Tabernacle of the Week

Sacred Heart Parish--Wadsworth, Ohio

And we ask that this Bread be given us daily, so that we who are in Christ and daily receive the Eucharist as the food of salvation, may not, by falling into some more grievous sin and then in abstaining from communicating, be withheld from the heavenly Bread, and be separated from Christ's Body…

St. Cyprian of Carthage (c. 200-258 A.D.)

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, OCDS

Sts. Peter & Paul, apostles

From the Liturgy of the Hours, excerpt from the writings of St. Augustine:

This day has been made holy by the passion of the blessed apostles Peter and Paul. We are, therefore, not talking about some obscure martyrs. For their voice has gone forth to all the world, and to the ends of the earth their message. These martyrs realized what they taught: they pursued justice, they confessed the truth, they died for it.

God our Father,

today you give us the joy

of celebrating the feast of the apostles Peter and Paul.

Through them your Church first received the faith.

Keep us true to their teaching.

Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, OCDS

Sunday in the "Year for Priests"

Year for Priests official website

Through the ordained ministry, especially that of bishops and priests, the presence of Christ as head of the Church is made visible in the midst of the community of believers. In the beautiful expression of St. Ignatius of Antioch, the bishop is typos tou Patros: he is like the living image of God the Father.
Catechism #1549



Peace be with you!
Rosemarie

Saturday of Our Lady

Prayer for Life

O Mary,

bright dawn of the new world,

to you do we entrust the cause of life.

Look down, O Mother,

upon the vast numbers

of babies not allowed to be born,

of the poor whose lives

are made difficult,

of men and women who are

victims of brutal violence,

of the elderly and the sick

killed by indifference of

out of misguided mercy.

Grant that all who believe in your Son

may proclaim the Gospel of life

with honesty and love

to the people of our time.

Obtain for them the grace to accept

that Gospel as a gift ever new,

the joy of celebrating it with gratitude

throughout their lives,

and the courage to bear witness

to it resolutely,

in order to build, together with all

people of good will,

the civilization of truth and love,

to the praise and glory of God,

the Creator and lover of life. Amen.

Prayer of Pope John Paul II

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, OCDS

Catechism Quote

"You Shall Love Your Neighbor as Yourself"

Catechism #2199

The fourth commandment is addressed expressly to children in their relationship to their father and mother, because this relationship is the most universal. It likewise concerns the ties of kinship between members of the extended family. It requires honor, affection, and gratitude toward elders and ancestors. Finally, it extends to the duties of pupils to teachers, employees to employers, subordinates to leaders, citizens to their country, and to those who administer or govern it.

This commandment includes and presupposes the duties of parents, instructors, teachers, leaders, magistrates, those who govern, all who exercise authority over others or over a community of persons.

As Secular Carmelites this teaching on the fourth commandment helps us to understand our promise of obedience in light of the commandment. We are to be obedient to the Church through the Order, which includes our Provincial (in our locale-Fr. Grennon) and the Council of our community. This means we abide by the decisions the council has made after discussing matters with the entire community. The council should be given due respect. But as the Catechism states, this presupposes the respect on the part of the other party as well.

We cannot go wrong if we remember to treat everyone as Christ. If we play favorites we have a divided heart. Those with a divided heart are far from the reign of God.

Let us pray for each other.

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, OCDS

Spiritual Life Dictionary

TODAY'S TERM: HUMILITY

Feast of St. John the Baptist

He must increase and I must decrease

A moral virtue prompting in it's possessor an appreciation and external expression of his true position with respect to God and his neighbor. As pride devastates the Christian character, so humility builds it up.
Virtue does not require that a man should depreciate his ability against his knowledge, for St. Thomas says, " that a person should recognize and appreciate his own good qualities is no sin."
Source: Catholic Dictionary

St. John the Baptist is an exquisite example of humility. As Secular Carmelites we must pray for docility of spirit, a by-product of humility, in order to be formed in holiness that we may obtain purity of heart.

Scripture tells us that only the pure of heart shall see God. We know that St. John the Baptist had a pure heart, a heart holy and pure that caused him to exclaim "Look! There is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world."

May the Holy Spirit form in us a pure and holy heart, that we may see God in all the circumstances of our life, and at last come to that holy vision where with the Blessed we shall see him face-to-face.


Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, OCDS

Three Words of Wisdom: Staying On Track

There is an old saying by farmers about corn crops: "Knee high by the Fourth of July."

This refers to the observation that one's corn crop is on track to reap a good harvest.

This saying by farmers is a good metaphor for the spiritual life as well. We could ask ourselves if we are on track, so to speak, in our spiritual life and ready for the Harvest Master when he calls.

How do we measure if we are on track? With the only device that Christians possess: the ruler of love.

We can ask ourselves if we are producing good fruit from our prayer life and responding charitably in situations that try us. Sometimes, Secular Carmelites get caught up in the question: What mansion am I in (referring to St. Teresa's Interior Castle)? St. Therese wrote that she did not care about what mansion she was in, because she measured everything by love. In one of her famous poems, Living on Love, she writes:

Living on Love is sailing unceasingly,

Sowing peace and joy in every heart,

Beloved Pilot, Charity impels me,

For I see you in my sister souls.

Charity is my only star.

In its brightness I sail straight ahead.

I've my motto written on my sail:

"Living on Love."

In the above line we see that she treated her sisters as if they were Christ. This is another device we can use to measure our charity. Do we treat everyone the same? Do we play favorites? The Lord teaches us that sinners love those who love them. Do we make a sincere effort to love those who are difficult to love?

You don't have to be a Secular Carmelite to know that St. Therese's life of simplicity and confidence and trust in God was more than a mere motto of "Living on Love." The Holy Spirit-The Spirit of Love, filled her soul to the brim and overflowing with the great gift of charity that we all seek in our desire for holiness. The good news is that her "Little Way" is accessible to all, for all are called to holiness. As St. Teresa teaches us we don't have to think much, but to love much. This is all that is required of us.

As St. Paul says, "Do everything with love."

St. Therese, Doctor of Love, pray for us!

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, OCDS