CARMELITE SAINT OF THE DAY

St. Teresa of Jesus of the Andes

Photo: R. Massaro  Lourdes, France

Feast Day: July 13


Jesus alone is beautiful; he is my only joy. I call for him, I cry after him, I search for him within my heart. I long for Jesus to grind me interiorly so that I may become a pure host where he can find his rest. I want to be athirst with love so that other souls may possess this love. I would die to creatures and to myself, so that he may live in me.

Learn more about this saint:

http://www.teresadelosandes.org/anglais/a_accueil.php





Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, OCDS

TODAY IN CARMELITE HISTORY

Today in Carmelite History

 April 12, 1920

Her Motto: God is my joy!

The death of 

St. Teresa of Jesus 

of the Andes 

Born: July 13, 1900

Entered Carmel: May 7, 1919

Died: April 12, 1920

Beatified: April 3, 1987

Canonized: March 21, 1993

Juanita Solar entered Carmel in 1919 at the age of 19. St. Teresa of Jesus of the Andes had a mystical experience in which she was given the knowledge that she would die soon,"within 30 days" as she explained it to her confessor. 

She contracted typhus and died at the age of 19-one month after she confided her experience to her confessor. She was canonized by St. Pope John Paul II on March 21, 1993. 

Read more about this Saint

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, OCDS

CARMELITE QUOTE

St. Teresa of Jesus of the Andes to Rev. Mother 
Sister Angelica Teresa of the Blessed Sacrament
September 18, 1918

Bl. Elizabeth of the Trinity

I had really wanted to write to you as soon as I received your affectionate letter, which I enjoyed so much, as I did the picture of Elizabeth of the Trinity you sent me.

You can't imagine how well your letters are attuned to my needs and the great joy they bring me, especially your latest one where you tell me that there's an "opening" for this poor and miserable girl in that very dear dovecote. How I thanked my Lord from the bottom of my soul when I read the lines that brought me this happiest of news. Believe me, I feel exiled here in the world, amidst so many dangers, and long to see myself already in that little convent, an eternal prisoner of Our Lord; and I have no other thought, desire or occupation that is not directed to Him.


St. Teresa of Jesus of the Andes had a mystical experience in which she was given the knowledge that she would die soon; "within 30 days" as she explained it to her confessor. 

She contracted typhus and died at the age of 19-one month after she confided her experience to her confessor. She was canonized by Pope John Paul II on March 21, 1993. 

Here is a clip from the film on the life of St. Teresa of the Andes that has been shown on EWTN. In this scene, St. Teresa's sister Rebecca is filled with sadness as her dear sister enters Carmel. Later, Rebecca will experiences her own call to Carmel and enter the same monastery after the death of her sister.







Peace be with you!
Rosemarie of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, ocds

CARMELITE SAINT OF THE DAY

SAINT TERESA OF JESUS OF THE ANDES

John Paul II's Homily at the Canonization of St. Teresa

View Video of Canonization Mass: March 21, 1993

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds

St. Teresa of the Andes

This wonderful film about the Discalced Carmelite Saint is available through Ignatius Press.

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, OCDS
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The Fruits of the Holy Spirit-First Hymn of Virtue: Joy

First Hymn of Virtue: JOY

There is a beautiful hymn that I'm sure is familiar to most of you: Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring.

The title of this hymn seems to sum up the one truth that our soul is longing and yearning for true joy that can only be found in our Savior, Jesus Christ. Of course, the world will tell us differently. The world spreads the illusion that we will find joy in created things and glorifying our self. But for those of us who try to live the life of prayer, the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to the illusions of the world. The authentic life of prayer inspires us to perform acts of charity, to somehow, in some way, with our whole being, express our love for God and neighbor.

Why do we refer to the fruits as virtues?

The fruits are any virtuous deeds in which one delights.

St. Thomas Aquinas

Let's listen to Fr. Tanquerey in his work The Spiritual Life describe this holy process of performing virtuous deeds:

When a soul corresponds faithfully to the actual graces which set in motion the virtues and the gifts, it performs acts of virtue, at first imperfectly and with difficulty, then more perfectly and with greater relish, so that the heart is filled with holy joy.

Mary's hymn of joy: The Magnificat.

True joy, that we participate in with the Holy Spirit, flows from the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Someday, when you think of it and you are praying before a crucifix, pray the Magnificat. If you are a brave soul, sing the Magnificat. It's a glorious song of salvation joy! We can picture Mary at the foot of the Cross, her whole being stilled by sorrow and grief, yet her Magnificat was not a one-time event. Her hymn is sung throughout time and eternity because of her yes and because of Our Lord's yes to the Father to accept the Cross. We find perfect joy when we are in union with the Will of the Father. As Christians, our joy stems from our hope in Jesus Christ, who has opened the gates of holiness to each of us who accept him and strive to do his will.

