Saturday, October 09, 2004
In honor of the Little Flower
By going directly to the Gospel sources Therese joins with all her force in Our Lord's initial movement: the demolition of religious facades. The blazing passion with which John the Baptist, in the spirit of Elias, clears the ground to give the approaching Messiah room and air is itself only a preparation for the absolute passion with which the Son flattens every obstacle to the Father's glory. "Whoever draws near me draws near to fire," runs one of Christ's apocryphal sayings, and each of his words, his actions and his miracles is fire -- a fire all the more consuming since it is not the fire of justice but of love. And once God has cast this fire upon earth he sends his saints to fan it into flame so that it cannot be damped down in the hearths of a "bourgeois" Christianity.
Therese of Lisieux also cleanses the Temple with a whip. She is fearless and aggressive. She loves war. She is a fighter by nature. "God wanted to make me conquer the fortress of Carmel at the sword's point." "Our Lord has granted me the grace of being totally unafraid of war; I must do my duty, whatever the cost." "Let us always grasp the sword of the spirit... let us never simply allow matters to take their course for the sake of our own peace; let us fight without ceasing, even without hope of winning the battle. What does success matter! Let us keep going, however exhausting the struggle may be... One must do one's duty to the end." "This morning I read a passage in the Gospel where it is said, 'I come not to bring peace but a sword'. All that remains for us then is to fight. When we have not the strength, it is then that Jesus fights for us. Together let us put the axe to the root of the tree..." "Sanctity! It has to be won at the point of the sword."
Therese of Lisieux also cleanses the Temple with a whip. She is fearless and aggressive. She loves war. She is a fighter by nature. "God wanted to make me conquer the fortress of Carmel at the sword's point." "Our Lord has granted me the grace of being totally unafraid of war; I must do my duty, whatever the cost." "Let us always grasp the sword of the spirit... let us never simply allow matters to take their course for the sake of our own peace; let us fight without ceasing, even without hope of winning the battle. What does success matter! Let us keep going, however exhausting the struggle may be... One must do one's duty to the end." "This morning I read a passage in the Gospel where it is said, 'I come not to bring peace but a sword'. All that remains for us then is to fight. When we have not the strength, it is then that Jesus fights for us. Together let us put the axe to the root of the tree..." "Sanctity! It has to be won at the point of the sword."
