Perpetual Adoration in the Chapel of the Heart

Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity discovered her great vocation within her vocation: I think that in Heaven my mission will be to draw souls by helping them go out of themselves to cling to God by a wholly simple and loving movement, and to keep them in this great silence within that will allow God to communicate Himself to them and transform them into Himself (L 335).

In her writings Bl. Elizabeth declared that she wanted her heart to become a "Bethany" for Our Lord. A haven where he could rest peacefully in her soul. She prayed, "I offer you the cell of my heart...Come rest there. I love you so..."


Bl. Elizabeth is one of my favorite saints because of the above statement. I've thought about it often....we say we are "going" to adoration at a particular church. And that is wonderful; it is a beautiful endeavor to adore Our Lord in the most Blessed Sacrament. In our Carmelite tradition, we who are seeking union with God through contemplative prayer have the goal of spiritual marriage. We realize that Our Lord is always present in our soul and we can adore him 24 hours a day in the

CHAPEL OF OUR HEART

It is my belief as a Carmelite that we can enter this chapel of our heart and enjoy perpetual adoration of the Most Holy Trinity, even amidst our duties of every day life. This great gift of continual awareness of God's presence in our soul is the goal of everyone who longs for holiness and who desires never to be separated from the Beloved.

I believe this teaching on the indwelling of the Holy Trinity is what Bl. Elizabeth was referring to when she stated: "Always love prayer, and when I say prayer, I don't mean so much imposing on oneself a lot of vocal prayers to be recited every day, as that elevation of the soul toward God through all things." We can follow her teaching by lifting our minds and hearts to God throughout the day.

Enter the chapel of your heart by a simple look toward heaven as St. Therese describes her simple way of praying. The Lord is present waiting for our visit. Even though are minds be consumed with many things, he treasures one moment of our heart turned toward Him.

Stay near the tabernacle in the chapel of your heart like the sanctuary lamp that is ever-present and on fire near his presence. At this stage in your spiritual life, is your lamp burning brightly, or just a tiny flame about to die out, or a flame somewhere in between?

Let us pray that the Holy Spirit ignite our love for the Lord ever-present in our soul. May he give us the strength to detach ourselves from earthly things and be content with spending time with the Lord in the silence of our hearts.

LIKE THE WISE VIRGINS, LET US KEEP OUR LAMPS LIT!

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, OCDS

Carmelite Quote-St. John of the Cross

Tabernacle of the Week

TABERNACLE OF THE WEEK

Sts. Peter and Paul ChurchDoylestown, OhioEstablished in 1827

Oldest parish in the Diocese of Cleveland, Ohio

The Jubilee Year of St. Paul

June 28-2008 through June 29-2009


In our Diocese of Cleveland, Bishop Lennon has designated certain parishes as official pilgrimage sites to gain a Plenary Indulgence for the Jubilee of St. Paul.

Sts. Peter & Paul Church in rural Wayne County is one of the parishes. Here is their website
http://www.stspeterpaul-doylestown.4lpi.com/




Now focusing on Carmelite Spirituality, let's turn to Bl. Elizabeth of the Trinity who was fondly called "Sabeth" by her family. She is well-known for her "Pauline" spirituality.


Here is an excerpt from her retreat called Heaven in Faith.

"Remain in Me." It is the word of God who gives this order, expresses this wish. Remain in Me,not for a few moments, a few hours which must pass away, but "remain..." permanently, habitually, Remain in Me, pray in Me, adore in Me, love in Me, suffer in Me, work and act in Me. Remain in Me so that you may be able to encounter anyone or anything; penetrate further still into these depths. This is truly the "solitude into which God wants to allure the soul that He may speak to it," as the prophet sang.

In order to understand this very mysterious saying, we must not, so to speak, stop at the surface, but enter ever deeper into the divine Being through recollection. "I pursue my course," exclaimed St. Paul: so must we descend daily this pathway of loving confidence. Bl. Elizabeth of the Trinity, Heaven in Faith

Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity's writings are full of the spirituality of St. Paul. In the year of his Jubilee, I would highly recommend her writings as a way of honoring St. Paul. Carmelites throughout the world will honor her on Nov. 8, her feast day. Let us pray for a miracle so that she may be canonized soon.

