Saturday of Our Lady

Photo: R. Massaro
Our Lady Queen of Peace Church, Grafton, Ohio

At the dawn of creation the eyes of God rested with satisfaction on the universe he had created. At a second moment he looked with pleasure on the soul of Mary as he was about to recreate a fallen world. So fresh, unsullied, so unsurpassingly beautiful she was. He smiled on the loveliest creature that his creative love had fashioned; he saw that she was good.

Her soul was a meeting-place. Here was goodness, for she was full of grace; here was beauty, for she was all-beautiful; here was truth, for here was the Word in her womb, the source of all truth. No wonder he found delight in her.
An excerpt from Pilgrims with Mary by John Moloney PP






Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds

Stained Glass Flowers-Little Accounts of the Miraculous



Photo: R. Massaro St. Teresa of Avila Church Sheffield Lake, Ohio

 From the life of St. Teresa of Jesus (Avila):

While at the Incarnation in the second year that I was prioress, on the octave of the feast of St. Martin, when I was receiving Communion, Father John of the Cross who was giving me the Blessed Sacrament broke the host to provide for another Sister. I thought there was no lack of hosts but that he wanted to mortify me...His Majesty said to me: "Don't fear, daughter, for no one will be a party to separating you from Me." making me thereby understand that what just happened didn't matter. Then He appeared to me in an imaginative vision, as at other times, very interiorly, and He gave me His right hand and said: "Behold this nail; it is a sign you will be My bride from today on. Until now you have not merited this; from now on not only will you look after My honor as being the honor of your Creator, King, and God, but you will look after it as My true bride. My honor is yours, and yours Mine." This favor produced such an effect in me I couldn't contain myself, and I remained as though entranced...Throughout the whole day I remained thus very absorbed. Afterward I felt great pain, and greater confusion and affliction at seeing I don't render any service in exchange for such amazing favors.
Spiritual Testimonies, No. 31

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, ocds

Carmelite Quote

ST. TERESA MARGARET REDI OF THE SACRED HEART:

To possess ourselves of Holy Love, we must call to mind the presence of God and place ourselves in that presence; just as one in the world loving some one of the world often has him in his thoughts, so we must frequently remind ourselves that God is always present, and that He always has us in His thoughts for our good and happiness. In loving, one must render love for love; therefore, if God has loved us always and so much, regardless of our merit what must we, who have been loved, do to requite Him for His love? We must make ourselves like unto Jesus in humility, kindness, sweetness...




Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds

Sunday with the Saints

ST. TERESA OF JESUS (AVILA)

Teresa was born at Avila in Spain in 1515. She entered the Carmelites and made great progress in the way of perfection and was granted mystical revelations. Wishing to share in the spiritual renewal of the Church of her time, she began to live her religious life more ardently and soon attracted many companions, to whom she was like a mother. She also helped in the reform of the friars, and in this had to endure great trials. she wrote books which are renowned for their depth of doctrine and which showed her own spiritual experiences. She died at Alba in 1582.
From the Carmelite Proper









READ THE INTERIOR CASTLE ONLINE


Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, ocds

Corpus Christi

Corpus Christi-2011



Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds

Saturday of Our lady

PRAYER TO THE

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

O most Holy Virgin, who was pleasing to the Lord and became His mother, immaculate in body and spirit, in faith and in love, look kindly on me as I implore your powerful intercession. O most Holy Mother, who by your blessed Immaculate Conception, from the first moment of your conception did crush the head of the enemy, receive our prayers as we implore you to present at the throne of God the favor we now request...


(State your intention here...)

O Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Mother of Christ, you had influence with your Divine Son while upon this earth; you have the same influence now in heaven. Pray for us and obtain for us from him the granting of my petition if it be the Divine Will.

Amen.







Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds

Carmelite Quote

ST. JOHN OF THE CROSS:

...First, individuals commune with God more respectfully and courteously, the way one should always converse with the Most High. In the prosperity of their satisfaction and consolation as beginners, they did not act thus, for that satisfying delight made them somewhat more daring with God than was proper, and more discourteous and inconsiderate. This is what happened to Moses: When he heard God speaking to him, he was blinded by that gratification and desire and without any further thought would have dared to approach God, if he had not been ordered to stop and take off his shoes [Ex. 3:4-5]. This instance denotes the respect and discretion, the nakedness of appetite, with which one ought to commune with God. Consequently when Moses was obedient to this command, he was so discreet and cautious that Scripture says he not only dared not approach but did not even dare look [Ex. 3:6; Acts 7:32]. Having left aside the shoes of his appetites and gratifications, he was fully aware of his misery in the sight of God, for this was the manner in which it was fitting for him to hear God's word.
The Dark Night, Bk 1, Chap. 12, No. 3

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds

Carmelite Saint of the Day-June 7

Bl. Anne of St. Bartholomew

Carmelite Virgin

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According to St. Bernard it is the person who keeps silent and says nothing when things go wrong who is really humble. It is very virtuous, he says, to keep silent when people are talking about our true faults; but more perfect when we are slighted or accused without having committed any fault or sin...

