28th Week, Wednesday, Oct 15; St. Therese of Avila
Romans 2:1-11 / Luke 11:42-46
Paul discusses Christian responsibility; We are accountable to God.
Phyllis McGinley writes in her book Saint-Watching: “When I was seven years old, I wanted to be a tight-rope dancer and broke my collarbone practising on a child-sized high wire. At twelve, I planned to become an international spy. At fifteen, my ambition was the stage. Now in my sensible declining years, I would give anything ... to be a saint.” McGinley's words return us to the basics of human existence. They underscore the same important point that Paul underscores in today's reading: This life is not our ultimate destination; it's only the road leading to it.
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Do we believe “Life is real! Life is earnest! And the grave is not its goal”? Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. "Life is simple, but people insist on making it complicated.”. Confucius
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Paul warns his Romans that they may not conduct themselves like the pagans, whose scandalous behaviour he has just denounced. But all are called to conversion, whether of pagan or Jewish origin. For God shows no partiality.
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The word scribe means secretary. Since the only important book was the Bible, it came to mean one who is a Bible expert, a theologian. Even this meaning was narrowed down to mean a teacher of the law. We understand the Bible as salvation history. The scribes found in it only the laws. They were only interested in the laws contained in the five books of Moses. At the time of Jesus, they were a closely-knit group, who had studied in the same school. In their discussions on the meaning and application of the law, they went on adding to the law. Their interpretation of the law became laws. Many of these scribes became Pharisees, a group of people that made the meticulous outward observance of the law their life's work. The scribes were the scholars, not the Pharisees. Jesus accused the scribes of being proud, selfish, insincere, and of not practising what they preach. It is their ideas, no more God's law, what they preach.
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We know we should not judge others lest we ourselves be judged. That is what Jesus taught us. So what exactly is meant by judging others? Because there are times when we are not too sure if giving an opinion is already coming close to giving a judgement. In the biblical understanding, judgement is about a person's spiritual and moral condition. It is not so much about a person's actions but rather about the person's essence, his very being.
So, to say that someone is evil, or that he is malicious, or that he is selfish may mean that we are saying that is his very being, that is his very essence. That is tantamount to putting a judgement on the spiritual and moral condition of that person. We can only judge the actions, but we cannot judge the person's spiritual and moral condition.
The 1st reading tells us that no matter who we are, if we pass judgement, then we have no excuse. Because a person's spiritual and moral condition is between that person and God, and we have no right to make any judgement about it.
Even in the gospel, Jesus judged the actions of the Pharisees but He didn't say that they were evil or malicious or devious. But whether it is about the character of a person or about his actions, let us refrain from making judgements. Let us act justly, love tenderly and walk humbly with God. That is what we must do.
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It is surprising that Jesus could cure all ills – the blind, the deaf, lepers, yes, and also sinners aware of their failures. But he could not cure Pharisees and scribes from their “open-eyed” blindness. Jesus does perhaps not attack them so much for their literal observance of the last detail of the law but for getting so absorbed by the details of the law that they did not see the roots of all laws, justice and love. This is also the key teaching of Paul in his letter to the Galatians: not laws but the Spirit.
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Opening Prayer
Lord our God, your Son Jesus was the fulfilment of the Law and the Prophets. He knew and taught and lived that the fulfilment of the Law and the promises lies in the service of people and of you in justice and love. Let these too be the guides of our lives, that with him we seek people and above all the living person of you, our God forever and ever. Amen
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St. Therese of Avila:
To say the least, her spiritual journey was a headache and maybe also at times a heartache for her. As a reformer, she faced difficulties and persecution from among her own people. As one who tried hard to be in union with God, she faced distractions and long dry spells in prayer. And we are all familiar with this experience of hers when at times she couldn't avoid complaining to her closest Friend, Jesus, about the hostility and gossip that surrounded her. When Jesus told her, "Teresa, that's how I treat my friends" she responded, "No wonder you have so few friends."
But since Christ has so few friends, she felt they should be good ones. And that's why she decided to reform her Carmelite order. She had more than her share of headaches and heartaches but her writings on prayer goes to show that her teaching is not of herself but divinely inspired. As Jesus said in the gospel: When a man's doctrine is his own he is hoping to get honour for himself; but when he is working for the honour of one who sent him then he is sincere and by no means an impostor. We too may have our headaches about prayer and about life. May St. Teresa pray for us that we will stay true and faithful to Jesus so that we can help others to come into a loving union with God.
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Oct 15, Fri; Saint Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)
Teresa Cepeda de Ahumada was born in Avila, Old Castille, some 50 miles N.W. of Madrid (Spain). At 20, she read the letters of St Jerome before joining the Carmelites, regarding it as the safest way to salvation, albeit without her father’s consent. “Prayer is the doorway to great graces; if this door is closed, I do not see how God can bestow any graces!” During ill-health she practised mental prayer, and the Confessions of St Augustine inspired her to give herself unreservedly to God. For in many religious houses of that day discipline had become rather relaxed, what with frequent visitors providing worldly distractions. “Prayer and self-indulgence do not go together!” she was wont to say.
Our Lord repeatedly spoke to her, even as a seraph pierced her heart (Transverberation, 1559), and she experienced the spiritual espousal. Extrovert by nature and affectionate of disposition, Teresa had the ability to adapt herself quite easily to all kinds of people, places and circumstances.
In 1561 our Lord commanded her to reform the Carmelite Order. Then 46 years of age, during the remaining 21 years of her life she was able, despite violent opposition, to found 17 convents of discalced Carmelite nuns and 15 monasteries for friars under the severe, unmitigated rule of the Order. Under due obedience to her superiors Teresa wrote her life story “The Way of Perfection”, “The Interior Castle” and “Conception of the Love of God”. Canonized in 1622, she was declared ‘Doctor of the Church’ in 1970.
Reflection: “When you have received Holy Communion, close your bodily eyes so that you may open the eyes of your soul. Then look upon Jesus in the centre of your heart” (St Teresa of Avila).
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“Let nothing disturb you. Let nothing make you afraid…. If you have God, you will want for nothing… God alone suffices,” says St Teresa of Avila. Jesus tells us not to be afraid of those who can kill the perishable body, because beyond the life of the body there is the life of the eternal soul. However, God can deny us this eternity. Hence, we must fear Him in order to be near Him. When God is near, nothing else is to be feared. He who cares even for the sparrows will take care of your tomorrows. A human being is more precious than anything else in the world. Leave then your soul in the hands of God, and nothing will harm you.
