St. Therese's convent in Lisieux

We are often blessed with the available media like YouTube in our world today. I came across this video of a 2008 trip to St. Therese's Carmelite convent in Lisieux. It's just pictures put to music, but it gives a little taste of her world. May God continue to bless each one of us today!!

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Mary and Our Spiritual Life

In our observance of the Marian month we should take into account the season of the Liturgical Year which largely corresponds with the fifty days of Easter. Our pious exercises could emphasize Our Lady's participation in the Paschal mystery and in Pentecost with which the Church begins. The pious exercises connected with the month of May can easily highlight the earthly role played by the glorified Queen of Heaven, here and now, in the celebration of the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Eucharist.

The following practices which are recommended by the Magisterium are offered as suggestions for honoring Our Lady during Her month.

The Regina Coeli The ecclesial community addresses this antiphon to Mary for the Resurrection of her Son. It adverts to, and depends on, the invitation to joy addressed by Gabriel to the Lord's humble servant who was called to become the Mother of the saving Messiah.

The Rosary Also called the Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Rosary is one of the most excellent prayers to the Mother of God. Thus, "the Roman Pontiffs have repeatedly exhorted the faithful to the frequent recitation of this biblically inspired prayer which is centered on contemplation of the salvific events of Christ's life, and their close association with the Virgin Mother."

Litanies of the Blessed Virgin Mary These consist of a long series of invocations to Our Lady, which follow in a uniform rhythm, thereby creating a stream of prayer characterized by insistent praise and supplication.

Consecration and Entrustment to Mary The Roman Pontiffs have frequently expressed appreciation for the pious practice of "consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary" and the formulas publicly used by them are well known.

Louis Grignon de Montfort is one of the great masters of the spirituality underlying the act of "consecration to Mary". He "proposed to the faithful consecration to Jesus through Mary, as an effective way of living out their baptismal commitment."

The Brown Scapular and other Scapulars The scapular is an external sign of the filial relationship established between the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother and Queen of Mount Carmel, and the faithful who entrust themselves totally to her protection, who have recourse to her maternal intercession, who are mindful of the primacy of the spiritual life and the need for prayer.

Medals These are witnesses of faith and a sign of veneration of the Holy Mother of God, as well as of trust in her maternal protection.

The Church blesses such objects of Marian devotion in the belief that "they help to remind the faithful of the love of God, and to increase trust in the Blessed Virgin Mary."

The "Akathistos" Hymn In the Byzantine tradition, one of the oldest and most revered expressions of Marian devotion is the hymn of the "Akathistos" — meaning the hymn sung while standing. It is a literary and theological masterpiece, encapsulating in the form of a prayer, the universally held Marian belief of the primitive Church.

Excepted from the Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy

Feast Day – May 16th

St. Simon Stock (c1165-1265)
Sixth General of the Carmelite Order

Born in approximately 1165 in Aylesford, Kent, England. Little is known of his early life. All that is certain is that he was elected the sixth general of the Carmelites in 1247. He was approximately 82 years old. In the same year, he obtained a new confirmation of the rule by Pope Innocent IV, who at Simon’s request placed the order under the special protection of the Holy See in 1251 because of hostilities.

Soon after he became General he instituted the confraternity of the Scapular which tradition says that he received from the Mother of God in a vision. During his time as general, he helps the Order spread through England, Southern and Western Europe. He founded houses in Cambridge, England in 1248, Oxford in 1253, Paris and Bologna in 1260. He wrote the “Flos Carmeli” and “Ave Stella Matutina”

In 1265, at approximately 100 years old, he sailed to Bordeaux where he died several months later, on July 16, 1265. He was buried in the cathedral of Bordeaux. In 1951 his skull was given to Aylesford Priory and has been preserved in a reliquary.

No Pain in Vain

As I sit here in the doctor's office feeling miserable I began wondering how much pain is suffered in vain. You may be asking yourself what does she mean by that? Well, let me tell you.

So, how do Catholics "offer up" their sufferings and sacrifices? In both formal and informal ways.

Formally, many Catholics make the Morning Offering to give to Our Lord that day's efforts, works, joys, sufferings, intentions, etc. (the form may vary). At the Mass, we excercise our lay priesthood by consciously, silently, privately offering ourselves up, along with the Son, to the Father during the Offertory.

Informally, we "offer it up" by simply asking God in our own words to use a suffering as it occurs; we often do this for specific intentions (ex., "Use this pain, Lord, for the salvation of my brother..."). We might follow the example of the young St. Thérèse of Lisieux and make use of Sacrifice Beads, or the extraordinary among us might make the Heroic Act of Charity for the souls in Purgatory.

It's quite a discipline to react to suffering this way! In mental or physical pain? Drop something on your toe? Putting up with a co-worker who is making your life a living Hell? Enduring the constant ache of arthritis? Standing in line at the grocery and hating every minute of it? Spill the milk? Accept these things in peace, and ask God to use them for the good of the Church or for a more specific intention close to your heart. This isn't easy to do (and I in no way claim to be good at it), but it does make the suffering more meaningful and less -- well, less insufferable!

You'll find that it is not uncommon to hear one Catholic tell another who is suffering to "offer it up" as a way of dealing with their suffering. It should be remembered, though, that while it is most definitely good to tell someone to "offer it up," it is also easy -- and that we are called, too, to comfort those who are suffering, to feed the hungry, to give drink to the thirsty, to care for the sick, etc. Telling someone to offer it up without also helping him to deal with the temporal and emotional effects of whatever they are going through is not the fully Christian thing to do. Even Our Lord was helped while carrying His Cross: St. Veronica wiped the sweat and Blood from His Holy Face, and St. Simon of Cyrene helped Him bear the Cross itself.

