Spiritual Direction with St. Therese of the Child Jesus

Photo: (C) R. Massaro St. Peter Church North Ridgeville, Ohio

In the life of St. Therese, we learn about the ways in which she overcame herself by practicing virtue. She did this in a very ordinary way by accepting life as it was presented to her each day. As she matured in the spiritual life, her sister, Celine, noticed her virtue and said to her "Oh, when I think of how much I have to acquire." Therese responded, "Rather, how much you have to lose." Therese's few words of wisdom gets right to the heart of the call in Carmel and to all Christians who are seeking perfection: one must be detached from sin and from worldly pleasures and from one's own will, and from one's own desires... We could go on an on identifying and describing detachment.

Therese's deep detachment was a gradual process and the fruition of her cooperation with God's grace to give herself totally to God's merciful love. This desire of detachment so inflamed her that in her written prayer "Act of Oblation to the Merciful Love of God," she writes:

In the evening of life, I shall appear before You with empty hands, for I do not ask You, Lord, to count my works...

What an amazing, bold, and spiritually detached statement from this little Doctor!  By this statement we can read between the lines, if you will, and see that her motives must have been totally purified by the Holy Spirit, for she did not do works to be justified before God. She continues in her prayer:

All our justice is stained in Your eyes. I wish, then, to be clothed in Your own Justice and to receive from Your love the eternal possession of Yourself. I want no other Throne, no other Crown but You, my Beloved!

St. Therese is a true daughter of the Church, a true daughter of Carmel. She took to heart and let blossom the spiritual direction of her Father in Carmel, St. John of the Cross, who's teaching on detachment is a light and guide to those who wish to ascend the holy mountain and reach spiritual perfection.  St. John of the Cross uses the symbolism of a bird to explain detachment:

A bird caught in a birdlime has a twofold task: It must free itself and cleanse itself. And by satisfying their appetites, people suffer in a twofold way: They must detach themselves and, after being detached, clean themselves of what has clung to them. 
The Sayings of Light and Love #22

Sometimes, I think we forget the second part of detachment, the purifying of the effects of our attachments. We must let the Holy Spirit purify and cleanse us from our attachments and the effects. St. John of the Cross is simply describing Purgatory. Those seeking spiritual perfection have a desire to be purified beginning in this life. 

In this Year of Mercy, the Church offers a plenary indulgence to the faithful. One of the requirements to gain the indulgence is to be detached from sin, even venial sin. When we think of detachments, we usually think of something related to the senses. However, we must also consider what the Church requires, detachment from even venial sins. We must ask ourselves if we take pleasure in certain sins. For example, impatience. Perhaps we are attached to being impatient. If we are confessing the same sins over and over in confession, this may be a time to ask ourselves if we are seriously attached to a particular sin.  

St. John of the Cross also teaches that we can become attached to the manner of our prayer. He teaches us that we must be open to the Holy Spirit who may wish to speak to us and give us self-knowledge, perhaps about our attachments. We cannot hear the Lord speaking if we never listen in prayer. Perhaps we are attached to talking in prayer and not giving the Lord an opportunity to speak to us.

In our technologically advanced society, we can certainly be attached to many things and devices. How many of us can disconnect from our computers and cell phones?  It's not easy. 

My prayer is for the Lord to raise up more spiritual ascetics in the church. We need prophets! We need prayerful witnesses. We need to spend time with our Lord in Eucharistic Adoration! We need to go out into the desert for a half-hour or an hour, with no phone or headphones and be totally present to the Lord-standing at attention before him proclaiming: Here I am Lord, I come to do your will!

ASCETIC:

A person who practices severe self-discipline and abstention.

Photo: R. Massaro   The Prophet Elijah

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, OCDS

THREE WORDS OF WISDOM

ON VENERATING ICONS

Photo: R. Massaro-Our Lady of Lebanon Shrine North Jackson, Ohio

When one enters an Eastern Catholic Church or Greek Orthodox Church, it is customary to venerate the icon placed before the sanctuary and the altar. Normally, one bows, then kisses the icon. It is proper to kiss the image of the hands and the feet of Christ or the Holy Mother of God. One does not kiss the face of the one represented in the icon. While giving a lesson to our Carmelite community, I mentioned this fact. It fostered a discussion on why one does not kiss the face on an icon. I offered that perhaps it's just more reverent to kiss the feet or the hands of a holy person, as an act of humility. We were sorry that our Byzantine priest and brother in Carmel was not present at this meeting to teach us about this.  