A Carmelite who experienced true interior joy of soul was St.Teresa of the Andes. Her individual charism was "God is my joy!"

I am the happiest person on earth. I desire nothing more because my entire being has been seized by God who is Love. It is a joy that communicates itself, that offers itself, that communicates joy. Oh, if for just one instant, you could feel yourself filled with the happiness I feel! (Letters, n. 96)

We can read what depth of Joy wrought by the Holy Spirit she experienced. A joy so deep that it overflowed into her "feelings" (senses).

St. Teresa of Jesus of the Andes experienced this joy that stemmed from her desire to live always at the heights of Calvary. She said she must remain there "every moment of my crucified life" (Letters, n. 89).

The Church's Hymn of Joy: The Life, Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus.

We are singing the first stanza, if you will, in the Church's hymn of joy: the birth of our Lord.

Our Lady's fruit of the Spirit, the fruit of her womb, the holy Christ Child is the Father's precious gift to mankind. May we echo the Church's hymn of joy this Christmas season as we welcome the Christ child into our heart.

We know that pure joy is not a feeling. It is a state of being. It is the gift of the Holy Spirit that keeps on giving. For if it is an authentic gift in us, it will be contagious and spread like a holy fire among those we come in contact with. Let us pray that we give the Holy Spirit full reign to sing a hymn of joy in our soul.

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, ocds

Carmelite Quote

ST. TERESA OF JESUS OF THE ANDES
A LETTER TO HER FRIEND


...Sister Elizabeth of the Trinity used to say: "God is heaven and God is in my soul." We have heaven in our soul then.  Well now, what do they do in heaven? They love, contemplate and glorify God. this is what we must do here: love Him above everyone else. One who loves is always thinking of the beloved. Let's think of Him continually, but since that's impossible, at least let's think of Him very often. Let's contemplate Him there, in the depth of our soul, united to us. Let's contemplate Him praying to His eternal Father for souls and for sinners, and let's unite ourselves with that divine prayer. Let's contemplate Him, working at our side. Now I look at Him as I write and unite myself with Him. Let's contemplate Him joyfully-says Saint Teresa-at Tabor, when we're happy; and sad, as He was in the garden, if we're sad; and do it that way in every situation. Let's contemplate Him in His creatures. Then it'll e easier for us to have charity. If we're humiliated, let's accept this for His sake. If we're praised, we're praised for Him. If we serve, we serve Him...And finally, in heaven His praises are being sung and He's glorified in His works; let's be like Elizabeth of the Trinity then in praise of His glory.

THE CARMELITE NUNS OF ERIE PENNSYLVANIA

(click on photo)

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds

Three Words of Wisdom

"DO NOT DISTURB"

I'm sure at one time or another we've seen a sign posted somewhere that stated, "Do Not Disturb." Perhaps you've heard someone echo these words on occasion.  Occasions such as, "Do not disturb me, I'm busy!" "Do not disturb me, I'm sick."  "Do not disturb me, I'm praying."  Wow! Ouch! This is one that is really painful to hear. Too busy praying to help, or to listen to someone in need? Perhaps we've been the one proclaiming these words.

We could save ourselves some heartache in life if we expected to be interrupted, if we expected to receive the "spiritual curve ball" from God; pitches thrown to test our humility and patience.We may claim we want to "grow in holiness, " but when the opportunities arise, we miss them.

When I was growing up, we were told by the priests and the nuns to "practice virtue."  Do you know of anyone who is so boldly holy that they willingly go into the battle of their weakness? I know of one particular person, a Saint, St. Therese of the Child Jesus.  In her autobiography, A Story of a Soul, she writes of her reluctance to face the battle, and like a coward she retreated from an ongoing situation that tested her patience.  She prayed that she would become a bold soldier for the Lord and acquire the virtue of patience. 

 St. Therese was no different than any of us.  She was fully human with weak human nature that she had to overcome.  This gives us hope!  And this is why the Catholic Church has lifted up St. Therese and her writings by bestowing upon her the lofty title "Doctor of the Church and Doctor of Love." She teaches us that holiness is accessible to all.  It only takes doing little things with great love. This may sound sappy and sweet to the person who reads Therese for the first or second time. Stick around, she will amaze you with the depth of her love and spirituality. Divine love  entered her heart and made His dwelling with her.  A love so deep and knowledgeable that could not be described, for as she stated to her Mother Superior, "Reverend Mother, if I were to tell you all that God has revealed to me about charity, you would hear the music of heaven!"

