Stained Glass Scapulars-Reflections on the Secular Carmelite Rule

From the Rule of St. Albert:

As the life of man upon earth is a warfare and all who live piously in Christ shall suffer persecution; moreover your adversary, the devil, goes about seeking whom he may devour. Endeavor, therefore, with all diligence to put on the armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the snares of the devil. Gird your loins with the girdle of chastity and guard your hearts with holy thought, for it is written: a holy thought shall preserve you...

What are some of the snares of the devil  in which we can be trapped ? The dictionary states that a snare is a "skillful maneuver."  It is a trap to entangle one's prey.We know from Scripture that Satan is intelligent, cunning, and deceitful. He knows our weaknesses and plays upon them.  We must guard ourselves with prayer to build our spiritual strength for the time of temptation and trial that is a part of our daily life. We must strive to guard the door of our heart and mind and be diligent about what we let enter the temple of the Holy Spirit.

As Secular Carmelites, we build these spiritual muscles by being faithful to prayer each day.  God does the work of purifying our heart so that we can see the snares of the devil before us and avoid them. We are called to receive the Sacraments on a regular basis, these vehicles of grace, too, strengthen us for the perilous journey we must make toward union with God.

As Secular Carmelites, we must also have an intense love for Our Lady, especially to her under the title of "Our Lady of Mt. Carmel." She will defend us now and at the hour of our death if we keep close to her every moment of our lives.

St. Therese of the Child Jesus is just one saint that comes to mind as we discuss this subject of preparing for battle with our enemy. She prepared herself for the difficult moments of monastery life with prayer. She was able to respond charitably in these difficult moments, because she put on the armor of love. She fought the good fight and now we call her "Doctor of Love. "

St. Therese knew herself through prayer, she received the same gift of self-knowledge that God will give to each of us if we remain faithful to prayer. The devil doesn't need to reveal our weaknesses, the Lord himself does this for us in prayer so that we may prepare ourselves for those moments of spiritual battle.We know that this battle is mainly an interior battle, it includes our intellect, our memory, and our will. The three powers of our soul that St. John of the Cross writes so eloquently about.



Let us pray for each other that we be given the gift of self-knowledge, that we may know our weaknesses and faults; through this knowledge we will be given the spiritual insight to prepare for battle with that "roaring lion" who seeks to destroy us.

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds
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