Bl. Elizabeth found her mission within the Church from St. Paul's writings: "We have been predestined by the decree of Him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we may be the praise of His glory." She desired to be a Praise of His Glory!

Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity, Pray for us!


Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, OCDS

Beatification of Louis & Zelie Martin-Parents of St. Therese of the Child Jesus

Louis and Zelie Martin

Parents of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, virgin, doctor

Beatified in France

A day of rejoicing for the Carmelite Order-The parents of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, Louis & Zelie Martin are beatified on October 19,2008 in Lisieux, France.
Here is the link to an article from Zenit news.http://www.zenit.org/article-23997?l=english

The Te Deum:

You are God: we praise you;
You are the Lord: we acclaim you;
You are the eternal Father:
All creation worships you.

To you all angels, all the powers of heaven,
Cherubim and Seraphim, sing in endless praise:
Holy, holy, holy, Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.

The glorious company of apostles praise you.
the noble fellowship of prophets praise you.
The white-robed army of martyrs praise you.

Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you:
Father, of Majesty unbounded,
your true and only son, worthy of all worship,
and the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.

You, Christ, are the King of glory,
the eternal son of the Father.

When you became man to set us free
you did not spurn the virgin's womb.

You overcame the sting of death,
and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.

You are seated at God's right hand in glory.
We believe that you will come, and be our judge.

Come then, Lord, and help your people,
bought with the price of your own blood,
and bring us with your saints
to glory everlasting.

From the Liturgy of the Hours -Office of Readings

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, OCDS

Tabernacle of the Week

St. Sebastian Church

Akron, Ohio

May Jesus Christ be praised, loved and adored in all the tabernacles of the world, even unto the end of time!

This beautiful church is the location for our monthly

lay Carmelite meeting. We meet in the lower level
for formation classes and then gather in the beautiful
church for the chanting of Evening Prayer before we
depart.

For readers in our area- Catholic men and women, you are most welcome to attend our meetings! We meet from 1-4pm on the first Sunday of the Month.

The Pastor of this church, Fr. John Valencheck has a blog
called Adam's Ale. Please visit my blog roll for the link.

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, OCDS

St. Teresa of Jesus-OCD Carmelite Solemnity

Solemnity of our Holy Mother St. Teresa of Jesus






St. Teresa's Bookmark

Let nothing trouble you.
Let nothing scare you.
All is fleeting.
God alone is unchanging.
Patience
Everything obtains.
Who possesses God
Nothing wants.
God alone suffices

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, OCDS

Holy Fasting

Today, Carmelites throughout the world are fasting in preparation for the great feast tomorrow of our holy mother, St. Teresa of Jesus (Avila).

Carmelites take this obligation very seriously. As our rules states:

"In addition to the days of fasting and of abstinence proper to the Church in the United States and in response to the encouragement of our bishops 'to prepare for each Church festival by a day of particular self-denial, penitential prayer and fasting' and to our Carmelite traditions, our members, unless excused by reason of illness, will fast on the vigils of the following feast days:"

1. Our Blessed Lady of Mount Carmel (July 16)

2. Our Holy Mother St. Teresa of Jesus (October 15)

3. Our Holy Father St. John of the Cross (December 14)

4. The Prophet Elijah (July 20)

5. All the Saints of the Order (November 14)

For sufficient reason, the above special fast days may be anticipated.

The Life of FastingSt. John Chrysostom

Do you fast? Give me proof of it by your works.

If you see a poor man, take pity on him.

If you see a friend being honored, do not envy him.

Do not let only your mouth fast, but also the eye and the ear and the feet and the hands and all the members of our bodies.

Let the hands fast, by being free of avarice.

Let the feet fast, by ceasing to run after sin.

Let the eyes fast, by disciplining them not to glare at that which is sinful.

Let the ear fast, by not listening to evil talk and gossip.

Let the mouth fast from foul words and unjust criticism.

For what good is it if we abstain from birds and fishes, but bite and devour our brothers?

May He who came to the world to save sinners strengthen us to complete the fast with humility, have mercy on us and save us.

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, OCDS