And always help the suffering to retain (or regain) Hope that his suffering is not in vain. Assure him that he will partake of "the consolation":

2 Corinthians 1:5-7
For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us: so also by Christ doth our comfort abound. Now whether we be in tribulation, it is for your exhortation and salvation: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation: or whether we be exhorted, it is for your exhortation and salvation, which worketh the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer. That our hope for you may be steadfast: knowing that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so shall you be also of the consolation.
Another verse for those who suffer:

Romans 8:16-18
For the Spirit Himself giveth testimony to our spirit that we are the sons of God. And if sons, heirs also; heirs indeed of God and joint heirs with Christ: yet so, if we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified with Him. For I reckon that the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come that shall be revealed in us.
See also the Beatitudes: Matthew 5:3-10

Lectio Divina Videos - Year of St. Paul archbishop, discalced carmelites, lectio divina, video
Lectio Divina Videos - Year of St. Paul

"I would like in particular to recall and recommend the ancient tradition of Lectio Divina: the diligent reading of Sacred Scripture accompanied by prayer brings about that intimate dialogue in which the person reading hears God who is speaking, and in praying, responds to him with trusting openness of heart (cf. Dei Verbum, n.25) If it is effectively promoted, this practice will bring to the Church – I am convinced of it – a new spiritual springtime." - Pope Benedict XVI , September 2005


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This website has been a great blessing for me and I pray that it will also be for you! Each week I'll post a video with Archbishop Thomas Collins of the Archdiocese of Toronto.

Lectio Divina is not a catechesis or a teaching but it is a prayer, a divine reading, a personal encounter with God in Sacred Scripture.

Each episode begins with a glimpse of Archbishop Collins presiding over Vespers at St. Michael’s Cathedral in downtown Toronto. Lectio Divina follows immediately afterwards. In each session Archbishop Collins slowly reads an excerpt from Sacred Scripture, offers a short reflection, and invites the congregation to quietly meditate on the passage.

Living as Christ - Discalced Carmelites

Networking in the field of communication is a necessity for the Order

Vicar General: "The way to enter the kingdom is to live as Christ lived"

Fátima, 05-04-2009

The language groups gathered at the end of the morning session to analyze and discuss the content of the report of P. Xavier Jaya Raj about "collaboration within the Order" and on the proposals made by Father General about the Teresianum and CITeS, including that of establishing an oversight committee to analyze the situation of both centers.

The secretaries of the various language groups presented at the beginning of the afternoon session the results of their work and then opened up a broader dialogue in the Chapter on these two important themes.

After the break, Fr General invited the Father David Jimenez of the province of Castilla to present to the Chapter a new way of working in the field of communication in the Order. David in his speech stressed the need to create a network of communication among all regions or provinces, which, in coordination with the center of the Order might launch a new era in communication within the Order.

"Living as another Christ"

In the evening the Chapter went in procession to the Sanctuary of Fatima to celebrate the Eucharist. With the Carmelite chant of "Flos Carmeli" filling the sanctuary, the entrance precession began the Eucharistic celebration which was presided over by the Vicar General, Fr Emilio José Martínez.

During his homily Fr Emilio alluded to the text of the Gospel of Christ, saying the symbol of the Good Shepherd who identifies himself as the "gate of heaven" is a gesture of humility that demands from us a similar response. "It is no good to open a door we are determined not to cross. The way to cross the gate is simply to identify with that door, live as Christ lived, gate of life."

It is an identification with Jesus that makes us "absolutely available to God's plan," said the Vicar General, who did not hesitate to point out that there is no other way "to live our own lives than to let go of personal projects and give ourselves completely to the word of God. In the word of God, the Church, our superiors and our brothers in community we have a perfect source for seeking God's will through dialogue, communication and listening."

Already at the end of his homily, Fr Emilio made a call to the Chapter to place ourselves "in the hands of God once and for all together and say to our Mother Teresa of Jesus: I'm Yours, born for you, what do you want of me."

Happy Mother's Day!

Enjoy this Video which celebrates Mary!

News to Pray for

My dearest Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I believe there are times in our lives when we must take a stand and this is one of those times. There is a great scandal occurring within our country on many different fronts. Our values, our morals and even our faith our being attacked. Our we following the path Jesus set for us? Are we living the Gospels? Are we His hands and feet in our society? We must be a powerful voice in our very immoral world for Truth. Truth, Light cannot be hidden under the bushel any more. We must put our Light on the stand for the world to see. We must be the change in the world that we want to see.

Please sign the petition to Fr. Jenkins at Notre Dame University at http://www.notredamescandal.com/SignthePetitiontoFrJenkins/tabid/454/Default.aspx

Feast Day - Angelus of Jerusalem

St. Angelus of Jerusalem - (1185 - 1220) -Priest and MartyrFeast Day - May 05

St. Angelus’ parents were 12th century Jewish converts. At age 18, he and his twin brother joined a group of hermits who formed the first Carmelite house. Angelus was one of the first Carmelites to come to Sicily from Mount Carmel. He met with great success in converting some Sicilian Jews, and great hatred from others, especially around Palermo and Leocata.

According to trustworthy sources, he was killed by unbelievers in Licata during the first half of the thirteenth century. Acclaimed as a martyr, his body was placed in a church built on the site of his death. Only in 1632 were his relics transferred to the Carmelite Church. Veneration of St. Angelus spread throughout the Carmelite Order as well as among the populace. He has been named patron of many places in Sicily. Even to the present time devoted persons invoke him in their needs and faithfully honor him.

May - the month of Mary

The month of May is the "month which the piety of the faithful has especially dedicated to Our Blessed Lady," and it is the occasion for a "moving tribute of faith and love which Catholics in every part of the world [pay] to the Queen of Heaven. During this month Christians, both in church and in the privacy of the home, offer up to Mary from their hearts an especially fervent and loving homage of prayer and veneration. In this month, too, the benefits of God's mercy come down to us from her throne in greater abundance" (Paul VI: Encyclical on the Month of May, no. 1).

This Christian custom of dedicating the month of May to the Blessed Virgin arose at the end of the 13th century. In this way, the Church was able to Christianize the secular feasts which were wont to take place at that time. In the 16th century, books appeared and fostered this devotion.
The practice became especially popular among the members of the Jesuit Order — by 1700 it took hold among their students at the Roman College and a bit later it was publicly practiced in the Gesu Church in Rome. From there it spread to the whole Church.

The practice was granted a partial indulgence by Pius VII in 1815 and a plenary indulgence by Pius IX in 1859. With the complete revision of indulgences in 1966 and the decreased emphasis on specific indulgences, it no longer carries an indulgence; however it certainly falls within the category of the First General Grant of Indulgences. (A partial indulgence is granted to the faithful who, in the performance of their duties and in bearing the trials of life, raise their mind with humble confidence to God, adding — even if only mentally — some pious invocation. )

Humility the great Virtue

St. Teresa of Avila wrote that before we can be Mary (the more contemplative sister), we must learn to be Martha (the more active sister). She speaks in her Life (22:13) of "a little failure in humility, in that the soul desires to rise of itself before our Lord raises it, and is not satisfied with meditation on so excellent a subject,—seeking to be Mary before it has laboured with Martha. If our Lord will have a soul to be Mary, even on the first day, there is nothing to be afraid of; but we must not be self-invited guests, as I think I said on another occasion. This little mote of want of humility, though in appearance a mere nothing, does a great deal of harm to those who wish to advance in contemplation."

