DONATE TO JCE NEWS

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

CATHOLIC NEWS WORLD : WED. OCT. 2, 2013 - SHARE

 2013










Vatican City, 2 October 2013 (VIS) – The holiness of the Church was the theme chosen by Francis for his catechesis during today's general audience, which took place in St. Peter's Square and was attended by more than 50,000 people.

(Vatican Radio) “Do not be afraid to aim for holiness and turn yourselves over to the love of God. Holiness does not mean performing extraordinary things but carrying out daily things in an extraordinary way – that is, with love, joy and faith.” That’s what Pope Francis told pilgrims gathered in Saint Peter’s square on Wednesday for the weekly General Audience.
Speaking in Italian, the Pope said the Church is not without sin because it is made up of sinners. Priests, sisters, bishops, cardinals and even Popes are sinners. ‘Who, among the pilgrims gathered in the square, he asked, is not a sinner?’ ‘We are all sinners!’ He exclaimed. 
 Throughout its two thousand year history, he said, the Church went through many “trials, problems (and) moments of darkness.” But how can a Church “made up of human beings, of sinners,” he asked, “be holy?”

Recalling Christ, who gave himself up for the Church, he said this ultimate sacrifice is what renders the Church holy. The Church, he went on, is holy for three reasons: firstly because it is faithful to God, who does not abandon it to the “powers of death and evil.” Secondly, because it “is united in an everlasting way to Jesus Christ,”and thirdly, because “it is led by the Holy Spirit who purifies, transforms and renews it.”

The Church, he concluded, does not renounce sinners, but opens its doors to everyone so they may find God’s tender mercy and forgiveness. 

Below, we publish Pope Francis’ remarks read out in English by an assistant:
Dear Brothers and Sisters: In the Creed, we confess our faith that the Church is “holy”. But how can we say that the Church is holy when she is all too evidently made up of sinners? Saint Paul helps us to see things aright when he tells us that “Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her, to make her holy” (Eph 5:25-26). The Church is inseparably one with Christ, and the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. It is not ourselves, or our merits, which make the Church holy, but God himself, through the infinite merits of Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross. God calls all of us, as sinners, to be redeemed, renewed and made holy in the communion of the Church. So the Church constantly welcomes everyone, even the greatest sinners, to trust in God’s offer of loving mercy, and to encounter Christ in the sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist. Let us not be afraid to respond to Christ’s call, to trust in the working of the Holy Spirit and to pray and strive for that holiness which brings true joy to our lives.
I cordially greet the members of the delegation from the International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue in Vienna. I also welcome the Buddhist visitors from Japan, including the delegations from the Tendai denomination and the Nakano Dharma Center of Rissho Kosei-kai. Upon all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present at today’s Audience, including those from Scotland, Benin, Australia, India, Japan, Canada and the United States I invoke God’s blessings of joy and peace! 
SHARED FROM RADIO VATICANA

