Monday, August 30 : Saint Teresa of Avila

         O Jesus! can any one declare that he does not desire this great blessing, especially after he has passed through the chief difficulties? No; no one can! We all say we desire it, but there is need of more than that for the Lord to possess entire dominion over the soul. It is not enough to say so, any more than it was enough for the young man when our Lord told him what he must do if he desired to be perfect…          Enter then, enter, my daughters, into your interior; pass beyond the thought of your own petty works, which are no more, nor even as much, as Christians are bound to perform: let it suffice that you are God’s servants, do not pursue so much as to catch nothing. Think of the saints, who have entered the Divine Presence, and you will see the difference between them and ourselves. Do not ask for what you do not deserve, nor should we ever think, however much we may have done for God, that we merit the reward of the saints, for we have offended him. Oh, humility, humility! I know not why, but I am always tempted to think that persons who complain so much of aridity in prayer must be a little wanting in this virtue…Let us try ourselves, my sisters, or let our Lord try us; he knows well how to do so, although we often pretend to misunderstand him…          If we turn our backs on him and go away sorrowfully like the youth in the Gospel when he tells us what to do to be perfect, what can God do? for he must proportion the reward to our love for him. This love, my daughters, must not be the fabric of our imagination; we must prove it by our works. Yet do not suppose that our Lord has need of any works of ours; he only expects us to manifest our goodwill…if we continue in it… doubtless, by persevering in this poverty and detachment of soul, we shall obtain all for which we strive. But, mark this – it must be on one condition – that we `hold ourselves for unprofitable servants.’ (Lk 12:48)

maronite readings – rosary,team