St. Teresa of Jesus (Avila), another Doctor of the Church instructs her nuns that they must leave their prayer in order to attend to the sick or to perform duties in the monastery.  She didn't want the nuns to be caught up in "self-absorption" in prayer.  Yes, she even teaches that there is a time to resist the spirit.  Yes, I will repeat that. St. Teresa of Jesus teaches that there is a time to resist the spirit.  But, you must have the knowledge and wisdom to know when. This self-knowledge, sometimes painful, is only obtained through prayer and learning through trials and struggles in daily living.

We are all in the battle of overcoming ourselves in every day life. Whether we are tested at home, at work, or with friends, we are all called to respond with charity. The Kingdom of Heaven is full of people, who reflect the patience, the compassion, the mercy and love of God. The key is they desired it.  May this be our desire. May God give us the desire of our heart.



Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, OCDS
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Carmelite Quote

St. Teresa of Jesus of the Andes:

If you give yourself to prayer, you'll find that God will show Himself to you, and make you fall in love with Him. In prayer our soul seeks Him out, and if we do so, wanting to know and love Him, Jesus will raise a bit the veil that conceals Him and show us His divine Face, radiant with beauty and sweetness. There are times when He will open His Heart's wound, and will show us the treasures of his infinite goodness and love. At other times He lets His sweet voice be heard, leaving the soul consumed by love and repentance.





Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds
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Saturday of Our Lady

Our Lady
Comforter of the Afflicted

From the life of St. Teresa of Jesus of the Andes:


Following your suggestion, Rev. Father, I meditate on Saturdays upon the Virgin Mary's virtues. Our Lord told me to meditate on her purity, and then I heard a voice teaching me and explaining my Mother's purity.  I don't know what it was, but I didn't recognize the voice and asked Our Lord if it were He speaking. But He told me that it was His Mother. Then the Most Holy Virgin told me that she would reveal to me her motherly Heart, so that I could read in it how far her purity extended; so that, by imitating this virtue, I'd be able to achieve complete union with God.  After telling me all this, she told me everything I must strive to do in order to be pure and belong to God completely.
1.  That I should turn away every thought that was not of God, so that in this way I can continually live in His presence. That I should avoid every affection for creatures, so that they'll never disturb me.
2.  That I am to have no other desire but to belong more and more to God each day...
3.  That I am to be pure in my deeds: to abstain from everything that might stain me in the slightest, and do only what is pleasing to God, who seeks my sanctification...




Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds
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Carmelite Quote

St. Teresa of Jesus of the Andes:
We live for Jesus alone. And just as the angels in heaven incessantly sing His praises, so does a Carmelite echo those praises here on earth, whether near to the tabernacle where God who is Love lives imprisoned, or in the intimate depths of her soul's heaven, where faith tells her God dwells. Our vocation's objective is love, the greatest thing a human heart can possess. This love is a bonfire where the soul is consumed and made one with her God.

Visit the Carmelite Monastery Seattle, Washington

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds
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Carmelite Quote

St. Teresa of Jesus of the Andes:

After my operation ( her appendix was removed), my life began to point more clearly toward Carmel. I celebrated my fifteenth birthday and decided to seal my gift to Christ with a vow of chastity. Of course, I sought the counsel of my confessor. He allowed me to do this for only nine days but said that it could be renewed afterwards. I chose the Feast of the Immaculate Conception to make my vow.

You might also like to visit:

THE CARMELITE NUNS IN ICELAND

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds
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Carmelite Saint of the Day

Happy Feast Day to all Carmelites!!

Saint Teresa of Jesus of the Andes

In her own words:

Since I was about seven years old, there was a very great devotion born in my soul to my Mother, the Most Holy Virgin. I told her everything that happened to me, and She spoke to me. I heard her voice clearly and distinctly in my soul. She advised me and told me what I must do to please Our Lord. I thought that this was something natural, and it never occurred to me to speak of what the Most Holy Virgin was telling me.

From the time of my First Communion, Our Lord spoke to me after Communion and told me things I'd never suspected; and even when I asked Him, He would tell me things that were going to happen, and then they really did occur. But I went on thinking that everybody who went to communion was treated this way.

Official Website of her shrine in the Andes

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds
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CARMELITE QUOTE

...I can only say: Blessed be God! Everything happened in a providential way; and I have clearly seen the will of God; for everything happened just as I wanted it to. On May 7, the Most Holy Virgin and Saint Joseph will open the doors of my convent, and as of that day I will die to the world in order to live forever hidden in God. What a heavenly life, Rev. Father, what a life, a life of the bride of the Divine Crucified One!
From St. Teresa of Jesus of the Andes' letter to Fr. Joseph Blanch






Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds
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Carmelite Quote

From the writings of St. Teresa of Jesus of the Andes when she was 19 years old:

Now I'll tell you the reasons why I want to become a Carmelite. The first is that in Carmel one can live a life of prayer, of intimate union with God...

