How St. Thérèse of Lisieux Learned To Deal With Annoying People There is in the Community a Sister who has the faculty of displeasing me in everything, in her ways, her words, her character, everything seems very disagreeable to me. And still, she is a holy religious who must be very pleasing to God. Not wishing to give in to the natural antipathy I was experiencing I told myself that charity must not consist in feelings but in works; then I set myself to doing for this Sister what I would do for the person I loved the most. Martin, R. (2006). The Fulfillment of All Desire: A Guidebook for the Journey to God Based on the Wisdom of the Saints (p. 150). Steubenville, OH: Emmaus Road Publishing.
God's Generosity No one, however weak, is denied a share in the victory of the cross. No one is beyond the help of the prayer of Christ. St. Leo the Great
Bearing Good Fruit Lectio Matthew 7:15–20 Meditatio “So by their fruits you will know them.” Jesus is counseling the disciples to avoid being naive. He wants followers who are simple, that is, childlike in their simplicity—uncomplicated, unsophisticated, but wise, aware, and astute. We should know our faith well enough to realize when we are being fed an untruth and familiar enough with Christ’s life to recognize a charlatan. Some people use religion for various types of gain: money, pleasure, honor. Occasionally someone will use religion as a front for evil purposes: to steal, to harass, to exploit. Jesus uses the example of the wolf in sheep’s clothing, possibly a popular metaphor of his day, to help us picture the danger. I immediately think of the stuffed animal—a wolf with a removable sheepskin—that sat for many years in my parents’ living room. Their grandchildren loved to play with it. Real-life versions aren’t as easily identified. Whom exactly is Jesus cautioning ag...