COUNCIL OF CARDINALS MEETINGS CONTINUE

THE ECCLESIOLOGY OF VATICAN COUNCIL II AND THE SYNOD: CENTRAL THEMES OF THE COUNCIL OF CARDINALS
Vatican City, 2 October 2013 (VIS) – In a press conference held in the Holy See Press Office this morning, director Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., gave information on the meeting of the Council of Cardinals, taking place in the Vatican from 1 to 3 October.
The members of the Council, before the beginning of the meeting, concelebrate with the Pope the morning Holy Mass in the Santa Marta chapel, said Fr. Lombardi. Following the first meeting yesterday morning in the third loggia of the papal apartment, they decided to continue the meetings in the Santa Marta guesthouse, where they all currently reside. The meetings will take place in a small room, not far from the Chapel, for logistic reasons, ensuring that the members do not need to transfer to the apostolic palace. The meetings follow an intense schedule: from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Pope Francis will participate in the morning and evening sessions on Tuesday. Today he was not present due to the general Audience, but he will be present this afternoon and tomorrow.
The Pope emphasised the significance of the chirograph by which he instituted the Council of Cardinals, “a document that gives this group juridical status, stability and continuity and which makes the Council a more consistent tool, especially from a juridical point of view”. He also specified that the members are not “continental delegates”, but rather members of the episcopal college who are also cardinals, who have rich pastoral experience, and who come from large dioceses. The Holy Father chose them for this reason, but they are not delegates of the episcopates of various parts of the world.
“They are all people whom the Pope holds in high regard, with whom he is in confidence and accord and whose advice he considers to be helpful in taking what he considers to be the most suitable approach to the governance of the Church”, continued Fr. Lombardi. “This is not an insignificant task, since confidence and esteem foster the climate of serenity necessary for an open and constructive dialogue”.
The first meeting yesterday afternoon opened with a brief introduction from the Pope and a reflection on the ecclesiology of Vatican Council II, in order to define the nature of the Council in relation not only to organisational matters, but to “a broader theological and spiritual vision of the Church, inspired by the ecclesiology of Vatican Council II and the implementation of its themes”. “Naturally”, specified Fr. Lombardi, “this is not achieved simply by means of a morning round table, but indicates the views the various board members take. They have considered issues such as how to revive and refresh the relationship between the universal and local Church, communion and collegiality, the need to be a Church of the poor, and the role of the laity; all points raised by Vatican Council II and which form a backdrop to the work of the Council of Cardinals. In the light of this, they will later consider structures of governance”.
Each of the participants presented a brief summary of the suggestions received, and brought along material which forms part of the common working documentation for the Council. This has enabled the group to classify the major themes to be considered in this and subsequent sessions.
The afternoon session was dedicated to the Synod of Bishops and was attended by the new secretary, Bishop Baldisseri. “It is an important theme, both for the participation of the episcopate in the life of the Church through the synod, and for the urgency of initiating preparations for the next synod, about which we will probably know more within a few days. However we do not know if it will be an ordinary or extraordinary synod”, said Lombardi, adding that the Pope had made reference to a “theme of an anthropological nature: the family according to the Gospel, but in any case it is not yet precise. The Holy Father also said that prominent themes such as family and matrimonial pastoral will be the order of the day in the activity of the Church in the near future”.
“Today, Wednesday, the Council has focused on other issues such as the reform of the Curia in its various aspects, the function of the Secretariat of State, relations between the dicasteries and with the Holy Father. There have been many suggestions and contributions. It is is long term task, and therefore one should not expect conclusions in the short term or within these days”. SHARED FROM VIS

INTERFAITH PRAYERS SERVICE FOR VICTIMS OF MALL ATTACK IN KENYA

Agenzia Fides REPORT- Religious leaders from Kenya have unanimously condemned the terrorist attack at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi.
As reported by CISA Agency, a special interreligious prayer service was held on October 1st at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC) in Nairobi, which was attended by the main Christian and Muslim religious leaders. They all expressed the desire to work for peace and national reconciliation, and commemorated the victims of the terrorist attack.
The Auxiliary Bishop of Nairobi, David Kamau, who was representing Cardinal John Njue, Archbishop of the Kenyan capital, stressed that despite the bad moments, Kenyans are still full of hope and would come out strong against the terrorists.
Adan Wachu, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims, said that the attackers who killed and maimed innocent civilians at the Westgate mall under the guise of Islam must be condemned with the strongest terms possible". There is nowhere in the holy Koran or Bible that says or gives anyone the authority to take away innocent lives", he said.
The Secretary-General of the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCC) finally stated that the unity and diversity of the nation must be capitalized on and terrorists should never injure the peaceful co-existence of Kenyans. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 02/10/2013 )

RUSTY PRIEST HONORED WITH STATE FUNERAL - SOLDIER'S SOLDIER IN AUSTRALIA

Catholic Communications, Sydney Archdiocese,
2 Oct 2013
Soldiers escorting Rusty Priest's coffin to Hyde Park for a Military Salute
The former boss of the NSW RSL and tireless advocate for diggers from all conflicts was honoured with a State Funeral in St Mary's Cathedral attended by the Governor, Premier, family and hundreds of veterans, proud to wear their service medals and call Rusty their mate.
Rusty died last week at the age of 86.
The NSW Governor, Prof Marie Bashir paid tribute to Rusty for his distinguished 22-year military career and service to his country and veterans since his retirement.
"Godfrey Rusty Priest's life certainly was a life of unstinting service to his country and to the men and women who protect it," the Governor told those gathered in the Cathedral for the service.
Benjamin Ijumi(Chef of Kokoda)and Rusty Priest chairman at the kokoda Track education centre at Concord
She said he was "a soldier's soldier" and a fierce advocate for fellow diggers, those who fell in war in far off countries and those who returned.
"Once he set himself a goal, he was not one to be easily distracted or deterred," she said.
Mr Priest was instrumental in creating the Kokoda Track Memorial Walkway at Concord and having the Glebe Island Bridge renamed the Anzac Bridge.
The two bronze statues on the bridge, one of an Australian soldier, the other a New Zealand soldier even carry within their plinth  some sand from the beach of Gallipoli.
Hundreds attended the service at St Mary's Cathedral for war veteran and advocate Rusty Priest
Fr Graeme Malone SSS, Honorary Chaplain to the Kokoda Track Memorial Walkway at Concord told the gathering that although their hearts are shaped by sorrow and grief they should also celebrate Rusty's rich and colourful life.
Rusty's son, Tim and daughter Carole-Anne both spoke of their father's achievements as a soldier, veteran advocate, mate to many friends but most importantly as a loving husband and father.
Head of the NSW RSL for a decade before retiring in 2002, it was expected the Cathedral would be full with other veterans, young and old.
At the end of the service there was the laying of a wreath at The Fallen Soldier Memorial in the Cathedral, the Last Post followed by a minutes silence and then soldiers escorted Rusty Priest's body to Hyde Park for a gun salute.
The mourners said as one "Lest we forget" and you just knew they wouldn't.
SHARED FROM ARCHDIOCESE OF SYDNEY

