FAITH OF OUR FATHERS

SUNDAY IN THE YEAR OF FAITH

From the First Apology of St. Justin Martyr (AD100-ca. 165)

No one may share the Eucharist with us unless he believes that what we teach is true, unless he is washed in the regenerating waters of baptism for the remission of his sins, and unless he lives in accordance with the principles given us by Christ.

We do not consume the eucharistic bread and wine as if it were ordinary food and drink, for we have been taught that as Jesus Christ our Savior became a man of flesh and blood by the power of the Word of God, so also the food that our flesh and blood assimilates for its nourishment becomes the flesh and blood of the incarnate Jesus by the power of his own words contained in the prayer of thanksgiving.

The apostles, in their recollections, which are called gospels, handed down to us what Jesus commanded them to do. They tell us that he took bread, gave thanks and said: Do this in memory of me. This is my body. In the same way he took the cup, he gave thanks and said: This is my blood. The Lord gave this command to them alone. Ever since then we have constantly reminded one another of these things. The rich among us help the poor and we are always united. For all that we receive we praise the Creator of the universe through his Son Jesus Christ and through the Holy Spirit.

On Sunday we have a common assembly of all our members, whether they live in the city or the outlying districts. The recollections of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as there is time. When the reader has finished, the president of the assembly speaks to us; he urges everyone to imitate the examples of virtue we have heard in the readings. Then we all stand up together and pray.

On the conclusion of our prayer, bread and wine and water are brought forward. The president offers prayers and gives thanks to the best of his ability, and the people give assent by saying, “Amen”. The eucharist is distributed, everyone present communicates, and the deacons take it to those who are absent.

The wealthy, if they wish, may make a contribution, and they themselves decide the amount. The collection is placed in the custody of the president, who uses it to help the orphans and widows and all who for any reason are in distress, whether because they are sick, in prison, or away from home. In a word, he takes care of all who are in need.

We hold our common assembly on Sunday because it is the first day of the week, the day on which God put darkness and chaos to flight and created the world, and because on that same day our savior Jesus Christ rosefrom the dead. For he was crucified on Friday and on Sunday he appeared to his apostles and disciples and taught them the things that we have passed on for your consideration.

Read the entire text of St. Justin's First Apology at Christian Classics Ethereal Library:

 http://www.ccel.org/ccel/richardson/fathers.x.ii.iii.html







 
Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds

Our Holy Father of Carmel-The Prophet Elijah

Happy Feast Day to all Carmelites!

Feast of St. Elijah

BREAD FOR THE JOURNEY

He left his servant there and went a day's journey into the desert, until he came to a broom tree and sat beneath it. He prayed for death: This is enough, O Lord! Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers." He lay down and fell asleep under the broom tree, but then an angel touched him and ordered him to get up and eat. He looked and there at his head was a hearth cake and a jug of water. After he ate and drank, he lay down again, but the angel of the Lord came back a second time, touched him, and ordered, "Get up and eat, else the journey will be too long for you!" He got up, ate and drank; then strengthened by that food he walked forty days and forty nights tot he mountain of God, Horeb.1 Kings 19:3-8


In our Carmelite tradition, the great prophet Elijah is our model of contemplative prayer who experienced God in the gentle whisper that spoke directly to his heart. The story in Kings of the angel bringing him bread for the journey is a prefigurement of the holy Eucharist.

We struggle in a spiritual desert because the Lord wishes to purify us, but sometimes we struggle simply because we try to do things on our own. We must always go back to the Lord in the Eucharist, to the sacraments, for the life of grace we need to sustain us in soul and body for this perilous journey in a wicked and depraved world. We must become holy beggars before the altar of the Lord. We are not worthy to have him enter our impure dwelling, but we know our great need for him. He alone satisfies the heart that longs for him. He alone can make us holy.

The Lord will give you the bread you need and the water for which you thirst. No longer will your Teacher hide himself,but with your own eyes you shall see your Teacher.
Isaiah 30:20

God sent his Son to be our Teacher and Lord. He provides his very body and blood to sustain us. In a miracle of mercy and incomprehensible grace he remains physically with us in this our physical world. Let us adore him in all the tabernacles of the world!

If you have never considered attending daily mass, I would ask you to please consider it and make it a part of your life. As Secular Carmelites, we strive to attend daily mass and receive Holy Communion. This is not just for Carmelites but for all Catholics--for all are called to holiness of life.

