Carmelite Saint of the Day

Saint Peter Thomas, Bishop

The Carmelite Proper

Born about 1305 in southern Periogord in France, Peter Thomas entered the Carmelites when he was twenty-one. He was chosen by the Order as its procurator general to the Papal court at Avignon in 1345. After being made bishop of Patti and Lipari in 1354, he was entrusted with many papal missions to promote peace and unity with the Eastern Churches. He was translated to the see of Corone in the Peloponnesus in 1359 and made Papal Legate for the East. In 1363 he was appointed Archbishop of Crete and in 1364 Latin Patriarch of Constantinople. He won a reputation as an apostle of church unity before he died at Famagosta on Cyprus in 1366.

A reading from the Life of St. Peter Thomas by his secretary, Philip of Mezieres:

As the Feast of Christmas drew near, my father presided in person at the divine services. In the middle of the night which ushered in the feast he made his way from the Carmelite Monastery where he was staying to the cathedral of Famagosta for the solemn celebration of Matins...he was affected by the cold and caught an infection in the throat, for he was weakened by fasting and vigils and wore only light clothing, following the example of the holy fathers of the desert...

Then he asked that the sacred Body of the Lord be brought to him, and he received communion with reverence and unfeigned faith...after this he lay down on some sackloth spread on the ground and waited calmly for the arrival of the bishop...

When the anointing was finished, my father devoutly recited the confiteor and received absolution from the bishop. He humbly asked forgiveness of him, his household and all the assisting clergy if he had in any way offended them in the exercise of his office; and at the same time he requested them to ask on his behalf the same pardon of all the inhabitants of Cyprus and elsewhere. Finally, he gave up his soul to the God who made him. It was the sixth day of january in the year of our salvation thirteen hundred and sixty -six.

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie
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Carmelite Quote-From a letter written by St. Teresa of Jesus of the Andes

Since I was about seven years old, there was a very great devotion born in my soul to my Mother, the Most Holy Virgin. I told her everything that happened to me, and She spoke to me. I heard her voice clearly and distinctly in my soul. She advised me and told me what I must do to please Our Lord. I thought that this was something natural, and it never occurred to me to speak of what the Most Holy Virgin was telling me.

From the time of my First Communion, Our Lord spoke to me after communion and told me things I'd never suspected; and even when I asked Him, He would tell me things that were going to happen, and they really did occur. But I went on thinking that everybody who went to communion was treated this way.

Letter to Fr. Antonio Maria Falgueras, S. J. April 24, 1919

Peace be with you!

Rosemraie

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Tabernacle of the Week

St. Mary Church

Massillon, Ohio

Pastor: Fr. Ed Gretchko

http://stmarysonline.org/

O most adorable Sacrament of the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, I bless and praise thee in the name of all the angels and saints.

O most glorious Sacrament, thou art worthy indeed of all honor; I love thee; I praise thee, I bless thee, and humbly prostrating myself in thy presence, I adore thee.; and I thank my dearest Jesus a thousand times for having instituted thee to be our consolation and eternal salvation.

O most amiable Sacrament, inflame my heart! O Sacrament most holy, sanctify me!

O sweetest, O most gentle, O most merciful Jesus! I beg thee, through the infinite love of thy Sacred Heart which manifests itself in the most holy Sacrament, to have mercy upon me, a poor sinner, and forsake me not in my last hour. Amen.

(From Adoration Book published in 1918 by the Benedictine Convent in Clyde, Mo.

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie

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The Seven Mansions and the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit-A Meditation Series on St. Teresa's Interior Castle

The First Dwelling Place

The soul is still occupied with the things of the world and the pleasures that come with it.  The grace of the Holy Spirit has led him to this threshold, to turn his heart from worldly things and to begin the life of prayer.

Putting a hand to the door to enter, the beginner tends to look back on the things he is about to give up.  His heart may be sad or fearful at this prospect.

"...the door of entry to this castle is prayer and reflection."

