Collect taken from the feast of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, virgin and martyr.
Collect: God of our Fathers, who brought the Martyr Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross to know your crucified Son and to imitate him even until death, grant, through her intercession, that the whole human race may acknowledge Christ as its Savior and through him come to behold you for eternity. Who lives and reigns…
“God of our Fathers, who brought the Martyr Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross to know your crucified Son and to imitate him even until death,”
– We recognize that God’s grace did not just spring martyrdom upon St. Teresa, but rather led her through knowledge of Christ Crucified to the point of offering her whole life to God. Martyrdom is the fullest completion of this offering.
“grant, through her intercession, that the whole human race may acknowledge Christ as its Savior and through him come to behold you for eternity.”
– Though martyrdom is not required for salvation, knowledge of Christ our savior is. So, we invoke St. Teresa for her merits and example and ask her to pray that the world might come to know what she knew, Christ the savior.
Questions & Advice: Do you know Christ crucified? Is martyrdom repulsive or attractive to you? How often do you pray specifically for others to come to the knowledge of Christ?
Read about knowing Christ in the Catechism (456-63). Pray in a special way for all those who lost their lives in the holocaust and during WWII. Spend some time reflecting on just what Christ’s incarnation and crucifixion means in such situations of suffering.
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| Sancta Teresa, ora pro nobis! |