Gospel: Luke 11:47-54
The Lord said:
“Woe to you who build the memorials of the prophets
whom your fathers killed.
Consequently, you bear witness and give consent
to the deeds of your ancestors,
for they killed them and you do the building.
Therefore, the wisdom of God said,
‘I will send to them prophets and Apostles;
some of them they will kill and persecute’
in order that this generation might be charged
with the blood of all the prophets
shed since the foundation of the world,
from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah
who died between the altar and the temple building.
Yes, I tell you, this generation will be charged with their blood!
Woe to you, scholars of the law!
You have taken away the key of knowledge.
You yourselves did not enter and you stopped those trying to enter.”
When Jesus left, the scribes and Pharisees
began to act with hostility toward him
and to interrogate him about many things,
for they were plotting to catch him at something he might say.
The Gospel of the Lord.
The Mass intention is for Paul S’s Intentions.
Reflection:
Jesus was a reformer of His time. He criticized the Jewish leaders for their hypocrisy. In the previous two days, we read how Jesus exposed the fakeness of the Pharisees and scholars of the law. People marveled at Jesus’ teaching because they could see that He taught with authority. St Teresa of Jesus (aka Teresa of Avila), whose feast day we celebrate today, was a reformer of the Carmelites. Collaborating with St John of the Cross, she founded seventeen convents. She exhorted her sisters to live simply taking Christ’s poverty on the cross as model. Like Jesus, some people misunderstood and misjudged Teresa. She also suffered from frequent illness. In spite these setbacks, she placed her full trust in God, the way Jesus entrusted Himself to His Father. “Her writings on prayer and contemplation are drawn from her experience: powerful, practical, and graceful. She was a woman of prayer; a woman for God.” Prayer, according to this great saint, “means being on terms of friendship with God, frequently conversing in secret with Him who, we know, loves us.” A staunch devotee of St Joseph, St Teresa was honoured with the title of Doctor of the Church in 1970. She and St Catherine of Siena were the first women saints to receive such accolade. St Teresa is an inspiration to the many women involved in the renewal of the Church and of prayer life today.
- How do you see yourself in the renewal of the Church: are you up for it, against it, or not bothered at all? Why or why not?
- How does prayer develop your friendship with God and others?
- “Let nothing disturb you. Let nothing make you afraid. All things are passing. God alone never changes. Patience gains all things. If you have God, you will want for nothing. God alone suffices.” (St Teresa of Jesus). How patient are you in facing hardships in life?
Lord Jesus, thank You for Your Word today. Through the prayers and example of St Teresa of Jesus transform our families, our parish, our Church as powerhouses of prayer and promoters of renewal. Amen.
Sincerely,
Pietro
