Tuesday, October 15, 2024

Memorial of Saint Teresa of Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church

(Galatians 5:1-6; Luke 11:37-41)

Sometimes ideas enslave people.  In today’s first reading St. Paul reminds the Galatians that the desire to take on the customs of the Law will enslave them. Paul urges them just to believe in Christ.  Such faith may entail hardship, but any trials will witness to Christ’s love for all.

At other times things enslave people.  Rich foods and every available convenience often keep people from reflection and prayer.  This kind of soft lifestyle described the convent where Teresa of Avila was living.  She revolted against it so that she and her community might be free to live for Christ. Rather than having servants, they lived simply, did their own chores, and spent much time in prayer.  The reform spread to other religious orders and congregations to assist the Catholic Counter Reformation.

Freedom allows us to follow Christ to eternal life.  It keeps us from deformed ideas and debilitating comforts to give ourselves in love.  As Paul memorably says in today’s reading, “For freedom Christ set us free.”

Monday, October 15, 2012

Memorial of Saint Teresa of Jesus, virgin and doctor of the Church

(Galatians 4:22-24.26-27.31-5:1; Luke 11:29-32)

Women today often speak of a "glass ceiling" prohibiting them from advancing to the highest places in an organization. Through the glass they see their goal, but the presence of the glass impedes them from reaching it. Unfortunately the glass ceiling has always been a social reality; however, once in a while a woman has been able to penetrate it. St. Teresa of Avila certainly did.

Teresa was born in the city of Avila, Spain in the sixteenth century. It was a time of great national prosperity owing to the riches of the Americas which Spain was able to exploit. As often happens with prosperity, however, people become relaxed - a condition that especially compromises religious life. Noting that the Carmelite Order had become largely undisciplined, Teresa began a reform that reached past the convents of nuns to the friars of the Order. In addition to turning the tide of laxity, Teresa wrote religious classics that have edified many spiritual lives for over four centuries.

Living in a time of almost universal superfluity, our society has also given itself to a certain laxness. For example, the habit of doing penance on Fridays, that is mandated by Church, is commonly ignored. We need religious leaders like Teresa of Avila to guide us in living a disciplined life of sacrifice and prayer as well as a true appreciation of God's bounty.

Friday, October 15, 2010

Memorial of Saint Teresa of Jesus, virgin and doctor of the Church

(Ephesians 1:11-14; Luke 12:1-7)

On his visit to the United States, Pope Benedict warned American bishops about privacy in religion. He said, “To the extent that religion becomes a purely private affair it loses its very soul.” The pope only echoed what Jesus tells us in the gospel today. We are to be especially wary of hypocrisy, which is to say one thing and do another.

Pope Benedict’s remarks on privacy probably had much to do with some Catholic public officials’ refusal to work for outlawing abortion. The officials claim that such an endeavor would be imposing their private beliefs on the general public. But that is hypocritical since taking the life of an inborn baby is not a matter of belief but an outrage against humanity. It is a veritable denial of the most basic right of a living human being.

Catholic officials should not check in their religion when they come to the halls of public service but allow its moral principles to guide their decisions. Of course, this does not mean that they need to wear a cross around their necks, but awareness of Jesus’ cross should remind them that they may have to sacrifice popularity to do what is right. They may console themselves with the words of St. Teresa: “Let nothing trouble you; let nothing make you afraid…God alone is enough.”

Wednesdy, July 28, 2010

Wednesday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Jeremiah 15:10;16-21; Matthew 13:44-46)

St. Teresa of Avila, the mystic-reformer of the sixteenth century, once complained to God of the mistreatment she was experiencing. God responded, “This is how I treat my friends, Teresa.” The saint replied, “Well, then, no wonder you have so few!” Teresa echoes Jeremiah’s sentiments in the first reading today.

Jeremiah has faithfully and selflessly served the Lord. He has performed bizarre activities like extracting from the earth a rotten loincloth to impress God’s message on a hard-headed Judah. Yet the only recognition he receives is condemnation. Jeremiah’s protest sounds as if God were compensating his efforts with something akin to water-boarding. He says, “You have become for me a treacherous brook whose waters do not abide!”

At times people will misconstrue our best efforts like Judah misjudges Jeremiah’s. When we do something out of love for others, we will hear people questioning our motives. “What’s in it for her?” they might ask. In these trials we must resist bitterness or plan revenge. We are wise to appropriate for ourselves God’s promise to Jeremiah and dramatically witnessed in Jesus’ resurrection, “...I am with you, to deliver and rescue you.”

Homilette for Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Memorial of Saint Teresa of Avila, virgin and doctor of the Church

(Luke 11:42-46)

In the gospels Jesus seems to have a running battle with Pharisees. But we should not think that Pharisees are necessarily his enemies. As he has done before and will do again in Luke’s gospel, Jesus in today’s passage is dining at the home of a Pharisee. Obviously, Jesus has some differences of outlook, but he also holds much in common with Pharisees. We may profitably suppose that some of the harsh criticism in the gospels is not so much Jesus’ for the Pharisees of his time but the evangelists’ for Pharisee-like Christians a generation later.

Catholics today, perhaps like some Pharisees of Jesus’ time and Christians of the first century, sometimes pay too much attention to details and too little to the gospel message. Some go to church checking to see if the flowers by the altar are freshly cut or artificial. (In order to prevent cheap imitations Church rubrics have called for fresh flowers by the altar.) Others might gossip about the profanities used by their pastor without realizing that they might be committing a graver sin of detraction.

In today’s gospel Jesus compares the nit-picking Pharisees to “unseen graves.” He means to say that they are already dead because they do not accept the love of God which brings life. St. Teresa of Avila, less somberly but with the same impatience, once prayed, “God save us from sad-faced saints.” Both she and Jesus realize that righteous living is not so much frowning on other people’s sins as turning to God in thanksgiving for our blessings and praying for those in special need of help.

Homilette for Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Wednesday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Jeremiah 15:10;16-21)

St. Teresa of Avila, the mystic-reformer of the sixteenth century, once complained to God of the mistreatment she was experiencing. God responded, “This is how I treat my friends, Teresa.” The saint replied, “Well, then, no wonder you have so few!” Teresa echoes Jeremiah’s sentiments in the first reading today.

Jeremiah has faithfully and selflessly served the Lord. He has performed bizarre activities like burying his rotting loincloth so that God’s message might get through to hard-hearted Judah. Yet the only recognition he receives is condemnation. So Jeremiah protests that God compensates him for all his efforts with what sounds like semi-torturous water-boarding. He says, “You have become for me a treacherous brook whose waters do not abide!”

At times people will misconstrue our best efforts like Judah misjudges Jeremiah’s. When we do something out of love for others, we will hear people questioning our motives, “What’s in it for her?” It is critical that at such times we do not become bitter or, if we have turned antagonistic, that we quickly check ourselves. We would be wise to remember the Lord’s promise to Jeremiah, “...I am with you, to deliver and rescue you.”