Novena to St. Therese

She had a presentiment that her activity after her death would extend far beyond the influence of a book, that it would be worldwide. "How unhappy I shall be in heaven if I cannot do little favors for those whom I love." She began to multiply mysterious promises: "I will return!" I will come down!" Then on July 17, she made her now famous prediction: "I feel that my mission is about to begin, my mission of making others love God as I love Him, my mission of teaching my little way to souls. If God answers my requests, my heaven will be spent on earth up until the end of the world. Yes, I want to spend my heaven in doing good on earth."

On Wednesday morning, September 29, Therese was breathing with great difficulty. Mother Marie de Gonzague gathered the community, who recited the prayers for the dying for an hour. At noon, Therese asked her Prioress: "Mother is this the agony?"...What should I do to prepare for death? Never will I know how to die!" After the doctor's visit, she asked: "Is it today, Mother?"--"Yes, my child."--"What happiness if I could die right now!" And a little later on she asked: "When am I going to suffocate entirely?...I can't stand any more! Ah! pray for me! Jesus! Mary! I will it!"

In the evening, Father Faucon came to hear her confession; when he came out of the infirmary, he was very much moved and said: "What a beautiful soul! She seems to be confirmed in grace!"
From The Story of a Soul Study Edition, Prepared by Marc Foley, O.C.D.

Old Footage-Exhumation of St. Therese's body



Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds
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Novena to St. Therese

Preparing for the feast of St. Therese:

At the World Youth Day in August 1997 the Holy Father had made the announcement that he intended to enroll St. Therese of the Child Jesus as a Doctor of the Church on Mission Sunday, October 19,1997. The long awaited day (for there were many petitions, worldwide, seeking this honor for the saint) arrived. St. Peter's Square was bathed in a brilliant sunlight, with thousands of pilgrims as the Holy Father declared her "Doctor of the Universal Church."

The relics of the Saint were brought from Lisieux and carried in procession to be put in a place of honor before the altar of Sacrifice. When the Holy Father read the official proclamation, representatives from the six continents showered the reliquary and the crucifix with rose petals, as the choir sang in French verses from St. Therese's poem, Jeter des fleurs.

The Gospel was sung in Latin, the universal language of the Church, followed by the the same text sun in Old Slavonic by a Russian deacon, recalling the fact that St. Therese was designated by the reigning pontiff, Pope Pius XI, as the patroness of the Pontifical Russian College in Rome. At the time the Church in Russia was under severe persecution. After Communion the famous passage from St. Therese's Story of a Soul, was read, "In the heart of the Church, my Mother, I will be love."
Excerpt from St. Therese Doctor of the Little Way, published by Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate






Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds
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Novena to St. Therese

The Litany of St. Therese
of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face

Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us, Christ, hear us,
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven,
Have mercy on us,
God the Son Redeemer of the world,
Have mercy on us,
God the Holy Spirit
Have mercy on us,
Holy Trinity, One God,
Have mercy on us.


*Pray for us (said after each invocation)


Holy Mary, pray for us
Our Lady of Victory,
St. Therese, Servant of God,
St. Therese, victim of the merciful love of God
St. Therese, spouse of Jesus,
St. Therese, gift of heaven,
St. Therese, remarkable in childhood,
St. Therese, an example of obedience,
St. Therese, over of the will of God,
St. Therese, lover of peace,
St. Therese, lover of patience,
St. Therese, lover of gentleness,
St. Therese, heroic in sacrifice,
St. Therese, generous in forgiving,
St. Therese, benefactress of the needy,
St. Therese, lover of Jesus,
St. Therese, devoted to the Holy Face,
St. Therese, consumed with divine love of God,
St. Therese, advocate of extreme cases,
St. Therese, persevering in prayer,
St. Therese, a powerful advocate with God,
St. Therese, showering roses,
St. Therese, doing good upon earth,
St. Therese, answering all prayers,
St. Therese, lover of holy chastity,
St. Therese, lover of voluntary poverty,
St. Therese, lover of obedience,
St. Therese, burning with zeal for God’s glory,
St. Therese, inflamed with the Spirit of Love,
St. Therese, child of benediction,
St. Therese, perfect in simplicity,
St. Therese, so remarkable for trust in God,
St. Therese, gifted with unusual intelligence
St. Therese, never invoked without some answer,
St. Therese, teaching us the sure way,
St. Therese, victim of Divine Love,


Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins
of the world,
Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins
of the world,
Graciously hear us, O Lord.


Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins
Of the world,
Have mercy on us.


St. Therese, the Little Flower of Jesus,
Pray for us.


Let us pray...O God, Who inflamed with Your
Spirit of Love the soul of Your servant Therese
of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face, grant
that we may also love You and make You
much loved.
Amen.

The Society of the Little Flower

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds
________________________

Novena to St. Therese

Looking at a picture of Our Lord on the Cross, I was struck by the Blood flowing from one of the divine hands. I felt a great pang of sorrow when thinking this Blood was falling to the ground without anyone's hastening to gather it up. I was resolved to remain in spirit at the foot of the Cross and to receive the divine dew. I understood I was then to pour it out upon souls...I offered to God all the infinite merits of Our Lord.
Quote from St. Therese at the age of 14

The Sanctuary and Basilica of St. Therese in Lisieux

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds
____________________

Novena to St. Therese

At the age of six Therese wrote, "I want to be a very good girl. The Blessed Virgin is my dear Mother and little children usually resemble their mother." Therese became, as it were, an extension of the Blessed Virgin by her perfect imitation of her virtues. It is precisely Mary's hidden virtues, her ordinary life at Nazareth, which are echoed in the life and writings of St. Therese whose life and writings were Marian from beginning to end.
From St. Therese, Doctor of the Little Way, published by Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds
___________________

Carmelite Quote

I feel in me the vocation of the Priest. With what love, O Jesus, I would carry You in my hands when, at my voice, You would come down from heaven. And with what love would I give You to souls! But alas! While desiring to be a Priest, I admire and envy the humility of St. Francis of Assisi and I feel the vocation of
imitating him in refusing the sublime dignity of the Priesthood.
O Jesus, my Love, my Life, how can I combine these contrasts? How can I realize the desires of my poor little soul?

Ah! In spite of my littleness, I would like to enlighten souls as did the Prophets and the Doctors. I have the vocation of the Apostle. I would like to travel over the whole earth to preach Your Name and to plant Your Glorious Cross on infidel soil. But O my Beloved, one mission alone would not be sufficient for me, I would want to preach the Gospel on all the five continents simultaneously and even to the most remote isles. I would be a missionary, not for a few years only but from the beginning of creation until the consummation of the ages. But above all, O my Beloved Savior, I would shed my blood for You even to the very last drop.
St. Therese of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face-Doctor of the Church

Visit the Basilica and Sanctuary of St. Therese

Lisieux, France

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds

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Carmelite Quote

St. Raphael Kalinowski, OCD

...If we obey the pope, we obey the Lord Jesus, according to his own words addressed to Peter and the other apostles: "Whoever hears you, hears me" (Lk 10:16).

Therefore, we have the duty to assist the pope, and if we are unable to do it in other ways, let us help with prayers and good works. Let us seek to accomplish with all possible perfection and with the gift of ourselves all the actions of our daily life, even the most insignificant. Let us offer them to the Lord in sacrifice, let us elevate all that we do to a supernatural level, seeking to walk always in the presence of God. In so doing we shall truly belong to the soul of the church, and therefore even the simplest things will be transformed into the sublime; our renunciations and sacrifices, made for the love of God and neighbor, will increase the holiness of the Church with an exemplary Christian life, keeping in mind that we Carmelites belong to the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary, let us willingly make ourselves living stones of the Church, willing servants of our brothers and sisters on this earth, so that we can, after our death, participate in the glory of God forever.

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, ocds
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OUR LADY OF SORROWS

The Virgin Mary, who believed in the word of the Lord, did not lose her faith in God when she saw her Son rejected, abused and crucified. Rather she remained beside Jesus, suffering and praying,

until the end. And she saw the radiant dawn of His Resurrection. Let us learn from her to witness to our faith with a life of humble service, ready to personally pay the price of staying faithful to the Gospel of love and truth, certain that nothing that we do

will be lost.

