Stained Glass Scapulars-Reflections on the Secular Carmelite Rule

From Article 7 of the Rule:

The Secular Carmelites' interior life must be permeated by an intense devotion to Our Lady. This will be manifested by honoring her daily by some particular act, and by wearing the holy Scapular of Carmel.

From the Statutes (1981):

Sec. IX-Particular Acts of Devotion to Mary

By choosing the Blessed Virgin Mary as the mother and Patroness of our Order, we place our whole religious life under her tutelage, and also propose to ourselves the mystery of her interior life and union with Christ as the example and ideal of the interior consecration.

...the mystery of her interior life and union with Christ...

Yes, Our Lady, she is a beautiful mystery!

"I am the handmaid of the Lord."
"My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord."
"Do whatever he tells you."

These statements of Our Lady are no mystery. In these simple statements of love, humility, trust, and faith, Our Lady, under the title of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, gives us wise spiritual direction in our quest for union with her Son.

She guides us by the hand up Mt. Carmel if we allow her. We are encouraged by the Order to have an intense love for her.  This is proper and fitting for Christians and Carmelites.  We should have a deep, abiding love for Our Lady who brings us closer to her Son. We should have a deep, abiding love and gratitude that she promises to defend us poor sinners at the hour of our death. We should have a deep, abiding love, and sense of hope and encouragement that we are her children of Carmel who wear her holy habit. 

As Secular Carmelites, let us foster a deep interior devotion and love for Our Lady.  Let us remain faithful to praying the Rosary and offering other acts of devotion to her.  We can show our love and gratitude by celebrating her feast days in special ways, perhaps presenting flowers to her altar, renewing our Carmelite promises or vow, renewing our baptismal promises, renewing our total consecration to her Immaculate Heart.

Today on this feast of Mary, the Visitation of Mary, let us ponder the mystery that she has an intense love for each child of God, and that she has a special love for her children in Carmel. Let us prepare for her "visitation" to us each day as we honor her with our choice of special devotion.

Other ways to honor Mary:

*Fast before her feast days
*Promote devotion to her
*Invite others to discern a Secular Carmelite vocation
*Sing the "Salve Regina" before going to sleep
*Pray a novena to her
*Participate in the "First Saturday" devotion
*Visit a shrine in her honor
*Create a shrine to her in the home
*Plant a "Mary Garden"

Let us pray for each other to remain faithful to our Rule in honoring
Our Lady by some particular devotion each day, remembering that
when we honor Our Lady, we are honoring her Son.



Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, OCDS
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Sunday in the Year for Priests

Father Vianney is a man of medium height, with a frail body, he is excessively thin and pale, extenuated by sickness and fasting; his cheeks are hollow, his cheekbones prominent, his eye is quick and penetrating, his face is that of the Spaish saints, full of the indefinable expression that only a Zurbaran or a Murillo can give...The Cure spends the greater part of his time in his church, usually leaving it at ten or eleven o'clock at night...He eats only once a day, and it is certain that his food is chosen from among the most common vegetables...

From the Remarkable Cure of Ars, by Michele de St. Pierre

Video from USCCB

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie

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Saturday of Our Lady

Today's Title of Our Lady: Virgin of the Poor

The Apparitions to Mariette Beco, Banneux, Belgium

Prayer

Invocations to Our Lady of Banneux
Blessed Virgin of the Poor,
lead us to Jesus, the Source of Grace.
Blessed Virgin of the Poor,
save all nations.
Blessed Virgin of the Poor,
Fountain of Grace, sanctify us.
Blessed Virgin of the Poor,
relieve the suffering.
Blessed Virgin of the Poor,
relieve the sick.
Blessed Virgin of the Poor,
pray for each one of us.
Blessed Virgin of the Poor,
we believe in thee.
Blessed Virgin of the Poor,
believe in us.
Blessed Virgin of the Poor,
we shall pray very much.
Blessed Virgin of the Poor,
bless us.
Blessed Virgin of the Poor,
Mother of the Savior,
Mother of God,
we thank thee.

