All or nothing

Would I have ever imagined a blogpost in which St Teresa of Avila rubs shoulders with St Oscar Romero? Probably not: at face value, these two saints, with their very different lives, contexts and personalities, have little in common... Teresa, the 16th century Carmelite reformer, mystic and teacher of prayer; Oscar, the 20th century bishop martyred for challenging injustice and oppression in his country. And yet, at their very core, they share a strong similarity: their generous, passionate, indefatigable and complete YES to God, uttered with unswerving singleness of heart. The same fire burned in each one; the same Love called them both, albeit very differently.

And so here they both are today, feast of St Teresa of Avila, courtesy of a homily by Pope Francis I was reading yesterday, for the fourth anniversary of the canonisation of Oscar Romero, Pope Paul VI and others. As I read these words I felt Santa Teresa tap me on the shoulder, saying that I didn't need to look further for any words by her to share on her feast. This would be Heaven's message from her, for today...

Jesus is radical. He gives all and he asks all: he gives a love that is total and asks for an undivided heart. Even today he gives himself to us as the living bread; can we give him crumbs in exchange? We cannot respond to him, who made himself our servant even going to the cross for us, only by observing some of the commandments. We cannot give him, who offers us eternal life, some odd moment of time. Jesus is not content with a “percentage of love”: we cannot love him twenty or fifty or sixty percent. It is either all or nothing.

All or nothing... There were no percentages or half measures for Teresa. Love called her constantly deeper, and to more, and to the gift of herself in totality; and that is how she responded. May her prayers help us to respond too, with a percentage of love which is nothing less than one hundred...

Happy feast everyone


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