🏓"Faith is a journey. Not a one day trip. It is a life's journey". By Godwin Delali Adadzie
🎾 "A crystal, when it is touched by the rays of the sun, emits brilliant sparks. Likewise the faithful man, enlightened by the rays of the sun, should give forth sparks of true preaching and of good works, to set his neighbour on fire." St. Anthony of Padua
📖 Psalms 110:4 “The LORD has sworn and will not waver:“You are a priest forever in the manner of Melchizedek”
🐟Our beautiful parish priest
🐟Who forever and a day presided over our daily Eucharist feast
🐟 Considered an icon at St. Theresa of Avila
🐟 Speaking for all of us, there will never be another anywhere like ya
🐟Looking high, looking low
🐟It will be hard to find any who will have the strength, stamina and heart to in the vineyard of the Lord laboring constantly to work and to sow
🐟To every one your very self you would constantly offer
🐟Because of this, how blest we were
🐟Yes, Fr. Theodore
🐟Someone we will always love and adore
🐟Truly we felt the love of a father
🐟You shepherded us without the slightest of bother
🐟 Definitely you knew how, with kindness, to run the spiritual show
🐟What sadness we felt when you were let go
🐟 In one place for forty nine years
🐟 A departure that was a cause to shed our tears
🐟For the birds is retirement
🐟Coming to America to bless, it was you who God hand picked and sent
🐟 Noteworthy it was that at your farewell Holy Mass we bid you farewell in September the eight
🐟 The Blessed Mother's birth we celebrate on that date
🐟How well was the fulfillment of the mission
🐟So many beautiful plans came to fruition
🐟An impact on the church,so great
🐟A point know one can in good faith debate
🐟What we can say about our former pastor
🐟He had a heart liken to our The Divine Savior and Master
🐟Grateful we are that your ministry was filled with plenty of tender loving care
🐟Also we were blanketed, one and all with prayer
🐟It was a very, very, absolute sure thing
🐟A daily Holy Mass would at some time or another be at St. Teresa of Avila unfolding
🐟Rain or shine, holiday or Holy day
🐟The Holy Mass would go on, come what may
🐟When it is all over and God's kingdom come
🐟You know, I know, we all know, that you will hear that as a servant, your job was well done
🐟 You taught us and was an example to always do what is right
🐟 Your legacy continues when we remember and carry on even though you are no longer in our sight
🐟Hands down, your faithfulness is something we all can attest to
🐟With overwhelming love, we forever wish you the good Padre God's blessing, and may his peace, Fr. Agudo, always be with you
tmm/TruGIG
,The enemy’s first plan is to keep a man out of the battle all together… If that doesn’t work… [he’ll] lure you into battles that aren’t yours to fight.” – John Eldridge
Info from this site:
https://carmeliteinstitute.net/teresa-of-avila-living-a-life-of-humility/
"Teresa gives her nuns advice on how one may recognize the effects of humility. “Humility, however deep it may be, neither disquiets nor troubles nor disturbs the soul; it is accompanied by peace, joy and tranquility. On realizing how wicked we are, we may sense that we deserve hell, and may be distressed by this; we may rightly think that everyone should hate us; we may not even dare to ask for mercy. Yet, if our humility is true, this distress is accompanied by an interior peace and joy of which we would not like to be deprived. Far from disturbing or depressing the soul, true humility enlarges it and makes it fit to serve God better. ”Humility is liberating. We are free from the burden of our littleness because we enter into the greatness of God.