Humility

Humility is what these two examples have in common -- a humility that is necessary to growth in the spiritual life. It is a humility that resists trying to be what we want to be before we have really become it. Or, rather, it is a way of working toward becoming the people we want to be by paying more attention to the every day details of who we are in the present moment.

The idea of writing about the opposite of pride, and meditating on what that might be, was given to me by a priest who had spent more than 25 years in the priesthood before the first time anyone confessed pride to him in the confessional. Yet pride is a root cause of sin in its various forms. Pride was the root sin of Sodom, according to Ezekial 16:49-50 ("Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, surfeit of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty, and did abominable things before me; therefore I removed them, when I saw it."). Pride is associated with the love of the world in I John 2:15-17 ("Do not love the world or the things in the world. If any one loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world passes away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides for ever.") It is no wonder, then, that St. Teresa would have seen it as an impediment to contemplation.

To say that humility is the opposite of pride is perhaps to state the obvious, but it becomes tricky unless we define the terms. That is so because someone can be proud of their humility (false humility) and because it is possible to confuse pride with self-confidence or courage. The pride that is a sin is not true self-confidence, and the humility that is a virtue is not false humility.

The Hebrew word for "pride" used in Ezekial 16 above means to be high, exalted, or lofty. The word is a good thing when it describes God, and a bad thing when it describes people. For a person to be high, exalted, or lofty (or to think himself so) is arrogance. In a way, it means that a human being sees himself or herself as exalted, when that is how he or she should see God. The Greek word for pride used in I John 2 above means, according to Strong's, "empty braggart talk" or "an insolent and empty assurance, which trusts in its own power and resources and shamefully despises and violates divine laws and human rights." Both words then describe a false pride, particularly that seen in people who lift themselves up to a level that belongs to God and not to themselves.

It is a difficult thing to describe in others because so much has to do with motivation. We are supposed to be trying to become more like the saints. Yet the person who is trying to act saintly may well be thought prideful by someone else watching. It is probably best, then, to think only about our own pride and how we might correct it, and not about what we think to be pride in another person. ("Man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart." I Samuel 16:7)

St. Thérèse of Lisieux

Looking for examples in the lives of the other Carmelite saints, and wisdom in their writings, there is more to add to the words of St. Teresa about labouring with Martha. The humility of St. Thérèse of Lisieux is seen in her examples of living everyday life, in the day-to-day difficulties of living with others and working with others, writing more about the mundane everyday actions that often involved covering up her true feelings toward others and acting in charity when she didn't feel like it. In the words of Bernard Bro (St. Thérèse of Lisieux: Her Family, Her God, Her Message), "in everyday life, to do the truth, but in the name of a love that comes from above and that then transcends strictures, petty details, or a settling of scores." Hans Urs von Balthasar speaks of such humility and its role in making progress in the spiritual life in The Little Way, quoting St. Thérèse at the end:

"Progress does not come through acquisitions but through losing everything; it does not mean climbing, it means descending. A novice sighs: 'When I think of everything I still have to acquire!' 'You mean, to lose! Jesus takes it upon Himself to fill your soul, in the measure that you rid it of its imperfections. I see that you have taken the wrong road; you will never arrive at the end of your journey. You are wanting to climb a great mountain, and the good God is trying to make you descend it; He is waiting for you at the bottom in the fertile valley of humility.'"

St. Edith Stein

It would be a mistake to misinterpret the little way of St. Thérèse to mean that everyone must become as simple as she was in her early 20's or else be found guilty of pride. At the other extreme of the scale of sophistication might be found another Carmelite saint, St. Edith Stein, and yet there we find another example of such slowing down in order to become faster. Even as a nun, her everyday life was much different from that of St. Thérèse, particularly during the writing of her sophisticated books, Finite and Eternal Being and The Science of the Cross.

While the other nuns knew nothing of Edith's work as a lecturer before entering Carmel, and she took care to avoid being condescending, her intellectual sophistication eventually became a part of her everyday life at Carmel, as she began to write again. She was nearly 20 years older than the two novices when she entered, and could not have been perceived the same way as Thérèse, who entered Carmel at an exceptionally young age and lived only to the age of 24. It could not have been said of Edith near her death, as one of the Lisieux nuns said of Thérèse, that she "has certainly done nothing worth the trouble of being recounted."

Still, in a letter written soon after she entered Carmel, Edith told her colleague Dr. Hans Brunnengräber, "Carmel is a high mountain that one must climb from its very base." Teresa Renatta Posselt, O.C.D., who was Edith's novice mistress, wrote, "In all actuality, for Edith Stein entrance into Carmel was a descent from the height of a distinguished career to the depth of insignificance." (Edith Stein: The Life of a Philosopher and Carmelite).

St. John of the Cross

St. John of the Cross, writing as a superior who had guided both students and teachers of prayer, wrote separately about the effects of pride on a beginner and the effects of pride on a director. It manifests itself differently in different people, in their different responsibilities.

In The Dark Night of the Soul Book One, Chapter 2, he wrote about pride in beginners. They seek to speak of spiritual things in the presence of others, and even to instruct rather than be instructed. Some "become so evil-minded that they do not want anyone except themselves to appear holy" and thus "strain at the other's gnat and swallow their own camel [Mt. 23:24]". When their spiritual directors, confessors or superiors disapprove of their method of procedure, they think their directors do not understand, and seek one they like better. Many want to be their confessor's favorite, and they become consumed by envies.

In contrast, those who are advancing benefit from their humility, placing little importance on their own deeds, and thinking that everyone else is better than they are. They become more aware of their debt to God. Their charity and love make them want to do so much for God that what they actually accomplish seems like nothing. They long to be taught by anyone who might be a help to them. They are ready to take a different road from the one they are following if told to do so. "These souls would give their life's blood to anyone who serves God, and they will do whatever they can to help others serve him."