— Pope Benedict XVI, Angelus - September 13, 2009

The Passionate Nuns-Whitesville, Kentucky

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds
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The Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Photo:R.Massaro(c)2011SpiritSinging
St. Joseph Church Canton, Ohio

Read more about this Feast

The Via Dolorosa

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, ocds

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Carmelite Quote

St. Teresa of Jesus of the Andes:

After my operation ( her appendix was removed), my life began to point more clearly toward Carmel. I celebrated my fifteenth birthday and decided to seal my gift to Christ with a vow of chastity. Of course, I sought the counsel of my confessor. He allowed me to do this for only nine days but said that it could be renewed afterwards. I chose the Feast of the Immaculate Conception to make my vow.

You might also like to visit:

THE CARMELITE NUNS IN ICELAND

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds
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Carmelite Saint of the Day

BLESSED MARY OF JESUS

Born in 1560 at Tartanedo (Spain), she took the Discalced Carmelite habit at Toledo in 1577 and made her profession the following year. She spent the rest of her life serving God in that Carmel, except for a brief period in 1585 when she helped with a foundation at Cuerva. She died at Toledo on September 13, 1640. St. Teresa of Jesus thought extremely highly of her. She was a great contemplative, intensely devoted to our Lord, and often drawing inspiration from the liturgy.

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds
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Stained Glass Scapulars-Reflections on the Secular Carmelite Rule

From the Constitutions:

#16

The beatitudes are a plan of action for life and a way to enter into relationship with the world, neighbors and co-workers, families and friends. By promising to live the beatitudes in daily life, Secular Carmelites seek to give evangelical witness as members of the Church and the Order, and by this witness invite the world to follow Christ: "the Way, the Truth and the Life" (Jn. 14:6).

As Secular Carmelites I think sometimes we can overlook the beatitudes in our life.  Of course, we know we must participate in  an apostolate wether as a part of a community or individually. So, we think of some things we can "do" such as make rosaries, make scapulars, etc.  While these are holy and good active apostolates, we should ask ourselves how we are living out this active apostolate in terms of our behavior. 

The quote above from our Constitution tells us that we are witnesses in the world who invite the world to follow Christ!  Wow! did you ever think you could have the whole world follow your holy example?  Yet, that is the ideal we are called to.  So let us examine ourselves and discern wether we are that type of person who is a light in the world. 

Are we living the beatitudes by being merciful to others? Especially those we live and work with? Do we hold grudges, refusing to forgive?  This type of person does not draw others to follow him.

Do we mourn over our sins and failings?  Or do we respond to our weaknesses and sins with the attitude of, "oh, well, I'm human."

Are we pure of heart?  We may not know this, but the fruits would be apparent.  People would be spiritually attracted to us.  We can look at the lives of the Saints to see this reality.  St. Bernard had over 30 men follow him to found a monastery.  Look at the lives of our holy Carmelite parents, St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa, and of course, the "Little Flower." WE are following, running after these saints because we are spiritually attracted to them.  Of course, we know we are attracted to Christ living and working in them.

Let us continue this holy circle of following the saints of Carmel and have others follow us, we know that Christ is leading the way. Let us live a life of beatitude in imitation of Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds
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Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Photo:R.Massaro(c)2011SpiritSinging
Lourdes, France

Meditation on the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

From Dayton University

Click Here

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, ocds

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Saturday of Our Lady

Photo:R.Massaro(2011)SpiritSinging
Lourdes Shrine Euclid, Ohio

The first source of Mary's blessedness was her faith. She was greeted as blessed "because she believed." Of no other creature was such faith asked. She had to accept with divine faith that her child in the crib, whose dead broken body was later given back into her arms, was "indeed the Son of God." This was the faith which, like a brilliant light, played on all her words and on the mystery she kept pondering right through her life.

Photo:R.Massaro(c)2011SpiritSinging
St. Peter Mansfield, Ohio

Through days of sunshine and shadow she believed that just as his mercies shone in the past there would always be power in his arm. Yet in the very next recorded event we find her faith is tried "Son, why have you treated us so?" (Lk. 2, 48). In the total darkness of three days' loss she only had him through faith; in his three hours' agony on the cross her faith was tried to its utmost. Still even though she did not understand she believed that He would still do great things through her sorrowing search as through her sharing his Passion. She stood beneath the Cross, the great believer.

(From Pilgrims with Mary, John Moloney, P.P.)

Carmelite Monastery of Christ the King

Christchurch, New Zealand

(click on photo)

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, ocds

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