Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 10-15-05,Mem, St. Teresa of Jesus,[Avila}virgin & doctor

For your reading, reflection, faith-sharing, comments, questions, discussion.

Alleluia Ping!

Please notify me via FReepmail if you would like to be added to or taken off the Alleluia Ping List.

Saint Teresa of Avila[Doctor of the Church]

From: Romans 4:13, 16-18

The Example of Abraham (Continuation)

[13] The promise to Abraham and his descendants, that they should
inherit the world, did not come through the law but through the
righteousness of faith.

[16] That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may
rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants--not only to the
adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham,
for he is the father of us all, [17] as it is written, "I have made you
the father of many nations"--in the presence of the God in whom he
believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the
things that do not exist. [18] In hope he believed against hope, that
he should become the father of many nations; as he had been told, "So
shall your descendants be."

Commentary:

13-14. God made this promise to Abraham about his having countless
descendants (cf. Genesis 15:5-6) centuries before the Mosaic Law was
given to the people of Israel through Moses. Therefore, the promise
made to Abraham was not linked to the Law but rather to the Patriarch's
faith. That is why the heirs of the promise are those who follow the
faith of Abraham.

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

Various Teachings of Jesus (Continuation)

(Jesus said to His disciples,) [8] "And I tell you, every one who
acknowledges Me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before
the angels of God; [9] but he who denies Me before men will be denied
before the angels of God. [10] And every one who speaks a word against
the Son of Man will be forgiven; but he who blasphemes against the Holy
Spirit will not be forgiven. [11] And when they bring you before the
synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious how or
what you are to answer or what you are to say; [12] for the Holy Spirit
will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say."

Commentary:

8-9. This follows logically from Christ's previous teaching: worse than
physical evils, worse even than death, are evils of the soul, that is,
sin. Those who out of fear of temporal suffering deny our Lord and are
unfaithful to the demands of the faith will fall into a greater evil
still: they will be denied by Christ Himself on the Day of Judgment;
whereas those who are penalized in this life because of their
faithfulness to Christ will receive the eternal reward of being
recognized by Him and will come to share His glory.

10. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit consists in maliciously
attributing to the devil actions which have God as their origin. A
person who does that prevents God's pardon from reaching him: that is
why he cannot obtain forgiveness (cf. Matthew 12:31; Mark 3:28-30).
Jesus understands and excuses the weakness of a person who makes a
moral mistake, but He is not similarly indulgent to someone who shuts
his eyes and his heart to the wonderful things the Spirit does; that
was the way these Pharisees acted who accused Jesus of casting out
demons in the name of Beelzebul; it is the way unbelieving people act
who refuse to see in Christ's work a sign of the goodness of God, who
reject the invitation God offers them and who thereby put themselves
outside the reach of salvation (cf. Hebrews 6:4-6; 10:26-31). See the
note on Mark 3:28-30.

[The note on Mark 3:28-30 states:

28-30. Jesus has just worked a miracle but the scribes refuse to
recognize it "for they had said `He has an unclean spirit'" (verse
30). They do not want to admit that God is the author of the miracle.
In this attitude lies the special gravity of blasphemy against the Holy
Spirit--attributing to the prince of evil, to Satan, the good works
performed by God Himself. Anyone acting in this way will become like
the sick person who has so lost confidence in the doctor that he
rejects him as if an enemy and regards as poison the medicine that can
save his life. That is why our Lord says that he who blasphemes
against the Holy Spirit will not forgiven: not because God cannot
forgive all sins, but because that person, in his blindness towards
God, rejects Jesus Christ, His teaching and His miracles, and despises
the graces of the Holy Spirit as if they were designed to trap him (cf.
"St. Pius V Catechism", II, 5, 19; St. Thomas Aquinas, "Summa
Theologiae", II-II, q. 14, a. 3).]

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

Faith-sharing ping.

Prayers offered up for continued relief efforts in southeastern US and in Pakistan.

Mass bump.Happy feast day all Theresa's.

Either you are early or I am very late. LOL!

Saturday, October 15, 2005
St. Teresa of Jesus, Virgin, Doctor of the Church (Memorial)

First Reading:
Psalm:
Gospel:

Romans 4:13, 16-18
Psalm 105:6-9, 42-43
Luke 12:8-12

Let us adore His power, exhausting itself in this act of love.

-- St. Peter Julian Eymard

An interesting woman. It's unique to have so much information about a Saint from the middle ages. Thanks for posting and may St. Theresa and all the other saints help guide us!