CATHOLIC ACTIVIST AND LAWYER CONVICTED DESPITE DEMONSTRATIONS IN VIETNAM

ASIA NEWS REPORT:
by J.B. An Dang
He will also have to pay a fine of more than $50,000. The Court convicted him of tax evasion. The hearing lasted for a couple of hours and ended with the expected guilty sentence. Outside, thousands of police officers and government-hired thugs prevented entry into the courtroom to supporters of the activist.

Hanoi (AsiaNews) - The judges of the Court in Hanoi condemned the Catholic activist and lawyer Le Quoc Quan, on trial for alleged "evasion", to 30 months in prison and to pay a $56,000 fine. The farcical hearing lasted a couple of hours and - despite protests and appeals by the defence - it ended with a prison sentence and heavy fine. Outside thousands of Catholics expressed their support in the capital's streets, waving palms (pictured) in a symbolic gesture that invokes the Sunday when Jesus makes his entry into Jerusalem.
At first the authorities had promised a trial that would be open to the public; however, the roads leading to the Court were blocked by a human wall composed of police and military.
In addition to the agents, the security cordon was formed also by pro-government thugs whom experts know very well to be inmates or former inmates who are hired by the authorities to target and punish dissent. For days, a succession of messages and warnings have been issued to the public, not to organise and gather in demonstrations in anticipation of the hearing in the courtroom.
Together with the Catholics, many Buddhists (including one religious) marched peacefully through the streets of Hanoi to demand the freedom of Le Quoc Quan. Not only that, the demonstrators also demand complete freedom, respect for human rights and an end to all acts of persecution against believers of all religions.  Earlier, the leaders of the Vietnamese Catholic Church promoted prayer meetings and torchlight processions for the liberation of the Catholic lawyer and activist, whose trial is another example of "the continuing series of violations of human rights" in the country.
SHARED FROM ASIA NEWS IT

TODAY'S MASS ONLINE : WED. OCT. 2, 2013

Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels
Lectionary: 457/650


Reading 1             NEH 2:1-8

In the month Nisan of the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes,
when the wine was in my charge,
I took some and offered it to the king.
As I had never before been sad in his presence,
the king asked me, “Why do you look sad?
If you are not sick, you must be sad at heart.”
Though I was seized with great fear, I answered the king:
“May the king live forever!
How could I not look sad
when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins,
and its gates have been eaten out by fire?”
The king asked me, “What is it, then, that you wish?”
I prayed to the God of heaven and then answered the king:
“If it please the king,
and if your servant is deserving of your favor,
send me to Judah, to the city of my ancestors’ graves,
to rebuild it.”
Then the king, and the queen seated beside him,
asked me how long my journey would take
and when I would return.
I set a date that was acceptable to him,
and the king agreed that I might go.

I asked the king further: “If it please the king,
let letters be given to me for the governors
of West-of-Euphrates,
that they may afford me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah;
also a letter for Asaph, the keeper of the royal park,
that he may give me wood for timbering the gates
of the temple-citadel and for the city wall
and the house that I shall occupy.”
The king granted my requests,
for the favoring hand of my God was upon me.

Responsorial Psalm                   PS 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6

R. (6ab) Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!
By the streams of Babylon
we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion.
On the aspens of that land
we hung up our harps.
R. Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!
Though there our captors asked of us
the lyrics of our songs,
And our despoilers urged us to be joyous:
“Sing for us the songs of Zion!”
R. Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!
How could we sing a song of the LORD
in a foreign land?
If I forget you, Jerusalem,
may my right hand be forgotten!
R. Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!
May my tongue cleave to my palate
if I remember you not,
If I place not Jerusalem
ahead of my joy.
R. Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!

