession, it’s as if we can gather the grace of Jesus that was poured out on the Cross and distribute to others to satisfy the thirst of their souls. The thirst of Jesus is satisfied as he sees others satisfied. We may not immediately see the effects of our prayers, but we can be confident that our prayers are real and necessary cooperation with the saving work of Jesus Christ.

Make it a habit, then, to pray urgently and consistently for the conversion of others (and of course, of yourself). Request Masses for loved ones, as St. Thérèse did. Fast and make simple sacrifices. Throughout the day, try to pray a simple prayer like “Jesus, Mary, I love you, save souls!” or “Most Precious Blood of Jesus, save us and the whole world!” Spend thirty minutes or an hour in Adoration praying for friends and family who have left the Catholic Church. Pray the Rosary or the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for those who do not know Jesus. In these ways and others, we can – as St. Thérèse said – “remain in spirit at the foot of the Cross and to receive the divine dew” for ourselves and the whole world.