At the next opportunity, I asked Father about this tradition. He asked me, "Who kissed Jesus on the face?" Of course. Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss. So, that is the reason an icon of Jesus is not venerated with a kiss on the face.

The Byzantine Church has a beautiful preparatory prayer for Holy Communion in which this very act of betrayal is mentioned:


O Lord, I believe and profess that you are truly Christ, the Son of the living God, who came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the first. Accept me as a partaker of your mystical supper, O Son of God; for I will not reveal your mystery to your enemies, nor will I give you a kiss as did Judas, but like the thief I confess to you: Remember me, O Lord, when you shall come into your kingdom. Remember me, O Master, when you shall come into your kingdom. Remember me, O Holy One, when you shall come into your kingdom. May the partaking of your Holy Mysteries, O Lord, be not for my  judgment or condemnation, but for the healing of soul and body. O Lord, I also believe and profess that this, which I am about to receive, is truly your most precious Body and your life-giving Blood, which, I pray, make me worthy to receive for the remission of all my sins and for life everlasting. Amen.

This meditation on venerating icons can be used for an examination of conscience. At the end of the day, we can ask ourselves, how did I betray the Lord today? Was it in my speech? Did I gossip? Did I ruin someone's good name and reputation in the eyes of another?

Did I betray the Lord by giving in to judgmental thoughts about people, places, and situations?

Did I leave the door of my heart unguarded and sin against charity and purity?

Did I betray the Lord in my actions by showing anger and impatience with someone? Did I betray the Lord by being afraid to show that I am a Christian, a Catholic? Was I afraid to pray in public, afraid to be a witness at work or with friends?

Jesus tells us:

Whoever acknowledges me before men I will acknowledge before my Father in heaven. Whoever disowns me before men I will disown before my Father in heaven. (Matthew 11:33)

Let us not lose heart if we have deeply and even gravely grieved the Lord. 

The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness. (Psalm 145:8)

If we are truly sorry, he bathes us in the ocean of his mercy. And we are free to begin anew.We only have to look at the life of St. Peter who betrayed the Lord three times. He was truly repentant, even to the point of weeping over his betrayal. The Lord forgave him completely and put all of his trust in Peter to lead the Church.

When we have betrayed the Lord in any given situation, we can return to his good graces by going to Confession and reciting a simple and heartfelt prayer:  Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!  Jesus, I trust in you! Yes, I trust in you to forgive me and to help me, a poor sinner.

Let us pray for each other.


Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, OCDS

Spiritual Direction with St. John of the Cross

In the inner wine cellar

I drank of my Beloved, and, when I went abroad

through all this valley

I no longer knew anything,

and lost the herd which I was following.

In this poem of St. John of the Cross, The Spiritual Canticle, he begins to explain what takes place in the depth of this union with the soul and the Bridegroom. He tells us:

This wine cellar is the last and most intimate degree of love in which the soul can be placed in this life...and we can assert that there are seven of these degrees or wine cellars of love. They are all possessed when the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are possessed perfectly according to the soul's capacity for receiving them.
The Spiritual Canticle, Stanza 26, No. 3

In our Carmelite tradition, we have many saints who teach us that heaven begins now. Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity is a holy Carmelite who speaks about this in her writing.  As Secular Carmelites, we must make the effort now to be holy, so that when the Lord comes unexpectedly he will find us ready for the Kingdom. 

In your circle of friends, family, and co-workers, do you know anyone who possesses a gift of the Spirit in its fullness, in its perfection? Do you know someone who is perfectly patient? Do you know someone who has perfect peace, gentleness, and kindness? Do you know someone who is perfectly loving and charitable, despite being persecuted? If you do, then you know a saint!  These are how the blessed in heaven live and move and have their being in union with God. 

