Saint Teresa of Los Andes

During our W2W Ministry meeting last Friday, we learned about a saint who died before she was 20, Saint Teresa of Jesus of Los Andes, Chile's first saint who was canonized in 1993.

How did a slip of a girl who began her journey to become a Carmelite nun in 1919 only to die of typhus eleven months later become a saint?

Why would 100,000 pilgrims visit her shrine every year seeking inspiration on joy and guidance on attaining a direct relationship with God?

What is it about Saint Teresa of Los Andes that appeals so much to people, especially young people, who hunger for transcendent love and happiness?

Juana or Juanita as she was known by close friends and family wrote in her diary she was drawn to God as early as the age of six. After she made her First Holy Communion at age 10 she underwent a complete transformation from self-centred, stubborn and proud to selfless, loving and beatifically prayerful.

Respecting the sanctity of the Eucharist, Juanita had actively sought, prior her First Communion, to acquire virtues to make herself worthy of receiving Christ within her. In turn, God answered her love for Him with the mystical grace of interior locution or private revelation.

Juanita possessed an enormous capacity to love and to be loved joined with an extraordinary intelligence. God allowed her to experience his presence. With this knowledge he purified her and made her his own through what it entails to take up the cross. Knowing him, she loved him; and loving him, she bound herself totally to him.*

As she grew older, so deep was her love for God that Juanita decided to consecrate her life by becoming a Discalced Carmelite when she was 14 and she made a vow of chastity when she was 15. She eventually began her novitiate in May 1919 at age 19 where she conducted a brief but powerful apostolate of letter-writing before her death in April 1920.

In her letters and through the way she lived her life, Teresa of Los Andes confirms for us that God exists, that God is love and happiness, and that he is our fulfilment. She radiated exuberance, joy and an unwavering conviction that following Jesus is the one and only thing worth the effort, that gives us true happiness.

As she wrote in one letter:

God is my heaven here below. I live with him. Even when I am walking, we speak together without being interrupted by anyone. If you would know him enough, you would love him. If you would stay with him for one hour, you would know heaven on earth.

She was in love with him and ready each moment to crucify herself for him... The holiness of her life shone out in the everyday occurrences, wherever she found herself: at home, in college, with friends, the people she stayed with on holidays. To all, with apostolic zeal, she spoke of God and gave assistance. She was young like her friends, but they knew she was different. They took her as a model, seeking her support and advice.

Nothing is more attractive than a person who is genuinely lovely and who seeks the good of others; who has got it all together and yet is so humble and sensitive that your sensibilities are not offended or threatened in any way.

How did she do it? She simply loved God with all her heart, soul, strength and mind and then loved her neighbour as she loved herself (Luke 10:27). She gave herself over to prayer, to the acquiring of virtue and the practice of a life in accord with the Gospel. Simple. Not easy. But possible.

Yesterday was Good Shepherd Sunday and Father Arro shared that the only way he could have sustained his priesthood of near 60 years was through love, God's love. We are all not just sheep who hear the Master's voice but shepherds who lead because we are loved and we want to spread that love to others.

Love is the supernatural grace that must be paid forward, especially today when our Christian way of life is scorned, hated and persecuted. A little lambkin, Juanita, shows us how we can achieve this.

Saint Teresa of Jesus of Los Andes, pray for us that we may, like you, be transformative symbols of God's love in the world.

* http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/ns_lit_doc_19930321_teresa-de-jesus_en.html

Loving our trials and tribulations

Two days ago, I awoke early morning to the incredibly loud thud of a body landing on top of a tiled roof and the sound of broken tiles clattering to the ground below. A woman had jumped off the 24th floor just minutes before 7am and landed on the roof of the sheltered walkway.

My immediate reaction was deep sadness when I finally knew what had happened and I prayed for the soul of this unknown woman. hoping that the police would be able to identify her soon and inform her family.

Then the questions came. Why? No matter how bad life is, it is not worth taking your own life, is it? Surely there is always a way out? As I pondered I became increasingly aware that I am truly blessed for I have never, at any point in my life thus far, experienced such agonizing despair and yawning loneliness that I would consider suicide as an option. I know I have the Lord to thank for this.

