HOMILY WEEK 26 05 – Year I
Listen and Repent:
Memorial of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus
(Bar 1:15-22; Ps 79; Lk 10:13-16)
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“Made a searching and fearless moral inventory” and “Admitted to God, ourselves and another human being, the exact nature of our wrongs”
These two sentences are Step 4 and Step 5 of the 12 Step program of Alcoholics Anonymous, and together with the readings today, they provide us with a message to both listen to God’s word and repent of our wrong-doing.
Within the Church, those two steps of A.A. connect directly with two stages of the sacrament of reconciliation: examination of conscience, and confession. The readings today focus on both.
The prophet Baruch, in the first reading, is a powerful example of a communal examination of conscience, and an admission of guilt. He laments that his fellow Israelites, even after they celebrated the Torah upon their return from exile, still failed miserably to keep it: they disobeyed it, did not listen to it, were stubborn and willful, gave themselves over to false gods in idolatry, and even did evil deeds. His was certainly a searching and fearless moral inventory, as well as an honest and humble confession.
The psalmist continues along the same line of repentance – “Do not remember against us the iniquity of our ancestors” and adds a prayer for deliverance.
Jesus in the gospel uses even stronger language in addressing his disciples, chastising the Israelites for their lack of repentance and telling them that they are worse off than the pagan nations surrounding them. He then honors those who believe in him and have repented with the statement that those who listen to them, listen to him and to the Father.
So, in a nutshell, to follow Jesus is to listen and take to heart his word, to search our hearts in response for how we have failed to truly listen and live that word, to repent and to turn to him for forgiveness and deliverance.
Those who pray using both centering prayer and contemplation are encouraged to use a mantra derived from the words of scripture. My mantra for these readings today became, “Lord Jesus, listen, repent.” As I prayed I realized these four words expressed quite well the message from the readings today.
St Therese of Lisieux
Today we honor a very popular saint, Thérèse of the Child Jesus. 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, which led her to pioneer 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. 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 is a celebration that includes repentance through the penitential rite, listening to the Word of God, and both forgiveness and healing. It also missions us to go out to the whole world and live out the word of God through humble, selfless service, as did Thérèse of Lisieux.
