Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, virgin and doctor of the Church
(Job 9:1-12; 14-16)
“Your arms are too short to box with God” is the way one author chooses to describe what Job says in the first reading. Despite the way some believers talk about God as if He were a next door neighbor, Job recognizes that God is further beyond us than the ends of the universe.
Because of God’s transcendence, our initial reaction coming into His presence must be one of fear and awe. It is like a space voyageur’s coming into the vicinity of a black hole that can consume a galaxy. However, we know more about God than that He is other and all-powerful. With Jesus God reveals Himself as our Father whose univocal stance toward us is love. For this reason there is no need to fear God when we strive to conform to His loving will.
Few people have understood our relationship with God more than St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus. Called to monastic life as a teenager, she responded to God’s paternal care with simple acts of charity. She wrote, “The only way I can prove my love is by scattering flowers and these flowers are every little sacrifice, every glance and word, and the doing of the least actions for love." Like everyone else, Thérèse’s arms were too short to box with God but quite sufficient to perform acts emulating His love.
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