Memorial of Saint Teresa of Jesus,
Virgin and Doctor of the Church
Lectionary: 472
Lectionary: 472
Brothers and sisters:
Hearing of your faith in the Lord Jesus
and of your love for all the holy ones,
I do not cease giving thanks for you,
remembering you in my prayers,
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation
resulting in knowledge of him.
May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened,
that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call,
what are the riches of glory
in his inheritance among the holy ones,
and what is the surpassing greatness of his power
for us who believe,
in accord with the exercise of his great might,
which he worked in Christ,
raising him from the dead
and seating him at his right hand in the heavens,
far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion,
and every name that is named
not only in this age but also in the one to come.
And he put all things beneath his feet
and gave him as head over all things to the Church,
which is his Body,
the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.
Hearing of your faith in the Lord Jesus
and of your love for all the holy ones,
I do not cease giving thanks for you,
remembering you in my prayers,
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation
resulting in knowledge of him.
May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened,
that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call,
what are the riches of glory
in his inheritance among the holy ones,
and what is the surpassing greatness of his power
for us who believe,
in accord with the exercise of his great might,
which he worked in Christ,
raising him from the dead
and seating him at his right hand in the heavens,
far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion,
and every name that is named
not only in this age but also in the one to come.
And he put all things beneath his feet
and gave him as head over all things to the Church,
which is his Body,
the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.
Responsorial
PsalmPS 8:2-3AB, 4-5, 6-7
R. (7) You
have given your Son rule over the works of your hands.
O LORD, our LORD,
how glorious is your name over all the earth!
You have exalted your majesty above the heavens.
Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings
you have fashioned praise because of your foes.
R. You have given your Son rule over the works of your hands.
When I behold your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars which you set in place—
What is man that you should be mindful of him,
or the son of man that you should care for him?
R. You have given your Son rule over the works of your hands.
You have made him little less than the angels,
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him rule over the works of your hands,
putting all things under his feet.
R. You have given your Son rule over the works of your hands.
O LORD, our LORD,
how glorious is your name over all the earth!
You have exalted your majesty above the heavens.
Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings
you have fashioned praise because of your foes.
R. You have given your Son rule over the works of your hands.
When I behold your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars which you set in place—
What is man that you should be mindful of him,
or the son of man that you should care for him?
R. You have given your Son rule over the works of your hands.
You have made him little less than the angels,
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him rule over the works of your hands,
putting all things under his feet.
R. You have given your Son rule over the works of your hands.
AlleluiaJN 15:26B, 27A
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
The Spirit of truth will testify to me, says the Lord,
and you also will testify.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Spirit of truth will testify to me, says the Lord,
and you also will testify.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelLK 12:8-12
Jesus said to his disciples:
“I tell you,
everyone who acknowledges me before others
the Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God.
But whoever denies me before others
will be denied before the angels of God.
“Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven,
but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit
will not be forgiven.
When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities,
do not worry about how or what your defense will be
or about what you are to say.
For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say.”
“I tell you,
everyone who acknowledges me before others
the Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God.
But whoever denies me before others
will be denied before the angels of God.
“Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven,
but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit
will not be forgiven.
When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities,
do not worry about how or what your defense will be
or about what you are to say.
For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say.”
Meditation: "The
Holy Spirit will teach you what to say"
What is the unforgivable
sin which Jesus warns us to avoid? Jesus knows that his disciples will be
tested and he assures them that the Holy Spirit will give them what they need
in their time of adversity and temptation. He warns them, however, that it's
possible to reject the grace of God - his favor, blessing, and help - and to
fall into apostasy - giving up our faith and loyalty to Jesus Christ out of
fear (being a coward), pride, or disbelief (refusing to believe and trust in
the Lord Jesus). The scriptural expression to deny someone means
to disown them - to have nothing to do with them anymore.
Do not reject the gift
and help of the Holy Spirit
Jesus also speaks against blaspheming the Holy Spirit. What is blasphemy and why is it reprehensible (extremely bad and deserving severe rebuke)? Blasphemy consists in uttering against God, inwardly or outwardly, words of hatred, reproach, or defiance. It's contrary to the honor and respect we owe to God (who is our Father, Creator, and Savior) and to his holy name. Jesus speaks of blaspheming against the Holy Spirit as the unforgivable sin. Jesus spoke about this sin immediately after the scribes and Pharisees had attributed his miracles to the work of the devil instead of to God.
