Carmelite Quote

St. Teresa of Jesus of the Andes:

Six days ago, while I was making my thanksgiving after communion, I felt such love so great for Our Lord that it seemed to me my heart could not resist it. Yet at the same time--believe me, Father, I don't know how to express what happened to me--I felt kind of stunned, throughout those days I've been as though I were outside myself. I spent all those days as though I were not in myself. I would do things, but without realizing it. Later, in prayer, God would present Himself to me, but immediately my soul seemed to go out of itself. This happened with such violence that I nearly fell to the ground.

Letter to Fr. Julian Cea, C.M.F.

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, OCDS

Stained Glass Flowers-Little accounts of the miraculous

From the life of St. Theresa Margaret Redi:

In 1769, Mother Magdalen Theresa of St. Francis de Sales was so gravely ill from a fistula in one of the lacrimal glands that she had to undergo an operation. She was no better after the operation, and could rest neither day nor night. Stricken to the heart at the sight of her sufferings, Sister Theresa Margaret took from under her scapular one day a little parchment picture of Our Lady of Good Counsel and applied it to the sick nun's head, saying, " I am sorry that you suffer so...if you have faith, this will help." There was immediate relief and, in a few days, absolute cure.

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, OCDS

Saturday of Our Lady

The Immaculate Spouse of the Holy Spirit

Through Mary, with Mary, and in Mary, the Holy spirit brought forth the God-man, and in like manner He brings forth, every day, to the End of Time, the elect children of God. St. Louis de Montfort says: "The Holy Spirit imparted to Mary His immeasurable gifts, and has made her the dispenser of all His graces, so that she distributes His gifts and graces to whom she will, as much as she wills, and how and where she wills. No grace is given by Heaven to man except through her virginal hands." St. Bernard and St. Alphonsus and many other theologians hold the same opinion.

(Source: Devotion to the Holy Spirit, Tan Books)
During this season of Lent, let us call upon our Holy Mother and ask her to send the Holy Spirit to help us in our resolve to pray and do penance. Let us remember Our Lady each day with that beautiful prayer that recalls the moment she became the Spouse of the Holy Spirit and the holy dwelling place of God.

The Angelus

V. The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary
R. And she conceived by the Holy Spirit
Hail Mary...
V. Behold the Handmaid of the Lord
R. Let it be done to me according to your word
Hail Mary...
V. And the Word was made flesh
R. And dwelt among us
Hail Mary...
Pour forth we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our heart, that we to whom the incarnation of Christ your Son was made known by a message of an angel, may by his passion and cross, be brought to the glory of his resurrection, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, OCDS
_______________

Catechism Quote

Catechism-#571

The Paschal mystery of Christ's cross and Resurrection stand at the center of the Good News that the apostles, and the Church following them, are to proclaim to the world. God's saving plan was accomplished "once for all" by the redemptive death of his Son Jesus Christ.

Prayer Before a Crucifix

Look down upon me, good and gentle Jesus, while before Your face I humbly kneel, and with burning soul pray and beseech You to fix deep in my heart lively sentiments of faith, hope, and charity, true contrition for my sins, and a firm purpose of amendment; while I contemplate with great love and tender pity Your five wounds, pondering over them within me, and calling to mind the words which, long ago, David the prophet spoke in Your own person concerning You, my Jesus: "They have pierced My hands and My feet; they have numbered all My bones."

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, OCDS

Second Flower of Consecrated Life: Poverty

Second Flower of Consecrated Life: POVERTY

The Carmelite is called to live a life of Beatitude. Our Lord tells us in the Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: the kingdom of heaven is theirs.” Let us ask ourselves, do I desire anything other than the Kingdom, the life of the Blessed in heaven? Jesus tells us that if we are poor in spirit, then not only will we be happy in heaven, but he will take care of our temporal needs now. So, why do we worry and try to accumulate material things? We are spiritually insecure when we do not have the confidence that our heavenly Father knows our needs and will provide for them.