Catholic Culture

Collect:
Father, by your Spirit you raised up Saint Teresa of Jesus to show your Church the way to perfection. May her inspired teaching awaken in us a longing for true holiness. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Recipes:

more

less

Activities:

Prayers:

October 15, 2005

St. Teresa of Avila, virgin and doctor

Old Calendar: St. Teresa of Jesus, virgin

St. Teresa (1515-1582) was born in Avila and died in Alba, Spain. When only a child of seven, she ran away from home in the hope of being martyred by the Moors; in this way, she said she could come to see God. At the age of eighteen she joined the Carmelite Order and chose Christ as her heavenly Spouse. With the help of St. John of the Cross she reformed most of the Carmelite convents and founded new ones. She reached the highest degree of prayer and through prayer obtained such knowledge of divine things that in 1970 Pope Paul VI named her the first woman Doctor of the Church.

St. Teresa of Jesus

St. Teresa of Jesus, honored by the Church as the "seraphic virgin," virgo seraphica, and reformer of the Carmelite Order, ranks first among women for wisdom and learning. She is called doctrix mystica, doctor of mystical theology; in a report to Pope Paul V the Roman Rota declared: "Teresa has been given to the Church by God as a teacher of the spiritual life. The mysteries of the inner mystical life which the holy Fathers propounded unsystematically and without orderly sequence, she has presented with unparalleled clarity." Her writings are still the classic works on mysticism, and from her all later teachers have drawn, e.g., Francis de Sales, Alphonsus Liguori. Characteristic of her mysticism is the subjective-individualistic approach; there is little integration with the liturgy and social piety, and thus she reflects the spirit of the sixteenth and following centuries.

Teresa was born at Avila, Spain, in the year 1515. At the age of seven she set out for Africa to die for Christ, but was brought back by her uncle. When she lost her mother at twelve, she implored Mary for her maternal protection. In 1533 she entered the Carmelite Order; for eighteen years she suffered physical pain and spiritual dryness. Under divine inspiration and with the approval of Pope Pius IV, she began the work of reforming the Carmelite Order. In spite of heavy opposition and constant difficulties, she founded thirty-two reformed convents.

Truly wonderful were the exterior and interior manifestations of her mystical union with God, especially during the last decade of her life. These graces reached a climax when her heart was transfixed (transverberatio cordis), an event that is commemorated in the Carmelite Order by a special feast on August 27. She practiced great devotion to the foster-father of Jesus, whose cult was greatly furthered throughout the Church through her efforts. When dying she often repeated the words: "Lord, I am a daughter of the Church!" Her holy body rests upon the high altar of the Carmelite church in Alba, Spain; her heart with its mysterious wound is reserved in a precious reliquary on the Epistle side of the altar.

St. Teresa composed the following well-known lines:

Let nothing affright thee,
Nothing dismay thee.
All is passing,
God ever remains.
Patience obtains all.
Whoever possesses God
Cannot lack anything
God alone suffices.

Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch.

Patron: sickness; against headaches; against heart disease; lacemakers; loss of parents; opposition of Church authorities; those in need of grace; religious; those ridiculed for their piety; Spain; those named Teresa, Theresa, Teresita, Terry, Tessa, Teresina, and Tracy.

Symbols: nun in habit of a Discalced Carmelite; Carmelite nun with her heart pierced by an arrow held by an angel; Carmelite nun holding a pierced heart, book and crucifix; Carmelite nun with book and quill; Carmelite nun receiving a message from a dove; roses and lilies; inflamed heart; IHS on a heart; flaming arrows; dove; book and pen; crown of thorns; heart transfixed with flaming arrows; scapulary; crucifix and lily.

Things to Do:

Read St. Teresa's bookmark. Perhaps as an art project write and decorate it, to keep it nearby as a reminder, or place in your own prayerbook.
Bake a special Spanish recipe, such as Paella, or Gazpacho or learn more about the variety of tapas. Also try your hand at some of the recipes bearing Teresa's own name, such as St. Teresa's Egg Yolks or Yemas or St. Teresa's Bread.
Find out more about the Discalced Carmelites, and the hard sacrifices they follow in their Rule.
Read the Autobiography of St. Teresa. See how human her writing is. Her other books Interior Castle and Way of Perfection are more difficult and lofty to read, but are spiritual classics.

:) You are very-very late.

The face of the LORD is against those
who do evil, to cut off the memory of
them from the earth.
Psalm 34:16

Thought...

God hates violence and demands that we not admire those who are violent or share in their violent lifestyle. (Prov. 3:31) God abhors those who do evil. God not only opposes them when they are alive, he also mitigates their influence after they are gone. He helps them be seen for what they really are. Far from being viewed as heroes, their legacy of hate and wickedness is spurned, shunned, scandalized, and forgotten.

Prayer...