Jesus also speaks against blaspheming the Holy Spirit. What is blasphemy and why is it reprehensible (extremely bad and deserving severe rebuke)? Blasphemy consists in uttering against God, inwardly or outwardly, words of hatred, reproach, or defiance. It's contrary to the honor and respect we owe to God (who is our Father, Creator, and Savior) and to his holy name. Jesus speaks of blaspheming against the Holy Spirit as the unforgivable sin. Jesus spoke about this sin immediately after the scribes and Pharisees had attributed his miracles to the work of the devil instead of to God.
Do you trust in God's
help and deliverance?
A sin can only be unforgivable if repentance (admitting wrongdoing and asking forgiveness) is impossible. If someone repeatedly closes his or her heart to God and shuts their ear to his voice, they come to a point where they can no longer recognize God even when God makes his word and presence known to them. Such a person ends up perceiving evil as good and good as evil (Isaiah 5:20). To fear such a sin, however, signals that one is not dead to God and is conscious of the need for God's merciful help and strength.
A sin can only be unforgivable if repentance (admitting wrongdoing and asking forgiveness) is impossible. If someone repeatedly closes his or her heart to God and shuts their ear to his voice, they come to a point where they can no longer recognize God even when God makes his word and presence known to them. Such a person ends up perceiving evil as good and good as evil (Isaiah 5:20). To fear such a sin, however, signals that one is not dead to God and is conscious of the need for God's merciful help and strength.
There are no limits to
the mercy of God, but we can reject his mercy by refusing to ask God's pardon
for our wrongdoing and by refusing to accept the help he gives us to turn away
from sin and from whatever would keep us from doing his will. God gives
sufficient grace (his favor and mercy towards us) and he gives sufficient help
(his wisdom and strength) to all who humbly call upon him. Giving up on God and
refusing to turn away from sin and disbelief results from our own sinful pride,
stubborn will, and the loss of hope in God's promises.God never turns a deaf
ear to those who seek his help and listen to his voice - his word of hope,
pardon, and freedom from sin and oppression.
Our hope and confidence
come from God
What is the basis of our hope and confidence in God? It is the free gift of his beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave his life for our sake and who now intercedes for us at the right hand of the throne of God's mercy (Hebrews 4:14-15). John the Evangelist tells us that "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).
What is the basis of our hope and confidence in God? It is the free gift of his beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave his life for our sake and who now intercedes for us at the right hand of the throne of God's mercy (Hebrews 4:14-15). John the Evangelist tells us that "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).
Jesus' death on the
cross won for us new life and freedom to live as men and women of faith, hope,
and love. That is why Jesus offers us the gift and power of the Holy Spirit
(Luke 11:13) who enables us tolive each day as God's beloved
children - his sons and daughters. The love and mercy of Jesus Christ, the
forgiveness of sins, and the gift of the Holy Spirit are freely given to all
who acknowledge Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Is your hope securely placed in
the Lord Jesus and his victory on the cross?
"Lord Jesus, you
are my hope and my salvation. May I never waver in my hope and trust in your
merciful help and strength. Let the fire of your Holy Spirit burn in my heart
and fill me with a consuming love for you."
Daily Quote from the
early church fathers: The Holy Spirit will inspire martyrs and
teach believers, by Cyril of Jerusalem, 430-543 A.D.
"You must also know that the Holy Spirit empowers the martyrs to bear
witness... A person cannot testify as a martyr for Christ's sake except through
the Holy Spirit. If 'no man can say "Jesus is Lord" except in the
Holy Spirit' (1 Corinthians 12:3), will any man give his life for Jesus' sake
except through the Holy Spirit?" (excerpt from CATECHETICAL
LECTURES 16.21)
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15,
LUKE 12:8-12
(Ephesians 1:15-23; Psalm 8)
(Ephesians 1:15-23; Psalm 8)
KEY VERSE: "For the holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say" (v 12).
TO KNOW: Jesus encouraged his disciples to be fearless in their proclamation of the gospel. The disciples need not worry about how they should defend themselves when brought before the authorities. The Holy Spirit would enlighten and strengthen them as they bore witness to their faith. Jesus did not promise to save them from suffering, or even death, but he did guarantee that he would testify to their fidelity before God. Jesus warned his followers of blaspheming against the Holy Spirit. These are sins that despair of salvation, presume on God's mercy, envy another's spiritual good, resist known truths of faith, and are obstinate in sin and impenitent at death. Although each sin put an obstacle in the way of God's mercy, God's grace could overcome even these sins. But if the unrepentant refused God's power to save them, they also denied the possibility of mercy and forgiveness by Jesus.
TO LOVE: Do I thank God for the grace of faith?
TO SERVE: Holy Spirit, strengthen me when I am too weak to defend myself.
