St Teresa of the Andes was a Carmelite nun who died on this date, April 12, at the age of 19 in 1920 in Chile in South America. She is the first saint canonized from that devoutly Catholic country. Pope John Paul II named her as a patron saint of the youth. At her canonization in 1993, John Paul II spoke about her joyful youthful enthusiasm and the great example of faith she gives to the youth of our modern era. We pray for our youth of our parish and of our Diocese today, asking for the prayers of St Teresa of the Andes. She once wrote in a letter: "A soul united to Jesus and identified with him can do everything. It seems to me that this can be reached only by prayer.” She also wrote: “I am God’s. He created me and is my beginning and my end.” She died of typhus during Holy Week in 1920. More than 100,000 pilgrims visit her shrine each year in a remote part of Chile. We unite our prayers to the intercessions of St Teresa of the Andes today.
In our first reading today from the Acts of the Apostles, we hear the apostles rejoice in the way they had been found worthy to suffer dishonor at the hands of man for the sake of the Gospel and for the sake of Jesus’ name. The apostles left the Temple area after they had been flogged and ordered by the Sanhedrin to stop preaching the Gospel. But, Peter and the other apostles continued their preaching with even more enthusiasm after that event. What a great example of faith their witness is for us today.
We all carry our crosses in life. Those in the early Church suffered greatly in their attempts to be witnesses to the faith. Many of the saints such as Teresa of the Andes endured harsh conditions and obstacles in their journey of faith, including disease and illness. In the challenges and sufferings we face, may we find courage and hope.
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