St. Teresa of Jesus (Avila)

 The characteristics of the person in the First Mansion:

*They are concerned with worldly matters and pleasures
*They are unaware of the beauty and wealth of the interior life
*They are not consistent in prayer
*They rely on vocal prayers or use devotional books
*They are good people who attend church
*They notice the faults of others
*They are focused on self instead of others
*They do not mortify themselves or practice self-renunciation

Even if one has entered deeper into the Interior Castle, we can still see that we travel in and out of these dwelling places.  Perhaps we still possess some of the traits of the beginner noted above. We do not enter the interior mansions in a perfect step-by-step path until we reach the "holy of holies." Because of our human nature we will travel in and out of these spiritual pathways.

Not long ago a very learned man told me that souls who do not practice prayer are like people with paralysed or crippled bodies; even though they have hands and feet they cannot give orders to these hands and feet.

IC,I:1,6

In the above quote St. Teresa is speaking of people who are preoccupied with the things of the world.  She even goes so far to state that there may not be a remedy for these souls who are so unacustomed to prayer.  That is why we should have a great devotion to the Holy Spirit. Scripture tells us that we cannot even utter "Jesus is Lord" without the help of the Holy Spirit. We need the light of the Holy Spirit and his gifts to guide us on our journey. In the first mansion we reflect on the gift of:

 Wisdom

It is the gift of the Holy Spirit whereby the Divine Spirit raises up our intellect and our heart to rest in God alone. It detaches our heart from the goods of this world.

You may wonder why we begin with the gift of wisdom, as it is the crowning glory of the other gifts?  Because, unless we have this gift and the grace it provides to detach ourselves from the things of this world, we will never persevere in prayer.  We need this precious gift in the beginning, along the road of perfection and to the summit of Mt. Carmel, Christ our Lord.

Open to me the gates of holiness. I will enter and give thanks.

Psalm 118

Let us pray for each other that the Lord will indeed open the gate of holiness to us: the door to the Interior Castle. May we reach the center where we will abide in union with the Most Holy Trinity. 

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, ocds

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Sunday in the Year for Priests

Yes, my dear brethren, in everything that we see, in everything that we hear, in all we say and do, we are conscious of the fact that we are drawn towards evil. If we are at table, there is sensuality, and gluttony, and intemperance. If we take a few moments of recreation, there are dangers of flightiness and idle chatter. If we are at work, most of the time it is self-interest or avarice, or envy which influences us—or even vanity. When we pray, there is negligence, distraction, distaste, and boredom. If we are in pain or any trouble, there are complaints and murmurings. When we are doing well and are prosperous, pride, self-love, and contempt of our neighbor take hold of us. Our hearts well with pride when we are praised. Wrongs inflame us into rages.

There you see my dear brethren, the thing which made the greatest of the saints tremble...But, my dear brethren, we see from their lives that they watched, they prayed, and they were in dread unceasingly, while we, poor, blind sinners, are quite placid in the midst of so many dangers which could lose us our souls!
From a sermon by the Cure of Ars
photo: Fr. Suso, St. Francis de Sales Church, Akron, Ohio

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie
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Saturday of Our Lady

 Mary, Mother of God

Among the saints in heaven the Virgin Mary, mother of God, is venerated in a special way...She became our mother also when the divine Redeemer offered the sacrifice of Himself; and hence by this title also, we are her children. She teaches us all the virtues; she gives us her Son and with Him all the help we need, for God "wished us to have everything through Mary.           Pope Pius XII

"All generations will call me blessed": The Church's devotion to the Blessed Virgin is intrinsic to Christian worship. The Church rightly honors "the Blessed Virgin with special devotion. From the most ancient times the Blessed Virgin has been honored with the title of 'Mother of God,' to whose protection the faithful fly in all their dangers and needs...This very special devotion...differs essentially from the adoration which is given to the incarnate Word and equally to the Father and the Holy Spirit, and greatly fosters this adoration. The liturgical feasts dedicated to the Mother of God and Marian prayer, such as the rosary, an epitome of the whole Gospel, express this devotion to the Virgin Mary.

Catechism #971

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie

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Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God

O my God, may the most Blessed Virgin Mary, whom thou didst deign to predestinate from eternity to be thy mother, ever bless thee.

Let thy admirable tabernacle of thy glory, sole abode on earth meet for thy holy habitation, ever praise thee.

Let thy tender love bless thee, by the force of which thou, the peerless Flower of virginity, didst become the Virgin's Son.

(from an old prayer book)

Learn more about this feast

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie

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