If Jesus kept silent, it was not because he hated anyone. He was simply saying to his eternal Father what he said on the cross: 'Lord, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.' What infinite love burned in that sacred heart of yours, Lord Jesus!...

Blessed silence! In it you cry out and preach to the whole world by your example. Volumes could be written about your silence, Lord!

Excerpt from the Meditations on the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ by Bl. Anne of St. Bartholomew

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds

The Fruits of the Holy Spirit-Tenth Hymn of Virtue: Self-Control

Tenth Hymn of Virtue:

Self-Control (Continence)

The Fruits of the Holy Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity.

In this action of the Holy Spirit he has perfected the gift of patience in us that we may possess the great fruit of self-control, sometimes referred to as continence.

This gift helps us to be in full control of our sensible appetites that are weak due to human nature. This gift of self-control is especially helpful for those suffering sexual temptations-sins against chastity. But it also comes into play in practical moments of every day life as well when we are trying to die to ourselves.

For example, think of the times God has given us the grace to refrain from making a critical remark about someone or some situation. Think of the many times he has helped us to control our anger when we would have liked to have vented our feelings.

What about controlling our desire for sleep, for food, etc.? These are all areas we can work on to be detached from the things of this world. We only need to look at the lives of the Saints, to see that they were not slaves to the body and its senses. Their lives are full of accounts of prolonged fasting, rising early for prayer, and great physical denial of all sorts.

The Saints possessed perfect spiritual self-control with the help of the Holy Spirit. They were fit for the Kingdom of God because of their pure hearts in which they decreased and the Lord Jesus increased. They loved with His love, and showed mercy with His mercy.

Let us pray for each other, that we not give in to every whim of the senses. Let us pray for the strength to be victorious for Christ in our temptations in this life. And if we fall, let us trust in His great mercy that He is always ready to forgive and help us to begin again living the life of virtue.

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds

The Fruits of the Holy Spirit-Ninth Hymn of Virtue: Modesty

The twelve fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control and chastity.

Ninth Hymn of Virtue: Modesty

Continuing the series on the fruits of the Holy Spirit we come to the ninth gift: Modesty. When discussing modesty, the first image that comes to mind is one dressing modestly. Again, we must take a deeper look into this gift of grace.

In this particular gift, the Spirit imparts to the soul a gift that allows the person to be modest in external actions, and of course, this would flow into the physical aspect of the person to include modest dress.

Reading the lives of the Saints, we learn that they were humble people who did not want to draw attention to themselves. They lived the Gospel message of ...”Be on guard against performing religious acts for people to see...”(Matthew 6:1). We have to be careful how we conduct ourselves in church. Do we perform religious actions that would draw attention to ourselves and steal the glory and worship due to Our Lord at Mass?

We also have to be careful not to judge people who do draw attention to themselves in church. Only God knows their heart and the purity of their intention. As St. Pio of Pietrelcina used to say when people kept coming to him, “I don't want my reward now!” This was a reflection of the gospel passage where Jesus spoke of the Pharisees who perform these acts so that they will be noticed. “...they are already repaid...” (Matthew 6:2).

St. Teresa of Jesus (Avila) and St. John of the Cross were mortified when they were found in ecstasy by their sisters and brothers. In their teaching on prayer, they exhort us to follow the Lord's command of “When you pray, go to your room, close your door..."(Matthew 6:6).

St. Bernadette is another example of modesty and humility. Learning of the plans people were making to keep her body in Lourdes after her death-she was firmly against it. She said she did not want to take away from Our Lady's presence there and gave instruction to have her body remain in the convent cemetery. Today, one can view her beautifully incorrupt body in the monastery chapel in Nevers, France.

We can ask ourselves :

*Are we modest in our speech or do we brag and draw attention to ourself and our achievements.

*Are we modest in dress, or do we dress suggestively, or otherwise, to get the attention of others.

*Are we modest in our external actions, especially in church? Or do we perform great religious gestures to get the attention of others?

*When given a compliment, do we accept it humbly knowing that all gifts come from God and give him the credit? Or do we discuss how hard we worked to achieve a certain goal?

Let us imitate the Saints in their spiritual modesty. The Saints who went to great lengths to divert attention from themselves even when their holiness of life caused others to flock to them.

Let us ask Our Lady of Sorrows, who stood humbly, in silence, at the foot of the cross, to help us be humble and modest in our actions and dress and to give all honor and glory to God.

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds