01/10/2022

The first reading at today's mass brings to an end the story of Job with his patience and submision to God rewarded by great riches. The riches of this world have all been created by man out of God's creation and built up by succeedung generations. They are not a sign of God's favouring some individual souls over others and we the poor and little ones are blessed by being unencumbered by the false sense of our own importance which comes from great wealth. St Therese the epitome of "littleness"in her way to true piety was far from little in her perseverence in her own decision to follow our Saviour in a life dedicated  to prayer with his Mother in Carmel. Although young at death she suffered agonies of longing before  acceptance by the Order and then  her disease made waking moments an absolute agony for her little body.

I have never had to face the pain of her "little" way to holiness and I spent the same years of her total life in neglectful sinfulness. 

The enthusiasm generated by the success of this first mission of the appointed 72 is palpably real in today's Gospel. How is it that the leaven distributed by the charismatic joy of so many persons  did not result in a popular movement that would have changed political History? We have to face as fact that in the eternity of Father Son and Holy Spirit, the outcome of Creation has always been known and that the glorious selfemptying of the Son to assume within the obedience of Mary the sinless humanity of Jesus along with his natural suffering and death was the only way to restore the being of humanity,destroyed by the misuse of freedom that is sin. That restoration is the Resurrection, our Faith, Hope and Charity.

Dear Lord let my being be always open to Love; let what I know in my mind be a true guide for my deeds and let the hope of the Resurrection be  true faith unclouded by the divisions to be found in your institutional body on Earth. May Mary who knows the faith of "litle ones " of this world join with St Therese in her prayers to raise up fervent priests who are able to resist the many temptations directed at them by our only enemy.