Memorial of Saint Teresa of Jesus

In him you also, who have heard the word of truth,
the Gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him,
were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
which is the first installment of our inheritance
toward redemption as God’s possession, to the praise of his glory.

Saint Paul delighted in speaking of the Holy Spirit. When the church was nothing more than a small group of people and there was no “infrastructure” of support for faith in Jesus – no church buildings, no organizations, no endowments or foundations, no books, posters or billboards, no pocket crosses, rosaries or holy cards – Saint Paul was supported only by the Holy Spirit. When he woke in the morning on the floor of a jail or in a bedroll by the roadside or comfortable in a friendly house his first thought was Jesus Christ and his first impulse was gratitude.  If he went to bed tired and discouraged he woke up ready. The Spirit of Jesus drove him hour by hour and day by day.

His energy and joy and zeal continually overcame the obstacles of his sicknesses, his weariness, and his enemies. Opposition and disagreement only made him more determined to announce the gospel as he understood it. If he was discouraged he shook it off and threw himself back into action. Saint Paul’s motivation came from God; it was the Holy Spirit, “the first installment of our inheritance toward redemption.”

Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the dead.  It made sense that God who had called his people to life and led them through many trials would not abandon his faithful ones to death, especially when their death had been by martyrdom. Surely God would raise them up. 

It made sense -- but that dry logic came to life when Saint Paul discovered his eagerness to spread the gospel. He knew it would bear him aloft and into eternity, toward redemption as God’s possession, to the praise of his glory.