Feast of the Holy Family

Photo: R.Massaro (c) Spirit Singing-Sorrowful Mother Shrine Bellevue, Ohio

 

 
Deuteronomy 5:16

Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord, your God, has commanded you, that you may have a long life and prosperity in the land which the Lord, your God, is giving you.



 Prayer to the Holy Family:

God our Father, in the Holy Family of Nazareth you embraced our world with great tenderness and love, and renewed family life in the pure and noble dignity you intended from the beginning.

To Mary and Joseph who walked the path of faith with courage and fidelity, you entrusted Jesus, your Son, to grow in stature and wisdom and in favor with all. Enfolded in the love and warmth of that family the beginnings of our redemption took hold.

Lead us to grow in the warmth and gentleness of the Holy Family, that 'gentle image of the Trinity', poor in the eyes of the world, rich in the treasures of heaven, hidden and unknown on the earth, contemplated by the Angels.

Like Jesus, Mary and Joseph who contemplated your will, Father, as it unfolded, may we, too, hold your Word, ponder it in our hearts, and respond with courage and generosity as Jesus makes his home in us.

Deepen our love for one another and enable us to live in peace, united with you and with each other. Inspired by the way of life of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, lead us to union with your Divine Son.

We ask this through Christ Our Lord. Amen.


 


 

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds

Feast of the Holy Innocents

PRAYER FOR THE UNBORN

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, in You we adore the eternal origin of all life.  Born of God the Father before all time, You were born of the Virgin Mary in time.  In Your humanity and Person You sanctified motherhood from the first instant of conception through all stages, for our salvation.  Recall all people to these divine blessings to appreciate the unborn as person and to enlighten every human being coming into this world.  In Your mercy avert Your just anger from the enemies of life, to allow God's infants to give Him glory and to be crowned with the heavenly life of grace.  From the cross You called, "Behold your Mother."  Amen.

OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE PATRONESS OF THE UNBORN, PRAY FOR US

 


 
 The Sisters of Life
 


Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds

The O Antiphons-O Emmanuel

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds

Advent-O Antiphons-Key of David

Peace be with you!

Advent Meditation on the O Antiphons

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds

CARMELITE QUOTE

                                         

                    Photo: (C) R.Massaro Nativity Cave & Chapel (Replica) Nativity of the Lord Jesus Church Akron, Ohio 

 ‘And the Word became flesh.” That truth became a reality in the 
manger at Bethlehem. But it was to be fulfilled in yet another form: 
‘Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood, has eternal life”. The 
Savior, who knows that we are human beings and will remain human beings who have to struggle daily with weakness, comes to our assistance in a truly divine manner. Just as the human body is in need of daily bread, so also does the divine life in us require constant nourishment. ‘This is the living bread which came down from heaven’. Whoever really takes this as his daily bread, experiences each day the mystery of Christmas. The Word made flesh. And that is doubtless the surest way to maintain constant union with God, to grow each day more firmly and deeply into the mystical Body of Christ.

St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, OCD (Edith Stein)
Excerpt from The Mystery of Christmas-Incarnation and humanity







Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds

SUNDAY WITH THE SAINTS

ST. TERESA OF JESUS OF THE ANDES

SAINTS-SPQN WEBSITE

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

VIDEO OF MASS OF CANONIZATION-MARCH 21, 1993

TIMELINE OF ST. TERESA

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, ocds

Saturday of Our Lady

"Pray, pray very much, and make sacrifices for sinners; for many souls go to hell, because there are none to sacrifice themselves and pray for them." 

THE THIRD SECRET OF FATIMA

FATIMA-LIVE WEBCAM

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds

Carmelite Saint of the Day

SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS

CARMELITE PRIEST AND 

DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH

Photo: R. Massaro (C) Spirit Singing

I hope you enjoy this little video I put together on a poem by St. John

The music is by Kyiv Chamber Choir. Watch the video directly from YouTube and find the link to buy the music. 

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, ocds

Spiritual Direction with St. John of the Cross

From the Dark Night, Chapter 16, No. 1:

We already said that the darkness the soul mentions here relates to the sensory, the interior, and the spiritual appetites and faculties, because this night darkens their natural light so that through the purgation of this light they may be illumined supernaturally. It puts the sensory and spiritual appetites to sleep, deadens them, and deprives them of the ability to find pleasure in anything. It binds the imagination and impedes it from doing any good discursive work. It makes the memory cease, the intellect become dark and unable to understand anything, and hence it causes the will also to become arid and constrained, and all the faculties empty and useless. And over all this hangs a dense and burdensome cloud that afflicts the soul and keeps it withdrawn from God. As a result the soul asserts that in darkness it walks securely.


Does this description of a soul in deep purification by God frighten you?  It appears to be a paragraph full of negatives.  However, those of us in Carmel know that the teachings of St. John are not filled with doom and gloom. They are words of wisdom filled with light and beauty.