Gospel                  MT 18:1-5, 10

The disciples approached Jesus and said,
“Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?”
He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said,
“Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,
you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Whoever humbles himself like this child
is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.
And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones,
for I say to you that their angels in heaven
always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.”

TODAY'S SAINT: OCT. 2: GUARDIAN ANGELS




The Feast of the Guardian Angels
Feast: October 2
Information:
Feast Day:
October 2

Not only do believers have faith on their side, but they have "witnesses" of God's Word. Holy Scripture contains numerous examples that witness to the existence of angels and their manifestations in relation to the fulfillment of particular missions.
The well-known example of Mary's Annunciation involved an angel sent by God to announce that the moment had arrived for the fulfillment of the coming of God's Son: He would be conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of Mary as man.
Angels were also the witnesses and heralds of Jesus' Resurrection.
Sacred Scripture and angels
With Sacred Scripture as its foundation, the Church affirms the existence of angels and puts into light their mission in relation to collective salvation in history as well as individual salvation.
In a Catechesis during the early years of his Pontificate, keeping in mind what is held by tradition, John Paul II affirmed that "the angels, as pure spirits, not only participate in the holiness of God himself, in the manner proper to them, but in the key moments they surround Christ and accompany him in the fulfillment of his salvific mission in regard to mankind" (General Audience, 30 July 1986; L'Osservatore Romano English Edition, 4 August, p. 1).
Holiness, therefore, as the fruit of grace and love, is shared by the angels. It is not shared by all, however, for in the beginning there was a rebellion, and those unfaithful to God and his project of salvation were excluded.
Without manipulating Scripture, we can say that participation in God's holiness can be understood in relation to the redemptive holiness which springs forth from Christ, by means of and in sight of which the angels were created. Such participation was held in a specific way by the angels.
Guardian angels
In the Catechesis mentioned above, John Paul also affirms that "in the key moments [the angels] surround Christ and accompany him in the fulfilment of his salvific mission in regard to mankind". This is a logical consequence of the aforementioned text.
Angels, created by God according to the importance and necessity of each situation, therefore "accompany" and "surround" the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ. In this way the mission is complete, embracing the whole Christ, Head and Body.
This dynamic refers not only to the Ecclesial Community as such, but also individual Church members. But as part of the historical and ecclesiological profile it must also be mentioned that angels journey together with the Church in her mission of salvation and at the same time travel side-by-side with her members; all human beings have their own guardian angel to guard, protect and enlighten them.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church proclaims that "from infancy to death human life is surrounded by their [angels'] watchful care and intercession. Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life. Already here on earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels and men united in God" (CCC, n. 336).
Such protection will benefit those who respond to the Holy Spirit's direction and for those who willingly collaborate. In her liturgy, the Church prays to the angels for herself and others, calling upon their protection and intercession: it is sufficient to follow the liturgy of the Mass to be convinced.
The same Church makes the special prayer to the guardian angel available to the faithful and to all who wish to recite it. As a result, praying it at least twice a day, morning and evening, should not be "an option".

CATHOLIC NEWS WORLD : TUES. OCT. 1, 2013

2013












NEW INTERVIEW WITH POPE FRANCIS AND LA REPUBBLICA

POPE FRANCIS "CHARITY THAT SUFFERS ALL, PARDONS ALL..."

(Vatican Radio) In an exclusive interview with the Italian national daily, La Repubblica, Pope Francis said he is seeking to change the Church so that it once again becomes “a community of God’s people”, where “priests, pastors and bishops, who have the care of souls, are at the service of the people of God”.

The interview, conducted by the newspaper’s founder, Eugenio Scalfari, and printed in the edition of 1 October, runs three pages long. Scalfari had conducted the interview at the Pope’s residence Sept. 24.

The Pope told Scalfari that the Church’s objective is not to proselytize, which he said is “solemn nonsense”, but to “listen to the needs, desires, disappointments, despair and hope” of the people.
The ideal of a missionary and poor Church, incarnated by Saint Francis 800 years ago, remains more than valid today, in order “to restore hope to the young, to help the elderly, to be open toward the future, and to spread love,” he said.

The Church must “be poor among the poor… (and) include the excluded and preach peace.”

The Pope responded to questions on the concepts of good and evil, personal conscience, love of neighbour, the common good, and narcissism among people in power.

Even the “leaders of the Church were narcissistic, flattered and thrilled by their courtiers. The court is the leprosy of the papacy,” the Pope said.

When asked if the court referred to the Curia, he replied: "No, there are sometimes courtiers in the Curia, but the Curia as a whole is another thing. … But it has one defect: it is Vatican-centric. It sees and looks after the interests of the Vatican, which are still, for the most part, temporal interests. This Vatican-centric view neglects the world around us.

“I do not share this view,” he continued, “and I'll do everything I can to change it. The Church is, or should go back to being, a community of God's people, and priests, pastors and bishops, who have the care of souls, are at the service of the people of God.”

When asked his perspective on the issue of Christianity being a minority worldwide, the Pope replied: "We always have been but the issue today is not that. Personally, I think that being a minority is actually a strength.”

Christians, he said “have to be a leavening of life and love, and the leavening is infinitely smaller than the mass of fruits, flowers and trees that are born out of it.

“I believe I have already said that our goal is not to proselytize but to listen to needs, desires and disappointments, despair, hope. We must restore hope to young people, help the old, be open to the future, spread love. Be poor among the poor. We need to include the excluded and preach peace,” he stated.

He recalled that the Second Vatican Council “decided to look to the future with a modern spirit and to be open to modern culture.”

“The Council Fathers knew that being open to modern culture meant religious ecumenism and dialogue with non-believers. But afterwards very little was done in that direction,” he lamented. “I have the humility and ambition to want to do something."

SHARED FROM RADIO VATICANA

POPE FRANCIS "CHARITY THAT SUFFERS ALL, PARDONS ALL..."

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis concelebrated Mass this morning at the Casa Santa Marta with members of the Council of Cardinals. The Holy Father is meeting with the group of Cardinals from Tuesday through Thursday of this week.

In his homily, the Pope expressed his hope that the meeting would help everyone become more humble and more trusting in God, so that the Church might be able to give a beautiful witness to the people.

In the day’s readings, Jesus rebuked the two Apostles that wanted to call down fire from heaven upon those who would not accept them. Pope Francis pointed out that the way of the Christian is not a “path of vengeance.” The way of the Christian is the way of humility, of meekness. He added that today, on the feast of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus, it would be good for us to think about “this spirit of humility, of tenderness, of bounty.” It is a spirit, the Pope said, that the Lord “wants from all of us.” Where, then, is the power “that brings us to this spirit?” It is found “in love, in charity, in the awareness that we are in the hands of the Father.” When we sense this, the Pope observed, we will not want “to call down fire from Heaven”:

“Another spirit comes, that of that charity that suffers all, pardons all, that does not boast, that is humble, that doesn’t seek itself. Someone could say — and there are some philosophers that thing this way — that this is a humiliation of the majesty of man, of the greatness of man. This is sterile! The Church has wisely made this saint, humble, small, trusting in God, meek: she has made her the Patron of Missions.”
The strength of the Gospel, he continued, is there, “because the Gospel reaches its highest point in the humiliation of Jesus: humility that becomes humiliation. And the force of the Gospel, he said, is properly in humility, in the humility of the child that is guided by the love and the tenderness of the father.”:

“The Church, Benedict XVI told us, does not grow through proselytism, it grows through attraction, through witness. And when the people see this witness of humility, of meekness, of mildness, they feel the need that the Prophet Zachariah spoke of: ‘We want to come with you.’ The people feel that need in the face of the witness of charity, of this humble charity, without bullying, not sufficient, humble. Worship and serve!” 
“Charity is simple: worship God and serve others! And this witness,” the Pope said, makes the Church grown.” That’s why a nun, “so humble, but so trusting in God,” a nun like St. Therese of the Child Jesus “was named Patron of the Mission, because of her example” which makes “the people say ‘we want to come with you!’”

Pope Francis concluded his homily with a special mention of the meeting with the “Council of Cardinals”:

“Today, here in the Vatican, begins the meeting with the Cardinal consulters, who are concelebrating the Mass. Let us ask the Lord that our work today will make us all more humble, more meek, more patient, more trusting in God, so that the Church can give a beautiful witness to the people, and seeing the People of God, seeing the Church, they might feel the desire to come with us.”

shared from Radio Vaticana

TODAY'S SAINT: OCT. 1: ST. THERESE OF LISIEUX, DIED. 1897




St. Therese of Lisieux
DISCALCED CARMELITE MYSTIC, DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH
Feast: October 1
Information:
Feast Day:
October 1
Born:
January 2, 1873, Alençon, France
Died:
September 30, 1897, Lisieux, France
Canonized:
May 17, 1925 by Pope Pius XI
Major Shrine:
Basilique de Sainte-Thérèse, Lisieux, France
Patron of:
AIDS sufferers; aviators; bodily ills; florists; France; illness; loss of parents; missionaries; tuberculosis

