Memorial of Saint Teresa of Jesus

Today's Mass Readings

St. Teresa who is remembered today lived in a time not unlike our own. It was a time of huge cultural, social, religious and economic change. As we face maybe the worst economic crisis in a generation, along rapid technological and cultural change, Christianity is under more pressure than ever to be relevant. Let us reflect on today’s readings and try to be like St. Teresa, a person who gave her whole life for God. St. Paul’s letter to the Galatians is also written in a time of great uncertainty, yet his admonition to the people in Galatia is pertinent to us today. In today’s reading, St. Paul challenges the community to live a life guided by the Spirit. For Paul, our existence is no longer under the confines of the law. As we all have been crucified with Christ and raised to new life by virtue of our baptism. This ontological change means the law does not apply to followers of Jesus as it applied to the Jews. Therefore we are free to follow the Spirit. Freedom for Paul did not mean “freedom to” or the license to do as one pleased. The reading today is Paul admonishing the community in Galatia who may have been interpreting freedom more liberally than Paul intended. Paul goes so far as to say living immorally will obstruct ones entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven.

Paul continues by listing the fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. If one is alive in the Spirit, one’s life should reflect the fruits of the spirit. These “first fruits” are the perfections of the Holy Spirit working in us to form us for eternal glory. Being guided by the Spirit means we must live in the service of love to others bearing the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

It is in this context that we must interpret today’s gospel passage. Jesus uses some of the harsh words with the Pharisees. He accuses them of paying “no attention to judgment and to love for God” (Lk 11:42). He also criticizes them for imposing heavy burdens on others and not lifting one finger to touch them” (Lk 11:46). In other words, the Pharisees are being challenged to bear the fruit that God expects of them - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

As we go throughout our day today let us be aware of the presence of God’s Spirit deep in our hearts. The old song, “They’ll Know We are Christians by Our Love” (Peter Scholtes, 1966) comes to mind. The fruit our lives yield are a direct reflection of our love for the Lord and the presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts.

As today's Psalm suggests, only by living in the Holy Spirit can we be
be like a tree:
planted near running water,
That yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade. (Psalm 1:3)

This is also the best way that we can be like St. Teresa of Jesus.

Mike Montgomery