Happy Feast Day to all Carmelites!

Although it falls on a Sunday this year, the Carmelite Order

remembers Bl. Elizabeth of the Trinity.

O my God, Trinity Whom I adore, help me to forget myself entirely that I maybe established in You as still and as peaceful as if my soul were already in eternity. May nothing trouble my peace or make me leave You, O my Unchanging One, but may each minute carry me further into the depths of Your Mystery.

Give peace to my soul; make it Your heaven, Your beloved dwelling and Your resting place. May I never leave You there alone but be wholly present my faith wholly vigilant, wholly adoring, and wholly surrendered to your creative action.O my beloved Christ, crucified by love, I wish to be a bride for Your Heart;I wish to cover You with glory; I wish to love You even until I die of love!But I feel my weakness, and I ask You to "clothe me with Yourself,"to identify my soul with all the movements of Your Soul, to overwhelm me, to possess me, to substitute Yourself for me that my life may be but a radiance of Your life.

Come into me as Adorer, as Restorer, as Savior, O Eternal Word, Word of my God, I want to spend my life in listening to You, to become wholly teachable that I may learn all from You. Then, through all nights,all voids, all helplessness, I want to gaze on You always and remain in Your great light. O my beloved Star, so fascinate me that I may not withdraw from Your radiance.O Consuming Fire, Spirit of Love, "come upon me,"and create in my soul a kind of incarnation of the Word:that I may be another humanity for Him in which He can renew His whole Mystery.

And you, O Father, bend lovingly over Your poor little creature:"cover her with Your shadow," seeing in her only the "Beloved in whom You are well pleased."O my Three, my All, my Beatitude, infinite Solitude, Immensity in which I lose myself, I surrender myself to You as Your prey. Bury Yourself in me that I may bury myself in You until I depart to contemplate in Your light the abyss of Your greatness.

(Bl. Elizabeth's famous prayer to the Holy Trinity)

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Sunday in the Year for Priests

...he learned that he had been given the spiritual care of a village in the countryside of Dombes. It was a poor, insignificant village of some two hundred thirty inhabitants. Its church was only a chapel. And, it was said, the people of the hamlet were not very devout.

"Go!" So spoke Father Courbon, the vicar general, to Father Vianney. "There isn't very much love of God in that parish. You will put some into it."

On the morning of February 9, 1818, John Mary Baptist Vianney, former curate at Ecully, set out for his new parish and his new village: Ars.

(From the Remarkable Cure of Ars by Michel de Saint Pierre)

Photo of the incorrupt body of the Cure of Ars at the official website in Ars, France

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie
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Saturday of Our Lady

Mary is entitled to the title of Queen because, as Pope Pius XII expressed it in a 1946 radio speech, “Jesus is King throughout all eternity by nature and by right of conquest: through him, with him, and subordinate to him, Mary is Queen by grace, by divine relationship, by right of conquest, and by singular election.” Mary possesses a unique relationship with all three Persons of the Trinity, thereby giving her a claim to the title of Queenship. She was chosen by God the Father to be the Mother of his Son; God the Holy Spirit chose her to be his virginal spouse for the Incarnation of the Son; and God the Son chose her to be his mother, the means of incarnating into the world for the purposes of the redemption of humanity. This Queen is also our Mother. While she is not our Mother in the physical sense, she is called a spiritual mother, for she conceives, gives birth, and nurtures the spiritual lives of grace for each person.

(excerpt from Saint of the Day at http://www.catholic.org/.)

"Mary is more Mother than Queen."

St. Therese's Devotion to the Blessed Virgin (click on photo)

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, OCDS

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Spiritual LIfe Dictionary

Today's Term:

Evangelical Counsels

Are voluntary poverty, perpetual chastity and entire obedience. Their observance is not necessary to salvation; they are a rule of perfection put forward to be voluntarily taken up by those who find in themselves the vocation to do so. They are not perfection itself, but instruments for its attainment, for maintaining and strengthening love of God and one's neighbor. ( A Catholic Dictionary By Donald Attwater)

From the Catechism: No. 915

Christ proposes the evangelical counsels, in their great variety, to every disciple. The perfection of charity, to which all the faithful are called, entails for those who freely follow the call to consecrated life the obligation of practicing chastity in celibacy for the sake of the Kingdom, poverty and obedience. It is the profession of these counsels, within a permanent state of life recognized by the Church, that characterizes the life consecrated to God.

The Secular Carmelite professes chastity, poverty, and obedience according to his state of life. The profession of chastity in no way takes away from the duties of the married. It is a call to live a chaste life in one's state of life.

The Secular Carmelite professes poverty, he does not necessarily have to give up all his worldly possessions. It is a call to live a life free of attachments to material things and a call to be a witness to the heavenly Kingdom in our materialistic world.

The Secular Carmelite professes obedience to the Superiors of the Order, and to the local Council who represent them.

It takes six years for one to discern his call to Carmel and realize if he is truly called to live the evangelical counsels in community and to make the commitment permanent by a public profession of promises.

General information on the obligations of a Secular Carmelite

The official website of the Secular Order of Carmel in Washington, D.C.

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, OCDS

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Tabernacle of the Week

St. Francis de Sales Church

Akron, Ohio

Preparation for receiving Holy Communion:

*Holy Communion can be received only by the baptized.

*The person must be fasting from food and drink (except water) for one hour. this rule does not apply to the sick.

*The person must be in a state of grace, that is, not conscious of any serious sin committed since his or her last confession.

*The person should be filled with faith in Jesus, with a loyalty to Jesus and a desire to spread His Kingdom.

*Especially important is forgiveness and reconciliation. "If you bring your gift to the altar and then recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift at the altar, go first to be reconciled with your brother and then come and offer your gift." (Mt 5:23-24).

* This reconciliation is symbolized by the Our Father and the sign of Peace within the Mass.

(Excerpt from the Seven Sacraments of the Catholic Church by Msgr. Vincent Walsh, J.C.D.)

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, OCDS

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Sunday in the Year for Priests

Father Courbon, the first of the vicars-general, took over the direction of the Lyons' religious affairs. It was up to him to decide the fate of Abbe' Vianney. Word came to Fr. Courban that Fr. Balley's disciple would never know much Latin. But the vicar-general was an indulgent man. Taking into account the urgent need for priests in the diocese and what he knew of poor Vianney's efforts, he was content to ask one searching question: "Is Abbe Vianney a pious man?" He was told that the seminarian was a model of piety. "Well, then," said Fr. Courban, "I summon him for ordination! The grace of God will do the rest."

(From the Remarkable Cure of Ars by Michel de St. Pierre)
Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, OCDS
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Saturday of Our Lady

The Four Parts of the Magnificat

The Church of the Visitation-Jerusalem

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, OCDS
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Carmelite Quote

We shouldn't care at all about not having devotion--as I have said--but we ought to thank the Lord who allows us to be desirous of pleasing Him, even though our works may be weak. This method of keeping Christ present with us is beneficial in all stages and is a very safe means of advancing.
St. Teresa of Jesus





Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, OCDS
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