The Inside of the Cup

~~~ Memorial of Saint Teresa of Avila,

Virgin and Doctor of the Church ~~~

 

~~~ Romans 1:16-25 ~~~ Psalm 19 ~~~ Luke 11:37-41 ~~~

 

Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside?

 

We are just like the people of Biblical times....

we are often more concerned with our outside appearance than our inner self.

 

Jesus is invited to dinner and either forgot or intentionally

failed to wash his hands before eating.

Maybe his hands were not dirty, he had just been teaching the crowd.

Maybe he set the scene with the intention of addressing

the external rituals of the Pharisees.

What matters today is that the message we can use today.

 

We do tend to put our prayer life after our cleanliness.

I am guilty of often not beginning my day immediately with prayer.

I do eventually get to my morning prayers, but it is not before I wash my face.

 

Perhaps we tends to care more about our external appearance

than our interior disposition.

Our external rituals are visible to many,

but the state of our soul can be obscured.

We can make our outside look all clean and beautiful...

after all this is what others see.

This is how they relate to us...by what they witness.

 

Saint Teresa initially entered the convent for mostly external reasons.

As she grew in holiness she wrote her

well known book the Interior Castle.

Through the writings of Saint Teresa of Avila we find

 much to help us make our inner being

as well manicured as our physical bodies. 

 

 

May these words of Teresa provide food for the nourishment of your soul.

While it is true no human can see our soul...God does;

 he wants us to devote more time polishing and sprucing

 up the inside of the cup.

 

Saint Teresa, pray for us.

 

“May today there be peace within.
May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received,

and pass on the love that has been given to you.
May you be content knowing that you are a child of God.
Let this presence settle into our bones,

and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.
It is there for each and everyone of you.”  

 

Saint Teresa, pray for us.

 

"Let nothing frighten you,
All things are passing away:
God never changes.
Patience obtains all things.
Whoever has God lacks nothing;
God alone suffices." 

 

Saint Teresa, pray for us.

 

“Christ has no body now on earth but yours,
no hands but yours,
no feet but yours,
Yours are the eyes through which to look out
Christ's compassion to the world
Yours are the feet with which he is to go about
doing good;
Yours are the hands with which he is to bless men now.”  

 

Saint Teresa, pray for us.

 

 God calls to us in countless little ways all the time.

 

 We cannot excuse or neglect the inside of our cup.

Fill it with thoughts and words worthy of your call to holiness.

The inside of the cup in the end will be our pass into heaven.

God does not care if you are dressed in the finest silk and satin clothing...

he does not care if you are wearing diamond rings and gold chains...

he does not care if you have polished nails and artistically blushed cheeks.

 

God is only concerned with the state and condition of our heart and soul.

He searches and probes our heart to seek more of him.

 

Blessings come pour forth from the inside of the cup...

where your heart fills the space with love.