When people come to our community who are interested in Carmelite spirituality, I tell them, yes, it is a way of life, but more importantly, we are striving for a state of being, a state of holiness. We want to begin the process of spiritual purification now, because we want to see God immediately when we die. As St. Therese teaches, if we love perfectly in this life, we do not have to go to purgatory.  This desire does not stem from a fear of purgatory, but flows from a heart that is completely in love with God and is waiting and longing to see him face-to-face.

Let us pray for the souls in purgatory, who long to see God face-to-face. They need our prayers so that they can be filled with all the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit. Once they enter the final depth of the "wine cellar" they will be in a glorious state of being, one of holiness, ready to experience the beatific vision and experience the union with God they so long for.

Let us pray for our world and for the conversion of sinners. One only has to read the news to see that God is not loved in the world, that many do not revere him or fear him. Our world needs the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Let us pray that he renews the face of the Earth!

Prayer to the Holy Spirit

O Holy Spirit, Spirit of the Father and the Son, let the might of your love be more and more felt in the hearts of men. Let your light shine more and more on souls that are wandering in the darkness far away from God. Turn them to the light-giving Heart of Jesus and to the healing stream of His Precious Blood. Strengthen souls that love you. Perfect in them your Seven Gifts and your Twelve Fruits, and so make them your temples here that you may be adored in them forever. Amen.

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, OCDS

CARMELITE SAINTS

The Mission of Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity

Recently it was announced by the Vatican that the Carmelite nun, Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity will be canonized this year. Many people are just beginning to learn about this holy Carmelite.

Her spirituality is considered to be similar to that of St. Therese of the Child Jesus. These saints shared a zeal for the salvation of souls. While St. Therese proclaimed that her mission would be to, "Spend my heaven by doing good upon earth," Blessed Elizabeth wrote of a different mission:

I think that in Heaven my mission will be to draw souls by helping them to go out of themselves in order to cling to God by a wholly simple and loving movement, and to keep them in this great silence within which will allow God to communicate Himself to them and to transform them into Himself.

Blessed Elizabeth's "call within a call" was her mystical experience of the Divine Indwelling of the Holy Trinity. This was a gift that was given to her from her Beloved, Jesus, the Spouse of her soul. She knew this favor was a gift of love, not only for herself but for the Church. That is why she was aware of being called to spread the good news of the Divine Indwelling while she lived and accepted this mission that would follow her into eternity. 

In Blessed Elizabeth's retreat, Heaven in Faith, she quotes John Ruysbroeck numerous times. On the seventh day of this retreat she uses this quote from his writings:

The immense riches that God possess by nature, we may possess by virtue of love, by His dwelling in us and by our dwelling in Him. It is by virtue of this immense love that we are drawn into the depths of the intimate sanctuary where God imprints on us a true image of His majesty.

She told us the same thing in her own words when describing her mission...and to keep them in this great silence within which will allow God to communicate Himself to them and to transform them into Himself.

Blessed Elizabeth was able to enter the "chapel of the heart" and find God there. This is the heart of the Carmelite vocation. It is the heart of the call of every Christian. Christ is the Bridegroom of each soul! We are called to intimate union with him. Carmelites, among other religious in the world, are called to be witnesses in the world of this intimate union. We witness to those around us by being merciful. We witness to those around us by sharing the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit that have been given to us. If we are not responding in love to those around ud, if we lose peace of heart over small matters, our prayer life is not totally authentic. We have not let the Holy Spirit totally transform us. However, we should not be discouraged. Blessed Elizabeth is here to help us. She knows the effort it takes for us to cooperate with God's grace. She prays for our transformation, but we must make the effort to meet God in solitude and silence. It is there that he speaks to us, heals us, strengthens us, and transforms us into His image. Let us be faithful to prayer!

In her final days, Blessed Elizabeth wanted to be known as " "Laudem Gloriae," "A Praise of Glory." In her writings she describes at length a Praise of Glory. Here is an excerpt:

A praise of Glory is a silent soul, a lyre beneath the mysterious touch of the Holy Spirit, from which He can draw divine harmonies. Knowing that suffering is a string which produces still more exquisite tones, this soul rejoices at having it on its instrument, that is may thus more sweetly move the heart of its God.

