Readings: Job 42:1-3,5-6,12-17, Ps. 119:66,71,75,91,125,130, Luke 10:17-24
“The seventy returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!’” (Luke 10:17)
Both our readings today are set in a tone of joy and happiness. Finally, God restores everything Job had lost. In the blink of an eye, Job went from the most pathetic man on earth to the richest man. In his later life, God blessed Job with seven sons and three daughters, the fairest of all the women on earth. After a near-death experience, Job was gifted an additional 140 years.
When they sent out the seventy, they must have wondered how they would survive without a bag, a wallet, an extra tunic, or even a few loaves of bread. Today, they return with joy. The experience taught them about God’s providence. If God gives you an assignment, trust He will provide everything you need. You will have dark moments but, ultimately, realise that God knew exactly what He was doing. “Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.” (Psalm 125:1)
The seventy also learned that power comes from the name of Jesus. They were surprised that demons submitted to them. “At the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.” (Philippians 2:10). Do you still believe there is power in the name of Jesus? When was the last time you called on Jesus with faith? Avoid using this name as a mere exclamation. Call on Jesus with reverence.
Jesus cautioned the seventy not to rejoice in their ability to command evil spirits but in the fact that their names were written in the Book of Life. Do not glory in being a prayer warrior; glory instead in making heaven. “On that day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.” (Matthew 7:22-23). Many Christians take pride in doing mighty works today but will be disappointed on the last day.
When the seventy returned, Jesus offered a prayer of thanksgiving to teach us the importance of appreciating God. Do not develop an entitlement mentality. Refusal to give thanks leads to pride. You start to feel that, after a successful mission, you are now greater than others. Do you know what becomes of proud people? Mary said: “He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted the lowly.” (Luke 1:51-52)
Jesus’s thanksgiving prayer emphasises receiving God with a childlike attitude (humility). Jesus once said to his disciples: “Unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3). Now, we hear Jesus saying: “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.” (Luke 10:21).
Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, born Marie-Françoise-Thérèse Martin on 2 January 1873, in Alençon, France, was the youngest daughter of devout parents, Louis and Zélie Martin. Following her mother’s early death, the family moved to Lisieux, where Thérèse was raised in a deeply religious environment. Highly sensitive yet fiercely determined, she experienced a profound spiritual maturation in her early teens and felt an overwhelming calling to religious life. Although she was considered too young, her persistence, including personally pleading her case to Pope Leo XIII during a pilgrimage to Rome, eventually led to her early acceptance into the convent.
In 1888, at just fifteen, she entered the Discalced Carmelite monastery in Lisieux, taking the religious name Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face. Within the cloister, she lived a hidden, quiet life centred on prayer and routine duties. During this time, she developed her renowned theological approach known as the “Little Way.” This spiritual path emphasised trust, complete surrender to God’s love, and the belief that holiness is achieved not through grand, heroic deeds, but by doing the smallest, ordinary daily tasks with extraordinary love and humility.
Thérèse contracted tuberculosis and died after a painful illness on 30 September 1897, at the age of twenty-four, promising to “spend her heaven doing good on earth.” Following her death, the publication of her spiritual autobiography, Story of a Soul, caused devotion to the “Little Flower” to spread rapidly across the globe. Canonised by Pope Pius XI in 1925, she was declared a co-patroness of universal missions and, in 1997, Pope John Paul II proclaimed her a Doctor of the Church in recognition of the profound depth and universal appeal of her spiritual teachings.
Let us pray: O God, who open your Kingdom to those who are humble and to little ones, lead us to follow trustingly in the little way of Saint Thérèse, so that through her intercession we may see your eternal glory revealed. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. May God’s abundant blessings be upon us all. (Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin, Doctor. Liturgical Colour: White. Bible Study: Job 42:1-3,5-6,12-17, Ps. 119:66,71,75,91,125,130, Luke 10:17-24)
@Rev. Fr. Evaristus E. Abu