In The Living Flame of Love, Stanza 3, he wrote about pride in spiritual directors. When some directors react with jealousy when a directee consults with someone else or or leaves for another director, John called it "a jealousy motivated by your own pride and presumption or some other imperfection, for you should not assume that in turning from you this person turned from God." (3:59) "God leads each one along different paths so that hardly one spirit will be found like another in even half its method or procedure." Even when a director acts out of ignorance rather than egoism or jealousy, he said, they still are not excused for giving counsels without understanding "the road and spirit a person may be following." When a directee is dissatisfied, it is a sign that the director is not helping him or her, either because God is making that person advance by a different road from the one along which the director is leading, or because the director has changed style. In that event, John said, the directors themselves should counsel a change of director; "all the rest stems from foolish pride and presumption, or some other ambition."

The Remedies for Pride Described by Two Popes

The humility of Jesus, and our recognition of our lack of self-sufficiency, is seen as the remedy for pride in the meditation on the third station of the cross in the Via Crucis 2005 (written by then Cardinal Ratzinger):

"In Jesus’s fall beneath the weight of the Cross, the meaning of his whole life is seen: his voluntary abasement, which lifts us up from the depths of our pride. The nature of our pride is also revealed: it is that arrogance which makes us want to be liberated from God and left alone to ourselves, the arrogance which makes us think that we do not need his eternal love, but can be the masters of our own lives. In this rebellion against truth, in this attempt to be our own god, creator and judge, we fall headlong and plunge into self-destruction. The humility of Jesus is the surmounting of our pride; by his abasement he lifts us up. Let us allow him to lift us up. Let us strip away our sense of self-sufficiency, our false illusions of independence, and learn from him, the One who humbled himself, to discover our true greatness by bending low before God and before our downtrodden brothers and sisters."

A humble and spontaneous trust in the One Lord is contrasted with pride in the August 10, 2005 General Audience of Pope Benedict XVI on Psalm 131 ("LORD, my heart is not proud; nor are my eyes haughty. I do not busy myself with great matters, with things too sublime for me. Rather, I have stilled my soul, hushed it like a weaned child. Like a weaned child on its mother's lap, so is my soul within me."):

"The Psalm begins by describing an attitude quite the opposite of infancy, which, well aware of its own frailty, trusts in the help of others. In the foreground of this Psalm, instead, are pride of heart, haughty eyes and 'great things' that are 'too sublime for me' (cf. Ps 131[130]: 1). This is an illustration of the proud person who is described by Hebrew words that suggest "pride" and "haughtiness", the arrogant attitude of those who look down on others, considering them inferior.

"The great temptation of the proud, who want to be like God, the arbiter of good and evil (cf. Gn 3: 5), is decisively rejected by the person of prayer who chooses humble and spontaneous trust in the One Lord."

Pope Paul VI pointed to charity as the remedy for pride in his Encyclical Ad Petri Cathedram (On Truth, Unity and Peace in a Spirit of Charity):

"But all will come out well if the social teaching of the Catholic Church is applied as it should be to the problem. Everyone then must strive to preserve in himself and to arouse in others, be they of high or low degree, the queen and mistress of all the virtues, charity. The salvation we hope for is to be expected primarily from a great outpouring of charity. We refer to that Christian charity which is a principle synthesizing the entire gospel. That charity is always ready to spend itself in the interest of others and is the surest remedy against worldly pride and immoderate self-esteem. St. Paul the Apostle described the characteristics of this virtue when he said: 'Charity is patient, is kind; is not selfseeking; bears with all things, endures all things' (1 Cor. 13.4-7)."

The remedies that they propose are a humble trust in the Lord and the virtue of charity that bears and endures all things from others. Returning to the example offered by St. Teresa of Avila, it is surely such charity, "always ready to spend itself in the interest of others" that describes a true Martha, rather than busy herself "with great matters, with things too sublime" for her. In learning from Jesus, who humbled himself, by "bending low before God and before our downtrodden brothers and sisters", we would be neither the proud beginners nor the proud directors described by St. John of the Cross. The "person of prayer who chooses humble and spontaneous trust in the One Lord" rather than things too sublime for him or her is surely the "Martha" who will slow down in prayer to learn to pray well.

The Scapular of Carmel

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Her Scapular, Her School

Our Blessed Lady’s life is a study in conformity to the will of God. From the prediction of her mission in Genesis 3:15 to St. John’s image of her in Revelation 12, Mary embraces God’s will and makes it her own. For this reason, and because she is our spiritual mother, we can never do better than to entrust ourselves to her tutelage, and seek her counsel in all things.

This is the way of many of the great saints: St. Louis de Montfort, St. Bernard, Pope John Paul II, Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Servant of God Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, St. Maximilian Kolbe, St. Padre Pio, to name a few.

On May 26, 2006, Pope Benedict XVI spoke of the efficacy of the school of Mary. With insight and clarity, he said:

Mary shows us how to open our minds and our hearts to the power of the Holy Spirit, who comes to us so as to be brought to the whole world.
We need a moment of silence and recollection to place ourselves in her school, so that she may teach us how to live from faith, how to grow in faith, how to remain in contact with the mystery of God in the ordinary, everyday events of our lives. With feminine tact and with “the ability to combine penetrating intuition with words of support and encouragement” (John Paul II, “Redemptoris Mater,” No. 46), Mary sustained the faith of Peter and the apostles in the Upper Room, and today she sustains my faith and your faith.

On July 16 we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Under this title the Blessed Mother gave us the Scapular to instruct us in the way in which we should go. Therefore, it becomes for us a perfect means to enter the “school of Mary.”

Given to St. Simon Stock by Our Blessed Mother on July 16, 1251, the brown Scapular was a sign of Our Lady’s abiding presence with the Carmelites during a particularly difficult time in their history.
The Carmelite heritage dates all the way back to the prophet Elijah and the cave-dwelling hermits of Mount Carmel who called themselves his descendants. Spiritual sons of the Blessed Mother, they were known as the Hermits of St. Mary of Mount Carmel.

In the 13th Century, St. Louis IX, King of France, sought out the hermits on Carmel’s mount, and to him they related a marvelous story. They reminded him of Mount Carmel’s famous contest beween the Prophet Elijah and the prophets of the pagan god Baal. And they specifically called his attention to the tiny cloud, shaped like a foot, which came out of the sea as a sign of God’s victory (I Kings: 18).

The hermits told the King that Elijah interpreted this foot to be that of the woman who would bring forth man’s Salvation. She would conquer Satan with the heel of her foot and the “yes” of her humility (Gen. 3:15). Elijah instructed his followers to pray for the coming of this Immaculate Virgin. And so they did until she finally appeared in Nazareth, a small town just on the other side of the mountain.

