THE FIRST STATION:
JESUS IS CONDEMNED TO DEATH

Pilate said to the crowd: Here is the Man...then he handed him over to them to be crucified. (John 19,5,16)

The man Pilate-a symbol of the pride, wealth and power of the Roman Empire. A symbol perhaps of an ugly humanity which in pride only seeks domination, power and self-glory.

The man Jesus- His is another humanity, a divine humanity. Jesus is the fulfillment and promise of all that man can truly become: humble, dignified, full of peace, love and compassion.

In life we have a choice: to become the kind of man Pilate stands for, or to live the kind of divine humanity that Jesus invites us to live.

Lord, may you grant me the grace,
not to condemn love but to live love,
not to condemn life but to live life,
to condemn no one but to pardon all,
and to follow the way you show me,
the way you walked before me,
along the path of your divine humanity.
(From The Lourdes Way of the Cross)

The Rosary of the Seven Sorrows







Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds
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Carmelite Quote

(click on photo)

St. Teresa Margaret Redi of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
at the age of 9 years old to her father:

I have been thinking about the text that was preached on Sunday, the unforgiving servant. We come to the great King of Heaven with empty hands, in debt to Him for everything: life itself, and grace, and all the gifts He lavishes on us. Yet all we can say is, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all I owe," while all the time we could never pay anything towards the remission of our own debts, if God did not put into our hands the means to do so. And then, how often do we go away and refuse pardon for some slight fault in our neighbors, withholding our love, remaining aloof, or even nursing a grievance against them, and building up grudges that cool charity.

Photo: R. Massaro

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, OCDS
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Saturday of Our Lady

Mother Mary,

As you carried your Divine Child

In your womb you rejoiced

and glorified the Lord.

Touch with pity

the hearts of those women

pregnant in our world today

who think of murder,

not motherhood.

Help them to see
that the child they carry
is made in God's image--
as well as theirs--
made for eternal life.

Dispel the fear
and selfishness and
give them true womanly hearts
to love their babies
and give them birth

and all the needed care

that a mother alone can give.

MARY, Mother of Christ

and of us, show us all one day

the blessed fruit of your womb,

JESUS.  Amen.

From Queen of Heaven

A new community of sisters established in 2008

Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Church

Another wonderful community

The Sisters of Life

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, ocds

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Stained Glass Flowers-Little Accounts of the Miraculous

St. Teresa of Jesus (Avila) speaking from experience
about the Indwelling of the Holy Trinity.
From the Interior Castle, the Seventh Mansion:

By some mysterious manifestation of the truth, the three Persons of the most Blessed Trinity reveal themselves, preceded by an illumination which shines on the spirit like a most dazzling cloud of light.*
The three Persons are distinct from one another; a sublime knowledge is infused into the soul, imbuing it with a certainty of the truth that the Three are of one substance, power, and knowledge and are one God. Thus that which we hold as a doctrine of faith, the soul now, so to speak, understands by sight, though it beholds the Blessed Trinity neither by the eys of the body nor of the soul, this being no imaginary vision. All the Three Persons here communicate Themselves to the soul, speak to it and make it understand the words of our Lord in the Gospel that He and the Father and the Holy Ghost will come and make their abode with the soul which loves Him and keeps His commandments.

*  Deposition by Fr. Giles Gonzales, S.J. Provincial of Old Castile, afterwards Assistant-General in Rome: "While the holy Mother lived at the convent of the Incarnation of Avila, I often spoke with her, and once I remember she asked me: "What am I to do, Father? Whenever I recollect myself I realize that already in this life the Three Persons of the Blessed Trinity may be seen, and that They accompany me and assist me in the management of my affairs."

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds
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Carmelite Quote

From St. Therese's Act of Oblation

to the Merciful Love of God

I thank you, O my God! for all the graces you have granted me, especially the grace of making me pass through the crucible of suffering. It is with joy I shall contemplate You on the Last Day carrying the scepter of Your Cross. Since you deigned to give me a share in this very precious Cross, I hope in heaven to resemble You and to see shining in my glorified body the sacred stigmata of Your Passion.

After earth's exile, I hope to go and enjoy You in the Fatherland,but I do not want to lay up merits for heaven. I want to work for Your Love alone with one purpose of pleasing You, consoling Your Sacred Heart, and saving souls who will love You eternally.

In the evening of this life, I shall appear before you with empty hands,for I do not ask you, Lord, to count my works, All our justice is stained in Your eyes. I wish, then, to be clothed in Your own justice and to receive from Your love the eternal possession of Yourself. I want no other Throne, no other Crown but You, my Beloved!

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds
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Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, ocds

___________________

Three Words of Wisdom

KINGDOM OF GOD

Photo: R. Massaro St. Dymphna Shrine Massillon, Ohio

Mt 6:24-34
Gospel

Jesus said to his disciples:

“No one can serve two masters.
He will either hate one and love the other,
or be devoted to one and despise the other.
You cannot serve God and mammon.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life,
what you will eat or drink,
or about your body, what you will wear.
Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds in the sky;
they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns,
yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are not you more important than they?
Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?
Why are you anxious about clothes?
Learn from the way the wild flowers grow.
They do not work or spin.
But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor
was clothed like one of them.
If God so clothes the grass of the field,
which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow,
will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith?
So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’
or ‘What are we to drink?’or ‘What are we to wear?’
All these things the pagans seek.
Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,
and all these things will be given you besides.
Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself.
Sufficient for a day is its own evil.”


In today's Gospel, Jesus tells us to seek first the kingdom of God and all our temporal needs will be met. This takes courage and trust on our part. It takes heroic courage and trust if one is struggling financially and with unemployment. But even in these challenging times Jesus warns us not to let the love of money rule our heart. God alone should be the "master" that we serve.

St. Paul gives us a look into the kingdom of heaven by describing the souls who live there.  "The Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating or drinking, but of justice, peace, and the joy that is given by the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17).

Pope John Paul II and our current Holy Father, Benedict XVI have repeatedly warned us against the sin of materialism.  Many people in our society are living beyond their means because they have to have "it" now.  There is no longer a mentality of  saving for a desired item. The same mentality can be found in the spiritual life. St. John of the Cross teaches us about the plight of beginners. He tells us that many people begin the road of prayer, but when they discover the work involved, they give up easily because their is no "instant gratification." Growing in love and virtue takes patience and hard work, this is difficult for us in our "drive-thru" society.

Even certain Christians have fallen-prey to the "gospel of prosperity" being preached in churches today. St. Paul has a stern warning for those who preach a different word other than what the Lord had given them:
Some who wish to alter the gospel of Christ must have confused you. For even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel not in accord with the one we delivered to you, let a curse be upon him (Galatians 1:8-9)!

The Secular Carmelite is called to be a witness in the world of the kingdom of God by drawing others to a life in imitation of Jesus Christ. Others should be attracted to God through us by our intimate friendship with Jesus Christ, by the living out of our promises of chastity, poverty, and obedience. They should be attracted to God through our lives...The world should know that we are Christians, not because of what we possess, but because of the love we have for one another. 

Life is short, we cannot take our possessions with us.  Let us store up for ourselves treasure in heaven. The Holy Spirit is ready to bestow these precious gifts on the soul who seeks first the Kingdom of God.

Visit the Carmel of Charte, France

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds
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