Thursday – Feast of St. Therese Lisieux

Gospel – Luke 10:1-12

Life’s a Journey

Ruins of Sepphoris, Galilee

Life’s a journey.  I can’t begin to count how many times I have heard that line and how many people have voiced those words.  But after all these years, I guess I have to admit that it’s true.  And not just for me.  Just think about all the different paths we have all taken, all the twists and turns we have made, deliberate or not.  All the many roads we could have stayed on but instead turned left or right or even stopped and just turned around.

I could never have left my home in the countryside of Southern Maryland and taken over Dad’s store.  I could have stayed in the seminary.  I could have finished college at University of Maryland instead of re-entering the seminary and continuing my education at Loyola U Chicago.  I could have continued my job in retail at Kmart and not become a teacher!  I could never have walked into the LSGA Office at Loyola and met Ginger!  Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda!  And you all have similar stories!  And yet here you are; here we are! I truly believe that, as much as I don’t get to always go where I want to go, God has always taken me where I need to be, where He needs me to be!

In today’s Gospel, Jesus sends out His disciples, 72 of them, on a journey, a missionary journey to spread the Word.  This was a real physical mission, and He gave them very specific instructions on what to bring, what to do and how to handle situations and rejection. 

But not all of us are called to that physical journey; not all of us will be traveling to other towns or even countries to spread the Word.  Many of us are called to spread the Word right where we are and with the people we interact with on a daily basis, to share the Gospel message simply in our words and actions, in how we treat each other day in and day out.

And some of us are called to a more spiritual journey, living our lives in prayer and contemplation, like St. Therese of Lisieux whose feast we celebrate today.  Her journey was a spiritual one, offering her prayers for the salvation of souls and the growth of the Church. We are all on a journey; we are all called to share the Good News, sometimes in our dealings with others, sometimes in our prayer and meditation.  May we all find strength for the journey!

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