Today being the feast day of St. Therese the Little flower and the Little Doctor, after Mass I was praying the Rosary and thinking about the band that is suppose to have someone commit a suicide during their performance here in Florida. Sometimes when we read the news and see all of the road signs of the culture of death we can get discouraged about what we can do. We want to take direct action to prevent these types of events. St. Therese hidden away in a convent, cloistered, and prevented from outside actions did more for the world then most teams of reformers ever had. Her little sacrifices, hidden kind deeds, and treating those she could hardly get a long with as her deepest friend set the stage for the theology of the little way.
These events that we hear in the news we can react to more that with e-petitions and such, but with prayer. By the little sacrifices that we can make to offer towards conversion. To offer a Mass for Family, Friends, or for people we hear about in the new. Speaking for myself I know that it can be easy to be caught up in causes, where the cause becomes all and it’s goal can be lost. On first hearing the other day of the eighteen year old that died after taking RU-486, I thought about the arrogance of Planned Parenthoods statements and the politically shortened medical review process that brought this drug upon us. I totally forgot about the souls of this woman and her child and how her family and friends are suffering. The little way is a glorious corrective that can help us towards holiness. That great deeds are not required, but love is. As Mother Terese also said that “God does not call us towards success, but faithfulness”
Mother Teresa was criticized by some because she did not cure all poverty in India. The view that political systems and programs are more important than removing the filth off someone found in an alley does much damage. We become distanced from the problems when we assign it to others. We become dehumanized when we are able to remove the solutions to human problems from our own corner.
So I ask St. Therese to pray for that person who does not understand the meaning of suffering and is thinking about suicide. That she pray for those band members that would want this to occur to promote so-called right-to-die issues. St. Therese suffered as disease ravaged her and as she lost that sense of the presence of God during her dark night of the soul. During these trials she said she had made more acts of faith than at any other time.
1 comment
You write: “Mother Teresa was criticized by some because she did not cure all poverty in India.”
There are other reasons to criticize Mother Teresa. For example, she often denied basic care (like pain killers) to her patients (“suffering is good because it shows Jesus loves you” or something like that), but she herself went to “normal” hospitals when she needed to. (hypocrisy anyone?) Also, instead of using donated money to buy food for her soup kitchens, she begged local merchants for food while the money sat in bank accounts.
For more, see http://thehappyheretic.com/3-98.htm