In our own time of terror and wickedness, O LORD, please make worthless the threats of the wicked and make their memory a foul stench in the nostrils of those they are trying to deceive and co-opt to do their evil will. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Deus vobiscum

Lk 12:8-12
#	Douay-Rheims	Vulgate
8	And I say to you: Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God.	dico autem vobis omnis quicumque confessus fuerit in me coram hominibus et Filius hominis confitebitur in illo coram angelis Dei
9	But he that shall deny me before men shall be denied before the angels of God.	qui autem negaverit me coram hominibus denegabitur coram angelis Dei
10	And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but to him that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven.	et omnis qui dicit verbum in Filium hominis remittetur illi ei autem qui in Spiritum Sanctum blasphemaverit non remittetur
11	And when they shall bring you into the synagogues and to magistrates and powers, be not solicitous how or what you shall answer, or what you shall say.	cum autem inducent vos in synagogas et ad magistratus et potestates nolite solliciti esse qualiter aut quid respondeatis aut quid dicatis
12	For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what you must say.	Spiritus enim Sanctus docebit vos in ipsa hora quae oporteat dicere

God the Son & God the Holy Spirit

Book of Hours
Ludovicus (Louis) Bloc
Flanders
ca. 1510-1520

Amen to that! The saints are great models of faith for us to follow.

The Word Among Us

Saturday, October 15, 2005

Meditation
Luke 12:8-12

We may be puzzled by some of Jesus’ words in today’s reading. Or perhaps we are shocked because they don’t seem in keeping with our image of him. “He who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven” (Luke 12:10). How should we understand this proclamation? What does it mean to “blaspheme against the Spirit” anyway? Is it possible that we have done this ourselves? Plus, doesn’t it seem out of character for the merciful Jesus we’ve come to know to withhold forgiveness?

Pope John Paul II offered insight into this challenging text in his encyclical On the Holy Spirit:
“Blasphemy does not properly consist in offending against the Holy Spirit in words; it consists rather in the refusal to accept the salvation which God offers to man through the Holy Spirit, working through the power of the Cross. . . . This means the refusal to come to the sources of Redemption, which nevertheless remain ‘always’ open in the economy of salvation in which the mission of the Holy Spirit is accomplished.” (46)

In other words, blaspheming against the Holy Spirit means denying God’s desire and ability to save us. Thus, this sin is “unforgivable” not so much because of its gravity or malice—for God forgives every repentant sinner, no matter how great or deliberate the sin—but because the sinner’s own disposition in rejecting the grace of the Spirit shuts the door on repentance.

Let’s pray—as John Paul II urged the whole church to do—“that the dangerous sin against the Spirit will give way to a holy readiness to accept his mission as the Counselor, when he comes to ‘convince the world concerning sin, and righteousness and judgment’ ” (47). We need not fear nor give up hope! Not even if we think we ourselves are beyond forgiveness. Every day, Jesus endures unbelievers who speak against him. He offers them his forgiveness and salvation. Every day, the Holy Spirit endures believers who set aside his voice in their consciences and he still keeps working with them, hoping to bring them to repentance and restoration. God never gives up on any of us!

“Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, pour your grace upon us! We open our hearts to receive your gift of salvation.”

Romans 4:13,16-18; Psalm 105:6-9,42-43

One Bread, One Body

<< Saturday, October 15, 2005 >>

St. Teresa of Jesus

Romans 4:13, 16-18

Psalm 105:6-9, 42-43

Luke 12:8-12

View Readings

"A LIFE OF FAITH" (Gal 2:20)

"Hence, all depends on faith, everything is grace." —Romans 4:16

All depends on faith — marriage, parenting, finances, health, education, happiness, security, etc. Therefore, in every area of our lives, we should seek opportunities to act in faith. We should not try to maintain the status quo but break new ground by acting in faith.

Would daily prayer with your spouse take faith? If so, do it. Would having another child take faith? Whatever it takes, "walk by faith" (2 Cor 5:7). Where are the faith opportunities in your life? Would it take more faith to quit or continue your job? Would home-schooling your children take faith? How much money would you need to give to God's work to be in a position of faith? Are your insurance policies "crutches" limiting the free exercise of your faith? Is your savings account preventing you from believing in the Lord's promise to give us our daily bread? (Mt 6:11)

In our culture, we try to be in control and operate by faith as infrequently as possible. Rather, we should maximize our faith opportunities, seeking to walk by faith and not by sight.

Prayer: Jesus, may my life not be my own but a life in faith in You, "Who loved me and gave [Yourself] for me" (Gal 2:20).

Promise: "The Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment all that should be said." —Lk 12:12

Praise: After twenty-five years in the convent, St. Teresa's faith led her to start a new rule based on poverty, prayer, and Providence. She wrote, "A person should desire no other path" than the life of faith.