Memorial of Saint Teresa
of Jesus, virgin and doctor of the Church
Teresa of Avila was the daughter of a Spanish noble. Crippled by disease in her youth, she was cured after prayer to Saint Joseph. Her mother died when Teresa was 12, and she prayed to Our Lady to mother her. Teresa's father opposed her entry into religious life, so she left home without telling anyone, and entered a Carmelite house at age 17. Seeing her conviction to her call, her father and family consented. Soon after taking her vows as a Carmelite, Teresa became gravely ill, and never fully recovered her health. She began receiving visions, and was examined by Dominicans and Jesuits, including Saint Francis Borgia, who pronounced the visions to be holy and true. She considered her original house too lax in its rule, so she founded a reformed convent of Saint John of Avila. Teresa is a mystical writer and was proclaimed Doctor of the Church on 27 September, 1970 by Pope Paul VI.
Saturday October 15 2016
Sat 15th. Ephesians 1:15-23. Ps 8:2-7.
Luke 12:8-12.
'You will be my witnesses'
Today's Gospel reading has got me thinking
about fear, trust and courage.
How often am I fearful to stand up for my Catholic beliefs in this increasingly secular world? To declare myself for Christ among those who would mock my faith. But here, the answer is clear.
'Do not worry about how to defend yourselves or what to say, because when the time comes, the Holy Spirit will teach you what you must say.'
Lord, help me to declare myself for you. Help me to trust in your plan for me and for the world. Help me to have the courage to acknowledge and defend your pilgrim Church.
How often am I fearful to stand up for my Catholic beliefs in this increasingly secular world? To declare myself for Christ among those who would mock my faith. But here, the answer is clear.
'Do not worry about how to defend yourselves or what to say, because when the time comes, the Holy Spirit will teach you what you must say.'
Lord, help me to declare myself for you. Help me to trust in your plan for me and for the world. Help me to have the courage to acknowledge and defend your pilgrim Church.
ST.
TERESA OF AVILA
On
Oct. 15, Roman Catholics celebrate the Spanish Carmelite reformer and mystic
St. Teresa of Avila, whose life of prayer enriched the Church during the 16th
century counter-reformation.
Teresa
Sanchez Cepeda Davila y Ahumada was born in the Castilian city of Avila during
the year 1515, the third child in a family descended from Jewish
merchants who had converted to Christianity during the reign of King Ferdinand
and Queen Isabella. Her father Alphonsus had become an ardent Catholic, with a
collection of spiritual books of the type his daughter would later compose
herself.
As a
child, Teresa felt captivated by the thought of eternity and the vision of God
granted to the saints in heaven. She and her younger brother Rodrigo once
attempted to run away from home for the sake of dying as martyrs in a Muslim
country, though they soon ran into a relative who sent them back to their
mother Beatrice.
When
Teresa was 14, her mother died, causing the girl a profound grief that prompted
her to embrace a deeper devotion to the Virgin Mary as her spiritual mother.
Along with this good resolution, however, she also developed immoderate
interests in reading popular fiction (consisting, at that time, mostly of
medieval tales of knighthood) and caring for her own appearance.
Though
Teresa's spiritual directors in later life would judge these faults to be
relatively minor, they still represented a noticeable loss of her childhood
zeal for God. Alphonsus decided his teenage daughter needed a change of
environment, and sent her to be educated in a convent of Augustinian nuns.
Teresa found their life dull at first, but soon came to some understanding of
its spiritual advantages.
Illness
forced her to leave the convent during her second year. But the influence of
her devout uncle Peter, along with her reading of the letters of the monk and
Church Father St. Jerome, convinced Teresa that the surest road to salvation
lay in forsaking marriage, property, and worldly pleasures completely. Against
the will of her father, who wanted her to postpone the decision, she joined the
Carmelite Order.
Teresa
became a professed member of the order at age 20, but soon developed a serious
illness that forced her to return home. She experienced severe pain and
physical paralysis for two years, and was expected to die when she went into a
coma for four days. But she insisted on returning to the Carmelite monastery as
soon as she was able, even though she remained in a painful and debilitated
state.
For
the next three years the young nun made remarkable progress in her spiritual
life, developing the practice of recalling herself into the presence of God
through quiet contemplation. As her health returned, however, Teresa lapsed
into a more routine prayer life. While she remained an obedient Carmelite, she
would not re-establish this close personal connection to God for almost twenty
years.
