WEDNESDAY, THIRD WEEK OF LENT
Dt 4:1. 5-9 Ps 147: 12-13, 15-16, 19-20 Mt 5: 17-19
ETERNAL GREATNESS
There is an innate desire in us to be great and remembered forever. And the source of this desire is in God’s original plan for us – to live for ever. Today’s readings provide a blueprint for this eternal greatness. Do you want to be great? Do not just keep the letter of the law, but fulfil the spirit of the law. We have an outstanding example of this in the history of the Carmelite Order.
The Carmelite Order, begun in the early 13th Century, underwent a phase of drastic spiritual decline in the 15th Century. To arrest this gradual but steady decline in the original contemplative spirit, several reform initiatives were introduced ranging right from the central authority of the Order, the Prior General, to individual communitarian reforms. However, none of these proved successful as the focus was on observance, a rigid keeping of the letter of the law. The transforming power of the Holy Spirit came to the Order through the most unexpected source- St. Teresa of Avila, a humble nun of the Order, who undertook a reform that would impact not just the Order but have a lasting impression on the entire spirituality of the Church. The difference between her reform and previous reforms was that she emphasized the spirit of the law: a deep, personal and loving relationship with Jesus and with the nuns in her community.
The supreme law surpassing all ritual, religious observance and practices is love. Laws are important, but have value only when obeyed and performed in a spirit of love. Love does not permit self-righteousness for our so called ‘fidelity’ to the law. On the contrary, it demands compassion, kindness, gentleness, patience and forgiveness towards those who do not keep it. By this alone can we have our God ‘so near to us… whenever we call upon Him!’ We may not be called to be reformers like St Teresa of Avila. But each of us is called to the greatness of the kingdom of God. May we be guided by the Spirit of love in all that we do.
Response: O Jerusalem, glorify the Lord!
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