Sunday, July 29, 2012

THREE WORDS OF WISDOM

A JOYFUL BALANCE



In the morning, fill us with your love;
we shall exult and rejoice all our days.
Give us joy to balance our affliction
for the years when we knew misfortune.
                                Excerpt from Psalm 90


In these trying times, it may difficult for one to find joy in life.  As Christians, this gift is the hallmark of our response of accepting God's gift of our salvation: Jesus Christ.  Do you find your joy in God alone? Or does it depend on the circumstances of the day-if things are going well?

As Secular Carmelites, we can ask ourselves, am I a joyful person? Do I find a positive outlook on challenging situations?  Or, do I always find the negative in people and situations?  If our prayer life is authentic, the grace of God changes us into peaceful and happy and joyful people, despite the problems we are facing. 

St. Teresa of Jesus (Avila) had a famous saying.  She stated, "I would run a hundred miles from a sour-faced saint."  Wow!  Maybe we should be more observant in our daily life.  Do people want to run the other way when they see us?  Or, do we welcome loved ones and strangers with a smile?  I know when I am having a difficult day, sometimes just a smile from a stranger lifts my spirit.  Sometimes, that little gift from God is all it takes to "balance our affliction."

Detachment from worldly pleasures can also bring us joy.  St. John of the Cross teaches us that beginners find it hard to wean themselves from the pleasure of the senses.  This, as we know, can be a life-long battle.  But we may ask ourselves if we have been following a life of prayer for a number of years, have we truly begun to detach ourselves from the pleasure of the senses? Do we become irritable when we fast and pray?

St. Therese was not a sour-faced saint

We know that the saints gave up sleep and fasted.  When was the last time we gave up a little sleep in order to pray?  When was the last time (outside of Lent) that we gave up a favorite food or pastime? We want to become saints, but the time is now, not tomorrow.  The saints became saints, not because they were faithful to disciplines of the flesh, but because they were faithful to prayer.  Prayer leads to the life of virtue.  It makes us holy people.  Who are holy people?  The people who respond in love to their neighbor and who remain joyful about it! 

The saints were great evangelizers, maybe not in giving sermons publicly, but their lives were an open book of the Gospels.  We can't evangelize if we are unhappy people, for people will not be spiritually attracted to us. Let us pray, that through our life of prayer and service, God transforms us into living charity and joy, a reflection of the kingdom.

God certainly does give us joy to balance the afflictions of daily life.  We only need to look around us.  The gift of life and the beauty of nature is all around us.  The joy and consolation we receive in the Holy Eucharist and the Sacraments is overwhelming when we think about it.  We can experience great joy in remembering that God has given us the angels and the saints to help us on our journey, and, most importantly, he has given us his blessed Mother to be our Mother! What great joy to know that she loves us and prays for us!

Our Lady: Mother of the Church
cares for each member

Where do you find your joy that God has given you to balance your purification in this life?  Look for this joy.  Some days it may be harder to see than others, but if we have the gift of faith, we know that God has not left us orphans.  He remains with us.

Let us be instruments of God's joy.  Let us bring joy to others to balance their affliction, especially to those who are sad and lonely and find life burdensome.

...You changed my mourning into dancing; you took off my sackloth and clothed me with gladness.
Psalm 30

The joy in giving oneself to God alone: Carmelite Nuns in Italy





Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds



Monday, July 23, 2012

CARMELITE SAINT OF THE DAY

OUR LADY, MOTHER OF DIVINE GRACE

God of eternal wisdom, in your providence you willed that the Blessed Virgin Mary should bring forth the Author of Grace, and take part with him in the mystery of man's redemption. May she obtain for us grace in abundance and bring us to the haven of everlasting salvation. We ask this through our Lord. Amen.


Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds





Sunday, July 22, 2012

CARMELITE MONASTERIES

CARMELITE NUNS IN THAILAND
MY VOCATION IS LOVE











Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds

Friday, July 20, 2012

CARMELITE SAINT OF THE DAY

FEAST OF SAINT ELIJAH










Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds


Thursday, July 19, 2012

RELICS OF ST. THERESE

SOUTHERN PHILIPPINES
2008









Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

SERVANTS OF MARY

Servants of Mary
Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Windsor, Ohio








Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds

Monday, July 16, 2012

CARMELITE SAINT OF THE DAY

OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL


Prayer to Our Lady of Mount Carmel

O most beautiful Flower of Mount Carmel, fruitful vine, splendor of Heaven, Blessed Mother of the Son of God, Immaculate Virgin, assist me in this my necessity. O Star of the Sea, help me and show me herein that you are my Mother.
O Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and earth, I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart, to succor me in this my necessity. There are none that can withstand your power. O show me herein that you are my Mother.
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us that have recourse to thee. (3 times)
Sweet Mother, I place this cause in your hands.





Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds

Sunday, July 15, 2012

SUNDAY WITH THE SAINTS

Blessed Titus Brandsma, O. Carm
Priest and Martyr




Born at Bolsward (The Netherlands) in 1881, Blessed Titus Brandma joined the Carmelite Order as a young man. Ordained a priest in 1905, he earned a doctorate in philosophy in Rome. He then taught in various schools in Holland and was named professor of philosophy and of the history of mysticism in the Catholic University of Nijmegen, where he also served as Rector Magnificus. He was noted for his constant availability to everyone. He was a professional journalist, and in 1935 he was appointed ecclesiastical advisor to Catholic journalists. Both before and during the Nazi occupation of The Netherlands he fought, faithful to the Gospel, against the spread of Nazi ideology and for the freedom of Catholic education and of the Catholic press. For this he was arrested and sent to a succession of prisons and concentration camps where he brought comfort and peace to his fellow prisoners and did good even to his tormentors; in 1942, after much suffering and humiliation, he was killed at Dachau. He was beatified by John Paul II on November 3, 1985.

From his writings:

Jesus called himself the head of the Mystical Body, of which we are the members. He is the vine, we are the branches. He laid himself in the winepress and himself trod it. He handed us the wine so that, drinking it, we might lead his life, might share his suffering. Whoever wishes to do my will, let him daily take up his cross. Whoever follows me has the light of life. I am the way, he said. I have given you an example, so that as I have done so you may do also...

Mary, who kept all God's words in her heart, in the fullness of grace granted her, understood the great value of suffering. while the apostles fled, she went out to meet the Savior on the way to Calvary and stood beneath the cross, in order to share his grief and shame to the end. And she carried him to the grave, firmly trusting that he would rise...










Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds

Saturday, July 14, 2012

SATURDAY OF OUR LADY

The Sixth Decade Rosary
The Carmelite Rosary (Brigittine Rosary)

Photo: R. Massaro
Shrine: Our Lady Comforter of the Afflicted
Youngstown, Ohio
The crowned Virgin at Lourdes, France wears a six-decade Rosary. There is a tradition in this region of France to pray this six-decade Rosary. The extra decade is to be recited on behalf of the Souls in Purgatory or in honour of the Immaculate Conception
Photo: R. Massaro
Crowned Virgin  Lourdes, France

READ MORE ABOUT THE BRIGITTINE ROSARY



Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds

Sunday, July 8, 2012

CARMELITE NUNS

Carmelite Monastery of the Holy Spirit
Ormiston Australia

Click on photo to visit their website


Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

TABERNACLES

St. Teresa of Avila Church
Sheffield Lake, Ohio









Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds