St. Therese and Advent

by Father Paul Weberg, CH (LTC), USAR

St. Therese told a story three months before her death. She was in a season of Advent; she was waiting to meet Jesus. St. Therese told a story of a father who had two sons. (Letter 258; July 18, 1897; to Fr. Belliere) At times these two sons would be disobedient and mischievous. So when the father finds out the bad things they had done, he comes to punish them. When the sons see their father coming, they react.

One son knows that he deserves to be punished, so when he sees his father coming, he starts to tremble in fear and runs as far away from his father as possible. But the other son reacts differently. He too knows that he deserves to be punished, but when he sees his father coming, instead of running away, he runs toward his father and throws himself into his father’s arms, saying he’s sorry for having been disobedient and mischievous, sorry for causing his father trouble and that he loves his father. To prove how much he loves him, he promises to be better from now on. This disobedient son tells his father to go ahead and punish him – with kisses.

St. Therese explains that the heart of a loving father can only react like this when a son or daughter comes to Him in this way. It’s the only thing a loving father can do, even though that he knows that his son or daughter will probably fall again in the future. The only thing a loving father can do is to wrap his arms around his child – whose sincerity and love he knows – to love his child and to punish them with kisses.

St. Therese could be confident to be judged by God because she was always trying her best to please and love God. She was confident not because she thought she herself was good, but that God was good. Questions for reflection: do I foster a positive or fear-based climate in my unit or team? In dealing out punishment to subordinates, how well do I balance mercy and justice?

Advent is a time of active waiting and actively trying to please and love God, knowing that our loving Father is also waiting for us to be with Him forever.

Father Prior Paul is the vocation director of Marmion Abbey, and is a US Army Reserve Chaplain currently assigned to the US Army Chaplain Center and School at Ft. Jackson, SC.