First Reading: (Nehemiah 2:1–8)Responsorial Psalm: (Psalm 137)- “Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you.”
Today is the first day of the month of October and the feast day of St, Therese. In today’s reading of the Good News, we encounter three people and three very different responses to the call of Jesus. One offers to follow him, but Jesus responds with the hard truth that “the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Another is personally called by Jesus, but he asks first to go and bury his father. A third promises to follow, but only after saying farewell to his household. All with conditions. Is that not like you and me?
At first glance, Jesus’ responses seem harsh, even discouraging. Why not welcome the eager volunteer? Why not allow a son to honor his father’s burial? But what the Lord reveals is deeper: vocation begins with God’s initiative. “You did not choose me,” Jesus says elsewhere, “but I chose you.” We cannot take up a calling on our own terms; we must respond to the timing and purpose of God.
Second, when he calls, our response must be immediate and undivided. Excuses, even reasonable ones, can become obstacles to God’s work in our lives. Following Christ requires both readiness and total availability. This is why Jesus warns, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
How often do we place conditions on our discipleship? How often do we delay, saying: “Not now, Lord, later, when I have more time, more strength, more freedom”? But God calls us knowing our limits, and he supplies the grace. What he seeks is not perfection, but willingness, a heart that says yes.
Today we also celebrate Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, who embodies this spirit of humble availability. At only 15, she entered the Carmelite convent of Lisieux, embracing a hidden life of prayer and sacrifice. She discovered what she called her “Little Way”, a path of childlike trust in God’s love, doing ordinary things with extraordinary love. Despite her frailty and suffering, especially during her illness with tuberculosis, she offered her life completely to God for the salvation of souls. She died at only 24, yet her influence has reached all corners of the world. Declared Patroness of the Missions and a Doctor of the Church, her life teaches us that holiness is found not in grand achievements, but in fidelity and trust.
So, today as we begin this new month of October, let us reflect: Am I making myself truly available to God’s call, Do I allow excuses to delay my response to doing the right thing for the Kingdom? Can I embrace, like Saint Thérèse, the “Little Way” of trusting surrender and everyday holiness?
May her intercession help us to say a wholehearted yes to Christ, here and now.
Happy feast of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus!
May God's love and favor continue to be with us all now and forever.
Amen
Pal Ronnie
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