USCCB as started publishing their suggestions for saints newly added to the calendar in the US but which have not had formal "Proper" readings approved.
The readings below are suggested by USCCB, others may be taken
from the Common of Virgins or the Common of Martyrs
 |
| St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, photographer unknown, c. 1938-1939 |
Reading
1: Hosea 2:16bc,
17cd, 21-22
Thus says the LORD:
I
will lead her into the desert
and
speak to her heart.
She
shall respond there as in the days of her youth,
when
she came up from the land of Egypt.
I
will espouse you to me forever;
I
will espouse you in right and in justice,
in
love and in mercy;
I
will espouse you in fidelity,
and
you shall know the LORD
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Commentary on Hos 2:16bc, 17cd, 21-22
The
Prophet Hosea, voicing God’s hope for the people of Israel, speaks as a husband
might address a wife. (In later parts of the book Israel is like the wife who
was unfaithful.) In this selection, speaking with the voice of God to the
Hebrew people, he sounds as if he is wooing his future bride. He tells
them that if they will be faithful, because God’s love and mercy is eternal,
that God is always faithful. In Hebrew tradition this courtship would include
the gifts for the bride (cf. Genesis 24:53).
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 45:11-12,
14-15, 16-17
Hear, O daughter, and see; turn
your ear,
forget
your people and your father’s house.
So
shall the king desire your beauty;
for
he is your lord, and you must worship him.
R. (11) Listen to me,
daughter; see and bend your ear.
or: R. (Matthew 25:6) The bridegroom
is here; let us go out to meet Christ the Lord.
All
glorious is the king’s daughter as she enters;
her
raiment is threaded with spun gold.
In
embroidered apparel she is borne in to the king;
behind
her the virgins of her train are brought to you.
R. Listen
to me, daughter; see and bend your ear.
or: R. The bridegroom is here; let us go out
to meet Christ the Lord.
They
are borne in with gladness and joy;
they
enter the palace of the king.
The
place of your fathers your sons shall have;
you
shall make them princes through all the land.
R. Listen
to me, daughter; see and bend your ear.
or: R. The bridegroom is here; let us go out
to meet Christ the Lord.
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Commentary on Ps 45:11-12, 14-15, 16-17
Psalm
45 is a royal psalm originally sung in honor of the king’s marriage to a queen
(of foreign extraction). It is likely that it influenced St. Paul’s
instructions on virgins and marriage. It emphasizes the beauty of the
sacramental relationship (see 1 Corinthians 7:25-35).
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Gospel: Matthew 25:1-13
Jesus told his disciples this
parable:
"The
Kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins
who
took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
Five
of them were foolish and five were wise.
The
foolish ones, when taking their lamps,
brought
no oil with them,
but
the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps.
Since
the bridegroom was long delayed,
they
all became drowsy and fell asleep.
At
midnight, there was a cry,
'Behold,
the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!'
Then
all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps.
The
foolish ones said to the wise,
'Give
us some of your oil,
for
our lamps are going out.'
But
the wise ones replied,
'No,
for there may not be enough for us and you.
Go
instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.'
While
they went off to buy it,
the
bridegroom came
and
those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him.
Then
the door was locked.
Afterwards
the other virgins came and said,
'Lord,
Lord, open the door for us!'
But
he said in reply,
'Amen,
I say to you, I do not know you.'
Therefore,
stay awake,
for
you know neither the day nor the hour."
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Commentary on Mt 25:1-13
St.
Matthew’s Gospel gives us the parable of the Ten Virgins, continuing the Gospel
theme of preparedness and vigilance (although strictly speaking this parable is
about foresight). In this story the idea of vigilance is expanded to include
being prepared. The Jewish wedding customs of the time would have dictated a
procession [at night] from the house of the bride to the house of the groom.
The whole act is symbolic of the coming of the messianic era also portrayed as
a wedding in Matthew 9:15, Matthew 22:1-14 and John 3:29. The wise virgins brought
oil for their lamps while the foolish ones did not. The oil is interpreted by
some scholars as referring to good works.
The
overarching symbolism is the lamp of faith (light of the indwelling Holy
Spirit) being kept burning with oil (good works). Hence, without good works
(oil), the lamp will not continue to burn (James 2:17) and the virgins, so
deprived of light, are excluded from the heavenly kingdom.
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Reflection:
St.
Teresa Benedicta (Judith Stein) is one of what we could call modern day
martyrs. She was a victim of the Holocaust,
killed by Nazis in 1942. She should stand as an example of what we are all
called to be as lovers of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Truly, Sacred Scripture is predictive – as these
words from Hosea demonstrate:
I will espouse you to me forever;
I
will espouse you in right and in justice,
in
love and in mercy;
I
will espouse you in fidelity,
and you shall know the LORD.
The Lord
found her, wooed her, and through the auspices of the Carmelite Order, he took
her as his bride. Her devotion to him
should stand as a beacon to all intellectuals who struggle with the faith. Her brilliant mind and intense study brought
her to the feet of our Lord. Those who
seek truth will always find him. Indeed
Jesus is the bridegroom for any who seek truth.
St.
Teresa followed her betrothed and was true to him to the end, she was a light
in the intense darkness of the Auschwitz horror during one of the most atrocious
periods in human memory. Her unwavering
faith in the face of the evil that took so many lives was an inspiration to her
fellow 987 prisoners who on August 7th, 1942 were taken from Echt in
the Netherlands where she and her sister were sent to avoid the Nazi threat and
summarily killed, probably on her feast day, August 9th. A light in
the world of faith, extinguished for only a moment. Faith such as hers remains the hope of many Christians
who are persecuted for their faith.
Today we
ask for St. Teresa’s intercession with her bridegroom, Our Lord, Jesus. May he grant us strength and the bravery of
St. Teresa when we face our own trials.
Pax
[1] The
readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm
and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is
for private use only.
[2]
The picture used is a passport photo: St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross,
photographer unknown, c. 1938-1939.
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