St. Teresa of Avila

My Dear Parishioners,

I wish to again extend my sincere gratitude to all who helped to make so many recent events happen and who helped to support them. Our visit by Marie Joseph of Legacy of Life Foundation, our Healing Mass, our Parish Picnic, and our latest Family Bingo were all great successes. Many people were brought together, and many people’s lives were uplifted by these events. Again, I thank you.

This weekend our Archbishop Nelson Perez is asking for additional help with the Catholic Charities Appeal. The Catholic Charities Appeal is well behind in its stated fundraising goal. There will be materials available in church for those who would like to contribute and for those who may be able to make an additional contribution. A contribution can also be made online at ccphila.org. I know that the many people who benefit from Catholic Charities will appreciate your generosity.

Of course, we will continue to do our part locally with our monthly food and diaper drives, annual giving tree and our support of St. Vincent de Paul along with so many other acts of charity. So, I extend my sincere gratitude to all who continue to support these important local outreaches.

Our regional Bishop, Bishop Christopher Cooke, is asking us to be informed, from a Catholic perspective, on the issue of immigration. Bishop Cooke helps to oversee Hispanic Ministry in our Archdiocese as well as the parishes of Bucks County. Bishop Cooke especially recommends a document issued by the Iowa Catholic Conference, and if you are so inclined, I encourage you to read it. It is entitled “Pilgrims of Hope, A Pastoral Reflection on Immigration.” It can be found at iowacatholicconference.org/pilgrims-of-hope-a-pastoral-reflection-on-immigration

This Wednesday we will celebrate the Feast of one of our most popular Saints, St. Teresa of Jesus, also known as St. Teresa of Avila.

St. Teresa is counted among the Doctors of the Church because of her immense Wisdom. Wisdom is different from knowledge. Knowledge is familiarity with the things of this world. Wisdom is familiarity with the things of God. So, I thought that I would make available just a small collection of her quotes and prayers that may help all grow in Holy Wisdom:

• A Love Song: Majestic sovereign, timeless wisdom, your kindness melts my hard, cold Handsome lover, selfless giver, your beauty fills my dull, sad eyes. I am yours, you made me. I am yours, you called me. I am yours, you saved me. I am yours, you loved me. I will never leave your presence. Give me death, give me life. Give me sickness, give me health. Give me honor, give me shame. Give me weakness, give me strength. I will have whatever you give. Amen
• “Trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to”
• “You pay God a compliment by asking great things of ”
• “The important thing is not to think much but to love much; and so do that which best stirs you to ”
• “. . . it is presumptuous in me to wish to choose my path, because I cannot tell which path is best for I must leave it to the Lord, Who knows me, to lead me by the path which is best for me, so that in all things His will may be done.”
• “Untilled ground, however rich, will bring forth thistles and thorns; so also the mind of ”
• “Let nothing disturb you, nothing frighten you, all things are passing, only God is unchanging. Patience gains all; nothing is lacking to those who have God: God alone is sufficient.”
• “Once, while I was wondering why Our Lord so dearly loves the virtue of humility, the thought suddenly struck me, without previous reflection, that it is because God is the supreme Truth and humility is the truth, for it is the most true that we have nothing good of ourselves but only misery and nothingness: whoever ignores this, lives a life of falsehood. They that realize this fact most deeply are the most pleasing to God, the supreme Truth, for they walk in the truth.”
• “Though thou hast recourse to many saints as thine intercessors, go especially to St. Joseph, for he has great power with God.”
• “Perhaps we do not know what love is, nor does this greatly surprise me. Love does not consist in great sweetness of devotion, but in a fervent determination to strive to please God in all things, in avoiding, as far as possible, all that would offend Him, and in praying for the increase of the glory and honor of His Son and for the growth of the Catholic Church.”
• “Accustom yourself continually to make many acts of love, for they enkindle and melt the soul.”
• “Leave it all to God and leave your interests in His hands. He knows what is fitting for us…”
• “Let us do our part, and God will then do what He wills. This is God’s cause, and all will end My hope is in Him; do not be distressed.”
• “Prayer is not an act but a relationship, and it is a joy to commune with our Creator.”
• “Often the Lord allows a fall so that the soul will be more humble, and when it returns to the right way of acting and grows in self-knowledge, it advances further in the service of our Lord, as we see among many saints.”
• “Do not let your soul be seduced by earthly cares; fix your gaze on the eternal love of God.”
• “Courage, courage, my Remember that God does not give anyone more trials than can be suffered and that His Majesty is with the afflicted. For this is certain, there is no reason to fear but to hope in his mercy. He will reveal the whole truth; and some machinations, which the devil kept hidden so as to create a disturbance, will be made known.”
• “It is love alone that gives worth to all ”
• “Prize being able to help God carry the cross and don’t be clinging to delights, for it is the trait of mercenary soldiers to want their daily pay at once. Serve without charge, as the grandees do their king. The king of heaven be with you.”
• “Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours, Yours are the eyes through which to look out Christ’s compassion to the world Yours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good; Yours are the hands with which he is to bless men now.”
• Guidance Prayer: Lord, grant that I may always allow myself to be guided by You, always follow Your plans, and perfectly accomplish Your Holy Grant that in all things, great and small, today and all the days of my life, I may do whatever You require of me. Help me respond to the slightest prompting of Your Grace, so that I may be Your trustworthy instrument for Your honor. May Your Will be done in time and in eternity by me, in me, and through me. Amen.

Let us continue to lift up our Rosaries and to lay siege to Heaven for our families, our fellow parishioners, the sick, the dying, the dead, our neighborhoods, our nation, our broken world, the unemployed, the fallen away, first responders, priests, nuns, military personnel.

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!

St. Joseph, our Patron, and Patron of the Church, pray for us!

St. Teresa of Avila, pray for us!