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Memorial of Saint Teresa of Jesus, virgin and doctor of the Church
Galatians 4:22-24, 26-27, 31-5:1
Ps 113:1b-2, 3-4, 5a and 6-7
Luke 11:29-32
S
UMMARY
The first reading speaks to the Jews in trying to explain the new mantra. In sim-
plicity, ˈOut with the Old, in with the Newˉˎnot that the Jews of the time should
disregard the Jewish Laws of the time, but that there was a new Savior, a Mes-
siah that brought a message of Grace, and that should be the Law of all time.
Christ set them free and his messages should be regarded above those of the
ancient Laws of Mount Sinai. The Gospel speaks to recognizing that there is no
sign that is needed to recognize the Son of God. He was going to spend three
days in the tomb, similar to how Jonah spent three days in the fish, all symboliz-
ing the great and wonderful power of God. God saved Jonah from the ˄whale˅
as God saved his son by raising him from the dead.
R
EFLECTION
My daughter routinely asks me for something which is right in front of her nose.
So I am constantly encouraging her to look beyond her nose for the answer to
her question, whether it be in the refrigerator or on her desk. This particular Gos-
pel reminds me of my daughter˅s lack of clarity in seeing what is right before her.
In this Gospel, the Jewish crowd had the Son of God right before them, but did
not understand the Grace and Glory before them. They were asking for a sign
that the Messiah was there, they needed ˄proof˅ that what Jesus was prophesy-
ing was indeed what God had planned. Jesus responded with how could you ask
me for more when I am right here? The only sign Jesus promised to give was
equivalent to what Jonah had previously done, which was to survive the belly of a
fish! Jesus even espoused on those foreign to the Jewish culture recognized
God˅s work when they saw it, as was done by Queen of Sheba. This Gospel and
reading remind me to always look just behind my nose for those signs and people