April 12, 2014
Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Saint of the day
Saint Teresa of the Andes (1900-1920)
From a young age, Saint Teresa showed a great devotion to Christ. Inspired by the autobiography of Saint Thérèse de Lisieux, she became a Carmelite nun at Los Andes in 1919. Teresa found great joy in her simple lifestyle and devoted community. She spent each day wholly focused on prayer and sacrifice. Teresa wrote in her diary, "I am God's. He created me and is my beginning and my end." At the age of 20, Teresa caught typhus and swiftly took her final vows. She focused on penning many letters, sharing her views on spiritual life with numerous people. Teresa died during Holy Week, shortly after her diagnosis. Saint Teresa of the Andes is the patroness against illness, of sick people, and of young people. She is Chile's first saint.
Reflection
Saint Teresa, like Saint Thérèse de Lisieux, is important because she reminds us that sainthood has little to do with the grandness of one's life or accomplishments. Rather, true holiness and sainthood derive from an individual's inner devotion to God and others. Saint Teresa did very little in terms of worldly success, but she is, nonetheless, a magnificent saint. In your life, remember that, regardless of what you accomplish, your devotion to God and others can make you as holy as every saint in history.
Prayer
Dear God, help me to appreciate my lot in life.
Liturgical season information
Lectionary: 256
Place in Year: Lent
Color of decorations and priest's vestments: Violet
Daily readings
Reading 1: Ezekiel 37:21-28
Responsorial Psalm: Jeremiah 31:10, 11-12abcd, 13
Gospel: John 11:45-56
View complete readings on USCCB.org