Even in periods when I turned away from God and His ways, distancing myself deliberately, I always knew that the Father was there for me and that He would walk with me through the darkest valleys of my life, a reassuring presence.

This inalienable belief in the Almighty's boundless and forgiving love is a gift I have always held within my grasp even if I have not always fully appreciated its value or respected its power. No matter what I do, however heinous or catastrophic, I know I will always be forgiven, never abandoned and deeply cherished; as long as I repent and turn to Jesus.

I also know this, that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, Saint Paul told the Philippians, and this statement has buoyed me through the worst days of my life with supernatural grace.

The other gift I have is my family history. I come from a family of survivors, people who have journeyed thousands of miles in search of a better life and have weathered privation, turbulent times and oppression without compromising their Christian principles.

I grew up knowing life may not be fair or easy, it may involve great suffering, but nothing can defeat me - not even rejection from people I know or love as long as I strive for truth, honesty, justice and love in everything I do.

My father taught me to walk to the beat of one drummer, the Almighty, and no other. This simplifies life for me, for as long as I keep His commandments, I can truthfully say I know the Father and hopefully, I also radiate the love of God to others in an encouraging manner (see 1 John 2:1-6).

We listened to A sharing the life of Saint Bernadette Friday evening and we were all amazed by Saint Bernadette's strength of character. She did not let the disapprobation that greeted her over Our Lady's apparitions to her shake her, nor did she allow the persecution she experienced from her Superior and fellow nuns faze her. She understood that her tribulations on earth did not define her and knew what she needed to do in order to persevere in her walk.

I must die to myself continually and accept trials without complaining. I work, I suffer and I love with no other witness than his heart. Anyone who is not prepared to suffer all for the Beloved and to do his will in all things is not worthy of the sweet name of Friend, for here below, Love without suffering does not exist.

What really struck me was this other quote of hers for it resonates with my own experience of tough times:

I shall spend every moment loving. One who loves does not notice her trials; or perhaps more accurately, she is able to love them.

In his homily today, Father Valerian spoke about what it means to witness: to die for the faith, to martyr oneself. Church Father Tertullian wrote that "the blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church" and Saint Bernadette exemplifies this with her life lived in quiet, undramatic but heroic service and humility.

I cannot pretend to understand what led to the woman taking her own life off the top of my residential block but I am humbled that because I know Jesus, I have the resources to overcome fear, loss, pain and suffering. And, I have a healthy perspective on suffering and the sanctity of life.

My hope from last Friday's disturbing experience is that I can share the joy I have found in my relationship with Jesus with others more effectively and help people understand that there is always a way out of darkness, a way to new life. Do not give up! His love can carry us through the worst of times. He is in our midst, a comforting and protective presence if we turn to Him and really look at Him with child-like trust in our eyes.

Growing in Divine Mercy

In conversation with different friends through the course of last week, they have found people to be unfriendly and even downright aggressive without provocation. It does not take much to even get friends upset for people are so protective of their own rights and views as individuals that they are intolerant of their friends' alternative points of view.

There is no room for dialogue, no attempt to understand, and no benefit of the doubt is given for others' perceived failings and foibles. No longer do we walk a mile in others' shoes to empathize and therefore forgive their shortcomings.

B said to me it is as if all the stars and planets are not in alignment for everyone around her is in disagreement. I put it down to city living where we are stressed out, suffering from lack of sleep, and always in a rush to get somewhere so don't let anybody get in my way. Technology doesn't help for we plug into it and purposefully create a distance between ourselves and others. The focus is therefore insular and narcissistic.

Today's Feast of the Divine Mercy is a timely reminder to me to not give in to the lack of mercy I find all around me. It is all too easy for me to get irritated and criticize others' behaviour and consequently act like a rigid, humourless, self-righteous and perfect idiot who knows it all.

I don't want to be that person for it is so bad for my health, physically and spiritually. What will help me in becoming and staying the joyful Easter person I aspire to is Divine Mercy. On my own I will fail, but if I rely on God's unending source of mercy and emulate Jesus, who forgave even those who caused His death, then I have a good chance.

