Carmelite homily for Lectionary 661 (Feast of Saint Luke) – Friday, October 18, 2019
Saint Therese is oftentimes called the Greatest Saint of Modern Times because she uses modern imagery in her writings. For example, she’ll say, “you can climb the rough staircase of perfection or ride the smooth elevator of love.” It’s a great image of going to heaven. But I extend it because when you take an elevator the doors open and the doors close; people get on and people get off. Sometimes they’re not people you want to deal with or sometimes they’re people who will help or give you advice. The elevator doors open and the elevator doors close on our journey to heaven. So in today’s Gospel, Jesus is sending the seventy-two and we think that they’re going to different places to prepare the way for him. No! They’re all going to you. One at a time. It’s like there are seventy-two floors – each one to teach you generosity, or patience, or fidelity, or hope, or optimism, or life, or love. Finally, the doors will open and there will be Jesus. But it takes the seventy-two to get us there.