Stained Glass Scapulars-Reflections on the Secular Carmelite Rule

Carmelite Rule-Article 9

The primitive Church, the members of which were "of one heart and soul" (Acts 4:32) is the model upon which the Secular Order bases its community life. The Secular Carmelite should cultivate fraternal relations with the other members of their religious family, and bear in mind that, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, their fidelity to their vocation affects the spiritual welfare of each of them.

This excerpt from the Rule speaks of the working of the Holy Spirit in our life to help us be faithful to our promises and to each other and to the Order.

This excerpt also refers to the early Church, and how they knew each others' needs, because they were united by a common vision of living out the Gospel as was handed down to them by the Apostles.

How do we know the needs of our brothers and sisters in our local community unless we spend time with them and get to know them? Meeting together once a month is not enough time to form deep bonds of spiritual friendship.

Let's challenge ourselves to truly get to know our brothers and sisters in Carmel.

Here are a few suggestions:

*Call or email a member in between meetings. Encourage them if they are having personal problems.

*Participate in an online community discussion.

*Meet for lunch or dinner.

*Meet for daily mass and get-together afterward.

*Pray for the living and deceased members of the community.

Sometimes we meet with people for years and do not even know the name of their spouse or how many children they have. We do not know their occupation and the things they are interested in.

Let us make an effort, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to truly have our community become "One" in the Body of Christ. A "oneness" so complete that we are willing to discover and share the joys and sorrows of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie,OCDS

Tabernacle of the Week

St. Joseph Church
Massillon, Ohio

...My soul longs for Your Body; my heart desires to be made one with You.
Give Yourself to me, Lord, and it is enough, for apart from You there is no consolation. I cannot exist without You, nor can I live if You do not visit me. Therefore, I must come to You frequently, and receive You for the health of my soul. If I do not, I shall surely faint by the wayside, being deprived of this heavenly food.
Imitation of Christ-Chapter 3-#2.


As Lay Carmelites, we are called to the Eucharistic table each day. Let us thank God for this wonderful gift of being able to receive him daily.

St. Therese once said that the Lord does not come down from heaven to wait in a gold ciborium. No, He longs for us to receive him frequently.


I recently visited the church pictured here and you can see the priest reciting Morning Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours with the few parishioners who came early. This would be a wonderful Carmelite apostolate to start in our parish churches.











Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, OCDS

Devotion to Our Lady Mother of the Church

Mother of the Church, pray for us!

The Virgin Mary ...is acknowledged and honored as being truly the Mother of God and of the Redeemer... She is 'clearly the mother of the members of Christ'...since she has by her charity joined in bringing about the birth of believers in the Church, who are members of its head. Mary, Mother of Christ, Mother of the Church. Catechism #963

All the saints had a special love and devotion for our Holy Mother, Mary. One Carmelite in particular, St. Raphael Kalinowski, OCD had a beautiful motto: Mary always and in everything.

*His conversion took place through Mary

*He entered Mary's Order, Carmel, whose goal is allegiance to Jesus Christ

*His prayer life imitated Mary-she who pondered the Word in her heart

*As spiritual director he taught souls the way to Jesus is through Mary
*He propagated the scapular devotion-a sacramental of the church, that helps to sanctify every moment of life.

As Lay Carmelites we have a special devotion to our Mother Mary under the title of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and she has a special love for her children in Carmel. Let us be very, very grateful that Jesus has called us to Our Lady's holy Order. Let us as Catholic Christians be very. very grateful for the great gift of Mary, Mother of the Church.

May we ever thank her for all the prayers and tears she has shed on behalf of all of her children.

On this day, O beautiful Mother
On this day, we give Thee our love
Near Thee Madonna, fondly we hover
Trusting Thy gentle care to prove
(well-known Marian hymn)

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, OCDS

Saturday of Our Lady

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On The Love of Mary, our Mother

As among all the blessed spirits there is not one that loves God more than Mary, so we neither have nor can have anyone who, after God, loves us as much as this loving Mother; and if we concentrate all the love that mothers bear their children, husbands and wives one another, all the love of angels and saints for their clients, it does not equal the love of Mary towards a single soul.

St. Alphonsus Liguori

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, OCDS

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St. John of the Cross-Sayings of Light and Love

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Saying #42

Reflect that the most delicate flower loses its fragrance and withers fastest; therefore guard yourself against seeking to walk in a spirit of delight, for you will not be constant. Choose rather for yourself a robust spirit, detached from everything, and you will discover abundant peace and sweetness, for delicious and durable fruit is gathered in a cold and dry climate.

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, OCDS

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Saturday of Our Lady

Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

(click on photo for John Paul II's Prayer of Entrustment to the Virgin Mary)

Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, and tender Mother of all people, I consecrate myself to you and to your Immaculate Heart, and recommend to you my family, my country, and the whole human race.

Please accept my consecration, dearest Mother, and use me as you wish, to accomplish your designs upon the world.

O Immaculate Heart of Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth, rule over me, and teach me how to allow the heart of Jesus to rule and triumph in me and around me, as it has ruled and triumphed in you. Amen.

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, OCDS

Novena to the Holy Spirit

First Day
Importance of the Gifts

All notes and prayers are excerpts from Favorite Novenas to the Holy Spirit, published by Catholic Book Publishing Co.
We shall strive during this Novena to obtain an increase of the seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit, over and above the special favors we shall ask from the Divine Spirit. The Gifts of the Holy Spirit are supernatural dispositions given to us with grace, to make the soul attentive and responsive to the movements of the Third Person of the Adorable Trinity.