The hermits told St. Louis IX that the Blessed Mother and the Holy Family took respite with them on Mount Carmel as they sojourned back from Egypt. In honor of her, the hermits built the first chapel on earth dedicated to the Mother of God.

Some thirty years before St. Louis IX ascended Carmel’s hill, another saint had made his way to this “Family of the Blessed Virgin.” St. Simon Stock met the hermits while on pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Attracted to their way of life, he joined their company, and eventually brought many of them back to England when the Saracen uprising made it too dangerous to stay on Carmel.

Though necessary, this move from the East proved most difficult for the Order. Its Eastern tradition, lack of financial resources, and hermitic life was not readily welcomed by the English people nor the other religious communities. Conversely, the Eastern members of the order found the move just as trying and unpleasant. Controversy raged inside and out and dissension threatened the Order’s survival.

In the midst of this difficulty, St. Simon Stock was appointed Father General of the entire Order in 1245. His was a daunting and laborious task. He needed to help the Order transition from a hermitic life to a mendicant rule without changing its essential vision and prophetic vocation. Some five years later, the thicket of discord remained and dissension fomented still. But that was about to change.

On the evening of July 16, 1251, when the aging saint retired to his cell to pray, our Blessed Mother came to him in a vision. Surrounded by angels, she descended toward him with the brown Scapular saying, “Receive, my beloved son, this habit of thy order: This shall be to thee and to all Carmelites a privilege, that whosoever dies clothed in this shall never suffer eternal fire…it shall be a sign of salvation, a protection in danger, and a pledge of peace.” This gift from heaven was to become the most deeply rooted symbol of Carmel’s mission.

St. Simon Stock died fourteen years later. He was known for his sanctity and prudence, and for his gifts of prophesy and miracles. The Scapular eventually made its way from the Carmelite Friars (and later the Nuns) to the lay faithful. Those who are invested in the Scapular share in the maternal protection our Blessed Mother offers through it, and in the prayers and works of the Carmelite order.

Understood properly, the Scapular promise is based on Mary’s spiritual maternity and her role as Mediatrix of Grace: Mary is the spiritual mother of all mankind, and God has chosen her to be a conduit of His grace and love in the world. True devotion to Our Lady, engendered by the Scapular, is marked by love of her, veneration to her, and confidence in her maternal mediation. Thus, devotion to the brown Scapular is meant to be a way of life which sees Mary as our spiritual mother.

The Scapular is not a charm. It is not a guarantee of eternal salvation. It is not an excuse for giving up the pursuit of holiness. Wearing the Scapular is a sign of entering into the “school of Mary.” As such, Mary’s promise that those wearing the Scapular at the moment of death will not suffer the eternal fires anticipates a life of prayer, consecration to her Immaculate Heart, seeking the will of God in all things and conformity to God’s holy will.

May we find ourselves to be students in this “school of Mary,” and may we open ourselves to her maternal influence and guidance in all things. May our devotion to her be true devotion, and may our pursuit of holiness lead us through Mary to the Sacred Heart of her Son, Jesus Christ. Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

Prayer to Our Lady of Mount Carmel
O, most beautiful flower of Mount Carmel, fruitful vine, splendor of heaven, blessed mother of the Son of God, immaculate virgin, assist me in my necessity. O, star of the sea, help me and show me herein, you are my mother. Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who turn to you.
Holy Spirit, you who solve all problems, light all roads so I can attain my goal. You who gave me the divine gift to forgive and forget all evil against me, and who are with me in all instances in my life, thank you for all things, as you confirm once again that I never want to be separated from you in eternal glory. Amen.

What Does “Scapular” Mean?
A scapular is an article of clothing which is part of a religious habit. It is a long wide band of cloth with an opening for the head which drapes over the shoulders and covers the back and front. “Scapular” also refers to the “little habit:” two small squares of cloth connected by strings which is placed over the head and worn on the breast and back. The scapular is a sacramental when blessed and worn with devotion.

“ I, too, have worn the Scapular of Carmel over my heart for a long time! Out of my love for our common heavenly Mother, whose protection I constantly experience, I hope that this Marian year will help all the men and women religious of Carmel and the devout faithful who venerate her with filial affection to grow in her love and to radiate to the world the presence of this Woman of silence and prayer invoked as Mother of Mercy, Mother of Hope and Grace.
Pope John Paul II
March 25, 2001

Examination of Conscience with the Pope

Sin is what puts distance between the believer and God, and it's the sacrament of confession that brings the two back together, says Benedict XVI.

The Pope said this today in a Gospel reflection on Mark's account of the healed leper, which he delivered before praying the midday Angelus with those gathered in St. Peter's Square.

In the Gospel account, recalls the Pontiff, the leper "gets on his knees and says: 'If you wish, you can make me clean!' Jesus, moved, stretches out his hand, touches him and says: 'I do wish it. Be made clean!'"

"According to the ancient Jewish law," the Holy Father explained, "leprosy was not only considered a sickness but the gravest form of 'impurity.'"

He continued: "Leprosy thus constituted a kind of religious and civil death, and its healing was a kind of resurrection. We might see in leprosy a symbol of sin, which is the true impurity of heart, distancing us from God.

"It is not, in effect, physical malady that distances us from him, as the ancient norms supposed, but sin, the spiritual and moral evil."

Benedict XVI reflected: "The sins we commit distance us from God, and, if they are not humbly confessed, trusting in the divine mercy, they will finally bring about the death of the soul. This miracle thus has powerful symbolic value.

"In the Sacrament of Penance Christ crucified and risen, through his ministers, purifies us with his infinite mercy, restores us to communion with the heavenly Father and our brothers, and makes a gift of his love, joy and peace to us."

"Dear brothers and sisters," he concluded, "let us invoke the Virgin Mary, whom God preserved from every stain of sin, that she help us to avoid sin and to have frequent recourse to the sacrament of confession, the sacrament of forgiveness, whose value and importance for our Christian life needs to be rediscovered today."

Use this Examination of Conscience based off of the 10 Commandments
http://www.gloria.tv/?media=22623

Lectio Divina Videos - Year of St. Paul

"I would like in particular to recall and recommend the ancient tradition of Lectio Divina: the diligent reading of Sacred Scripture accompanied by prayer brings about that intimate dialogue in which the person reading hears God who is speaking, and in praying, responds to him with trusting openness of heart (cf. Dei Verbum, n.25) If it is effectively promoted, this practice will bring to the Church – I am convinced of it – a new spiritual springtime." - Pope Benedict XVI , September 2005


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This website has been a great blessing for me and I pray that it will also be for you! Each week I'll post a video with Archbishop Thomas Collins of the Archdiocese of Toronto. This week's video is an introduction of what Lectio Divina is.

