Saturday of Our Lady

On that first Christmas night there was no Gospel, no New Testament, no supportive Christian community of believers, no Church or Tradition, no great Christian minds like Augustine or Aquinas to inerpret the marvelous events.
Alone, Mary faced the great mystery that had come into her life. This young woman--hardly more than a girl--was about to give birth to a child. She rode a donkey beside Joseph as they traveled from Nazareth, down toward Jerusalem,and beyond to Bethlehem. While Joseph helped Mary on the long road, he couldn't help her with the mystery, the child and the new direction to her life. He could only believe, trust and stand ready with his love.
Excerpt from Mary, the First Disciple, by Bishop Thomas J. Grady
Photo: Window in St. Peter Church Mansfield, Ohio

Video reflection on today's readings

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie
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Stained Glass Flowers-Little Accounts of the Miraculous

From the life of St. John of the Cross:

He had the opportunity, from a daily reprieve from his cell,to familiarize himself  with the monastery surroundings. Then, one hot night in August, after being held prisoner for nine months,emaciated and close to death, John chose life and undertook a dangerous escape he had plotted during the short periods out of his cell. ...There was a lock on the prison door. He solved that problem by loosening the screws of the lock while his jailer was absent...this enabled him to leave his prison and find his way in the dark  to the window. By means of a kind of rope made out of strips torn from two old bed covers and attached to a lamp hook, he escaped through the window onto the top of the wall. He landed inside the courtyard of the Franciscan nuns of the Conception monastery that was adjacent to that of the Carmelites. Fortunatley, in one corner of the nuns' garden he found that the stones in the wall could be used as steps, allowing him to climb over the wall to the city street and to his freedom. After his escape he found refuge with St. Teresa's nuns in Toledo.
An excerpt from the Collected Works of St. John of the Cross translated by Kieran Kavanugh, O.C.D.

Click here to learn more about St. John of the Cross







Peace be with you!
Rosemarie
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Carmelite Quote

Photo: (C) 2017 R. Massaro St. Michael Byzantine Church Akron, Ohio

From Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity

When we go into a quiet room to pray to our Father we are never alone. We come before him made priests to serve our God by our baptism and empowered to intercede for others. However, the prayer of simply remaining in his presence and gazing on him is also of itself apostolic, because we pray as a member of the human family, and the closer we come to God, and the more his life flows through us, the closer we bring the whole human family to him and the kingdom of God is able to come that bit nearer.
                                                                      












Peace be with you!
Rosemarie
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Carmelite Quote

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie
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Sunday in the Year for Priests

And whether he was talking, hearing confessions, or preaching, he would choke up with tears. Father Vianney had the gift of tears. And above all, he put so much ardor, so much power of conviction, so much hopelessness into his exhortations, that they made an extraordinary impression on his hearers even at that early period of his life. It seemed that when he spoke of the love of God, when he called to mind the offenses against His holy name, he poured out all his energies in a torrent. When he stopped talking and entreating his brothers, it was as if he were breathing his last.
From the Remarkable Cure of Ars, by Michel de Saint Pierre


“A Christian should always be ready for combat. It is in combat, and in acceptance of the sorrows he sends us, that we prove to God our love for him.”     St. John Vianney

The Litany of St. John Vianney

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie
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Saturday of Our Lady

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Patroness of the Americas and Protector of the Unborn

Read about the miraculous image of Our Lady of Guadalupe

The Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe-Mexico City

Prayer to Our Lady of Guadalupe,

Mystical Rose,
make intercession for holy Church,
protect the sovereign Pontiff,
help all those who invoke you in their necessities,
and since you are the ever Virgin Mary
and Mother of the true God,
obtain for us from your most holy Son
the grace of keeping our faith,
of sweet hope in the midst of the bitterness of life
of burning charity, and the precious gift
of final perseverance.
Amen.

Peace be with you~
Rosemarie, OCDS
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Stained Glass Scapulars-Reflections on the Secular Carmelite Rule

The Blessed Virgin Mary is present in a very special way in the life of Carmelites. She is, first of all, their model in listening to the Lord and serving Him. She is also Mother of the whole Order, which enjoys her special patronage.

The Secular Carmelites' interior life must be permeated by an intense devotion to Our Lady. This will be manifested by honoring her daily by some particular act, and by wearing the holy Scapular of Carmel.

(Article #7)

The first sentence of Article 7 of our Rule should bring us great joy: The Blessed Virgin Mary is present in a very special way in the life of Carmelites. Really, to simply raise our thoughts to contemplate the Virgin Mary and her love for us, should bring us great joy!  We know that Carmel belongs to Mary, therefore, she belongs to each member in a special way.  This truth reminds me of that simple consecration prayer to Mary:

O Mary, my Queen and my Mother
I give myself entirely to you, and to
show my devotion to you I consecrate
to you this day, my eyes, my ears, my mouth,
my heart, my whole being, without reserve.

Wherefore, Good Mother, as I am thine, keep me

and guard me as your own property and possession.

Yes, when we become Carmelites we belong totally to Christ through the Virgin Mary of Mt. Carmel.  This simple prayer of consecration should also remind us of the Gospel exhortation in which Jesus explains the Great Command: To love God with our whole mind, heart, and strength, and our neighbor as ourself.  This is the simple yet great teaching of our holy parents, St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Jesus.  We know through their teachings that we cannot attain union with God without loving our neighbor. We must die completely to self and give our whole being over to God for his service.  We cannot love and serve unless we have the help of the Holy Spirit, the Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

In this holy season of Advent, let us be true to our Carmelite calling by imitating the Virgin Mary who pondered the Word in her heart. She waited for the coming of the Lord in peace and in prayer.  Is not our charism of contemplative prayer a holy reflection of the Virgin's waiting-of all of creation's waiting for the Savior?  Each time we enter into mental prayer it should be as if for the first time in anticipation of His coming to meet us and commune with us.
Let our hearts be not troubled if we experience dryness or emptiness in prayer, this is necessary for our progress in holiness. We can be at peace if we make the effort to show up at the designated time for prayer and simply say: Here I am Lord!

May the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, help us to wait for Him, and when He speaks, to listen to Him.

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, OCDS

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