October 1st: St. Therese of Child Jesus & 26th Week, Thursday

Biography St Therese of Lisieux

St Therese of Lisieux (1873-1897) was a French Catholic who became a Carmelite nun at an early age. She died in obscurity at the age of 24. However, after her death, her autobiography – Story of a Soul was published and became a best-seller around the world. Her books explained her spiritual path of love and selflessness, and she became one of only three females to be considered a doctor of the Catholic Church.

Short bio of St Therese of Lisieux

From an early age, it was Therese’s ambition and desire to be a saint. She was born into a pious and loving Catholic family. She remembers the idyll of her early childhood, spending time with her parents and five sisters in the un-spoilt French countryside. However, this early childhood idyll was broken by the early death of her Mother (from breast cancer). Aged only four years old, she felt the pain of separation and instinctively turned to the Virgin Mary for comfort and reassurance. The next couple of years of St Therese’s’ life was a period of inner turmoil. She was unhappy at school, where her natural precociousness and piety made other school children jealous. Eventually, her father agreed for Therese to return home and be taught by her elder sister, Celine.

She enjoyed being taught at home; however, after a while, her eldest sister decided to leave home and enter the local Carmel Convent at Lisieux. This made Therese feel like she had lost her second mother. Shortly afterwards Therese experienced a painful illness, in which she suffered delusions. The doctors were at a loss as to the cause. For three weeks she suffered from a high fever. Eventually, Therese felt completely healed after her sister’s placed a statue of the Virgin Mary at the foot of the bed. Therese felt her health and mental state returned to normal very quickly. Soon after on Christmas Eve 1884, she recounts having a remarkable conversion of spirit. She says she lost her inclination to please herself with her own desires. Instead, she felt a burning desire to pray for the souls of others and forget herself. She says that on this day, she lost her childhood immaturity and felt a very strong calling to enter the convent at the unprecedented early age of fifteen.

St Therese was drawn to pray for sinners. Although her father tried to keep newspapers out of the house, she became aware of the notorious – unrepentant killer Henri Pranzini, who was due to be executed in 1887. Therese prayed for his last-minute conversion and was able to read in the newspaper of his last-minute grab for a crucifix as he approached the scaffold. He kissed the wounds of Jesus three times before being guillotined.

St Therese audience with the Pope

Initially, the Church authorities refused to allow a girl, who was so young to enter holy orders. They advised her to come back when she was 21 and “grown up”. However Therese’s mind was made up, she couldn’t bear to wait; she felt God was calling her to enter the cloistered life. Therese was so determined she travelled to the Vatican to personally petition the Pope. Breaking protocol she spoke to the Pope asking for permission to enter a convent. Slightly taken aback Pope Leo XIII replied: “Well, my child, do what the superiors decide.” Soon after, her heart’s desire was fulfilled, and she was able to join her two sisters in the Carmelite convent of Lisieux.

“Our fulcrum is God: our lever, prayer; prayer which burns with love. With that we can lift the world!”

– St Therese

Convent life was not without its hardships; it was cold, and accommodation was basic. Not all sisters warmed to this 15-year-old girl. At times she became the subject of gossip, and one of her superiors took a very harsh attitude to this young “spoilt middle class” girl. However, Therese sought always to respond to criticism and gossip with the attitude of love. No matter what others said, Therese responded by denying her sense of ego. Eventually, the nun who had criticised Therese so much said. “why do you always smile at me, Why are you always so kind, even when I treat you badly?”

Love attracts love, mine rushes forth unto Thee, it would fain fill up the abyss which attracts it; but alas! it is not even as one drop of dew lost in the Ocean. To love Thee as Thou lovest me I must borrow Thy very Love – then only, can I find rest.– St Therese

This was the “little way” which Therese sought to follow. Her philosophy was that – what was important was not doing great works, but doing little things with the power of love. She believed that if we can maintain the right attitude, then nothing shall remain that can’t be accomplished.

Therese had the ambition to become a missionary and travel to Africa or China. However, ill health curtailed these plans, and she was forced to stay in the convent.

Towards the end of her life, when she was increasingly bed-ridden, St Therese was encouraged by the elder nuns to write down her way of spiritual practice. She wrote three books that explained her “little way” and included her personal spiritual autobiography ‘Story of a Soul’.

“The good God does not need years to accomplish His work of love in a soul; one ray from His Heart can, in an instant, make His flower bloom for eternity…”

– St Therese

St Therese died tragically early at the age of 24 from tuberculosis. However after her death, the writings became avidly read by, first other nuns, and then the wider Catholic community. Although initially intended only for a small audience, her books have frequently been republished. In 1997, St Therese was declared one of the only three female Doctors of the Catholic Church (there are 33 doctors of the church in total). Thus after her death, she was able to achieve her intuitive feeling that she would be able to do something great and help save souls.

St Therese was canonized by Pope Pius XI on May 17, 1925, only 26 years after her death.

Pope Francis (elected 2013) has said St Therese is his favourite saint and keeps a picture of her on his bookcase. Explaining his choice for St Therese, Pope Francis remarked

“Do not be afraid to depend solely on the tenderness of God as Saint Thérèse of Lisieux did, who, for this reason, is a beloved daughter of the Blessed Mother and a great missionary saint.” (1)

He has also remarked: “When I have a problem I ask the saint, not to solve it, but to take it in her hands and help me accept it.”

