“Amen, I say to you: whoever keeps my word will never see death.” The Jewish people of Ancient Israel don’t understand the truth that is
contained in these words of Jesus. Didn’t Abraham and their ancestors die?
Sometimes we don’t understand the ways of the Lord. Sometimes what happens in our lives doesn’t see to make a lot of sense. But God is there. We can find meaning even in tragedy and struggle. One of the saints we celebrate this week is a Carmelite nun named Teresa of the
Andes. Teresa was the first saint canonized for the country of Chile – a very traditional
Catholic country in South America. Teresa felt the call of God in her life as she grew up in a prominent Chilean
family – she joined the very poor Carmelite convent of Los Andes in Chile when
she was still a youth. Unfortunately, she was not there long – she died of
typhus in 1920, three months short of her 20th birthday. Teresa was named one of the patron saints of the youth when she was canonized
by John Paul II in 1993. Her joyful faith and love of life still speaks to us today, even though she did
not live a very long life here on earth. She once said in one of her letters to her family – “"I am the happiest
creature. I don't desire anything more because my whole being is satiated by
God who is Love.” May the joy of our faith permeate our lives, and may it lead us on our journey
of faith.
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