Humble Faith and Redemptive Suffering:
Memorial – St Therese of Lisieux
(Job 1:6-22; Ps 17; Luke 9:46-50)
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“An argument arose among the disciples as to which one of them was the greatest.”
How fitting that line should be found in the gospel for today when we honor a young saint who popularized just the opposite – the “Little Way” of humility. Besides inviting us to share her humble, simple faith, the readings today encourage us to accept suffering in our lives like Job, and to have an open attitude to others like Jesus.
The first reading introduces the story of Job, who serves as a striking pre-cursor of the Paschal Mystery of Jesus. Given over to the power of Satan by God, a series of calamities tests Job’s faith, but he does not waver in his trust in God and accepts his losses with humble faith. In so doing, he foreshadows the radical discipleship and redemptive suffering of Jesus, who accepted arrest, ridicule, mockery, scourging and crucifixion without resentment or bitterness – only forgiveness and love. That is the secret to the kingdom of heaven – if we can accept suffering and loss without resentment or bitterness, like Job and Jesus, then we are already in the kingdom of heaven.
The gospel introduces another element to this memorial – that of ecumenism. Jesus is not bothered that some who are “not following him” are casting out demons in his name. In today’s terms, those would be members of other Christian denominations who are doing good and serving the world in different ways. As Jesus put it, those who are not against him are for him. Our challenge is not to condemn, but to find common ground and work together to bring the message of God’s love in Jesus to the world. As Cardinal Kasper put it, our common task is to convert others to Christ, more so than to our own particular faith.
Pope John Paul II, in his first encyclical Redemptor Hominus, put it this way: “We can and must immediately display to the world our unity in proclaiming the mystery of Christ in revealing the divine dimension of redemption and in struggling with unwavering perseverance for the dignity that each human being has reached and can continually reach in Christ. In this unity in mission … all Christians must find what unites them, even before their full unity is achieved.”
The disciples’ argument about greatness leads right into the temptations we all face to put our trust in possessions, prestige and power. In this case, the disciples were seeking the greatest prestige. Jesus’ response of holding up the ideal of childlikeness for discipleship fits perfectly with the memorial of St. Thérèse of Lisieux we are celebrating today.
Marie-Françoise Thérèse Martin was born in Normandy, France, in 1873, ninth and youngest child of Louis Martin and Azélie-Marie Guérin; only five daughters survived to adulthood. Their mother died when Thérèse was only five years old. The family then moved to Lisieux, where she was raised by her father, her sisters and an aunt. Three of her sisters became Carmelite nuns and the fourth joined the Visitandines. Thérèse entered the Carmel of Lisieux when she was 15. Her motto was a phrase from the great Carmelite mystic, John of the Cross: “Love is repaid by love alone.”
Thérèse held special devotions to the heart of Jesus and to the spiritual Motherhood of Mary. Tuberculosis limited her activities. She pioneered the ideal of the ‘little way’: fidelity in the small things, trust and complete self-surrender to God. Thérèse had a gift for writing, and the prioress, her sister Pauline, directed her to write first about her childhood, then about her life in the convent. These were combined into The Story of a Soul, a modern spiritual autobiography.
In living out her vocation, she struggled to discern her role in God’s mysterious plan of salvation. Wanting to be a missionary as a cloistered nun was a dilemma, until she realized it was God’s love that motivated all missionary effort. That was a turning point for her, enabling her to write, “Then, nearly ecstatic with the supreme joy in my soul, I proclaimed: O Jesus, my love, at last I have found my calling: my call is love. Certainly, I have found my place in the Church, and you gave me that very place, my God. In the heart of the Church, my mother, I will be love, and thus I will be all things, as my desire finds its direction.”
Thérèse also suffered much in her life – first the loss of her mother when she was five, but also the dementia of her father that threw her into deep suffering – a suffering she accepted much like Job. Known popularly as The Little Flower, Thérèse died on September 30, 1897. Though her life spanned only 14 years, her faith and simplicity were remarkable. She was canonized in 1925 and made Doctor of the Church in 1997. She is a patron of missions.
The Eucharist that nourished St. Thérèse of Lisieux now nourishes us, empowering us to be like her and Job – accepting suffering as redemptive and infused with deep purpose and meaning, all building up the reign of God here on earth.
Today is the feast of St. Therese of Lisieux which she is known as The Little Flower . She has carried a heavy cross since she was a child like her mother passing away when she was five years old. Her father taking care of her and her siblings until she was 15 years old entered the Carmel of Lisieux. She decided to be cloistered Carmelite nun for 9 years. She decided to hid her life from society and overcome this pain and sufferings that she kept in a book. She developed a close relationship with Jesus by experiencing his pain and suffering for people when he died on the cross . She also gain Jesus’ love while she was praying and calling for him in her prayers. She basically represents Jesus Christ by understanding his passion, death and resurrection that she went through in her life . Amen
” I will spend my Heaven doing good upon earth.” ” After death I will let fall a shower of roses. ” St. Terese of Lisieux
Well Bishop thanks for sharing the story of St . Terese of Lisieux. She looks so innocent as a child with no sins. She is my patron saint. Blessings! Blessings! We will always remember her.