ST. TERESA OF KOLKOTA ON TUESDAY OF WEEK 22 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2023

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Remain in my love, says the Lord;
whoever remains in me, with me in him,
bears fruit in plenty. JN 15:9, 5

GENESIS 12:1-4 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Today the Church celebrates the feast of St. Mother Teresa of Kolkata. Today's first reading invites us to reflect on the immense graces and blessings that are heaped on those who take Your invitation seriously and commit their entire lives and future to you joyfully, obediently, and promptly. They have absolute faith in You and in Your Word. This is true of Abraham and so many Saints that adorn the Church and this is true also of the Saint from our time - Mother Teresa.

She spent her whole life loving You in the poor, the disadvantaged, the marginalized, the outcast, those to whom the world was deliberately blind and deaf because they considered them to be an inconvenience and of little or no worth. But Mother Teresa taught the world otherwise - it is precisely in the wretched disguise of the poor that You make Yourself visible and tangible. 

Lord Jesus, soften our hardened hearts and grant us the grace to see as she did, to hear as she heard, and to love as she loved. She heard Your cry, 'I thirst' and she responded to it with her whole heart. May we too be attuned to Your cry in the distressed cries of the poor and do whatever we can to alleviate their suffering.

You assure us that You will bless us if we submit with docility to Your invitation to follow You wherever You lead us.

‘I will bless those who bless you:
I will curse those who slight you.
All the tribes of the earth
shall bless themselves by you.’
So Abram went as the Lord told him.

MATTHEW 5:1-12a ©

My Soul's Beloved,

You lived the Beatitudes and in doing so You taught by example. When the Beatitudes are the blueprint by which we too live our lives as You did then we will experience the divine contradiction of its fruits. 

The world encourages the worship of self, of people, and of things. Self-indulgence in all things is touted to be a sure means by which to find satisfaction and happiness. But Your Way O Lord is diametrically opposed to the broad and easy way of the world which leads to eternal destruction. You point us to the narrow road of Calvary which leads to the Cross, and to the death of self. You teach us how to immolate ourselves in order to receive eternal bliss in the beatific vision. 

‘How happy are the poor in spirit;
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Happy the gentle:
they shall have the earth for their heritage.
Happy those who mourn:
they shall be comforted.
Happy those who hunger and thirst for what is right:
they shall be satisfied.
Happy the merciful:
they shall have mercy shown them.
Happy the pure in heart:
they shall see God.
Happy the peacemakers:
they shall be called sons of God.
Happy those who are persecuted in the cause of right:
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
‘Happy are you when people abuse you and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.’

We are currently living in a world where the devil and his minions no longer hide themselves. The sterile culture of death and the overwhelming stench of decay are all around us. We need soldiers O Lord to join Your army and to overcome the world with prayer, fasting, and true worship. We pray for a new Pentecost, a fresh outpouring of Your Holy Spirit, and hearts like Mother Teresa's who hear Your call and respond to it with enthusiasm. Have mercy on this world O Lord - it is Your world. Consecrated with Your Blood and purchased at the cost of Your life. Yours is the victory, Yours the triumph, to You be glory, honor, praise, and worship now and forever.