The soul described here is being led from attachment to pleasure of the senses and the pleasure and delight that come from spiritual consolations. One who is suffering through this dark night is a blessed soul indeed.  You may ask, "How can one who suffers darkness, dryness, and spiritual abandonment be so blessed?" If you suffer these things, be mindful of our Lord's words: "Many are called, but few are chosen."  Yes, indeed, we only need to look at our society and see that few indeed are chosen to follow Him in intimate friendship and spiritual union, yes, even to the heights of spiritual marriage.

This purification involves all of the powers of the soul: the intellect, the memory, the will.  We can read in this passage that the intellect becomes unable to understand anything and the memory ceases to function! What is happening? The poor frightened soul experiencing this spiritual purification may run to their doctor and say, "I'm getting Alzheimer's!"  It will take a wise and knowledgeable spiritual director to help the soul through this purification.

How do we know one is experiencing a true "dark night?" Many spiritual people love to call any inconvenience or trial a "dark night."  A person in a divinely led dark night will remain faithful to their Catholic faith.  Nothing, not even the gates of this living hell of purification will separate them from being faithful to the Church and their vocation in life. They will remain faithful to prayer, no matter how difficult it becomes.

Another genuine sign one is experiencing a true dark night is that no one around this person will know about it!  Wow! Go figure!  How is that possible?  Haven't we encountered spiritual people who are quick to tell us about every spiritual ache and pain they suffer. We only need to look at the lives of the saints to understand the life of one living in a true dark night. St. Therese is one example.  Many people do not know that she suffered a frightful trial of faith many years before she died. She was so petrified of losing her faith and knowledge of heaven that she wrote the Creed with her own blood; her small effort to show herself and God that she was living by faith and love alone.

Another example in our time is that of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.  A book was written recently, detailing her spiritual dark night that lasted for years upon years.  And who would have known?  She exuded love and peace to all she met. Yet, she traveled this dark night alone in her heart, yet not alone, for she was led by the One whom we know loves us, as St. Teresa would say.  This was not hypocrisy on her part as some have claimed.  This is a true Christian embracing the cross of her spouse in an intimate union of mystery that we should not even try to comprehend. This secret and hidden love between the soul and the Bridegroom is not to be shared. She did not reveal the "secrets of the King."  This love of the soul and the Bridegroom reflects the love between Jesus and the Father. A mystery we will never comprehend.

In this year of faith, let us keep in mind this teaching of St. John of the Cross. The dark night is full of light, because we are led by faith alone.  If we suffer dryness and feelings of being abandoned by God, do not lose heart. He is beginning a good work in us that He will see through to completion. Are we willing and trustful enough to be led by the hand through the dark night of this earthly life?


One Dark Night,
fired with love's urgent longings
--ah, the sheer grace!--
I went out unseen,
my house being now all stilled.
Excerpt from the poem "The Dark Night"
by St. John of the Cross

Let us pray for each other.


Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds

Carmelite Saint of the Day

ST. MARAVILLAS OF JESUS, OCD

St. Maravillas: Founded numerous monasteries, even surpassing
the number founded by Holy Mother, St. Teresa of Jesus (Avila)

On December 8, 1974, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception,Mother Maravillas was anointed and received Holy Communion. On December 11,1974, surrounded by her community in the Carmel of La Aldehuela, Madrid, she died. At the time of her death, her sisters report that Mother Maravillas kept repeating the phrase: “What happiness to die a Carmelite!” She was beatified by
Pope John Paul II on May 10, 1998.

Read more about this holy Carmelite

THE MIRACLE OF ST. MARAVILLAS

TIMELINE OF ST. MARAVILLAS

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds

Sunday in the Year of Faith

St. Maravillas of Jesus

Discalced Carmelite Nun

Feast Day: December 11

We only have to live by faith and then everything becomes easy.  Who could see Him acting so kindly towards us, so full of love, so attentive to our needs, and then not live for Him alone and love Him madly?

What does it matter if someone does not feel faith, provided they are living every moment by it?

Always live a life full of faith and trust, letting the Lord steer your boat and even sleep in it if He wants.



Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds

CARMELITE SAINT OF THE DAY

Blessed Bartholomew Fanti, Carmelite Priest

Bartholomew Fanti was born in Mantua: the year is unknown, but in 1452 he was already a Carmelite priest of the Congregation of Mantua. For thirty-five years at the Order’s Church in Mantua he was spiritual father and rector of the Confraternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, for which he composed a Rule and Statutes. He is especially remembered for his love of the Eucharist. He died in 1495.

Prayer

Lord God,

you made Blessed Bartholomew Fanti

outstanding in his zeal for devotion to the Eucharist

and to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

May we experience in this regard

the same fullness of spirit that was his.

We ask this through Christ, our Lord.

Scripture Readings

Ezeckiel 34:11-16; Gospel - John 15:9-17.

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, ocds