Some Catholics may be familiar with Blessed Elizabeth's famous prayer to the Holy Trinity that can be found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. On this great feast of the Most Holy Trinity, let us give thanks to God for her great witness and her great mission-her prayer and desire that we be one with the Most Holy Trinity.

Prayer to the Blessed Trinity

O my God, Trinity whom I adore, let me entirely forget myself that I may abide in you, still and peaceful as if my soul were already in eternity; let nothing disturb my peace nor separate me from you, O my unchanging God, but that each moment may take me further into the depths of your mystery ! Pacify my soul! 

Make it your heaven, your beloved home and place of your repose; let me never leave you there alone, but may I be ever attentive, ever alert in my faith, ever adoring and all given up to your creative action.  

O my beloved Christ, crucified for love, would that I might be for you a spouse of your heart! I would anoint you with glory, I would love you - even unto death! Yet I sense my frailty and ask you to adorn me with yourself; identify my soul with all the movements of your soul, submerge me, overwhelm. me, substitute yourself in me that my life may become but a reflection of your life. Come into me as Adorer, Redeemer and Savior.  

O Eternal Word, Word of my God, would that I might spend my life listening to you, would that I might be fully receptive to learn all from you; in all darkness, all loneliness, all weakness, may I ever keep my eyes fixed on you and abide under your great light; O my Beloved Star, fascinate me so that I may never be able to leave your radiance.

O Consuming Fire, Spirit of Love, descend into my soul and make all in me as an incarnation of the Word, that I may be to him a super-added humanity wherein he renews his mystery; and you O Father, bestow yourself and bend down to your little creature, seeing in her only your beloved Son in whom you are well pleased.

O my `Three', my All, my Beatitude, infinite Solitude, Immensity in whom I lose myself, I give myself to you as a prey to be consumed; enclose yourself in me that I may be absorbed in you so as to contemplate in your light the abyss of your Splendor !

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, OCDS

THREE WORDS OF WISDOM

TIME, AEVITERNITY, ETERNITY

Photo: R. Massaro

Recently, at one of our monthly Carmelite meetings in which our small groups are discussing St. Pope John Paul II's encyclical Dives in Misericordia, our discussion veered off to the topic of purgatory.  Before this meeting, I had recently read what Catholic apologist, Jimmy Akin wrote about this subject. It is an excellent article. I would suggest that every Catholic read this teaching to get a better understanding of the Catholic doctrine on Purgatory.  

In our discussion, we talked about what St. Faustina teaches, that at the moment of death, God offers his mercy to the soul. Here is an excerpt from her diary concerning the Chaplet of Divine Mercy:

Whoever will recite it will receive great mercy at the hour of death. Priests will recommend it to sinners as their last hope of salvation. Even if there were a sinner most hardened, if he were to recite this chaplet only once, he would receive grace from My infinite mercy. I desire that the whole world know My infinite mercy. I desire to grant unimaginable graces to those souls who trust in My mercy. (Diary #687)

We continued our discussion about purgatory and "time" and purification and indulgences. Many Catholics are confused about the teaching concerning indulgences. In Catholic history, indulgences used to have a number of days attached to them. Catholics erroneously believed that this was the number of days that a person's time in purgatory was shortened.  Jimmy Akin explains this teaching extremely well. He tells us that the number of days was actually the time lessened for those doing public penance. For the full article, refer to the link near the end of this post. Here is an excerpt from his article, How to explain Purgatory to Protestants, concerning indulgences:

Third, Protestants are often confused by the number of "days" that used to be attached to indulgences. They have nothing to do with time in purgatory. Indulgences originally arose as a way of shortening a penitential period on earth. The number of "days" that were attached to indulgences were not understood as shortening time in purgatory, but as easing the purification after death by an amount analogous to the shortening of an earthly penitential period by the number of days indicated.

Fourth, because some people were confused by thinking purgatory was shortened by a set number of days with an indulgence, the Church abolished the "day" figures attached to indulgences specifically to eliminate this confusion.