The spread of the cult of St. Therese of Lisieux is one of the impressive religious manifestations of our time. During her few years on earth this young French Carmelite was scarcely to be distinguished from many another devoted nun, but her death brought an almost immediate awareness of her unique gifts. Through her letters, the word-of-mouth tradition originating with her fellow-nuns, and especially through the publication of Histoire d'un ame, Therese of the Child Jesus or "The Little Flower" soon came to mean a great deal to numberless people; she had shown them the way of perfection in the small things of every day. Miracles and graces were being attributed to her intercession, and within twenty-eight years after death, this simple young nun had been canonized. In 1936 a basilica in her honor at Lisieux was opened and blessed by Cardinal Pacelli; and it was he who, in 1944, as Pope, declared her the secondary patroness of France. "The Little Flower" was an admirer of St. Teresa of Avila, and a comparison at once suggests itself. Both were christened Teresa, both were Carmelites, and both left interesting autobiographies. Many temperamental and intellectual differences separate them, in addition to the differences of period and of race; but there are striking similarities. They both patiently endured severe physical sufferings; both had a capacity for intense religious experience; both led lives made radiant by the love of Christ.
The parents of the later saint were Louis Martin, a watchmaker of Alencon, France, son of an army officer, and Azelie-Marie Guerin, a lacemaker of the same town. Only five of their nine children lived to maturity; all five were daughters and all were to become nuns. Francoise-Marie Therese, the youngest, was born on January 2, 1873. Her childhood must have been normally happy, for her first memories, she writes, are of smiles and tender caresses. Although she was affectionate and had much natural charm, Therese gave no sign of precocity. When she was only four, the family was stricken by the sad blow of the mother's death. Monsieur Martin gave up his business and established himself at Lisieux, Normandy, where Madame Martin's brother lived with his wife and family. The Guerins, generous and loyal people, were able to ease the father's responsibilities through the years by giving to their five nieces practical counsel and deep affection.
The Martins were now and always united in the closest bonds. The eldest daughter, Marie, although only thirteen, took over the management of the household, and the second, Pauline, gave the girls religious instruction. When the group gathered around the fire on winter evenings, Pauline would read aloud works of piety, such as the Liturgical Year of Dom Gueranger. Their lives moved along quietly for some years, then came the first break in the little circle. Pauline entered the Carmelite convent of Lisieux. She was to advance steadily in her religious vocation, later becoming prioress. It is not astonishing that the youngest sister, then only nine, had a great desire to follow the one who had been her loving guide. Four years later, when Marie joined her sister at the Carmel, Therese's desire for a life in religion was intensified. Her education during these years was in the hands of the Benedictine nuns of the convent of Notre-Dame-du-Pre. She was confirmed there at the age of eleven.
In her autobiography Therese writes that her personality changed after her mother's death, and from being childishly merry she became withdrawn and shy. While Therese was indeed developing into a serious-minded girl, it does not appear that she became markedly sad. We have many evidences of liveliness and fun, and the oral tradition, as well as the many letters, reveal an outgoing nature, able to articulate the warmest expressions of love for her family, teachers, and friends.
On Christmas Eve, just a few days before Therese's fourteenth birthday, she underwent an experience which she ever after referred to as "my conversion." It was to exert a profound influence on her life. Let her tell of it—and its moral effect—in her own words: "On that blessed night the sweet infant Jesus, scarcely an hour old, filled the darkness of my soul with floods of light. By becoming weak and little, for love of me, He made me strong and brave: He put His own weapons into my hands so that I went on from strength to strength, beginning, if I may say so, 'to run as a giant."' An indelible impression had been made on this attuned soul; she claimed that the Holy Child had healed her of undue sensitiveness and "girded her with His weapons." It was by reason of this vision that the saint was to become known as "Therese of the Child Jesus."
The next year she told her father of her wish to become a Carmelite. He readily consented, but both the Carmelite authorities and Bishop Hugonin of Bayeux refused to consider it while she was still so young. A few months later, in November, to her unbounded delight, her father took her and another daughter, Celine, to visit Notre-Dame des Victoires in Paris, then on pilgrimage to Rome for the Jubilee of Pope Leo XIII. The party was accompanied by the Abbe Reverony of Bayeux. In a letter from Rome to her sister Pauline, who was now Sister Agnes of Jesus, Therese described the audience: "The Pope was sitting on a great chair; M. Reverony was near him; he watched the pilgrims kiss the Pope's foot and pass before him and spoke a word about some of them. Imagine how my heart beat as I saw my turn come: I didn't want to return without speaking to the Pope. I spoke, but I did not get it all said because M. Reverony did not give me time. He said immediately: 'Most Holy Father, she is a child who wants to enter Carmel at fifteen, but its superiors are considering the matter at the moment.' I would have liked to be able to explain my case, but there was no way. The Holy Father said to me simply: 'If the good God wills, you will enter.' Then I was made to pass on to another room. Pauline, I cannot tell you what I felt. It was like annihilation, I felt deserted.... Still God cannot be giving me trials beyond my strength. He gave me the courage to sustain this one."
Therese did not have to wait long in suspense. The Pope's blessing and the earnest prayers she offered at many shrines during the pilgrimage had the desired effect. At the end of the year Bishop Hugonin gave his permission, and on April 9, 1888, Therese joined her sisters in the Carmel at Lisieux. "From her entrance she astonished the community by her bearing, which was marked by a certain majesty that one would not expect in a child of fifteen." So testified her novice mistress at the time of Therese's beatification. During her novitiate Father Pichon, a Jesuit, gave a retreat, and he also testified to Therese's piety. "It was easy to direct that child. The Holy Spirit was leading her and I do not think that I ever had, either then or later, to warn her against illusions.... What struck me during the retreat were the spiritual trials through which God wished her to pass." Therese's presence among them filled the nuns with happiness. She was slight in build, and had fair hair, gray-blue eyes, and delicate features. With all the intensity of her ardent nature she loved the daily round of religious practices, the liturgical prayers, the reading of Scripture. After entering the Carmel she began to sign letters to her father and others, "Therese of the Child Jesus."
