Job trusts God; "I will see God with my own eyes."
A poem 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. "I 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 travel on." Mark Link
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Recall a time when we could scarcely travel on. "The more we depend on God, the more dependable he becomes.' Cliff Richards (slightly adapted)
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Nothing can destroy Job's faith 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 lives 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 building 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 that is not easy to attain. But does it still move us?
Do you understand?
The Gospel of today narrates the appointment of the "other 72" who were called to go ahead of the Lord to prepare the soil - to prepare the hearts of the people - so that they might be ready to receive the Gospel of salvation.
Here are a few things I would like to point out: it is interesting that this evangelizing mission is not only for the apostles but for all disciples of Christ. Our baptism entrusts each of us with the responsibility of proclaiming the Gospel to the world. It is possible that one of the great sins of omission in our church is that we may have forgotten this "commission" and have moved on with our lives as if it had no bearing on our commitment to the Church and our Christian lives.
The task is not easy, “like lambs among wolves,” as the saying goes, but it is our duty. In order to accomplish this mission, a peaceful and compassionate heart is necessary, one that shares the life of the people he or she is sent to, heals the body and mind of those who are sick, and most importantly, one that doesn't hold grudges against those who do not welcome the messengers or the message; the judgement is left to God. Our mission is to welcome rather than alienate, to heal without judging, and to leave behind rather than reproach.
Am I (are we) mission-oriented?
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The Mission
Today's Gospel passage mentions that "the Lord appointed seventy men and sent them out in twos ahead of him into every town and place where he intended to go." The number seventy held symbolic significance for the Jews: it represented the elders chosen to assist Moses in leading and directing the people in the wilderness (Numbers 11:16-17; Numbers 11:24-25), as well as the number of the Sanhedrin, the supreme council of the Jews. This connection suggests that the seventy men were intended to serve as helpers of Jesus in his mission
It's interesting to note that one of the towns where Jesus pronounced woe is Chorazin. It's implied that Jesus did many mighty works there. However, in the gospels, Chorazin is never even mentioned as a place of Jesus’ activity, and we do not know anything about what Jesus did or spoke there. This highlights how much we still have to learn about the life of Jesus. It reminds us that the gospels are not biographies but only glimpses into his life.
This passage highlights some essential guidelines for participating in Jesus' mission: Material possessions should not weigh down the preacher; he should travel lightly and not be entangled in worldly things. The preacher should focus on his mission and not be distracted by trivial matters.
The disciples are sent in twos, which shows that the Gospel is not entrusted to the creativity of an individual but is the result of collective effort. Whoever speaks on behalf of Christ does not act independently but is in unity with fellow believers. The initial evangelists following Jesus' ascension—Peter and John (Acts 8:14), Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13:1)—made it a point to travel in pairs, never alone.
Praying to the Lord of the harvest is not merely a request for more workers, but a transformative process for the disciple. Prayer provides stability, a positive attitude, and inner peace; it humbles the disciples, helping them conquer opposition, setbacks, and failures. It reveals, step by step, the intentions of the ‘Lord of the harvest,' empowering the disciples and strengthening their spiritual resolve.
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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 forever. Amen
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Theresa Martin (1873-1897) entered the Carmel at the age of fifteen. Nine years later, she died of tuberculosis. In these few years, she lived the “little way of spiritual childhood.” It is not an infantile way but one demanding great strength and much grace. She had to fight her stubbornness and to struggle with aridity and depression. Hers was the way of the little people, the poor of the beatitudes. It shows what God can do in us notwithstanding our human limitations, provided we let him.
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Opening Prayer
Father in heaven, your Son recommends to us to have the attitude of a child if we wish to enter into the kingdom of heaven. We thank you for St. Theresa, who lived the little way of the beatitudes. As your preference goes to children and the humble, we ask you to give us the heart of a child, unpretentious and receptive of love, trusting and believing in you and people, that we may become wise with your wisdom and grow to the full size of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
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Jo Jo Starbuck is a well-known American women ice skater. She said that when she was a youngster, struggling with her skating, it was her mother's encouragement that got her through the crisis moments. She'd come home depressed because her coach had screamed at her. And it was her mother who lifted her spirits and comforted her on these occasions. Starbuck says: "I'd come home and cry and want to quit. But my mother would constantly build me up. She'd tell me how beautiful and talented I was even though I wasn't by any means. She kept telling me until my batteries were recharged." John R. Thomas, Family Matters
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Do we build up and comfort others, or do we tear them down? "In the eyes of a mother, every beetle is a gazelle." Moroccan proverb
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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.
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.
