Mass Reading & Meditation for October 1, 2013 Memorial of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church Reading 1ZEC 8:20-23 Thus says the LORD of hosts: There shall yet come peoples, the inhabitants of many cities; and the inhabitants of one city shall approach those of another, and say, “Come! let us go to implore the favor of the LORD”; and, “I too will go to seek the LORD.” Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to implore the favor of the LORD. Thus says the LORD of hosts: In those days ten men of every nationality, speaking different tongues, shall take hold, yes, take hold of every Jew by the edge of his garment and say, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.” Responsorial PsalmPS 87:1B-3, 4-5, 6-7 R. (Zec 8:23) God is with us. His foundation upon the holy mountains the LORD loves: The gates of Zion, more than any dwelling of Jacob. Glorious things are said of you, O city of God! R. God is with us. I tell of Egypt and Babylon among those that know the LORD; Of Philistia, Tyre, Ethiopia: “This man was born there.” And of Zion they shall say: “One and all were born in her; And he who has established her is the Most High LORD.” R. God is with us. They shall note, when the peoples are enrolled: “This man was born there.” And all shall sing, in their festive dance: “My home is within you.” R. God is with us. GospelLK 9:51-56 When the days for Jesus to be taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem, and he sent messengers ahead of him. On the way they entered a Samaritan village to prepare for his reception there, but they would not welcome him because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?” Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they journeyed to another village. Meditation: Luke 9:51-56 Do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them? (Luke 9:54) Have you ever tried to pick a name for a baby? If you have you might have noticed how strong a reaction—even a prejudice—people have to something as simple as a name. Most prejudices like this one are sewn deeply into the fabric of people’s lives and cultures. Sometimes, we don’t even know we have them until something or someone makes us confront our assumptions. That’s what happened in today’s Gospel. James and John wanted to bring fire down upon an entire town of Samaritans just because they didn’t show Jesus the hospitality that they thought he deserved. But Jesus’ rebuke brought them to their senses. So why did they hate the Samaritans so much? For centuries, the people of Samaria were of the same stock as the people of Jerusalem. But then in 721 b.c., the Assyrian army overran Samaria and exiled most of its inhabitants. The Assyrians then forced people from different lands to emigrate to Samaria and intermingle with the Jews who had been left behind. As a result, the Samaritans of Jesus’ day were considered foreigners whose mixture of pagan religion and Judaism was a great offense. You can imagine how uncomfortable the disciples must have felt when Jesus made Samaritans heroes in his parables—and even more so when the deacon Philip began baptizing Samaritans and welcoming them into the Church (Acts 8:4-8). But the apostles did let go of their prejudices—and so should we. They saw in the Samaritans’ conversion a fulfillment of today’s first reading: that people from every nation will be drawn to them and say, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you” (Zechariah 8:23). God wants to make us just as magnetic as the apostles. He wants to draw to us all kinds of people who are hungry for the word of God. May we all be ready to welcome them! “Lord, help me open my heart to the ‘Samaritans’ in my life. Help me to overcome my prejudices so that I can shine your light wherever I go.” Zechariah 8:20-23; Psalm 87:1-7 St. Thérèse of Lisieux (1873-1897) "I prefer the monotony of obscure sacrifice to all ecstasies. To pick up a pin for love can convert a soul." These are the words of Therese of the Child Jesus, a Carmelite nun called the "Little Flower," who lived a cloistered life of obscurity in the convent of Lisieux, France. [In French-speaking areas, she is known as Thérèse of Lisieux.] And her preference for hidden sacrifice did indeed convert souls. Few saints of God are more popular than this young nun. Her autobiography, The Story of a Soul, is read and loved throughout the world. Thérèse Martin entered the convent at the age of 15 and died in 1897 at the age of 24. She was canonized in 1925, and two years later she and Francis Xavier (December 3) were declared co-patrons of the missions. Life in a Carmelite convent is indeed uneventful and consists mainly of prayer and hard domestic work. But Thérèse possessed that holy insight that redeems the time, however dull that time may be. She saw in quiet suffering redemptive suffering, suffering that was indeed her apostolate. Thérèse said she came to the Carmel convent "to save souls and pray for priests." And shortly before she died, she wrote: "I want to spend my heaven doing good on earth." On October 19, 1997, Blessed John Paul II proclaimed her a Doctor of the Church, the third woman to be so recognized in light of her holiness and the influence in the Church of her teaching on spirituality. Her parents, Martin and Zelie (October 1), were beatified in 2008. Comment: Thérèse has much to teach our age of the image, the appearance, the "sell." We have become a dangerously self-conscious people, painfully aware of the need to be fulfilled, yet knowing we are not. Thérèse, like so many saints, sought to serve others, to do something outside herself, to forget herself in quiet acts of love. She is one of the great examples of the gospel paradox that we gain our life by losing it, and that the seed that falls to the ground must die in order to live (John 12). Preoccupation with self separates modern men and women from God, from their fellow human beings and ultimately from themselves. We must relearn to forget ourselves, to contemplate a God who draws us out of ourselves and to serve others as the ultimate expression of selfhood. These are the insights of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, and they are more valid today than ever. Quote: All her life St. Thérèse suffered from illness. As a young girl she underwent a three-month malady characterized by violent crises, extended delirium and prolonged fainting spells. Afterwards she was ever frail and yet she worked hard in the laundry and refectory of the convent. Psychologically, she endured prolonged periods of darkness when the light of faith seemed all but extinguished. The last year of her life she slowly wasted away from tuberculosis. And yet shortly before her death on September 30 she murmured, "I would not suffer less." Truly she was a valiant woman who did not whimper about her illnesses and anxieties. Here was a person who saw the power of love, that divine alchemy which can change everything, including weakness and illness, into service and redemptive power for others. Is it any wonder that she is patroness of the missions? Who else but those who embrace suffering with their love really convert the world? Patron Saint of: Florists Missionaries Pilots -- Have a Blessed Day
Posted on: Tue, 01 Oct 2013 12:57:26 +0000
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