When
she was nearly 40, however, Teresa found herself dramatically called back to
the practice of contemplative mental prayer. She experienced profound changes
within her own soul, and remarkable visions that seemed to come from God. Under
the direction of her confessors, Teresa wrote about some of these experiences
in an autobiography that she completed in 1565.
Teresa
had always been accustomed to contemplate Christ's presence within her after
receiving him in the sacrament of Holy Communion. Now, however, she understood
that the presence she received did not simply fade: God was, in fact, with her
always, and had been all along. It was simply a matter of putting herself in
his presence, with love and attention – as one could do at any moment.
This
revolution in her spiritual life enabled Teresa to play a significant role in
the renewal of the Church that followed the Council of Trent. She proposed a
return of the Carmelites to their original rule of life, a simple and austere
form of monasticism – founded on silence and solitude – that had received papal
approval in the 12th century and was believed to date back to the Old Testament
prophet Elijah.
Together
with her close collaborator, the priest and writer later canonized as Saint
John of the Cross, she founded what is known today as the Order of Discalced
Carmelites – “discalced,” meaning barefoot, symbolizing the simplicity to which
they chose to return the order after a period of corruption. The reform met
with fierce opposition, but resulted in the founding of 30 monasteries during
her life.
Teresa's
health failed her for the last time while she was traveling through Salamanca
in 1582. She accepted her dramatic final illness as God's chosen means of
calling her into his presence forever.
“O my
Lord, and my spouse, the desired hour is now come,” she stated. “The hour is at
last come, wherein I shall pass out of this exile, and my soul shall enjoy in
thy company what it hath so earnestly longed for.”
St.
Teresa of Avila died on Oct. 15, 1582. She was canonized on March 22, 1622,
along with three of her greatest contemporaries: St. Ignatius Loyola, St.
Francis Xavier, and St. Philip Neri.
In
1970, Pope Paul VI proclaimed St. Teresa as one of the first two woman Doctors
of the Church, along with 14th century Dominican St. Catherine of Siena.
LECTIO: LUKE 12,8-12
Lectio Divina:
Saturday, October 15, 2016
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Lord,
Lord,
our help and guide,
make your love the foundation of our lives.
May our love for you express itself
in our eagerness to do good for others.
You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Luke 12,8-12
Jesus said to his disciples: 'I tell you, if anyone openly declares himself for me in the presence of human beings, the Son of man will declare himself for him in the presence of God's angels. But anyone who disowns me in the presence of human beings will be disowned in the presence of God's angels.
Jesus said to his disciples: 'I tell you, if anyone openly declares himself for me in the presence of human beings, the Son of man will declare himself for him in the presence of God's angels. But anyone who disowns me in the presence of human beings will be disowned in the presence of God's angels.
'Everyone who says a word against the Son of man will be forgiven, but no
one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will be forgiven. 'When they take
you before synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how
to defend yourselves or what to say, because when the time comes, the Holy
Spirit will teach you what you should say.'
3) Reflection
• Context. While Jesus is on the way toward Jerusalem, Luke in chapter 11, that precedes our passage, presents him as having the intention to reveal the abyss of the merciful acting of God and at the same time the profound misery hidden in the heart of man and particularly, in those who have the task of being witnesses of the Word and of the work of the Holy Spirit in the world. Jesus presents such realities with a series of reflections which provoke effects in the reader: to feel attracted by the force of his Word to the point of feeling judged interiorly and detached from all desires of greatness which shake and agitate man (9, 46). Besides, the reader identifies himself with various attitudes that the teaching of Jesus arouses: above all, he recognizes himself as follower of Christ in the disciple and sent to precede him in the role of messenger of the kingdom; and also in the one who hesitates somewhat in following him; in the Pharisee or Doctor of the Law, slave of their interpretations and life style. In summary, the course of the reader in chapter 11 is characterized by this encounter with the teaching of Jesus who reveals to him the intimacy of God, the mercy of God’s Heart, but also the truth of his being a man. In chapter 12, instead, Jesus opposes the perverted judgment of man to the goodness of God who always gives with superabundance. Man’s life enters into play here. It is necessary to be attentive to the perversion of the human judgment or better to the hypocrisy that distorts values in order to privilege only one’s own interests and advantages, more than being interested in life, that life which is accepted gratuitously. The Word of God launches the reader an appeal on how to face the question regarding life: man will be judged on his behaviour at the time of threats. It is necessary to be concerned not so much of the men who can “kill the body” but rather to have at heart the fear of God who judges and corrects. But Jesus does not promise the disciples that they will be free from threats, persecutions, but he assures them that they will have God’s help at the moments of difficulty.
