CARMELITE SAINT OF THE DAY

St. Teresa Margaret Redi

September 1

St. Teresa Margaret Redi of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was born on July 16, 1747, the Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, according to the biography by Msg. James Newcomb.

From the Carmelite Proper of the Liturgy of the Hours:

Teresa Margaret was born in Tuscany of the noble Redi family, and entered the Discalced Carmelites in Florence on September 1, 1764. She was given a special contemplative experience concerning the words of St. John, "God is Love." She felt deeply that her vocation was to live a hidden life of love and self-immolation. That vocation was confirmed by her heroic exercise of fraternal charity, but was soon completed: she died in 1770, aged twenty-three. 

From the Decree of Canonization:

The fires of her love were fed principally by the Eucharist, and she looked forward with longing to her communions. She was also especially devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a devotion which did much to curb the advances of Jansenism at that time in Tuscany. She was utterly devoted to Our Lady, whom she regarded as the model and protectress of her own virginal purity. She was endowed to a high degree with the gift of contemplative prayer, and daily grew closer to God, as though reflecting the glories of the eternity she was fast approaching.

Our Carmelite Saint and Sister is a model for the great pillars of our spiritual life: The Eucharist, the Love and Mercy of God manifested in the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and devotion to Our Lady. As Carmelites, we cannot go wrong in clinging with great love to these spiritual pillars of our faith.

St. Teresa wanted to find souls that loved God or wished to love him as he deserved to be love. She made a pact with a fellow sister that they become rivals in the holy love of God. She would never let her sister forget this promise and spurred her on to the heights of virtue.

This example should help us as Carmelites to have a real desire not only for ourselves to reach the heights of union with God, but also for our brothers and sisters in Carmel, and yes, for every soul that God has created. May God give us a thirst for souls that will love him and adore him for all eternity!

Beautiful website about St. Teresa Margaret

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, OCDS
____________________

Transverberation of St. Teresa's Heart-OCD Memorial

Carmelite Feast Day-August 26: 
Saint Teresa of Jesus-Transverberation

From the Carmelite Proper:
Chief among Teresa's virtues was the love of God, which our Lord Jesus Christ increased by means of many visions and revelations. He made her his spouse on one occasion. At other times she saw an angel with a flaming dart piercing her heart. Through these heavenly gifts the flame of divine love in her heart became so strong that, inspired by God, she made the extremely difficult vow of always doing what seemed to her most perfect and most conducive to God's glory. 
(Gregory XV in the Bull of Canonization)

Our Holy Mother, St. Teresa of Jesus (Avila) was gifted with many mystical graces, among them was the transverberation of her heart. Other saints have experienced this gift. In fact, St. John of the Cross describes this singular grace (be prepared if it happens to you!):

"It will happen that while the soul is inflamed with the Love of God, it will feel that a seraph is assailing it by means of an arrow or dart which is all afire with love. And the seraph pierces and in an instant cauterizes this soul, which, like a red-hot coal, or better a flame, is already enkindled. The soul is converted into an immense fire of Love. Few persons have reached these heights."

Even St. Therese of the Child Jesus describes a similar experience after she made the Act of Oblation to the Merciful Love of God on June 9, 1895:

"I felt myself suddenly wounded by a dart of fire so ardent that I thought I should die. I know not how to describe that transport: there is no comparison which would make the vehemence of that flame understood. It seemed as though an invisible force plunged me wholly into fire. Oh that fire! What sweetness!One minute, one second more, and my soul must have been set free..."

These mystical experiences for the saint produced by angelic flame and fire seem to be a mixture of sweetness and pain. 

Our Lady's heart was pierced as well. I think of the prophecy of Simeon to Our Lady:

"Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother: "This child is destined to be the downfall and the rise of many in Israel, a sign that will be opposed--and you yourself shall be pierced with a sword--so that the thoughts of many hearts may be laid bare."
(Luke 2:34-35)

Our Lady's heart was pierced by a spiritual sword of sorrow, bitter pain, and anguish. Although at the time of the Annunciation she did not know all the sorrows that would befall her, she said Yes to all that God desired of her.