Prayer:Almighty and eternal God, You have regenerated us by water and the Holy Spirit, and have given us forgiveness of all sins. Be pleased to send forth from heaven upon us Your sevenfold Spirit, the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding, the Spirit of Counsel and Fortitude, the Spirit of Knowledge and of Piety, and fill us with the Spirit of Holy Fear. Amen. Recite 7 times the Glory be to the Father.

Second Day

The Gift of Holy Fear

The irreligious man often fears that there may possibly be a God and a time of retribution. O what a base fear; a fear that he tries to bury in oblivion by leading a riotous, sinful life. The Gift of Holy Fear fills us with a sovereign respect for God, and makes us above all things to offend Him.

Prayer:

Come, O blessed Spirit of Holy Fear, penetrate my inmost heart, that I may set You,my Lord and God, before my face for ever; and shun all things that can offend You, so that I may be made worthy to appear before the pure eyes of Your Divine Majesty in the heaven of heavens, where You live and reign in the unity of the ever Blessed Trinity, God forever and ever. Amen.

Recite 7 times the Glory be to the Father.

Third Day

The Gift of Piety

The Gift of Piety is the Gift through which the Holy Spirit calls to the service of God and man, the mistress of virtues, charity. It prompts us to love God not because of His majesty, but because He is our Father. It makes us love whatever is near and dear to our Divine Savior, beginning with His Immaculate Mother and going down the scale to the most abandoned on earth and in purgatory.

Prayer:

Come, O blessed Spirit of Piety, possess my heart, incline it to a true faith in You, to a holy love of You, my God, and of all my fellow creatures for Your sake. Amen.

Recite 7 times the Glory be to the Father.

Fourth Day

The Gift of Knowledge

Knowledge, as a Gift of the Holy Spirit, directs the soul to judge of things, both human and Divine, according to supernatural common sense and not according to the standards of the worldly-wise.

In this age of doubt, materialism, pleasure-seeking, what shall we say of the necessity of this Gift to enable us to distinguish good from evil, innocent pleasure from tainted joy, truth from falsehood, the real good from the apparent good among all the things around us? Let us, therefore, pray earnestly for this Gift.

Prayer:

Come, O blessed Spirit of Knowledge, and grant that I may perceive the Will of the Father. Show me the nothingness of earthly things, that I may realize their vanity and use them only for Your glory and my own salvation, looking ever beyond them to You and Your eternal rewards. Amen.

Recite 7 times the Glory be to the Father.

Fifth Day

The Gift of Fortitude

Fortitude is the Gift of the Holy Spirit strengthening the soul against all natural fear and supporting it to the end in the performance of duty. Daily the soul, in the state of grace, must go forth to fight the good fight of Christ; to do its duty, which, because it is duty, will always be difficult.

Prayer:

Come, O blessed Spirit of Fortitude, uphold my soul in time of trouble and adversity. Sustain my efforts after holiness, strengthen my weakness, give me courage against all the assaults of my enemies. May I never be overcome and separated from You, my God and greatest Good. Amen.

Recite 7 times the Glory be to the Father.

Seventh Day

The Gift of Understanding

Understanding, as a Gift of the Holy Spirit, helps the Christian, in the state of grace, to grasp according to his mental capacity, the meaning of the truths of our holy religion. Perhaps, to many of us, the articles of the Creed are but dry disconnected truths. God gives us the Gift of Understanding to enable us to penetrate the truths of our holy religion in a manner that will enable us to live them.

Prayer:

Come, O Spirit of Understanding, and enlighten my mind, that I may know and believe all the Mysteries of salvation; and may merit at last to see the eternal light in Your Light; and in the light of glory to have a clear vision of You and the Father and the Son. Amen.

Recite 7 times the Glory be to the Father.

Eighth Day

The Gift of Wisdom

Wisdom is that Gift of the Holy Spirit whereby the Divine Spirit raises up our intellect and our heart to rest in God alone. Knowledge tells us the value of earthly things, and how we can enjoy them licitly without offending God; but Wisdom mounts high above them.

Wisdom is that blossom of all the other Gifts. The latter lead us up, step by step, to the throne of God: Wisdom bids us sit down on His footstool and judge all earthly things from that sublime height.

Prayer:

Come, O Spirit of Wisdom, and reveal to my soul the Mysteries of heavenly things, their exceeding greatness, power, and beauty. Teach me to love them above and beyond all the passing joys and satisfactions of earth. Show me the way by which I may be able to attain them and possess them forever. Amen.

Recite 7 times the Glory be to the Father.

Ninth Day

Zeal for the Glory of God

and the Propagation of the Faith

The first great Novena in honor the Holy Spirit was crowned with an abundant outpouring of the Divine Spirit upon the Apostles. It enkindled within their bosom a zeal that knew not fear of starvation or death, that defied the sword and the cross, that braved storms at sea and bloody persecutions on land. for the propagation of the Faith of Jesus Christ.

Before we close this Novena, let us beg the Holy Spirit to pour out an abundance of the apostolic spirit upon our priests, missionaries, and nuns.

Prayer:

Holy, Divine Spirit, by the infinite merits of the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ, deign to pour abroad Your most ardent and omnipotent charity into all hearts, so that there may be on e Fold and one Shepherd in the whole world; and that we may all come to sing Your Divine praises in heaven forever. Amen.

Recite 7 times the Glory be to the Father.

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, OCDS