As Father John Bosco reminded us today at mass, the water and blood that flowed from Jesus's pierced side represents baptism, the Eucharist and healing. When Jesus asked Thomas to touch His side, it was an act of love, while the wound itself was one of love and mercy. I have never seen it that way but Father JB was right. Instead of getting impatient or frustrated, Jesus reached out to Thomas lovingly, forgiving him his doubtful pessimism or lack of faith.

Because Jesus was gentle with Thomas, Thomas was sold. My Lord and my God. He was completely transformed because Jesus did not give up on him. Thomas would later travel to "the ends of the earth" to preach the Good News, going as far as India where he would die for his religious zeal.

This is what an act of love can do. It can make a radical difference. It can heal and change people for the better. It can be redemptive, a moment of grace, not just for the receiver but for the giver as well.

Love as the world celebrates and obsesses over is usually of the romantic ilk and more self-serving, but love in its purest form is the willingness to undergo suffering for the good of the other and that is the variety and quality of love I want in my life.

It is patient, kind, forbearing, forgiving, enduring, full of hope and all the wonderful things enumerated by Saint Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 13. This is the love that flows from the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a salvific love that can be mine, and yours.

To celebrate this great feast properly, I resolve to constantly ask for mercy, divine, no less, and to immerse myself in it. Hopefully I will be like the sinful woman in Luke's Gospel in chapter seven who because she experienced forgiveness for a great many sins showed great love, and mercy.

For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us, and on the whole world. 

Living the risen life

When I was little, Easter was something I looked forward to for I would get chocolate eggs from my grandparents and there was such a festive air when the extended family gathered together to eat. I loved, and still love singing the Easter Song for it is so full of joy.

Now my people don't you weep, He has risen from the sleep, He lives again. Alleluia!

To be able to sing Alleluia without restraint after the sombre season of Lent invokes an exuberance that is supremely satisfying. The Lord is risen! Praise God! Alleluia!

Understanding today the significance of Easter with an adult sensitivity, the sense of gladness I experienced as a child is still present, and enhanced by a deep gratitude and wonder (what did I do to deserve this selfless and unconditional love?).

It is precisely because I did not do anything to deserve this gift of redemption, the chance to make good on mistakes or golden opportunities cavalierly treated that makes it all the more felicitous and precious.

When one receives a piece of good news, the first reaction is to tell someone else, especially if it can make them happy as well. So what kind of response does the Easter message of risen life call forth from me besides joy? The reflection from Laudate reminds me there are "new challenges and new responsibilities, especially in evangelization."

Satan couldn't prevent the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, so now he is reduced to trying to stop us from spreading the good news that Jesus is alive and has conquered sin and death forever. Satan tries to limit the spread of the good news is to tempt Jesus' witnesses to be afraid, afraid of evangelizing, afraid of radical lifestyle changes, afraid of stepping out in faith, afraid of change. If Satan can take hold of at least a part of us, he's well on his way to reducing us from a half-witness to no witness at all.

This reflection really challenges me; why am I not spreading the good news of the Risen Lord in a bigger way? After all, we the undeserving are forgiven. We the sinners are beloved and redeemed. The darkness and hopelessness that oppressively crowds life is illuminated by this singular act of dying on the cross that triumphantly transmogrifies into resurrection. Evil is overcome. Death is not a tragic end but the beginning of a hope-filled, new life. A risen life.

Meeting a couple of good friends yesterday reminded me that family life can be difficult. The seeds of pride, envy, greed and unforgiving anger can sow discord and despair within even the most loving of families.

All families are broken because all individuals that make up a family are broken in different ways. I can be my loving best and yet at times my loving best descends into unkind words and actions, cowardly silence, lazy or defeated inaction and even a vicious meanness I would disapprove in others. I cannot seem to help myself and fear often dictates my immature and selfish behaviour.

But if Jesus can defeat death, so can I. I can defeat the death dealing actions of my brokenness if I recognize and train my focus on the Risen Lord. This is the Easter promise. This is how I can be an Easter person, a person of joy and hope - within my own family and with others I meet. This is how I can make the difference, by meeting Him in the tomb and responding with faith to His call: Out of darkness I call you to bring light to others.

Make tomorrow a light-filled Easter day.