St. John of the Cross teaches us that to reach the heights we must take up our cross and suffer with Jesus, to be in union with him and his suffering. The saints did not get to be saints by an easy route. They endured untold sufferings and pains, but our Lord helped them to endure the suffering by these graces. As Jesus was consoled in the desert by an angel, it seems he sends his angel to saints such as St. Teresa and St. Therese to strengthen them.

 
We don't know why some souls receive greater graces than others.  St. Therese pondered this same question. She was led to the scripture passage, " I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy." 
(Romans 9:15). After this discovery, she begins her great reflection about souls being compared to flowers, that not all are the magnificent rose; some must be content to be daisies.

 
St. Teresa's heart was aflame for the Living God. Let us pray that the Holy Spirit inflame our heart with this same love for God and neighbor.

Come Holy Spirit
Fill the hearts of your faithful
And kindle in them the fire of your love
Send forth your Spirit
And we shall be created
And you shall renew the face of the earth.

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds 

__________________________

CARMELITE SAINT OF THE DAY

Saint Mary of Jesus Crucified, OCD, Virgin

Blessed Mary of Jesus Crucifed was born of the Baouardy family, Catholics of the Greek Melchite Rite, at Abellin in Galilee in 1846. In 1867 she entered the Discalced Carmelites at Pau in France and was sent with the founding group to the Carmel of Mangalore in India where, in 1870, she made her profession. She returned to France in 1872. In 1875 she went to the Holy Land where she built a monastery in Bethlehem and began planning for another at Nazareth. Noted for her supernatural gifts, especially for humility, for her devotion to the Holy Spirit, and her great love for the Church and the Pope, she died at Bethlehem in 1878.

Read more about this mystic of the church







Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds



SATURDAY OF OURLADY

Photo: R. Massaro. From very old family book. Photo in public domain.

Learn more about the devotion to Our Lady of Solitude

A Pilgrim's Prayer

O Mother Mary, O Virgin sweet,

I come to pray at they feet,

I come to thee from so very far

O Virgin Queen, be my guiding star.

Lead me right along life's darkening way

Guide my steps lest I should stray.

If I should stumble, falter or fall,

O Blessed Mother, hear my call.

O Lovely Lady in cape so blue,

In direst need I come to you.

Despise not that for which I plead,

O Mother Dear, please intercede.

When the road seems long and all up hill,

Hear my prayer if it be God's will.

And what'er befalls, when life's race is run,

Please let me say, "God's will be done."

Cletus J. Walter

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, OCDS

Novena to St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross

St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross

(Edith Stein)

Feast Day: August 9

Novena to St. Teresa

This novena is unique in that it gives a glimpse of her life from August 1 through August 9 in 1942.

http://www.hebrewcatholic.net/novena-day-1-sat-aug-1-1942/

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, OCDS

SATURDAY OF OUR LADY

Photo: R. Massaro Lourdes, France

Mary's closing visit to Lourdes was on July 16th the feast which honors her under the title of Carmel. She came at sunset. Her choice of day must not have been an accident. the very name Carmel must have filled her with fond memories.

She would have remembered many a sunset when she and her Son rested their eyes on the beauty of that mountain as the day faded. In its pure and lonely grandeur it stood out of this world. It recalled memories of a great past. She would have known it as a place of prayer and silence and the witness of mighty battles in the plains below.

When she sang her Magnificat she was the meeting-place of two worlds, a world stretching back to Abraham and forward to generations yet unborn. She recalled the past mercies of the Lord; she foresaw the praise future ages would give her for the great things God had done in her.

And in a sense, Carmel linked two worlds, east and west, past and future. A mountain hallowed by prayer before she was born, a place that would do her honor from age to age. There are flowers on Mount Carmel when there are none elsewhere.