Lectio Divina is not a catechesis or a teaching but it is a prayer, a divine reading, a personal encounter with God in Sacred Scripture.

Each episode begins with a glimpse of Archbishop Collins presiding over Vespers at St. Michael’s Cathedral in downtown Toronto. Lectio Divina follows immediately afterwards. In each session Archbishop Collins slowly reads an excerpt from Sacred Scripture, offers a short reflection, and invites the congregation to quietly meditate on the passage.

Feast Day - Bl Teresa Mary of the Cross Manetti

Bl Teresa Mary of the Cross Manetti (d. 1910) - Virgin
Feast Day - April 23rd

Teresa Mary of the Cross Manetti

Born at Campi Bisenzio, Florence, where in 1874 she founded the Congregation of Carmelite Sisters of St. Teresa whom she also sent to Lebanon and the Holy Land. She lived joyfully, body and soul the mystery of the Cross in full conformity to the will of God and she was outstanding for her love for the Eucharist and her maternal care for children and for the poor. She died at Campi Bisenzio on April 23, 1910. Beautified October 19, 1986 by Pope John Paul II

News to Pray for

Catholics Put Up a Fight at Notre Dame!

Many Catholic students at Notre Dame have come together to protest the University's invitation to President Obama, and they have called for a Rosary Crusade:


In recent weeks the announcement of President Barack Obama as Notre Dame's commencement speaker has caused much controversy. We, the concerned students at Notre Dame, are attentive to this and have led several efforts to voice our opposition to the decision to honor President Obama with a doctor of laws degree, given his stance on abortion.... We remember, however, that Notre Dame is indeed Our Lady's University and that our strongest weapon to fight this public scandal and disregard for the importance of life is to have recourse to prayer.

As such, we now call for a Rosary Crusade of One Million Rosaries.

We students will pray the rosary daily for 40 days – from Wednesday of Holy Week (4/8/09) until the day of commencement (5/17/09). We will pray especially for conversion of heart for President Obama, that he might grow to respect life from conception to natural death and that his policies might reflect that (in particular that he will reverse his pro-abortion stance). As a secondary intention, we will pray for the University of Notre Dame, and all Catholic universities, that they might grow in their understanding of what it means to be Catholic and truly embrace their Catholic identity. Finally, we pray that this country, and all countries throughout the world might embrace a greater respect for life in all its stages....


We encourage you to visit our website to report how many rosaries you have said for this intention (www.ndresponse.com).... Assured of Victory, we call to mind the words of the Blessed Mother given at Fatima: "In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph."

Onward to Victory,

ND Response
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Visit their website and pledge your Rosaries! http://ndresponse.com/
"Aux Armes!"

Discalced Carmelites Elect New Superior General

FATIMA, Portugal, APRIL 21, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Father Saverio Cannistrà of the Sacred Heart was chosen as the new superior general of the Discalced Carmelites.

On Monday the order announced the election of the former provincial superior of Toscany, Italy, which took place during their general chapter in Fatima that began Friday and end on May 9.

Father Cannistrà, 50, addressed participants in the chapter, acknowledging the difficulty involved in the position entrusted to him by the order. He stated, "I felt that God was pushing me and that, embracing each of you, I am able to attach myself to God."

The superior entered the novitiate in 1985 and was ordained a priest in 1992.

He will replace Father Aróstegui Luis Gamboa, who was elected superior general in 2003.

The Discalced Carmelites order has some 4600 religious, of which 2600 are priests.

Pope Benedict XVI reflections on Divine Mercy Sunday

On Divine Mercy and the Catholic Family

"It Is the Merciful Love of God that Solidly Unites the Church"

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, APRIL 19, 2009 Here is a translation of the greeting Benedict XVI gave today before praying the Regina Caeli with the people gathered in the courtyard of the pontifical residence at Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome.

* * *

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

On this Sunday that concludes the Easter Octave I renew from my heart fervent Easter wishes to you who are present and to those who are joining us through radio and television broadcasts. In the climate of joy that comes from the faith in the risen Christ, I would like to express a most cordial "thank you" to all of those -- and there are truly many -- who wanted to send me a sign of affection and spiritual nearness whether for the Easter festivities or for my birthday -- April 16 -- or for the anniversary of my election to the Chair of Peter which recurs today. I thank the Lord for this symphony of so much affection. As I was able to affirm recently, I never feel alone.

Even more in this singular week, which, for the liturgy, constitutes a single day, I experienced the communion that surrounds and sustains me: a spiritual solidarity, essentially nourished by prayer, which is manifested in thousands of ways. From my colleagues in the Roman Curia to the parishes that are geographically most distant, we Catholics form -- and we must feel that we are -- one family, animated by the same sentiments of the first Christian community, of which the text of the Acts of the Apostles, which we read this Sunday, says: "The community of believers were of one heart and one soul" (Acts 4:32).

The communion of the first Christians had the risen Christ as true center and foundation. The Gospel says that, in the moment of the Passion, when the Divine Master was arrested and condemned to death, the disciples were dispersed. Only Mary and the women, with the apostle John, remain together and follow him to Calvary.

Resurrected, Jesus grants a new unity to his followers, stronger than before, invincible, because it is based not on human resources, but on divine mercy, which makes them all feel loved and forgiven by him. Therefore it is the merciful love of God that solidly unites the Church, today as yesterday, and that makes humanity a single family, divine love, which through Jesus crucified and risen forgives our sins and renews us interiorly. Animated by such a deep conviction, my beloved predecessor, John Paul II, desired that this Sunday, the second Sunday of Easter, be named Divine Mercy Sunday, and pointed to the risen Christ as the font of confidence and hope, welcoming the spiritual message given by the Lord to St. Faustina Kowalsk a, synthesized in the invocation: "Jesus, I trust in you."

As for the first community, it is Mary who accompanies us in life every day. We invoke her as "Queen of Heaven," knowing that her royalty is like that of her Son: all love, and merciful love. I ask you again to entrust to her my service to the Church, while with confidence we say to her: "Mater misericordiae, ora pro nobis [Mother of mercy, pray for us.]"