In 1889 the Martin sisters suffered a great shock. Their father, after two paralytic strokes, had a mental breakdown and had to be removed to a private sanitarium, where he remained for three years. Therese bore this grievous sorrow heroically.
On September 8, 1890, at the age of seventeen, Therese took final vows. In spite of poor health, she carried out from the first all the austerities of the stern Carmelite rule, except that she was not permitted to fast. "A soul of such mettle," said the prioress, "must not be treated like a child. Dispensations are not meant for her." The physical ordeal which she felt more than any other was the cold of the convent buildings in winter, but no one even suspected this until she confessed it on her death-bed. And by that time she was able to say, "I have reached the point of not being able to suffer any more, because all suffering is sweet to me."
In 1893, when she was twenty, she was appointed to assist the novice mistress, and was in fact mistress in all but name. She comments, "From afar it seems easy to do good to souls, to make them love God more, to mold them according to our own ideas and views. But coming closer we find, on the contrary, that to do good without God's help is as impossible as to make the sun shine at night."
In her twenty-third year, on order of the prioress, Therese began to write the memories of her childhood and of life at the convent; this material forms the first chapters of Histoire d'un ame, the History of a Soul. It is a unique and engaging document, written with a charming spontaneity, full of fresh turns of phrase, unconscious self-revelation, and, above all, giving evidence of deep spirituality. She describes her own prayers and thereby tells us much about herself. "With me prayer is a lifting up of the heart, a look towards Heaven, a cry of gratitude and love uttered equally in sorrow and in joy; in a word, something noble, supernatural, which enlarges my soul and unites it to God.... Except for the Divine Office, which in spite of my unworthiness is a daily joy, I have not the courage to look through books for beautiful prayers. . . . I do as a child who has not learned to read, I just tell our Lord all that I want and he understands." She has natural psychological insight: "Each time that my enemy would provoke me to fight I behave like a brave soldier. I know that a duel is an act of cowardice, and so, without once looking him in the face, I turn my back on the foe, hasten to my Saviour, and vow that I am ready to shed my blood in witness of my belief in Heaven." She mentions her own patience humorously. During meditation in the choir, one of the sisters continually fidgeted with her rosary, until Therese was perspiring with irritation. At last, "instead of trying not to hear it, which was impossible, I set myself to listen as though it had been some delightful music, and my meditation, which was the 'prayer of quiet,' passed in offering this music to our Lord." Her last chapter is a paean to divine love, and concludes, "I entreat Thee to let Thy divine eyes rest upon a vast number of little souls; I entreat Thee to choose in this world a legion of little victims of Thy love." She counted herself among these. "I am a very little soul, who can offer only very little things to the Lord."
In 1894 Louis Martin died, and soon Celine, who had of late been taking care of him, made the fourth sister from this family in the Carmel at Lisieux. Some years later, the fifth, Leonie, entered the convent of the Visitation at Caen.
Therese occupied herself with reading and writing almost up to the end of her life. That event loomed ever nearer as tuberculosis made a steady advance. During the night between Holy Thursday and Good Friday, 1896, she suffered a pulmonary haemorrhage. Although her bodily and spiritual sufferings were extreme, she wrote many letters, to members of her family and to distant friends, as well as continuing Histoire d'un ame. She carried on a correspondance with Carmelite sisters at Hanoi, China; they wished her to come out and join them, not realizing the seriousness of her ailment. She had a great yearning to respond to their appeal. At intervals moments of revelation came to her, and it was then that she penned those succinct reflections that are now repeated so widely. Here are three of them that give the flavor of her mind: "I will spend my Heaven doing good on earth." "I have never given the good God aught but love, and it is with love that He will repay." "My 'little way' is the way of spiritual childhood, the way of trust and absolute self-surrender."
A further insight is given us in a letter Therese wrote, shortly before she died, to Pere Roulland, a missionary in China. "Sometimes, when I read spiritual treatises, in which perfection is shown with a thousand obstacles in the way and a host of illusions round about it, my poor little mind soon grows weary, I close the learned book, which leaves my head splitting and my heart parched, and I take the Holy Scriptures. Then all seems luminous, a single word opens up infinite horizons to my soul, perfection seems easy; I see that it is enough to realize one's nothingness, and give oneself wholly, like a child, into the arms of the good God. Leaving to great souls, great minds, the fine books I cannot understand, I rejoice to be little because 'only children, and those who are like them, will be admitted to the heavenly banquet.’"
In June, 1897, Therese was removed to the infirmary of the convent. On September 30, with the words, "My God . . . I love Thee!" on her lips she died. The day before, her sister Celine, knowing the end was at hand, had asked for some word of farewell, and Therese, serene in spite of pain, murmured, "I have said all . . . all is consummated . . . only love counts."
The prioress, Mother Marie de Gonzague, wrote in the convent register, alongside the saint's act of Profession: ". . . The nine and a half years she spent among us leave our souls fragrant with the most beautiful virtues with which the life of a Carmelite can be filled. A perfect model of humility, obedience, charity, prudence, detachment, and regularity, she fulfilled the difficult discipline of mistress of novices with a sagacity and affection which nothing could equal save her love for God...."
The Church was to recognize a profound and valuable teaching in 'the little way'—connoting a realistic awareness of one's limitations, and the wholehearted giving of what one has, however small the gift. Beginning in 1898, with the publication of a small edition of Histoire d'un ame, the cult of this saint of 'the little way' grew so swiftly that the Pope dispensed with the rule that a process for canonization must not be started until fifty years after death. Almost from childhood, it seems, Therese had consciously aspired to the heights, often saying to herself that God would not fill her with a desire that was unattainable. Only twenty-six years after her death she was beatified by Pope Pius XI, and in the year of Jubilee, 1925, he pronounced her a saint. Two years later she was named heavenly patroness of foreign missions along with St. Francis Xavier.
Saint Therese of Lisieux, Virgin. Celebration of Feast Day is October 1.