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, ocds

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Tabernacle of the Week

Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish

Macedonia, Ohio

Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mystical Rose, make intercession for the Holy Church, protect the Sovereign Pontiff, help all those who invoke thee in their necessities, and since thou art the ever Virgin Mary, and Mother of the True God, obtain for us from thy most holy Son the grace of keeping our faith, of sweet hope in the midst of the bitterness of life, of burning charity, and the precious gift of final perseverance. Amen.

One Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father...in gratitude for the Miraculous Portrait as a continuing miracle and testimony.

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, OCDS

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Stained Glass Flowers-Little Accounts of the Miraculous

From the Story of a Soul
By St. Therese of the Child Jesus

The time came for me to take the habit...Have I told you, Mother, of how much I love snow?  Its whiteness fascinated me even when I was a tiny child...So, on the day I received the habit, I longed to see the world dressed in white like me. But on the day before it was as mild as spring and I gave up all hope of snow...As I stepped back into the enclosure the first thing I saw was the statue of the Child Jesus smiling at me from the midst of flowers and light of candles. Then, turning towards the quadrangle, I saw it was completeely covered with snow! How considerate of Jesus! He sent the snow to satisfy the longing of His little bride.  Could any man, however powerful, make a single snowflake fall to please his beloved? Everyone was astonished at the snow and thought it most remarkable because of the warm weather. Since then, many who knew how I'd longed for it, have spoken of the "little miracle" of my Clothing Day, though they thought my love of snow was peculiar.

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie
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Saturday of Our Lady

Carmelite Saint of the Day

St. Joachina de Verdruna

May 22

Saint Joachina was born on 16th April 1783 in Barcelona, Spain. She married Theodore de Mas in 1799 but was widowed in 1816. She brought up nine children with loving care. In 1826, guided by the Holy Spirit, she founded the Congregation of Carmelite Sisters of Charity which spread throughout Catalonia, opening numerous houses for the care of the sick and to help and look after those who suffered from poverty and a lack of education. She found her inspiration in the mystery of the Holy Trinity and the distinguishing features of her spirituality were her love of prayer, self-denial, detachment, humility and her love for others. She died at Vich on 28th August 1854. She was beatified on 19th May 1940 and canonized on 12th April 1959.

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May 22

Our Lady of the Virgin's Mount

Naples, Italy

Icon of Mary, "La Bruna" Naples, Italy

Click here to learn more about this devotion

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, OCDS

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Carmelite Quote

Carmelites can repay God's love by their everyday lives in no other way than by carrying out their daily duties faithfully in every respect...This is the 'little way,' a bouquet of insignificant little blossoms that are daily placed before the Almighty--perhaps a silent, life-long martyrdom that no one suspects and that is at the same time a source of deep peace and hearty joyousness and a fountain of grace that bubbles over everything--we do not know where it goes, and the people whom it reaches do not know from whence it comes.
St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein)

Biography of St. Teresa

More about St. Teresa

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie
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Tabernacle of the Week

St. Martin of Tours Parish

Maple Heights, Ohio

 

Daily Mass Chapel Area

Adoration Chapel

Mary's Garden

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie

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Sunday in the Year for Priests

Speaking to his intimate friends, Father Vianney once said: "God did me the great favor of not endowing me with anything on which I could rely--neither talent, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, nor strength, nor virtue...When I look at myself, I discover within me only my poor sins. And even then the good God does not permit me to see them all, or to know myself completely. Such a sight would drive me to despair. I have no other resource against this temptation to despair than to throw myself at the foot of the tabernacle like a little dog at his master's feet."

From the Remarkable Cure of Ars by Michel de Saint Pierre

Please keep in your prayers those seminarians who will be ordained to the priesthood in May and June in dioceses throughout the world.

Rite of Ordination to the Priesthood

Beautiful photos!

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie

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Saturday of Our Lady

Words spoken by Our Lady at Fatima

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Shrine Web site

May 15

Feast of St. Dymphna

National Shrine in Massillon, Ohio

Mass & Procession at 3:00pm

Prayer to St. Dymphna

Lord, our God, you graciously chose St. Dymphna as patroness of those afflicted with mental and nervous disorders. She is thus an inspiration and a symbol of charity to the thousands who ask her intercession.  