Why Catholics Celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday

Divine Mercy Sunday

The Feast of the Divine Mercy or Divine Mercy Sunday falls on the Octave of Easter (the Sunday immediately following Easter). It is dedicated to the devotion to the Divine Mercy promoted by St. Faustina, and is based upon an entry in St. Faustina's diary stating that anyone who participates in the Mass and receives the sacraments of confession and Eucharist on this day is assured by Jesus of full remission of sins.

According to the notebooks of Saint Faustina, Jesus made the following statements about this day: "On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which grace flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity." (Diary of Saint Faustina, 699)

The devotion was celebrated unofficially in many places for some years. On April 30, 2000 (Divine Mercy Sunday of that year), Pope John Paul II canonized St. Faustina and designated the Sunday after Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday in the General Roman Calendar, with effect from the following year. He also decreed a plenary indulgence associated with this devotion. Pope John Paul II said he felt a closeness to St. Faustina when he was writing Dives in misericordia [1]. He died during the vigil of the Divine Mercy Sunday in 2005.

Enjoy my favorite recording of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy in Song

Reflections on today's Gospel Reading

Just before the turn of the century, a train rumbled through a French province headed for Paris. Two men sat opposite each other: the one, a young soldier obviously bored with the inactivity; the other, an old man quite content to finger his rosary beads. As the monotonous miles bumped along, the soldier could not restrain himself. He blurted out in the direction of the old man: “God isn’t going to save our world -- science is!”

The old man merely smiled and nodded and continued with his prayers. The “put down” was too much of a challenge to avoid, so the young man launched into a tirade on the marvels of science in business and medicine. Declaring religion to be dying out as the light of science came in, he continued his attack until the train arrived at the Paris depot.

As the soldier stood up to get his bag, he felt sorry for the old man who had silently taken his abuse for the past hour. Trying to sound a bit kinder, he introduced himself. The elderly gentleman shook the soldier’s hand and reached into his vest for a card. The young man accepted the card and helped the old man down the steps. Then he glanced at the card: “Dr. Louis Pasteur, Academy of Science, Paris.”

Daily we live and work in the presence of the Risen Christ, yet how often we fail to recognize him. We overlook the obvious. In this we are not alone. The disciples, too, had difficulty recognizing Jesus. They suffered from myopia. The readings today suggest that if we broaden our narrow vision, if we sensitize ourselves to his presence and search him out, we will find him -- in the Word, in the Eucharist and in one another.

Through his Word, God speaks to us of Jesus. The Easter story is not simply one recorded long ago for people of a former age. It is our story, speaking to us today. If it does not penetrate, it is because we are unwilling to pull away from the world and center ourselves on the inner spirit. If it does not speak, it is because we need to open ourselves to it in small doses - no more than four or five verses at a time. Focus attention on God’s communication here and now.

Allow him to speak. Don’t become the know-it-all in conversation with God. “Recall those words I spoke to you when I was with you: everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and psalms had to be fulfilled.” If we are willing, he will open our minds to the understanding of the Scriptures. God fulfills in us what he announced long ago through the prophets. Whoever keeps his word truly has the love of God made perfect within. If we are sensitive to his presence, we will hear his word.

In the Eucharist, the Risen Christ is present to us at Sunday Mass. We eat his flesh and drink the cup of his blood. There is an intimate communion of heart and mind in this sacrament -- an interior experience of Christ.

Bread signifies the meaning of life and death for it comes from wheat, the fruit of a seed that has been put into the ground to die in order that new life might begin. Wheat is used for making bread only after it has been crushed and sifted, pounded and kneaded. To abandon ourselves to Christ means to place ourselves into his hands as bread to be broken. With the tender hands of crucifixion, he will not tear or destroy us; rather, he will break us gently. When we are willing to let go, we will recognize him and he will break and spend us for one another. If we broaden our narrow vision, we will see him active and present in our lives. Remember: “They came to know Jesus in the breaking of the bread.”

Lastly, we find Jesus in one another. If we are not sensitive to the needs of others, we may miss Christ -- just as the soldier missed Louis Pasteur and the disciples missed Jesus.

Sometimes the risen Christ makes himself present to us in the form of a small child, a salesman at the door or a beggar; sometimes he speaks to us through a friend . . . or an enemy. It is very easy for us to turn away from Christ when he appears too human. If Jesus asks for a bite of our fish -- he can’t be God; he’s too human, too common, too available. As Peter suggests, we run the risk of “putting the Author of life to death” by our ignorance.

Like the disciples, we come to recognize Christ slowly -- not only in his word but also in the breaking of the bread and in one another.

Examination of Conscience with the Pope

Sin is what puts distance between the believer and God, and it's the sacrament of confession that brings the two back together, says Benedict XVI.

The Pope said this today in a Gospel reflection on Mark's account of the healed leper, which he delivered before praying the midday Angelus with those gathered in St. Peter's Square.

In the Gospel account, recalls the Pontiff, the leper "gets on his knees and says: 'If you wish, you can make me clean!' Jesus, moved, stretches out his hand, touches him and says: 'I do wish it. Be made clean!'"

"According to the ancient Jewish law," the Holy Father explained, "leprosy was not only considered a sickness but the gravest form of 'impurity.'"

He continued: "Leprosy thus constituted a kind of religious and civil death, and its healing was a kind of resurrection. We might see in leprosy a symbol of sin, which is the true impurity of heart, distancing us from God.

"It is not, in effect, physical malady that distances us from him, as the ancient norms supposed, but sin, the spiritual and moral evil."

Benedict XVI reflected: "The sins we commit distance us from God, and, if they are not humbly confessed, trusting in the divine mercy, they will finally bring about the death of the soul. This miracle thus has powerful symbolic value.

"In the Sacrament of Penance Christ crucified and risen, through his ministers, purifies us with his infinite mercy, restores us to communion with the heavenly Father and our brothers, and makes a gift of his love, joy and peace to us."

"Dear brothers and sisters," he concluded, "let us invoke the Virgin Mary, whom God preserved from every stain of sin, that she help us to avoid sin and to have frequent recourse to the sacrament of confession, the sacrament of forgiveness, whose value and importance for our Christian life needs to be rediscovered today."