Our Lord doesn't come down from heaven every day just to wait there in a gold ciborium: He has found a much better heaven for His resting place; a Christian soul, made in His own image, the living temple of the Blessed Trinity.St. Therese of the Child Jesus

If you pray from the heart and receive Jesus in the Holy Eucharist on a regular basis he becomes your intimate friend and Teacher. A teacher who will share with you all things that the Father has shared with Him. Prepare yourself to receive secrets of great love!

Father, Lord of Heaven and Earth, to you I offer praise; for what you have hidden from the learned and the clever you have revealed to the merest children.
Matthew 12:25

Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament, pray for us!

St. Elijah, pray for us!

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, OCDS

The Consolation of the Sacraments

In my Diocese of Cleveland, Ohio, I have noticed that when an obituary for a priest is printed, it states: " Fr. ______passed away after the prayerful support and consolation of the Sacraments."

When I speak of consolation in this post I am not referring to consolation of the senses, although that may happen as well. I am referring to the joy and peace, a condition of the heart, that comes from the knowledge that "God is with us." That His presence in the Church, veiled in the sacraments, gives us hope and courage and the strength to pray and respond with love to our neighbor.

The Holy Spirit sanctifies us and consoles us as we strive for purity of heart. He consoles the sinner who mourns over his sins. He consoles the sinner who mourns to love as Christ loved. He consoles us and gives us strength to begin again the effort to suffer and love in imitation of Jesus Christ.

Catholics in good-standing with the Church have the opportunity to receive the consolation of the sacrament of Holy Communion each day, yet so many people are not even aware that they can go to mass daily. Lay Carmelites are called to be nourished at the Lord's table:

The liturgical life, as a perennial participation in the Paschal Mystery, nourishes the Secular Carmelite in his daily pledge to follow Christ crucified and risen, toward an ever more perfect union with God, by making the pains and joys of his life an offering of praise and glory to God.

Rule, Article 5

As Catholics, we also have the opportunity to receive the consolation of the sacrament of Penance on a regular basis. Lay Carmelites are exhorted by the Rule to have a great esteem for the sacrament of Penance.

One of the ways in which the regular reception of the Sacrament of Reconciliation helps me lead my life of contemplative prayer is that it places me in a situation in which I can approach the promises and power of the Gospel to help me keep my relationship with Christ honest and sincere. ..There is always the danger that I can pretend to be closer to God than I really am, that I might feign a kind of intimacy and familiarity with God that is false.

A Commentary on the Rule of Life, Michael D. Griffin, OCD

As Lay Carmelites, we can witness to our love and devotion for the Eucharist in our local church. We are called to be Eucharistic people. When we leave the Lord's table we are called to proclaim our Eucharistic joy to our neighbor by our loving words and actions. As our recent retreat master, Fr. John F. Loya pointed out to us, we are called to be "bread of life" to each other. Here is a beautiful quote by Fr. Loya taken from his article that was published in the Catholic Universe Bulletin, our diocesan newspaper:

"We, by baptism, are priests who sacrifice our own body and blood as food for others. We lay down our lives in loving service of God and our brothers and sisters in Christ."

The Psalmist says: with praise, let us awake the dawn. Yes, with praise let us awake each day to greet and praise the Lord's presence in all the tabernacles of the world. Let us greet and praise him in the tabernacle of our heart. Let us make our way to the Eucharistic feast each day. Let us not wait until the last moments of our earthly life to receive the consolation of the Sacraments.

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, OCDS

Tabernacle of the Week

Sorrowful Mother Shrine

Bellevue, Ohio


The tabernacle was first intended for the reservation of the Eucharist in a worthy place so that it could be brought to the sick and those absent, outside of Mass. As faith in the real presence of Christ in his Eucharist deepened, the Church became conscious of the meaning of silent adoration of the Lord present under the Eucharistic species. It is for this reason that the tabernacle should be located in an especially worthy place in the church and should be constructed in such a way that it emphasizes and manifests the truth of the real presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.
Catechism #1379


Prayer in Honor of the Sorrowful Mother

Grant, we beg you, O Lord, that the Blessed Virgin Mary your Mother, may intercede for us at the throne of your mercy, now and at the hour of our death, whose most holy soul was pierced with the sword of grief in the hour of your own passion, through you, Jesus Christ, Savior of the world, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns one God world without end. Amen.