The second is solitude. Very often I feel a great yearning for solitude...

Third, the poverty of Carmel delights me, for in having nothing, the heart remains pure and belongs to God alone. Besides, by being poor I'll be more like Him who had nowhere to lay his head.

Fourth, penance attracts me: to punish the body which is so often the cause of sin, to make it suffer according to the example of Christ. Also, making the body suffer subjects it to the soul.

Fifth, the sacrifice of this life has a special attraction for me, and more so since everything is suffered in one's heart and will remain unknown with no one aware of it. Only God is aware of it.

Sixth, A Carmelite's goal to pray for priests, that they may be sanctified, and for sinners, that they may be converted couldn't be a higher one. A Carmelite sanctifies herself in order to make all the Church's members holy.

Excerpt from a letter to Fr. Artermio Colon, S.J. dated January 29, 1919
(photo: R.Massaro, Banner of Saints, Lourdes, France)


Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds
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Carmelite Quote

A quote by St. Teresa of Jesus of the Andes

before she entered the Carmelite Order:

(photo: R.Massaro, St.Agnes Church Orrville, Ohio)

 

The other day I was coming before the exposition of the Most Blessed Sacrament, I was asking myself, why don't we all fall madly in love with Him?  Oh, Mother, I want so much to belong to Him completely, to give myself entirely to Him! When will I become a Carmelite so that I can live only in Him, and for Him, and because of Him? Pray for me, please. I always remember you, Rev. Mother, and all my dear Sisters. I love them so. And although my prayers don't count for much, I am asking Our Lord to make the Sisters saints.

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, ocds

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TABERNACLE OF THE WEEK

FRANCESCA RESIDENCE

Akron, Ohio

Administered by the

Daughters of Divine Charity

ST. FRANCES OF ROME

Mother Franciska Lechner

Foundress of the Daughters of Divine Charity

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, OCDS
_____________________

Stained Glass Flowers-Little Accounts of the Miraculous

From the life of St. Teresa of Jesus of the Andes
Feast Day: July 13

In November 1919, at the estate of Huape at Cunaco, the Redemptorist Fathers held a mission for the people who lived there. One afternoon a Redemptorist by the name of Father Felix Henle entered the chapel during siesta. He found young Juanita, she was 18 years old at the time, in an ecstasy. She was elevated about 30 centimeters from the ground, without any support. Her gaze was fixed on the tabernacle. Confronted with this scene,Father Henle retired in silence. He was deeply moved but was unable to determine how long this phenomenon of ecstasy or levitation had been going on.

Beautiful website about St. Teresa of the Andes

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie
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Stained Glass Flowers-Little Accounts of the Miraculous

From the life of St. Teresa of Jesus of the Andes:

It seemed that from the time Juanita was young she had the presentiment or a certain interior illumination that she would die early in life. Her choice of Carmel was reinforced by the desire to find a particularly suitable environment wherein she could attain holiness as rapidly as possible. One day she pressed Father Blanch to tell her where she could be sanctified more quickly, because "Our Lord had made me understand that I would live only a short while."

In March of 1920, when Lent had already begun, Sister Teresa told her confessor-Father Avertano, a Discalced Carmelite--that she would die within a month. She asked that he authorize her to intensify her penance for the sins of mankind.

On Good Friday of the same year, she was discovered to have a high fever from Typhus.

On April 5 she requested the Sacraments of the sick.

On April 7 she was granted permission to make her religious profession.

On Monday April 12, 1920 she died very sweetly, at seven fifteen at night.

She was canonized on March 21, 1993 by Pope John Paul II

St. Teresa of Jesus of the  Andes Official Website

Saints-SQPN.com-Read more about the Saint

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie

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Carmelite Quote-From a letter written by St. Teresa of Jesus of the Andes

Since I was about seven years old, there was a very great devotion born in my soul to my Mother, the Most Holy Virgin. I told her everything that happened to me, and She spoke to me. I heard her voice clearly and distinctly in my soul. She advised me and told me what I must do to please Our Lord. I thought that this was something natural, and it never occurred to me to speak of what the Most Holy Virgin was telling me.

From the time of my First Communion, Our Lord spoke to me after communion and told me things I'd never suspected; and even when I asked Him, He would tell me things that were going to happen, and they really did occur. But I went on thinking that everybody who went to communion was treated this way.

Letter to Fr. Antonio Maria Falgueras, S. J. April 24, 1919

Peace be with you!

Rosemraie

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