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St. Therese of the Child Jesus, Patroness of the Missions, Thursday, 01-10-20: Isaiah 66:10-14 / Matthew 18:1-5 

St. Therese of the Child Jesus was a French Carmelite nun. She is also known as "The Little Flower of Jesus". She lived during the second half the 19th century (1873-1897), a rather short life of only 24 years. Yet, the shortness of years is certainly complemented by the great impact her life had on the spirituality of the Church and also in the life of holiness. Her spiritual orientation of a hidden life coupled with simplicity and humility endeared her to many who desired to live a life of faith that wants to do small things with great love.
For St. Therese, every little act of love is like a little flower that is offered to Jesus, hence she is also known as "The Little Flower of Jesus". Her childlike attitude is also an inspiration for many, especially in the area of prayer.

In "The Autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux", she said there were so many lovely prayers and that she could not possibly say them all and did not know which to choose, so she would behave like children who cannot read.

"I tell God very simply what I want and He always understands". "I say an Our Father or a Hail Mary when I feel so spiritually barren that I cannot summon up a single worthwhile thought. These two prayers fill me with rapture and feed and satisfy my soul."

Such is the childlike simplicity of the Patroness of the Missions as she prays for missionaries even though she had never set foot on a foreign land.

From St. Therese we learn that simple prayers are indeed powerful prayers. Yet, simple prayers should also form us to have a childlike simplicity and humility.

And like St. Therese, we should be like arrows that remain hidden in the quiver of God. And just as He used St. Therese to fulfill His plan, let us also be ready always to fulfill God's will for us.

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Job puts his trust in God: "I will see God with my own eyes. "  

There's a poem that goes like this: "My dreams for life were laid; my journey mapped and made. The lord was at my side, to be my friend and guide. And so, I started out. "But then the sky turned dark. The road grew steep and stark. I scarce could travel on. 1 turned and cried: 'My lord! Why the pain; why the plight? Where's the road; where's the light?' 

"The lord turned and said: 'My child! Why the fear; why the fret?   Where's your heart; where's your faith? I chose this road for you. Just trust and fravel on.' " Mark link  

Recall a time when we could scarce travel on. "The more we depend on God, the more dependable he becomes." 

Cliff Richards (slightly adapted) 

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Thursday of 26th Week of Ordinary Time

MISSIONARY AND POOR

Introduction
Nothing can destroy the faith of Job in God. Notwithstanding all his suffering, he knows that God lives and is his Redeemer. Job remains convinced that God does not want to crush people.
Few people are impressed by the fact that a bishop lives a life of poverty in a big palace or that priests or sisters are sober and restrained in their personal living when they use rich and powerful means and institutions to bring God to people. Missionaries, however dedicated and serving they may be, are not very convincing and have a hard time to build community if they import powerful means from outside. When Jesus sends out his missionaries to evangelize the poor, he wants them to be, like him, poor among the poor. True, evangelical poverty is an ideal not easy to attain. But does it still move us?

Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
you possess nothing
because you are everything.
In poverty your own Son
was born and lived and died.
Make us first aware, Lord,
of the poverty of our own heart,
that we may be disposed to listen,
to expect and to receive
with the attitude of those who are poor,
and that we may learn to give
what we have and what we are,
as Jesus did, your Son,
who lives with you and with us for ever.

Commentary
If the original Hebrew of this text read as smoothly as later translators have rendered it, we would be at a distinct advantage. The fact is that verses 25-27 have become hopelessly corrupt in the course of the text’s transmission, and early translations into other languages do not agree among themselves. The most that we can say is that Job envisions some eventual form of vindication wherein his integrity would be established. The three friends who accompany him throughout the narrative have only added to his grief, upholding the side of God, thus implying Job’s guilt.
The disciples are sent out to announce the kingdom—seventy-two in number, or pairs of thirty-six. St. Gregory saw the journeying of pairs as illustrative of the law of charity, since love of neighbor implies at least two.
They are to pray that more emissaries will be provided by the Master, since the work is immense and the workers few in number.
We too are in our time much engaged in asking the Master for more laborers. But we must also draw on the pool that is already present. Those of us who have worked in preparing permanent deacons can attest to the fact that, especially in recent times, the quality of candidates is rich indeed. Many of these men would be excellent priests. It is a possibility that the church should weigh well.
In one sense, all of us are harvesters called to live the message authentically, and to announce the good news with our lives. Frequently converts ascribe their embrace of the faith to the example of a friend or co-worker. We should never lose sight of the power of good example.

Points to Ponder
Why do just people suffer?
Harvesters traveling in pairs
The source of future harvesters

Intercessions
– For missionaries, that they may go to the people to whom they are sent humbly and with a poverty of means, we pray:
– For evangelizers, that they may respectfully discover whatever good there is in the hearts and minds of people and their culture, we pray:
– For the young Churches, that they may be deeply rooted in their own people as communities of faith and love that enrich the whole Church, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
your Son comes here among us
to give himself to us in the poverty
of an ordinary piece of food.
Make us ready with him,
to live with no other security
than to know that we are in your hands
and that you dispose people to accept
the Good News of your Son through us
if we become poor and available
together with Jesus Christ our Lord.

Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
your Son sent out his disciples
to preach the Good News of salvation
with a disarming poverty of means.
Keep your Church today
from the permanent temptation
of trying to impress people
with riches, power and prestige.
Make it a humble and serving Church
that not only knows what poverty is
but also has the difficult courage to live it
in the strength of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Blessing
There is a large harvest waiting. The peace of God’s kingdom is to be brought to many. Church, go on your way. May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.