Please grant, Lord, through the prayers of this pure youthful martyr, relief and consolation to all suffering such trials, and especially those for whom we pray. (Here mention those for whom you wish to pray).

We beg you, Lord, to hear the prayers of St. Dymphna on our behalf. Grant all those for whom we pray patience in their sufferings and resignation to your divine will. Please fill them with hope, and grant them the relief and cure they so much desire.

We ask this through Christ our Lord who suffered agony in the garden. Amen.


Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, OCDS
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Tabernacle of the Week

St. Michael Church

Independence, Ohio

Pastor: Rev. Peter Colletti

Parish Web site

Prayer to St. Michael

Saint Michael the Archangel,

defend us in battle.

Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.

May God rebuke him, we humbly pray;

and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host -

by the Divine Power of God -

cast into hell, satan and all the evil spirits,

who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls.

 

Amen.

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie

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Stained Glass Scapulars-Reflections on the Secular Carmelite Rule

One finds in the ecclesial charisms of the religious life an inspiration to holiness, a call to heavenly realities, a light and a support on the road to the perfection of charity.
From the Forward to the Rule of Life

This beautifully written phrase from the Forward of the Rule says a lot in a short sentence.  As Carmelites, do we see our gift or charism of quiet prayer as a light that leads us to union with God? Of course, when prayer is sweet and delightful we can respond with an emphatic, "Yes!" But, when we suffer dryness and perhaps even feelings of abandonment by God for lengthy periods of time, perhaps even years, can we say that we are experiencing prayer as a light? 

Let us look to the writings and teaching of our Holy Father, St. John of the Cross, for his example to see the dark night of faith as "light."  

We can examine our own reasons of why we were led to Carmel. Maybe we were inspired by a certain saint of Carmel. Perhaps it was a certain spirituality of a particular saint, for example, St. Therese's Little Way of Spiritual Childhood. Or, perhaps, we were drawn in by St. Teresa and St. John because of their mystical teachings on prayer. Whatever our reason for asking to be clothed in the habit of Carmel, we should ask ourselves each day, Why am I here? Why did I come to Carmel? Is it because of a desire to experience "heavenly realities" as the sentence above states?  Did I choose Carmel because of a desire for holiness of life-a burning  desire to be a saint?

The quote from the Foreward above ends with the goal of any religious vocation: the perfection of charity.  Yes, this is the highest calling and gift we can aspire to.  St. Therese found this calling early in her religious vocation when she stated,  "In the heart of the Church, I will be love."

Again, this short sentence gives us three shining jewels that are the gifts of the religious vocation:

*Inspiration to holiness
*Call to heavenly realities
*Perfection of charity

We also have three shining jewels that help us on the road to holiness in our Secular Carmelite vocation:



*Poverty
*Chastity
*Obedience

Let us place our vocation in the hands of Our Lady. We can give her our sincere desire for holiness, our desire to see God face-to-face, our desire to be one with Him and our neighbor.  She can help us perfect our desire by obtaining for us the purity of heart that is necessary for union with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the three precious jewels of the Most Holy Trinity.


Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, OCDS
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Sunday in the Year for Priests

Ordination Class of 2009

(From the US Bishops' website-2010 Class will be posted soon)

When Father  Vianney came out of his confessional, the crowd was so thick that he had to be shielded from them. Nervous and disgruntled people would pull on his cassock. They would almost knock him down! He would be pushed around, and some went so far as to tear his clothes. But he never uttered a word of complaint. And let us not imagine that Father Vianney sent his penitents off at top speed. On the contrary, he demanded a well-prepared confession, and quite often a general confession.

From The Remarkable Cure of Ars, by Michele de St. Pierre

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie

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Saturday of Our Lady

May 9 is the feast of Our Lady of Miracles

Mauriac, France

Learn more about this devotion to Our Lady

(photo: St. Agnes, Orrville, Ohio-parish grounds)


Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds
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