Oct 1 – Feast of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor, Patroness of Missions
Born to a pious middle-class French family of tradesmen, Francoise-Marie Thérèse Martin (1873–1897) was the daughter of Blessed Louis Martin and Blessed Marie-Azelie Guerin Martin, and all four of her sisters became nuns. Her mother died when Francoise-Marie was only four, and the family moved to Lisieux, Normandy, France to be closer to family.
She was cured from an illness at the age of 8, when a statue of the Blessed Virgin smiled at her. She was educated by the Benedictine nuns of Notre-Dame-du-Pre, and confirmed there at the age of 11. Just before her 14th birthday, she received a vision of the Child Jesus. She immediately understood the great sacrifice that had been made for her, and developed an unshakeable faith.
She tried to join the Carmelites, but was turned down due to her age. She was a pilgrim to Rome for the Jubilee of Pope Leo XIII whom she met, and who knew of her desire to become a nun. She joined the Carmelites at Lisieux on 9 April 1888 at the age of 15, taking her final vow on 8 September 1890 at the age of 17.
She is known by all for her complete devotion to spiritual development and to the austerities of the Carmelite Rule. Due to health problems resulting from her ongoing fight with tuberculosis, her superiors ordered her not to fast. She became novice mistress at the age of 20 and, at age 22, was ordered by her prioress to begin writing her memories and ideas. The material would turn into the book History of a Soul.
She defined her path to God and holiness at The Little Way, which consisted of child-like love and trust in God. She had an ongoing correspondence with the Carmelite missionaries in China, often stating how much she wanted to come work with them. Many miracles are attributed to her, and she was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1997 by Pope John Paul II.
“You know well enough that our Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, nor even at their difficulty, but at the love with which we do them.” – Saint Thérèse of Lisieux
- Patron Saint Index
Job 3:1-3,11-17,20-23
Lk 9:51-56
…the disciples James and John said, ‘Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to burn them up?’ But he turned and rebuked them, and they went off to another village.
Today’s Gospel is very short and seems a little oddly placed. But when we delve a little deeper, there is a wealth of information that we may have missed at first glance.
First of all, Jesus is heading to Jerusalem, by way of Samaria. That in itself, is quite significant. Jerusalem is a place of offering, of sacrifice. Christ is heading to Jerusalem to offer Himself as the final sacrifice for all of us. Secondly, Jesus is going to Jerusalem via Samaria, which is indeed very strange. In those times, although Samarians were of partial Jewish heritage, they did not adhere to Judaism perfectly. Hence, they were despised by the Jews, and the feeling was probably mutual. During those times, Jews would rather go around Samaria in their travels instead of going through, even if it meant a longer travelling time and distance.
So it is no wonder that the Samarians did not want to receive Jesus in His travels. Hardly surprising then, is the strong reaction of the disciples, wanting to rain down fire to destroy the Samarian village. How fitting, and how comforting is our Lord’s reaction! Instead of consenting to the punishment, Jesus rebuked His disciples and went on to another village.
In my self-reflections, I often struggle with the thought that I keep repeating the same offences and thereby rejecting our Lord and all His teachings. It has occurred to me that I am more than deserving of the ‘fire rained down from heaven’ as punishment for some of the things that I have done again and again. But when I read this passage, I realize the depth of love and mercy that Jesus has for me, for you, for all of us.
Despite being rejected outright, Jesus did not get angry and did not seek justice nor revenge. He simply went along His way to offer himself as the ultimate sacrifice for the Jews, for the Samarians, for all peoples. This depth of mercy and love is beyond our human understanding and I, for one, simply cannot fathom the inexhaustible compassion that Christ has for us all. Brothers and sisters, while we may not be able to comprehend the mystery of Divine Mercy, let us be eternally grateful and thankful for the limitless love and mercy that belongs to our God.
God is good! Amen!
(Today’s OXYGEN by Winnie Kung)
Prayer: Dear Lord, help us to never reject You and grant us the grace to welcome You in every aspect of our lives. We are so in need of Your love and mercy.
Thanksgiving: Heavenly Father, we thank you for Your infinite compassion, Your inexhaustible love and mercy.
OXYGEN 
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