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

SAYING # 131

My Beloved, all that is rugged and toilsome I desire for myself, and all that is sweet and delightful I desire for you.

Visit the Carmel in Bayonne, France

(use your Google translate to get the site in English)

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds
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SPIRITUAL LIFE DICTIONARY

Oh Holy Dwelling Place of God!

(Stained Glass Window, Shrine of St. Dymphna- Massillon, Ohio

photo: R. Massaro)

TODAY'S WORD: SANCTITY

From the Catholic Dictionary by Donald Attwater:

An eminent degree of charity, from a pure heart, and a good conscience, and an unfeigned faith.

(1 Tim. I, 5)

Here is the quote from Timothy that this definition is taken from:

What we are aiming at in this warning is the love that springs from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith.

With the holy season of Lent almost upon us, let us reflect on this description of holiness. Because, we must remember that whatever form of penance we choose, and if we are faithful and carry it out to the end,  that this in itself does not constitute holiness. We must seek the Divine intervention and assistance of the the One Sanctifier, who bestows sanctifying grace upon us: the Holy Spirit!

May he grant us a high degree of charity, the crowning glory of all the virtues. May His love be poured into our hearts, a love that is not feighned, and produces good works inspired by holy motives. Then we will truly be temples of the Holy Spirit. Let us look to Our Lady, the dwelling place of God to obtain for us a pure heart.

Previous posts-Spiritual Life Dictionary

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, OCDS

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Stained Glass Scapulars-Reflections on the Secular Carmelite Rule

Photo: R. Massaro St. Anthony Church Akron, Ohio

From the Constitutions Section 1, No. 3

The members of the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites are faithful members of the Church, called to live in allegiance to Jesus Christ through a friendship with the one we know loves us...

This short excerpt taken from  paragraph 3 states the essence of our Secular Carmelite vocation. This excerpt is threefold in nature:

#1: Faithful members of the Church.

#2: Fidelity to Jesus Christ

#3: Friendship with Jesus Christ

The readers of this blog may say, "Ok, you are preaching to the choir."  Patience, dear reader, let us hear the message, and let it take deeper root in our hearts and minds. Let us examine our conscience in light of these three virtues.

We can ask ourselves if we are truly faithful members of the Roman Catholic Church. We know that when we came to Carmel we had to provide a baptismal certificate, we had to show that we are members of the church, in good standing, before we were clothed with the Scapular.  Now we can ask ourselves if we have gotten off-track along-the-way by not adhering to church teaching in certain matters, perhaps an illicit relationship, occult practices or new-age teachings.  This is not being a faithful member of the church.

We can examine ourselves further in light of #2-fidelity or allegiance to Jesus Christ. Do we let people and situations become an obstacle to our union with Christ.  The Carmelite Order is studying the Way of Perfection this year, and recently our community discussed the chapters in which St. Teresa speaks of the harm relatives can do to our spiritual lives if we are not careful. Are we more faithful to worldly pastimes and pleasures than performing works of charity? Are we afraid to speak the truth when necessary? Do we compromise our beliefs as Catholics, as Carmelites in order to please others? This is not fidelity to Jesus Christ.

Now we come to the heart of the Carmelite vocation: friendship with Jesus Christ.  Yes, this is the heart of our calling. We are called to spend time in intimate friendship with Our Lord and Savior. What a beautiful and awesome calling! We should be most grateful that he has called us to be his beloved by inspiring us to seek union with Him. Do we take our prayer time seriously? Is it hit or miss? Do we pray only when we feel like it?

When we answered the Lord's call to enter Carmel, we accepted the call to follow the Crucified and Risen Savior. We must learn to leave worldly pleasures behind, accept the joys and sorrows of the narrow road of prayer if we desire holiness.  Life is short. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to give us the gift of true contemplation, the gift of a pure heart, so that we may be faithful followers of Jesus Christ and His Church.

Let us pray for each other!

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds
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WAY OF PERFECTION

Thank you to those who are following along with our study of St. Teresa's Way of Perfection. Here are my notes for chapters 10-12 from our whole group formation-click on photo.

Official website for the centenary of St. Teresa

"I was born for you"

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie,ocds

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Saturday of Our Lady

O glorious Virgin, Mother of God, blessed among all nations, worthy of praise and the greatest of praise, intercede for me with your beloved Son. O honored Lady, Mother of the King of angels and archangels, assist me and deliver me from every difficulty and danger.

O blossom of the patriarchs, the virgins and the angels, hope of glory, beauty of virgins, admiration of the angels and archangels, remember me, and forsake me not, I beseech you, at the terrible hour of my death. O star of the sea, gate of heaven, temple of God, palace of Jesus Christ, harbor of safety, flower of all nations, pearl of all sweetness, hope of the faithful; O Queen who gives hope to the guilty, who surpasses in radiance the virgins and the angels, your presence gives joy to all the hosts of heaven.

Therefore, O Mother of mercy, I place in the protection of your holy hands every moment of my life, my sleeping, my waking, the sight of my eyes, the touch of my hands, the speech of my lips, the hearing of my ears, so that in everything I may be pleasing to your own beloved Son. Amen.

OUR LADY OF THE BOWED HEAD

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds
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TABERNACLE OF THE WEEK

SACRED HEART CHURCH

OBERLIN, OHIO

DIOCESE OF CLEVELAND

PARISH WEBSITE

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds
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Carmelite Quote

From Blessed Elizabeth
of the Trinity:

So that nothing may draw me out of this beautiful silence within, I must always maintain the same dispositions, the same solitude, the same withdrawl, the same stripping of self! If my desires, my fears,my joys or my sorrows, if all the movements proceeding from these "Four Passions" are not perfectly directed to God, I will not be solitary: there will be noise within me. There must be peace, "sleep of the powers," the unity of being. "Listen my daughter, lend your ear, forget your people and your father's hosue, and the King will become enamored of your beauty."

It seems to me that this call is an invitation to silence: listen...lend your ear...But to listen we must forget "our father's house," that is, everything that pertains to the natural life...
From, Heaven in Faith

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds
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