Use this Examination of Conscience based off of the 10 Commandments

St. Teresa of Avila

News to Pray for

Notre Dame student coalition opposes Obama appearance

Notre Dame Right to Life, Notre Dame College Republicans, and nine other student organizations have created Notre Dame Response, a student coalition that opposes the university’s decision to award President Barack Obama an honorary degree in May. “In defense of the unborn, we wish to express our deepest opposition to Reverend John I. Jenkins, CSC’s invitation of President Barack Obama to be the University of Notre Dame’s principal commencement speaker and the recipient of an honorary degree,” the coalition said in a statement. “Our objection is not a matter of political partisanship, but of President Obama’s hostility to the Catholic Church’s teachings on the sanctity of human life at its earliest stages. His recent dedication of federal funds to overseas abortions and to embryonic stem cell research will directly result in the deaths of thousands of innocent human beings. We cannot sit by idly while the University honors someone who believes that an entire class of human beings is undeserving of the most basic of all legal rights, the right to live.” The coalition’s statement continues:
The University’s decision runs counter to the policy of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops against honoring pro-choice politicians. In their June 2004 statement Catholics in Political Life, the bishops said, “The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors, or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.” Fr. Jenkins defends his invitation by saying that it does not honor or suggest support for the President’s views on abortion, but rather support for his leadership. But our “fundamental moral principles” must be respected at all times. And the principle that requires us to refrain from the direct killing of the innocent has a special status even among the most fundamental principles. President Obama’s actions have consistently shown contempt for this principle, and he has sought political gain by making light of its clear political implications. Leadership that puts the lives of the most innocent at risk is leadership we must disdain. In the face of President Obama’s actions, Father Jenkins’ words ring hollow…Fr. Jenkins has placed some of his students in a moral dilemma as to whether they should attend their own graduation. Many pro-life seniors, along with their families, are conflicted about whether to participate in the commencement ceremony. The lack of concern for these devoted sons and daughters of Notre Dame, who love this University and the Catholic principles on which it was built, is shameful.

News to Pray for

US report on 'right-wing extremism' is focus of legal challenge

A pro-life legal group has filed lawsuit against Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, seeking to block implementation of any departmental policy based on a controversial report citing the risk of "right-wing extremist groups." The Thomas More Law Center argues, in its federal lawsuit, that the report "violates the civil liberties of combat veterans as well as American citizens by targeting them for disfavored treatment on account of the political beliefs." The report has drawn criticism for saying that threats to national security could "include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration," and saying that military veterans may become involved with "hate groups." In an April 16 television appearance, Napolitano stood by the report, but acknowledged that the references to veterans and single-issue advocates was unfortunate.

Prayer to Our Lady of Mount Carmel

O Most beautiful flower of Mount Carmel, fruitful vine, splendor of Heaven, Blessed Mother of the Son of God, Immaculate Virgin, assist me in this my necessity. O Star of the Sea, help me and show me herein You are my Mother.

O Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and Earth, I humbly beseech You from the bottom of my heart to succor me in this necessity. There are none that can withstand Your power.

O show me herein You are my Mother. O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee.

O show me herein You are my Mother. O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee.

O show me herein You are my Mother. O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee.

Sweet Mother, I place this cause in Your hands.

Sweet Mother, I place this cause in Your hands.

Sweet Mother, I place this cause in Your hands.

Welcome to Carmel

To live in the presence of God; that is surely an inheritance left to the children of Carmel by the prophet Elijah, who cried out in the fervor of his faith:

"The God I serve is a living God"... A life of prayer is the essence of the Carmelite vocation; the heart to heart communion that never ends, because when one loves, one no longer belongs to oneself but to the Beloved, and so lives more in Him than in oneself. That is what life in Carmel means: to live in God, contemplating His goodness and beauty, and dedicated entirely to the fulfillment of His blessed Will. Then every immolation, every sacrifice becomes divine; through everything the soul sees Him whom she loves and everything leads her to Him... it is a continual communion. All day long she surrenders herself to Love, by doing the will of God, under His gaze, with Him, in Him, for Him alone.

This is the life of a Carmelite: to be a true contemplative, another Magdalene whom nothing can distract from the 'one thing necessary'. I want to be an apostle from the depths of my beloved solitude in Carmel; I want to work for God's glory and the good of all His people, especially His priests; and for that I must be full of Him. Then I should be all-powerful: a look, a wish, would become an irresistible prayer that could obtain everything one asks in the Name of Jesus. I want to remain like Mary Magdalene silent and adoring at the Master's feet, asking Him to make the words of apostles bear fruit in souls.

As Our Lord dwells within us, His prayer is ours, and I want to share in it unceasingly, remaining like a little vessel at the spring, at the fountain of life, and so be able to communicate it to others by letting its floods of charity overflow.

How sublime is the Carmelite's mission! She should be a mediatrix with Jesus Christ, and be for Him, as it were, another humanity in which He can perpetuate His life of reparation and sacrifice, of love and praise and adoration. She abides faithfully in prayerful silence and solitude so that the Most High God may be able to realize His desires in her, accomplishing His will in her as an instrument of His love and peace among His people.

So, on the mountain of Carmel, in silence, in solitude, in a prayer which is unceasing, for nothing can interrupt it, the Carmelite already lives as though in heaven: for God alone! The same God who will one day be her beatitude and will fulfill her desires in glory, is already giving Himself to her here on earth. He never leaves her, He dwells in the depths of her being, and more wonderful still, He and she are but one. And so she is hungry for silence and prayer that she may always listen to Him and penetrate more deeply into His infinite Being. She identifies herself with Him whom she loves, she finds Him everywhere. She sees Him shining through everything. She belongs to Him alone, and trusts completely in His loving and faithful providence. Is that not heaven on earth?

When you think of the life of the Carmelite, thank Him for the beautiful portion that is hers. What will it be like in heaven, if even here below He enters into such intimate union with those who love Him?

Here in Carmel, there is nothing, nothing but God. He is all, He suffices, and one lives for Him alone and for His glory... this life of prayer and contemplation, interceding always for His people before the Face of God...This reflection from the website of the Carmelite Nuns of Arlington, Texas.

Revelation Chapter 12

Revelation 12
1. AND A great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; 2. she was with child and she cried out in her pangs of birth, in anguish for delivery. 3. And another portent appeared in heaven; behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems upon his heads. 4. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to bear a child, that he might devour her child when she brought it forth; 5. she brought forth a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, 6. and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which to be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days. 7. Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8. but they were defeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world--he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 11. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. 12. Rejoice then, O heaven and you that dwell therein! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!" 13. And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had borne the male child. 14. But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. 15. The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with the flood. 16. But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river which the dragon had poured from his mouth. 17. Then the dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.