“ Let go of your plans. The first hour of your morning belongs to God. Tackle

the day's work that He charges you with and he will give you the power to accomplish it. “

                                                                                 St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, virgin and martyr

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊    

Deuteronomy 6:4-13

Listen, Israel:

The Lord, our God, is One Lord. And you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart,

with all your soul and with all your strength. Engrave on your heart the commandments that I pass on to you today.

Repeat them over and over to your children, speak of them when you are at home and when you travel, when you lie down and when you rise.

Brand them on your hand as a sign, and keep them always before your eyes. Engrave them on your doorposts and on your city gates.

 

Do not forget the Lord when he has led you into the land which he promised to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob;

for he will give you great and prosperous cities which you did not build, houses filled with everything good which you did not provide,

wells which you did not dig, vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant. So when you have eaten and have been satisfied,

do not forget the Lord who brought you out from Egypt where you were enslaved. Fear the Lord, your God, serve him and call on his Name when you have to swear an oath.

 

Ps 18:2-3a, 3c-4, 47 & 51

I love you, Lord, my strength.

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊

Matthew 17:14-20

When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus, knelt before him and said, "Sir, have pity on my son, who

is an epileptic and suffers terribly. He has often fallen into the fire, and at other times into the water.

I brought him to your disciples but they could not heal him."

Jesus replied, "O you people, faithless and misled! How long must I be with you?

How long must I put up with you? Bring him here to me.

 

" And Jesus commanded the evil spirit to leave the boy, and the boy was immediately healed.

Later, the disciples approached Jesus and asked him privately, "Why couldn't we drive out the spirit?"

Jesus said to them, "Because you have little faith. I say to you: if only you had faith the size of a mustard seed,

you could tell that mountain to move from here to there, and the mountain would obey. Nothing would be impossible for you.

 

Gospel Reflection ：

"Reach out to the hand of Christ with complete trust."

Edith Stein grew up in a practicing Jewish household, but had completely rejected belief in God by the age of fifteen.

She studied philosophy and gained renown for her outstanding skills, though a professorship was still not possible for women at that time.

Edith was a seeker of truth, ultimately finding it through the autobiography of Saint Teresa of Avila and the example of a friend

who showed great serenity in bereavement because of her faith. Edith's professor, Edmund Husserl,

had taught her to examine all things without prejudice, and so she explored faith

 

with the same approach and eventually came to embrace Christ as the Truth. The mustard seed of her faith grew rapidly.

She was baptised and became a Carmelite nun, taking the name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross.

Yet, her awareness of God's love was increasing just at the time when the world was in the grip of growing hatred,

as Hitler took power. She did not fear death, as she had abandoned her whole self to God.

Saint Teresa Benedict teaches us to reach out to the hand of Christ with merit of ensemi swbno ist eat fede complete trust.