The Ascent of Mount Carmel is a well-worn path, traveled down through the centuries by countless members of the Order which glories in the title of Carmel who have been richly rewarded for the ardor of the ascent, for in their souls have blossomed flowers of holiness of rarest quality. In the majestic grandeur of the mountain of God they have lived through dark nights, and have seen glorious dawns.There in the silent companionship of Mary they have pondered the word and remained with her in prayer. They have enriched the Church with a shining example of silent worship, unending contemplation, and pure love. The beauty of Carmel might tempt us to follow them at least from afar. Any day, at any moment, we may go on pilgrimage to Carmel, we may climb the heights to pay her our tribute of praise and love. 

But before we start we have something to do. Before we ascend to honor her who had her roots in Jacob we must take the advice once given to Jacob before he ascended to Bethel. "Put away the foreign gods that are among you,, and purify yourselves and change your clothes. (Gen. 35,2) Three things to do. Put aside the gods made with hands, the worldly attachments which hold us in their spell; cleanse ourselves of the dross of this world; robe ourselves anew in the innocence of our baptismal garment, and then we will be capable of a new love, a new song that will have all the freshness and beauty of spring flowers on Carmel. Let St. John of the Cross lead us in this song for the ascent:

Let us rejoice, Beloved. And let us go forth to behold ourselves in your beauty, to the mountain and to the hill, to where the pure waters flows...There you will show me what my soul has been seeking.
Pilgrims With Mary by John Moloney P.P.



Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, OCDS

ELIJAH'S CUP

Carmelite Saint of the Day: St. Elijah

The prophet Elijah is a Saint who is venerated by Carmelites throughout the world.  We celebrate his feast day on July 20th. He's considered the father of Carmelite spirituality. From the Carmelite Proper:

Photo: R. Massaro

The Prophet Elijah appears in Scripture as a man of God who always lived in His presence and fought zealously for the worship of the one true God. He defended God's law in a solemn contest on Mount Carmel, and afterwards was given on Mount Horeb an intimate experience of the living God. The inspiration that was found in him from the very beginnings of the Order so pervade its whole history that the prophet may deservedly be called the founder of the Carmelite ideal.

While doing research for another article, I discovered that the prophet Elijah plays a role in the Seder meal celebrated by the Jewish people.  During the meal, four cups of wine are at table, and a fifth is poured and set aside as "Elijah's Cup."  

What is so special about Elijah's Cup? And what is the meaning behind the ceremony of his cup and wine?  Jewish people believe that it is a symbol for when Elijah will usher in the age of the Messiah. Thus, at the end of every Seder meal, a child goes to the door to see if the prophet is there. If the prophet does not arrive, the disappointed family pours the wine back into the bottle.  

It's very interesting to note that the Jewish people use wine and the Cup of Elijah as a symbol of their future redemption.  In our Catholic faith, we know the importance of Holy Communion; The Lord's precious Body and Blood that feeds and nourishes us. On the night of the Last Supper Jesus instituted this most Blessed Sacrament: 

...He likewise took a cup, gave thanks and passed it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them: "This is my blood, the blood of the covenant, to be poured out on behalf of many..."
(Mark 14:23-24)


In the Book of Kings, the prophet Elijah is brought food and drink to sustain him for his journey, a prefigurement of the Holy Eucharist:

...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 jug of water... 
(1 Kings 19:5-6)

Photo: R. Massaro Carmelite Monastery Niagara Falls, Canada

Each time we are at Mass, as the cup of the precious Blood of Jesus is raised, perhaps we could pray for the Jewish people. May they be given the gift of faith to believe that Yeshua, Jesus, is the Messiah of whom the prophets spoke.  Let us ask the intercession of the holy Prophet, Elijah, to intercede for the Jewish people.  May they come to believe in Jesus, receive His Body and Blood, and experience the true and living God, as we do, as Catholics, at each Mass.  







Dr. Brant Pitre
Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist
(click on photo)


Peace be with you, 
Rosemarie, OCDS 




















the holy grail, the Lord's cup of his precious blood