In our small group discussion, we speculated that perhaps purification could take place in a "moment." After our meeting, I read Mr. Akin's article again. I was intrigued by his statement of the three different kinds of time according to Catholic teaching: Time, Aeviternity, Eternity. This is what he says about these three kinds of time:

Fifth, the reason that the "days" were never understood to be days of literal time off in purgatory is that the medieval theologians, such as St. Thomas Aquinas, those living at precisely the period when the "days" were attached to indulgences, were very clear about the fact that time does not work the same way in the afterlife as it does here. In fact, they had a special term for it, and would contrast three different temporal modalities—the ordinary flow of events we experience here on earth, called "time;"; the perpetual present that God experiences, called "eternity;" and the middle, less well understood state experienced by those in the afterlife, known as "aeviternity." So the Church has never said that purgatory involves the same kind of time as we experience here on earth, or even time at all. Thus Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, no theological liberal, writes that purgatory may involve existential" rather than "temporal" duration (cf. Ratzinger's book It may be something one , but experiences in a moment, rather than something one endures over time.

This teaching of the midpoint between time and eternity (aeviternity) can cause confusion if Catholics state that purgatory is a "middle state." According to Catholic teaching, this is false. Again Mr. Akin clarifies this:

Purgatory is not a middle destiny! First, you should explain that purgatory is a middle state between heaven and hell. This encourages the Protestant to think of it as not only a distinct region of the afterlife (something the Church does not teach) but, even worse, that purgatory is a middle between heaven and hell. This it false, and you should emphasize quite strenuously to the Protestant that everyone who goes to purgatory goes to heaven. In fact, the one goes to purgatory is so that one can be fitted for life in heaven. Purgatory thus constitutes the cloakroom of heaven, the place you go to get spiffed up before being ushered into the Throne Room. For this reason, you should totally avoid any language like, "Purgatory is where you go when you aren't bad enough for hell but not good enough for heaven." This language, besides sounding legalistic, is also going to get a Protestant thinking that purgatory is some kind of middle destiny rather than a temporary phenomenon. 

Here is the link to Jimmy Akin's Article, How to Explain Purgatory to Protestants (Jimmy Akin is an official Catholic expert for EWTN online Questions and Answers Forum in which the public can "Ask an Expert" and get a truthful answer according to Catholic teaching)

https://www.ewtn.com/library/ANSWERS/HOW2PURG.HTM

Catholic teaching also tells us that purgatory is a place of joy for the soul. In this article by Mr. Akin, he quotes 
St. Catherine of Genoa:

In fact, the souls in purgatory have a large number of reasons for joy: (a) freedom from the committing of sin, (b) freedom from the desire to sin, (c) closer unity with God and Christ, (d) certainty of one's final salvation in a way not possible in this life, (e) a final and full appreciation of just how gracious God has been to one, (f) a final and full appreciation of just how much God loves one, (g) the at last unencumbered and pure love we will feel for God and for others, (h) partial rewards which may be given in anticipation of one's entrance into the full glory of heaven at the end of purgatory.

If you wish to read more about this subject, there is a book by former Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) 
entitled Eschatology. You can purchase it on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Eschatology-Second-Death-Eternal-Life/dp/0813215161/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8
&qid=1461508582&sr=8-1&keywords=eschatology

St. Thomas Aquinas on Aeviternity

As secular Carmelites, let us follow the teaching and example of St. Therese, the Little Flower. She stated that one does not have to go to purgatory if they love. Let us ask God to purify us in this life, so that we may immediately see him face-to-face when this life of time is ended. May he welcome us to praise him for all eternity in heaven. And may we pray on a daily basis for all those in urgatory. May God quickly purify them and welcome them into his Kingdom.


May all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.


Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, OCDS

CARMELITE QUOTE

St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein)

Feast Day: August 9

Since the Mother of God is among women the most intimately bound to Christ, she is the heart of the Church of which Christ is the head. Mary helps those who strive to unveil Christ in the heart of another. Thus, woman's mission is to imitate Mary. She must further the life of faith by providing secure and enduring foundation. As teacher, she must be the maternal, loving educator for Christ. She must nourish a rich life of faith in young persons through their intellectuality and voluntariness. By so consecrating herself to supernatural maternity, the Catholic woman becomes an organ of the Church.

St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, pray for us!

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