TODAY'S MASS ONLINE : TUES. OCT. 1, 2013

Memorial of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church
Lectionary: 456


Reading 1                        ZEC 8:20-23

Thus says the LORD of hosts:
There shall yet come peoples,
the inhabitants of many cities;
and the inhabitants of one city shall approach those of another,
and say, “Come! let us go to implore the favor of the LORD”;
and, “I too will go to seek the LORD.”
Many peoples and strong nations shall come
to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem
and to implore the favor of the LORD.
Thus says the LORD of hosts:
In those days ten men of every nationality,
speaking different tongues, shall take hold,
yes, take hold of every Jew by the edge of his garment and say,

“Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”

Responsorial Psalm                        PS 87:1B-3, 4-5, 6-7

R. (Zec 8:23) God is with us.
His foundation upon the holy mountains
the LORD loves:
The gates of Zion,
more than any dwelling of Jacob.
Glorious things are said of you,
O city of God!
R. God is with us.
I tell of Egypt and Babylon
among those that know the LORD;
Of Philistia, Tyre, Ethiopia:
“This man was born there.”
And of Zion they shall say:
“One and all were born in her;
And he who has established her
is the Most High LORD.”
R. God is with us.
They shall note, when the peoples are enrolled:
“This man was born there.”
And all shall sing, in their festive dance:
“My home is within you.”
R. God is with us.

Gospel                     LK 9:51-56

When the days for Jesus to be taken up were fulfilled,
he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem,
and he sent messengers ahead of him.
On the way they entered a Samaritan village
to prepare for his reception there,
but they would not welcome him
because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem.
When the disciples James and John saw this they asked,
“Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven
to consume them?”
Jesus turned and rebuked them,
and they journeyed to another village.

2013