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, OCDS

Tabernacle of the Week

St. Edward Church

Ashland, Ohio

Christ: Frequently go to the fountain of grace and divine mercy--the fountain of goodness and all purity--where you can be cured of your passion and vices. Then you may deserve to be made stronger and more watchful in resisting all the temptations and deceits of Satan.

This enemy is aware of the great benefit and remedy for sin contained in Holy Communion, and tries by every ruse and occasion he can to withdraw and prevent faithful souls from it.

Imitation of Christ, Chapter 19

The Church teaches that the Holy Eucharist is the source and summit of our Faith. For the Secular Carmelite the Eucharist is central to our vocation as well.

Our Rule states:

The liturgical life, as a perennial participation in the Paschal Mystery, nourishes the Secular Carmelites in their daily commitment to follow Christ crucified and risen. It leads toward an ever more perfect union with God, by making the pains and joys of their life an offering of praise and glory to God.

Their liturgical life will express itself chiefly through participation in the Eucharist and in the celebration of the church's Divine Office. They will, as far as possible, join in the celebration of daily Mass, and each day recite Morning and Evening Prayer from the Breviary; if possible they will recite Nigh Prayer before retiring. Article 5

If you have not begun attending daily mass and and receiving holy communion, I would highly recommend this holy practice. Our lives are so short...let us pray that not one day pass without our receiving the Lord who is waiting eagerly for us to receive Him.

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, OCDS

Catechism Quote

Catechism: #1393

Holy Communion separates us from sin. The body of Christ we receive in Holy Communion is "given up for us," and the blood we drink "shed for the many for the forgiveness of sins." For this reason the Eucharist cannot unites us to Christ without at the same time cleansing us from past sins and preserving us from future sins: For as often as we eat this bread and drink the cup, we proclaim the death of the Lord. If we proclaim the Lord's death, we proclaim the forgiveness of sins. If, as often as his blood is poured out, it is poured for the forgiveness of sins,I should always receive it, so that it may always forgive my sins. Because I always sin, I should always have a remedy.

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, OCDS

Catechism Quote

Catechism of the Catholic Church: #2656

One enters into prayer as one enters into liturgy: by the narrow gate of faith. Through the signs of his presence, it is the Face of the Lord that we seek and desire; it is his Word that we want to hear and keep.

The Carmelite seeks the face of God in prayer not only for our personal holiness but on behalf of the whole Church.

The Carmelite desires to imitate Our Lady who pondered the Word in her heart.

"Our devotion to Mary, then, must not be soft and sentimental, but must be based on living as she lived: receiving his divine word in our hearts and putting it into practice each day."
From A Commentary on the Rule of Life, by Michael Griffin, OCD

From our Rule:

The liturgical life, as a perennial participation in the Paschal Mystery, nourishes the Secular Carmelite in his daily pledge to follow Christ crucified and risen, toward an ever more perfect union with God, by making the pains and joys of his life an offering of praise and glory to God.

His liturgical life will express itself chiefly in the Eucharistic Sacrifice and in the recitation of the church's Divine Office. He will, as far as possible, assist at Mass daily ....

St. Teresa of Jesus burned with such fervor in reciting the Divine Office and receiving Eucharistic Communion that more than once she was elevated to the highest contemplation of mysteries during the canonical hours of the celebration of Mass.

St. John of the Cross contemplated the Bread of the Eucharist with the eyes of an ardent faith as the source of life, as the pledge of eternal communion with God toward which he tended in a very special way.
From A Commentary on the Rule of Life by Michael D. Griffin, OCD

From the Decree on the Liturgy, #2:

The Sacred Liturgy is the outstanding means by which the faithful can express in their lives, and manifest to others, the mystery of Christ and the real nature of the true Church... For in the Liturgy, God speaks to His people, and Christ is still proclaiming His gospel. And the people reply to God both by song and prayer.

As Carmelites we are striving to be a Eucharistic people. We try to live and respond in charity from one communion to the next. If we are truly living the Carmelite life we are a joyful people, and we can cry out with the psalmist: God is my strength and my song!

O Bread of Life, O Lord of Love, give us the strength that is your might!

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, OCDS