Carmelite wisdom to encourage & inspire
In 1885 St. Louis Martin accompanied a priest on a pilgrimage to Constantinople, Athens, and Rome. While in Constantinople he wrote a newsy letter on this date to his daughter Marie, praising her for doing an excellent job of managing the household. He also described in some detail the sights that he had seen.
Albert Avogadro was born about the middle of the twelfth century in Castel Gualtieri in Italy. He became a Canon Regular of the Holy Cross at Mortara and was elected their prior in 1180. Named Bishop of Bobbio in 1184, and of Vercelli in 1185, he was made Patriarch of Jerusalem in 1205. There, in word and example, he was the model of a good pastor and peace-maker. While he was Patriarch (1206-1214) he formed the hermit brothers of Mount Carmel into a collegium and wrote a Rule for them. He was murdered at Acre on September 14, 1214, by the Master of the Hospital of the Holy Spirit, whom he had rebuked and deposed for immorality.
In her 1939 poem "The Valley of the Cat-tails" Jessica Powers writes: “My valley is a woman unconsoled. Her bluffs are amethyst, the tinge of grief; her tamarack swamps are sad. There is no dark tale that she was not told; there is no sorrow that she has not had.”
For the renewal of vows at the Carmel of Echt in 1940, St. Edith Stein wrote a meditation for the prioress at her request. We share the final section of the meditation where Edith presents a striking response to the age-old complaint that God doesn't hear our prayers. "What right have we to be heard?" Edith asks. Her own answer is decisive: "The day on which God has unrestricted power over our hearts we shall also have unrestricted power over his."
While St Teresa was sick in Burgos in 1582, Blessed Mary of Jesus and the Discalced Carmelite nuns in Toledo sent 200 ducats of silver to help the Saint. Her words of gratitude come to us thanks to the correspondence of Blessed Mary of Jesus.
In 1576, St. Teresa of Avila described her mystical experiences in an objective way. We share excerpts concerning an "impulse" with references to her writings that provide us with examples of this grace.
Here St. Teresa explains her image of the well-watered garden, irrigated by "the water flowing from a river or spring." She compares the soul's joy to the woman who called her neighbors when she found her lost coin, one of the parables in our Gospel for Sunday, 11 September.
Quote of the day, 10 September: Père Jacques devoted his Friday evening retreat conference at the Carmel of Pontoise to the Cross and suffering. Paraphrasing St Teresa, he said, “Life without suffering is a waste of time. Every hour not united to God's will is an hour squandered.”
Born in 1560 at Tartanedo (Spain) Maria López de Rivas took the Discalced Carmelite habit at Toledo in 1577 and made her profession the following year. She spent the rest of her life serving God in that Carmel, except for a brief period in 1585 when she helped with a foundation at Cuerva. She died at Toledo on September 13, 1640. Saint Teresa of Jesus thought extremely highly of her. She was a great contemplative, intensely devoted to our Lord, and often drawing inspiration from the liturgy.
On Thursday evening of his retreat for the Carmel of Pontoise, Père Jacques devoted his conference to the theme of silence. "Silence is not an empty void," he told the nuns; "God dwells therein."
For the feast day of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary on 8 September 1943, Père Jacques spoke of the Mary’s virginity that “wins her new graces, which enable her ever more consciously to realize her role as a total virgin.” This quote is Père Jacques at his best.
On the morning of the second day of his retreat in Pontoise, Père Jacques stresses this point: “we must truly see Christ.” He continues that our knowledge of the Lord must be vital, not verbal: “we must strive to love Christ passionately and prepare to see him face to face, when we die.”
Père Jacques de Jésus began his preached retreat for the Discalced Carmelite nuns at the Carmel of Pontoise on this date in 1943. He reminded the nuns, “Prayer is the reason why God has placed us on earth.”
Bishop Silvio José Báez, o.c.d. reflects on the Jesus' admonition that we must carry our own cross and follow him to be his disciple. The bishop says that "when Jesus speaks of the cross, he isn't simply talking about suffering. The cross is synonymous with extreme love, like that of Jesus."
Even at the tender age of 15, St. Teresa of the Andes comprehended the importance of taking up the cross and following Jesus. But He called her to "take up the cross with love and joy."
Preaching in 1864 in Malines, Belgium on Catholicism in England, the Servant of God Hermann Cohen boldly spoke out against the so-called "progress" of the secularization he witnessed in England. "The great obstacle to progress is that the Master has been excluded from all Laws, Constitutions, and Governments..."
Our Discalced Carmelite bishop from Nicaragua, Bishop Silvio José Báez, continues to employ every means possible to advocate for freedom and justice for those who suffer in his country, even from his exile in the United States. Recently, he shared a video excerpt from his remarks in March 2019 at a press availability concerning political prisoners: they "are not a bargaining chip."
St. Teresa Margaret made a private retreat in February 1768, only eight months after she experienced the contemplative intuition of the mystery of divine love. We share her principal resolution from the retreat; does it remind you of other Carmelite saints or authors?
The notorious criminal, Henri Pranzini was executed on this date, 31 August 1877; St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus called Pranzini "her child". Today we read an excerpt from Céline's testimony at the Diocesan Process of Beatification, where she describes Thérèse's zeal for the salvation of Pranzini's soul.
Teresa Margaret belonged to the noble family of Redi, and was born in the Tuscan city of Arezzo in 1747. She entered the Discalced Carmelite monastery at Florence on September 1, 1764. She was granted a special grace of contemplative insight based on Saint John’s phrase God is love, through which she felt called to a hidden life of love and self-sacrifice. She progressed rapidly, fulfilling her vocation through heroic charity toward others. She died in Florence in 1770, aged twenty-three.
![Teresian scholar Father Kieran Kavanaugh, OCD states that St. Teresa didn’t believe that in order to pray “it was sufficient to follow the rubrics and pronounce” the [Latin] words. Thus, she taught her nuns to be aware of the One to whom they were speaking. Visit our blog to learn more:](https://scontent-dfw5-2.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.2885-15/308954217_682184336115139_7294918452435920926_n.jpg?_nc_cat=108&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=8ae9d6&_nc_ohc=zkuEGy0cTf8AX9NCZqS&_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-2.cdninstagram.com&edm=ANo9K5cEAAAA&oh=00_AT_uX4gD2pvBQLuwKs18Ps_CXpkqlIHLIvmY-2vpDTRWMQ&oe=6338D93A)
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Antonio Mas Arrondo
Let nothing disturb you, Let nothing frighten you, All things are passing away: God never changes. Patience obtains all things. Whoever has God lacks nothing; God alone suffices. ~ St. Teresa of Avila
Monasterio de las Batuecas Carmelitas Descalzos
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