• Context. While Jesus is on the way toward Jerusalem, Luke in chapter 11, that precedes our passage, presents him as having the intention to reveal the abyss of the merciful acting of God and at the same time the profound misery hidden in the heart of man and particularly, in those who have the task of being witnesses of the Word and of the work of the Holy Spirit in the world. Jesus presents such realities with a series of reflections which provoke effects in the reader: to feel attracted by the force of his Word to the point of feeling judged interiorly and detached from all desires of greatness which shake and agitate man (9, 46). Besides, the reader identifies himself with various attitudes that the teaching of Jesus arouses: above all, he recognizes himself as follower of Christ in the disciple and sent to precede him in the role of messenger of the kingdom; and also in the one who hesitates somewhat in following him; in the Pharisee or Doctor of the Law, slave of their interpretations and life style. In summary, the course of the reader in chapter 11 is characterized by this encounter with the teaching of Jesus who reveals to him the intimacy of God, the mercy of God’s Heart, but also the truth of his being a man. In chapter 12, instead, Jesus opposes the perverted judgment of man to the goodness of God who always gives with superabundance. Man’s life enters into play here. It is necessary to be attentive to the perversion of the human judgment or better to the hypocrisy that distorts values in order to privilege only one’s own interests and advantages, more than being interested in life, that life which is accepted gratuitously. The Word of God launches the reader an appeal on how to face the question regarding life: man will be judged on his behaviour at the time of threats. It is necessary to be concerned not so much of the men who can “kill the body” but rather to have at heart the fear of God who judges and corrects. But Jesus does not promise the disciples that they will be free from threats, persecutions, but he assures them that they will have God’s help at the moments of difficulty.
• To know how to recognize Jesus. The courageous commitment to recognize
the friendship with Jesus publicly implies as consequence personal communion
with Him at the moment of his return to judge the world. At the same time, the
betrayal “who will deny me”, the one who is afraid to confess and recognize
Jesus publicly, condemns himself. The reader is invited to reflect on the
crucial importance of Jesus in the history of salvation: it is necessary to
decide either with Jesus or against Him and of his Word of Grace; from this
decision, to recognize or to reject Jesus, depends our salvation. Luke makes it
evident that the communion that Jesus gives at the present time to his
disciples will be confirmed and will becomes perfect at the moment of his
coming in glory (“he will come in his glory and of the Father and of the
angels”: 9, 26). The call to the Christian community is very evident: even if
it has been exposed to the hostility of the world, it is indispensable not to
cease to give a courageous witness of Jesus, of communion with him, to value
and not to be ashamed to show oneself a Christian.
• Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Here Luke understands blasphemy as
offensive speaking or speaking against. This verb was applied to Jesus when in
5, 21 he had forgiven sins. The question presented in this passage may give
rise in the reader to some difficulty: is blasphemy against the Son of man less
grave or serious than the one against the Holy Spirit? The language of Jesus
may seem rather strong for the reader of the Gospel of Luke: through the Gospel
he has seen Jesus who showed the behaviour of God who goes to look for sinners,
who is demanding but who knows how to wait for the moment of return to him or
that the sinner attains maturity. In Mark and Matthew blasphemy against the
Spirit is the lack of recognizing the power of God in the exorcisms of Jesus.
But in Luke it may mean the deliberate and known rejection of the prophetic
Spirit that is working in the actions and teaching of Jesus, that is to say, a
rejection of the encounter with the merciful acting of salvation with the Father.
The lack of recognition of the divine origin of the mission of Jesus, the
direct offenses to the person of Jesus, may be forgiven, but anyone who denies
the acting of the Holy Spirit in the mission of Jesus will not be forgiven. It
is not a question of an opposition between the person of Jesus and the Holy
Spirit, or of some contrast, symbol of two diverse periods of history, that of
Jesus and that of the community after the Passover, but definitively, the
evangelist wants to show that to reject the person of Christ is equal to
blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
4) Personal questions
• Are you aware that to be a Christian requires the need to face difficulties, deceit, dangers, and even to risk one’s own life to give witness of one’s own friendship with Jesus?
• Are you aware that to be a Christian requires the need to face difficulties, deceit, dangers, and even to risk one’s own life to give witness of one’s own friendship with Jesus?
• Do you become embarrassed of being a Christian? Are you more concerned
about the judgments of men, their approval, are these more important for you or
that of losing your friendship with Christ?
5) Concluding Prayer
Yahweh our Lord,
Yahweh our Lord,
how majestic is your name throughout the world!
Whoever keeps singing of your majesty higher than the heavens,
even through the mouths of children, or of babes in arms. (Ps 8,1-2)
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