>>> THERESA OF THE CHILD JESUS – Pray for Us!
WHO IS MY NEIGHBOUR?
Introduction
Theresa Martin (1873-1897) entered the Carmel at the age of fifteen. Nine years later, she died of tuberculosis. In these few years, she lived the “little way of spiritual childhood.” It is not an infantile way but one demanding great strength and much grace. She had to fight her stubbornness and to struggle with aridity and depression. Hers was the way of the little people, the poor of the beatitudes. It shows what God can do in us notwithstanding our human limitations, provided we let him.
Opening Prayer
Father in heaven,
your Son recommends to us
to have the attitude of a child
if we wish to enter into the kingdom of heaven.
We thank you for St. Theresa,
who lived the little way of the beatitudes.
As your preference goes to children and the humble,
we ask you to give us the heart of a child,
unpretentious and receptive of love,
trusting and believing in you and people,
that we may become wise with your wisdom
and grow to the full size of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen!
1 Reading – GALATIANS 1:6-12
Brothers and sisters: I am amazed that you are so quickly forsaking the one who called you by the grace of Christ for a different gospel (not that there is another). But there are some who are disturbing you and wish to pervert the Gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel other than the one that we preached to you, let that one be accursed! As we have said before, and now I say again, if anyone preaches to you a gospel other than the one that you received, let that one be accursed! Am I now currying favour with human beings or God? Or am I seeking to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a slave of Christ. Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the Gospel preached by me is not of human origin. For I did not receive it from a human being, nor was I taught it, but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ.
Responsorial PSALM 111:1B-2, 7-8, 9 AND 10C
R. (5) The Lord will remember his covenant for ever. or: Alleluia.
I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart
in the company and assembly of the just.
Great are the works of the LORD,
exquisite in all their delights. R.
The works of his hands are faithful and just;
sure are all his precepts,
Reliable forever and ever,
wrought in truth and equity. R.
He has sent deliverance to his people;
he has ratified his covenant forever;
holy and awesome is his name.
His praise endures forever. R.
Alleluia JOHN 13:34
Alleluia, alleluia.
I give you a new commandment:
love one another as I have loved you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel LUKE 10:25-37
There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test Jesus and said, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” He said in reply, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself.” He replied to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.” But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?” Jesus replied, “A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead. A priest happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. Likewise a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight. He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn, and cared for him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction, ‘Take care of him. If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back.’ Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbour to the robbers’ victim?” He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”Commentary
Working from Home: still on St Therese
Here is a woman who lived hardly 24 years and never left the cloister once she entered the convent, but is recognized by the Church as the patroness of the missions. The life of St. Therese of Lisieux, whose memory we honor today, teaches us several truths: (i) that the missionary mandate is integral to the call of every Christian; (ii) that one can do missionary work in the given context of one’s life by evangelizing those around and by incessant prayer; (iii) that ardent desire for bringing souls to the knowledge and love of God and unceasing prayer for souls are key to doing missions. I once heard of a retired woman whose chosen ministry was to read the newspaper every day and say a prayer for every person mentioned therein. Isn’t it an incredible example of “working from home” when it comes to doing mission?
Intercessions
– For all ministers of the Church, that they may faithfully proclaim God’s word and God’s law and at the same time walk in God’s ways of compassion and love without measure, we pray:
– For all those who lie wounded by the road of life, that they may find good Samaritans who assist them to restore their faith in life and their trust in people, we pray:
– For all those who have been good neighbors to us, that the Lord may reward them, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Almighty and eternal God,
your Son Jesus, voluntarily gave up
all divine honors and privileges
to become one of us and die our death.
He gives himself to us here
in the form of a humble piece of bread.
Give us the attitude of Jesus,
self-effacing and respectful
before you and people
and available to all calls and needs.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen!
Prayer after Communion
No one as great as you, Lord our God,
has made oneself as small as you;
no one as distant as you
has made oneself as near to us in our weakness
as you in your Son, Jesus Christ.
Make us see your Son
and make us grow in him.
Make us unassuming and spontaneous
with you and with one another,
in trust, hope and joy.
like Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen!
Blessing
We have heard how Jesus wants to make us all good Samaritans, people who have time and attention, compassion and love, for everyone in need. Our neighbor is any person who needs us. May the loving and almighty God bless you all, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!
Commentary on today’s Gospel
An Allegory
In the tradition of the allegorical interpretive approach to the gospels, the Good Samaritan is Jesus Christ. The wounded man on the side of the road is the humanity wounded by sin. The Inn stands for the Church which, as Pope Francis has said, is the field hospital meant to care for the wounded humanity. The two coins that the Samaritan deposits with the Innkeeper refer to the sacraments Christ has instituted and commanded the Church to use for the care of souls. The Good Samaritan promises to pay more when he returns: In his Second Coming, Christ will reward us for our faithfulness. In the intervening time between now and the Second Coming, our task is to care for the victims on the margins of the society as well as the common home entrusted to us by Christ; to “do the same” as the Good Samaritan Christ has done in the parable.