In the Constitutions of her order, Teresa gives evidence of some of the essential ways that her nuns are to live humility within the community. Of note, not only does Teresa not exempt the prioress from lowly manual labor such as sweeping the floor, she makes the prioress the first on the list to do so. In the same section of the Constitutions, the prioress is charged with the responsibility of making sure that the physical, material and spiritual needs of the community are met in a just manner, including those who are ill or elderly. The prioress does not reign over the community but rather becomes its humble servant. In her Constitutions, Teresa follows Jesus’ Gospel imperative that the greatest among them would be their servant
📖 Matthew 20:26 “But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant”
In Constitutions 30, Teresa addresses how observed faults are to be dealt with. It may happen that an older nun commits a fault which must be addressed by a younger nun. To be required to both give and to receive correction requires humility. Additionally, Teresa requires that the one being accused not answer back even if the accusation was mistaken and the sister was without fault. Teresa had experience with this in her own life and knew the difficulties of having to endure criticism or false accusation. “For I see that not making excuses for oneself is a habit characteristic of high perfection, and very meritorious; it gives great edification…Indeed, it calls for great humility to be silent at seeing oneself condemned without fault. This is a wonderful way to imitate the Lord who took away all our faults.” When accused, Jesus remained silent. Not an easy example to follow but one which will quickly deepen one’s humility.
Each month, according to Constitutions 41, every nun must appear before the prioress to report how they are progressing in prayer and how the Lord has been leading them. To open one’s soul before another is a practice of humility and to open one’s soul to a soul as advanced as Teresa’s could be especially so. Humility does not let one deny the truth about themselves or their journey. Humility is truth and prevents us from deceiving ourselves or trying to deceive others or even the folly of trying to deceive God.
But what of those who do not live in an enclosed community? Does humility matter for them? Oh yes, for in every stage of the spiritual journey, humility must abide if one desires to be in relationship with God. As examples of humility, Teresa shows us Jesus who not only humbled himself to become man but also gave his life in sinless perfection. We have Jesus’ mother, Mary, whose humility is the banner of Carmel and who always said “yes” to God. Jesus and Mary were able to always say yes to God because their hearts were filled with humility and love. “Humility drew the King from heaven to the womb of the Virgin, and with it, by one hair, we will draw him to our souls. And realize that the one who has more humility will be the one who possesses him more; and the one who has less will possess him less. For I cannot understand how there could be be humility without love or love without humility; nor are these two virtues possible without detachment from all creatures.” The King of Glory will not unite himself to a soul who is without humility and the love which fosters it. Humility creates space within us for God to fill. “Let us, at least, imitate his humility in some way. I say ‘in some way,’ for however much we might lower and humble ourselves, someone like myself does nothing; for…seldom is there anyone who hasn’t done something by which he has merited hell.”
📖Romans 3:23 “all have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God”
Teresa asks each one to examen themselves to consider how much humility one has and to see what progress has been made. “Clearly, the humble will reflect on their lives and consider how they have served the Lord in comparison with how the Lord ought to be served and the wonders the Lord performed in lowering himself so as to give us an example of humility; and they will consider their sins and where they merited to be on account of them.” “Let us, my daughters, imitate in some way the great humility of the Blessed Virgin, whose habit we wear, for it is embarrassing to call ourselves her nuns. However much it seems to us that we humble ourselves, we fall far short of being the daughters of such a Mother and the brides of such a Spouse. ” When one sees how far short they are in humility, that truth brings about deeper self-knowledge and lets humility blossom in fruition.
What are some other ways one lives humility in the midst of daily experiences? Whether it is experiences of aridity in prayer or in receiving infused gifts in contemplation or in misunderstanding and accusation, humility enables one to wait in gratitude and trust upon the Lord. “In regard to the mystical graces one’s whole task consists in accepting the cross of dryness with courage and humility and the freedom of spirit that comes from detachment from consolations[5].” In gifts and consolations, it is essential to remember that they are gifts from God and understand the fact that “God gives them to us without any merit on our part and let us thank His Majesty for them.” Humility is a great and costly virtue which lets one see all things, themselves, and God as they are in truth.
With Teresa’s many references to humility, it is not possible in the span of a few short words to do justice to her wisdom. For now, we must be content to only scratch the surface and to know that to reap a harvest from her teachings on humility will be the journey of a lifetime. Perhaps for the purposes of this paper, it will suffice if we have come to appreciate a little more about Teresa’s understanding of humility and grown in our own desire to persevere with determination the beautiful virtue of humility.”
Link to YouTube video,
https://youtu.be/VwkNoSCRaq4