What is the key to spiritual poverty? It can be summed up in one word: detachment. And who better to learn about detachment than from our holy father, St. John of the Cross? St. John of the Cross teaches us that not only should we be detached from material possessions, but we should also be detached from spiritual consolations and even from our very selves and our senses. He explains:

Some are content with a certain degree of virtue,perseverance in prayer, and mortification, but never achieve the nakedness, poverty, selflessness, or spiritual purity (which are all the same) about which the Lord counsels here. For they still feed and clothe their natural selves with spiritual feelings and consolations instead of divesting and denying themselves of these for God's sake. They think denial of self in worldly matters is sufficient without annihilation and purification in the spiritual domain. It happens that, when some of this solid perfect food ( the annihilation of all sweetness in God—the pure spiritual cross and nakedness of Christ's poverty of spirit) is offered them in dryness, distaste, and trial, they run from it as from death and wander about in search only of sweetness and delightful communications from God. Such an attitude is not the hallmark of self-denial and nakedness of spirit but the indication of a spiritual sweet tooth. Through this kind of conduct they become, spiritually speaking, enemies of the cross of Christ.Ascent of Mt. Carmel Book II, Chap. 7, No. 5

Our family of Carmel is a holy and penitential family. We bind ourselves to holy poverty in a spiritual marriage to the Order when we profess our vows. We promise to seek the face of God in prayer. The Beatitudes are the portrait of Jesus. We seek the face of Jesus, his holy face, not only his wounded and sorrowful face, but his joyful face, as he proclaims the kingdom of heaven to the poor.

The promises of chastity, poverty, and obedience work together in the spiritual life, we cannot have one without the other. If we are sincere in our quest to reach the summit of Mt. Carmel, we will be single-hearted for the Lord in our love for him (Chasity), we will be single-hearted in our desire for the kingdom and not worldly possessions (poverty), we will be single-hearted in carrying out his holy will (obedience).

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, OCDS

_______________________________

Answers to yesterday's quiz:

1. St. John of the Cross

2. Her autobiography (The Life), The Way of Perfection, The Interior Castle; written in this order.

3. The autobiography of St. Teresa of Jesus (Avila)

4. Pope Leo XIII

Carmelite Quiz

TODAY'S QUIZ

1. Who said, "When I recall the foolish mistakes I made as superior, I blush."

2. St. Teresa of Jesus (Avila) wrote three major works. What are they? And in what order were they written?

3. Which of these works by St. Teresa, mentioned above, played an important role in the conversion of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein)?

4. St. Therese implored which pope to let her enter Carmel at the age of fifteen?

(answers tomorrow)

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie

Tabernacle of the Week

 Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio

Our Lord spoke to me and made me understand how lonely and abandoned He is in the Tabernacles. He asked me to keep Him company. Then He gave me my vocation, and said that He wanted my heart for Himself. He also told me I would become a Carmelite. From that moment I spent entire days in intimate conversation with Our Lord and felt happy to be alone. I was not living at this time my own life, but Jesus was living in me. I got up at seven. I did everything with Jesus and for Jesus. Our Lord showed me what holiness is. I would attain it by doing everything as well as possible.

St. Teresa of Jesus of the Andes (from her diary written at about the age of 14)

We can see in St. Teresa's writing her simplicity and purity of heart. What a simple rule for holiness Jesus taught her: "Our Lord showed me what holiness is. I would attain it by doing everything as well as possible." We know that the saints are filled with the Holy Spirit and not only do everything "well" but with great love.

Fr. Thomas Dubay, who has written extensively on Carmelite spirituality has mentioned more than a few times that Saints do not "cut corners." Let us learn from St. Teresa to do everything well. This may present a challenge at times when we want to take a short-cut on the spiritual road, but let us keep close to Jesus and spend time with him in the Blessed Sacrament. He will give us the grace we need to do everything with love.



Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, OCDS