(Readings: Ephesians 1”:1-10; Psalm 98; Luke 11:47-54)
Let nothing disturb you:Let nothing frighten you.All things are passing away.God never changes.Patience obtains all things.Whoever has God lacks nothing;God alone suffices.
This prayer of St. Teresa of Jesus, known as St. Teresa of Avila, a Spanish nun, of the Carmelite Order, sums up the profound faith and knowledge of God she attained in her life. God’s faithfulness. A Doctor of the Church, a theologian, a leader within her community and the Church. She was grounded in mysticism and was prophetic as she took on the reform of the Carmelite Order. I would suggest, if you have some time, to read her biography: it would do her justice!
Teresa of Jesus! A woman who experienced a deep intimacy with Christ, and describes it in her visions in her own writing, the Interior Castle, describing the stages of spiritual growth that lead to complete union with Christ. This she experienced and was one with JESUS. St. Teresa speaks to her soul. “Be joyful, my soul… Don’t let any earthly thing separate you from your delight, rejoice in the grandeur of God; in how He deserves to be loved and praised; that He helps you to play some small role in the blessing of His name.”
The beginning of Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians is a hymn of praise: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens”! In love through Christ, Paul tells us, we are adopted by God! Take a moment: let it sink in!
In the Gospel, Jesus grows bolder speaking with the Pharisees and Scribes, “Woe to you” … He challenged the hypocrisy of their religious leaders. Is this where St. Teresa, praying with Scripture, got her courage to speak out during the Reformation! Not the best time in history with the Spanish Inquisition in full force! “Woe to you, lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge.” QUESTION: Where do we find the foundation for our courage to speak out to both civil and religious authority. In our own times there is clearly a need to point out hypocrisy, to restore balance, harmony, justice, Peace. The truth of the Gospel is something to consider. “The Lord has made His Salvation known.” It is ours to live up to it! Or will it be WOE TO US?
Let us pray again the words of St. Teresa with confidence to obtain courage.