Saint of the Day:

St. Ignatius

St. Ignatius was born in 1491. He spent his early years at court and as a soldier. Later he was converted to God and studied in Paris where he attracted his first followers, and afterward at Rome he joined them together as the first members of the Society of Jesus. He exercised a most fruitful apostolate both by his written works and in the forming of his disciples who won great praise for their renewal of the Church. He died at Rome in 1556.

St. Ignatius is well-known for his writings on the discernment of spirits. This is very important in the spiritual life, especially in regards to contemplative prayer. St. Teresa teaches us that we should be wary of consolations, She tells us that the devil can counterfeit these gifts. She also says it is good to have a spiritual director to help us discern the gifts. Beginners in the spiritual life, especially need help in discernment. Many times the Lord sends consolations to the soul in the beginning to keep the soul attracted to Him. Once the favors cease, testing our faith, many people give up the prayer life.

Let us pray for each other, that we follow St. John of the Cross and seek the Lord on the narrow road of prayer, a road that is dark, yet full of light, when we travel by faith alone.

Post Communion Prayer of St. Ignatius

Take, O Lord, and receive my entire liberty.

My memory, my understanding, and my whole will,

All that I am, all that I possess,

You have given me.

I surrender it all to You,

to be disposed of

According to Your will.

Give me only Your love

And Your Grace, with these

I shall be rich enough,

And desire nothing more.

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, OCDS

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Saint of the Day:
St. Peter Chrysologus, bishop and doctor
(click on picture to learn more about this saint)
St. Peter was born around the year 380 at Imola in Emilia, and there entered the priesthood. He was elected bishop of Ravenna in 424 and instructed his flock by his learned sermons and writings. He died around the year 450.
Father, you made Peter Chrysologus an outstanding preacher of your incarnate Word. May the prayers of St. Peter help us to cherish the mystery of our salvation and make its meaning clear in our love for others.
Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Two wonderful websites I have discovered:


Carmelite Nuns in Denmark, Wisconsin. See beautiful pictures of a monastery built within the last few years.


http://holynamecarmel.org/indextwo.htm



An emerging religious community of sisters in Ohio:
The Children of Mary

http://www.childrenofmary.net/home.html


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

From the life of St. John of the Cross:

So, on September 22, 1591 he mounted the little mule a friend had procured for him and began the last journey of his life...

They proceeded very, very slowly. He spoke of God to the brother who accompanied him. When they had gone three miles; his companion suggested a halt at the banks of the Guadalimar. "In the shade of this bridge your Reverence can rest a little, and the joy of seeing the water will give you an appetite for a mouthful." John consented, "I will gladly take a rest for I need one; but as for eating, I cannot, because I have no appetite for any of the things that God has created, except asparagus, and that is out of season." The brother helped him to dismount and sit down. Then they noticed, on a stone, a bundle of asparagus, bound with an osier twig, as in the market. The brother believed it to be a miracle, but John would not hear of it. He sent the brother to look for the owner and when nobody could be found he had to put a cuarto on the stone as pavement.

From The Science of the Cross by Edith Stein

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, OCDS

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Answers to yesterday's quiz:

1). St. John of the Cross

2). Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection

3). 1925

4). 49

5). Piano

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Carmelite Quiz

1. It is well-known that Pope John Paul II was a Carmelite Tertiary. In fact, he wrote his thesis on the writings of which Carmelite saint?


2. Who said, “That we should not weary of doing little things for the love of God who looks not at the grandeur of these actions but rather at the love with which they are performed.”


3. In what year was St. Therese of the Child Jesus canonized?


4. How hold was St. John of the Cross when he died?


5. Bl. Elizabeth of the Trinity was a master of which musical instrument?

(Answers tomorrow)

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie

Sunday in the Year for Priests

The ordained ministry or ministerial priesthood is at the service of the baptismal priesthood. The ordained priesthood guarantees that it really is Christ who acts in the sacraments through the Holy Spirit for the Church.

Catechism #1120

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, OCDS

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Saturday of Our Lady

True Devotion to Mary

Praying the Magnificat

St. Louis de Montfort:

To thank God for the graces he has given to our Lady, her consecrated ones will frequently say the Magnificat...The Magnificat is the only prayer we have which was composed by our Lady, or rather, composed by Jesus in her, for it was he who spoke through her lips. It is the greatest offering of praise that God ever received under the law of grace. On the one hand, it is the most humble hymn of thanksgiving, and on the other, it is the most sublime and exalted. Contained in it are mysteries so great and so hidden that even the angels do not understand them.

The Magnificat:

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant,
and from this day all generations will call me
blessed.
The Almighty has done great things for me;
Holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and has sent the rich away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, OCDS

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Carmelite Quote

St. John of the Cross:

The necessity to pass through this dark night (the mortification of the appetites and denial of pleasure in all things) to attain divine union with God arises from the fact that all of a person's attachments to creatures are pure darkness in God's sight. Clothed in these affections, people are incapable of the enlightenment and dominating fullness of God's pure and simple light; first they must reject them. There can be no concordance between light and darkness; as St. John says:The darkness could not receive the light.
John 1:5

The Ascent of Mt. Carmel, Book 1, Chap. 4, No. 1

St. John of the Cross uses the term "clothed" to describe souls who are attached to creatures and worldly pleasures. This brings to mind the scripture verse of St. Paul who exhorts us to clothe ourselves with kindness, gentleness, and heartfelt mercy. These are the gifts of the Spirit that we should desire, be attached to and cling to with all our might. Life is so short...let us ask God to give us a great desire for the things of the Spirit.

In this "Year for Priests" we can look to the life of St. John Vianney if we want to learn about someone who mortified his senses for the sake of the Kingdom. St. John Vianney mortified his body through prolonged fasts and denied his body sleep and other pleasures. Of course he could not do this without God's grace. God saw his great desire for union with Him.

How often have we denied ourselves a few hours of sleep to pray?

How often have we denied ourselves some culinary pleasure?

How often have we denied ourselves the pleasure of seeking the approval of others?

How often have we denied some of our free time to perform an act of charity?

The lives of the saints give us hope and courage, that what God has done for them, He will do for us. If only we would desire true holiness, we would not have such a hard time of detaching ourselves from pleasures of the appetite.

Our Lord told us that we must enter through the narrow gate, and how few there are who find it. Carmel is a narrow gate. Let us call upon our Carmelite saints to help us in our desire for union with God.

St. John of the Cross, pray for us!

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, OCDS

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