Joe was to Bill Rodgers what Christ is to us: the source of great spiritual blessing. What person is a great source of blessing to us? “We can preach a better sermon with our lives
than with our lips.” Oliver Goldsmith (adapted)
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Whether it is used in the secular or religious sense, the word "blood" has a connotation to the aspect of life. In a blood transfusion, it can be said that life is given to another person who has lost much blood. When blood is shed, it means that people are injured or killed in a spate of violence or war. In the religious sense, and especially in the Christian sense, when blood is shed, it means that there is forgiveness of sins and a new life is given. That is what the 1st reading means when it says that through the blood of Christ, we gain our freedom and the forgiveness of our sins. And of all the spiritual blessings that God has blessed us with, the most precious is the Blood of Christ that was shed to save us. What we receive at Holy Communion is the Body of Christ. And the Body of Christ points specifically to His Heart. At Holy Communion we received the Heart of Christ. And just as the heart pumps blood to all the parts of the body, we receive the Heart of Christ at Holy Communion and it is His Blood that flows in us that brings us forgiveness and healing and brings us to life in Christ. And just as Christ shed His Blood on the cross to save us, He now sends us forth into the world to bring about forgiveness and healing and salvation.
We carry the Blood of Christ in our bodies. May we also like Christ, offer our lives for the salvation of the world through reparation and making sacrifices for the forgiveness of sins.
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Thursday of 28th Week
ALL ARE SAVED BY FAITH
Introduction
From this week until Thursday next week, we read from Ephesians, which is perhaps not directly from the hands of Paul. Today’s reading is a long “blessing’ in the Jewish style, a thanksgiving for our salvation in Christ. God has chosen us and destined us to be adopted through Jesus Christ, who is to become the head of everything.
Opening Prayer
Lord God of the covenant,
we thank you for the gift of faith
in your Son Jesus Christ,
in the forgiveness and love
which he brought us from you.
All you let us touch and feel
is pure grace and a free gift.
Give us grateful hearts, Lord,
that recognize your goodness
in nature, in people around us,
and above all in your Son Jesus Christ,
who lives with you and with us now and for ever.
Commentary
The first ten verses of the Letter to the Ephesians are rich in Pauline theology. Three words stand out very vividly: mystery, redemption, and adoption. The mystery of God consistently in Paul’s thought is the plan of salvation in God’s Son that was concealed from eternity and revealed only in these final days. Redemption means the acquisition of humanity from the throes of sin “by the blood of Christ.” But redemption does not signify simply moving from a state of alienation to one of favor. It means “adoption.” Through the gift of the Spirit, the living bond between Christ and the Father, we are made part of that life, not by nature as was true of Christ, but by adoption. Christ becomes brother and God becomes “Abba” (Father). Finally, since all of creation has been touched by Christ’s saving blood, the ultimate part of the mystery of God means that all things are summed up in Christ in heaven and on earth.
This is as complete a summary of the work of God in Christ as we will find in the New Testament. It apply points to the extent to which we have been favored. When we are encouraged to walk in the Spirit, we are moved by the realization of what this mystery entails and the extent to which God has loved us. To sin seriously is to turn our backs on this goodness and to walk in another direction.
The Lucan Jesus today reminds the Jewish leaders that they have taken away the “key of knowledge.” Not only have they not entered, but they have deprived others of entry as well. Our time in this life is limited indeed; let us use it with the gratitude of members of God’s household.
Points to Ponder
The mystery of God
Redemption in his blood
Adoption in God’s family
Intercessions
– For all who witness to the truth, that the Spirit may put the right words in their mouths, we pray:
– For all of us, that we may do our tasks in life honestly and with zeal, we pray:
– For all who celebrate the Eucharist, that the Lord Jesus may make us trustworthy and authentic persons, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
God, loving Father,
what is there that we can give to you
which you have not given us first?
Accept these gifts
which you let our hands transform
into tokens of our gratitude.
And let us join in the thanks and praise
of your greatest gift to us,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Thankful for all you have given us,
we ask of you today
God, our loving Father:
make us, in turn, generous and liberal
to all whom we encounter in life.
As we have received freely from you,
may we learn to give with open hands and hearts,
without asking or waiting for a word of thanks,
and giving ourselves with our gifts,
as Jesus did, your Son,
who is our Lord for ever and ever.
Blessing
Let us thank God for all the graces he has given us, especially our faith and our Lord Jesus Christ among us. Let us also be grace and blessing to one another, with the blessing of almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
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; 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.
