28th Week, Friday, Oct 15
Romans 4:1-8 / Luke 12:1-7
Paul talks about Abraham; Abraham's faith was his glory.
Another important truth follows from this. If Christian faith is, above all, faith in Jesus, then we cannot pick and choose what to believe from what Jesus says. If we did that, it would mean we really don't have complete faith in Jesus.
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How strong is our faith in Jesus? In his Church, which is the extension of himself into space and time? “'If you believe only what you like, and reject what you don't like, then it isn't the Gospel you believe, but yourself.” Augustine of Hippo
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Abraham was saved not by what he did but because, when he was a pagan and a sinner, he discovered a caring God in whom he believed. He knew that he stood before God with empty hands and consented to receive gratuitously from the hands of God.
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If we ever get into heaven, we ought to be surprised, maybe because we should be surprised that we could ever get there in the first place. Indeed, how many of us can say that we truly deserve to be in heaven.
We may be baptised, live religious lives, are good people and maybe even doing service and great things for the Lord. But does that mean that we can claim for ourselves a place in heaven?
The 1st reading says that if a person has work to show, his wages are not considered as favour, but rather his due. But when a person has nothing to show except his faith and trust in God, then that person is truly blessed. Abraham was given as an example of a man who put his faith in God, and hence his faith was a blessing for him. Indeed, faith is truly a gift from God. It is because we see faith as a gift from God, that our deeds are acts of thanksgiving and to glorify God.
Then our deeds would not be for selfish and self-glorifying motives. We would not want to be hypocritical because we know that God sees everything and knows what is deep in our hearts. Finally, when we see God face to face, there is no need to talk about the good we have done. We just want to give thanks to God for our faith and Him and for letting us be with Him forever.
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Christ continues to denounce the Pharisees. In the contradictions of a life that wants to be faithful to the Gospel, Christians have to go God’s ways, not their own. They entrust themselves into the hands of God who cares and to whom we are very precious.
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Prayer
Lord our God, we stand before you with empty hands. Our good intentions, the things we do are powerless to save us. God, help us to accept this truth, for it hurts our pride. Teach us to receive gratuitously your grace, your merciful love and also the help and love of our neighbour. Save us from ourselves and from sin by the grace of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen
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St. Therese of Avila:
St. Teresa of Avila is the founder of the Discalced Carmelites. In 1970 she was declared a Doctor of the Church for her writings and teachings on prayer. The symbols of St. Teresa in art are that of a heart and an arrow to represent her mystical experience, and a book and a pen to represent her writings. But despite those seemingly lofty endowments, St. Teresa of Avila is the patron saint of headache sufferers (that would probably include migraine sufferers) We might wonder why she is not the patron saint of mystics, or reformers, or writers, although she is the patron of Spanish Catholic writers.
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.
