Carmelite wisdom to encourage & inspire
Bishop Silvio José Báez, ocd explains that the bond of communion in the Holy Trinity is one of profound love, intimacy, and generosity. When we embrace belief in the Trinity, we embrace God, the supreme model of true love.
Reading time: 7 minutes, 1348 words
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As she meditates on the Visitation of the Virgin Mary to St. Elizabeth, what strikes St. Elizabeth of the Trinity is the Virgin's humility and service: "she was always forgetful, unaware, freed from self."
Reading time: 2 minutes, 332 words
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St Teresa encourages her nuns to praise God because they "truly belong to our Lady." Teresa urges the nuns to imitate the Virgin, trusting in the merits of Christ and "of the Virgin, His Mother."
Reading time: 1 minutes, 228 words
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“We have to look more to God,” wrote St. Titus Brandsma in his lectures on the Richness of Pentecost. “Pray with Mary the Mother of the Lord. Turn your eye to God and ask Him what you should do.”
"The Holy Spirit knew the Virgin Mary in advance, for he taught her the rich lessons of prayer," says Père Jacques de Jésus. “The Holy Spirit inflamed Mary’s heart and swept her up into the bosom of the triune God.”
Reading time: 1 minute, 228 words
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For many years, St. Louis Martin participated in the annual pilgrimage to Chartres that was held at the end of May. Here we read his letter to Pauline, begging Carmelite prayers for the pilgrimage.
Reading time: 1 minute, 160 words
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The year 1587 was decisive in the spiritual life of St Mary Magdalen de' Pazzi. On 17 September the Blessed Virgin appeared to the Saint and assured her that she had never offended God.
Reading time: 2 minutes, 414 words
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St. Titus Brandsma took great pride in his Carmelite vocation, but never out of vainglory. To him, it was an immense privilege to be called a "Brother of the Virgin Mary."
Reading time: 1 minute, 266 words
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Carmelite poet Gervase Toelle, O.Carm. evokes the Virgin Mother's sadness as he contemplates a rainy cityscape in the poem, "To the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Rain." He writes, "Come from above: the wide world weeps for you, Lady."
Reading time: 2 minutes, 404 words
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Carmelite poet Jessica Powers writes that "There was nothing in the virgin's soul that belonged to the Virgin... she was a pure, transparent pool reflecting God, only God."
Reading time: 1 minute, 163 words
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In her unpublished notebooks, St. Mary of Jesus Crucified sings her praise to the Holy Family; “Glory and love to Jesus, to Mary, to Saint Joseph. Glory to all the Saints…”
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St. John of the Cross, using only four lines of poetry, fashions the Christmas story to become an appeal to welcome Mary, "the Virgin weighed down with the Word of God."
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On the vigil of the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, Bishop Silvio José Báez, o.c.d. guides our meditation on the beauty of the Blessed Virgin’s life: she was the transparency of God.
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We often recall the words of St. Thérèse that the Virgin is “more Mother than Queen” but we don’t often hear the rest of the quote concerning her beneficence toward the saints in glory.
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St. Mary of Jesus Crucified never forgot her intimate relationship with the Blessed Virgin; in this prayer, she reminds Our Lady of their special bond.
In March 1899, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity was a fervent participant in the citywide preached retreat. Here’s her journal entry for 23 March, which stresses the importance of praying the Rosary: "It is the chain that unites us to Mary... Mary takes us by the hand..."
We celebrate the birthday of our Discalced Carmelite Superior General Miguel Márquez Calle, sharing an excerpt from his 16 July 2022 meditation, “With Mary, Sister: Hope and Way.” Here’s a quote: “Mary is a presence deep-seated in the veins of our humanity.”
Thanks for joining our novena! We close with St. Thérèse’s most famous poem, “Why I Love You, O Mary.” In the final stanzas she writes, “You who came to smile at me in the morning of my life, come smile at me again, Mother, it's evening now!”
In 1856 on the eighth anniversary of his First Holy Communion, the Servant of God Hermann Cohen said: “Let us unite with the Archangel and join him in our salute to Mary. Yes, Mary, we greet you, our glorious dawn.”
St John of the Cross has advice for us about asking God for favors: He has “more compassion when He beholds the need and resignation of a soul that loves Him;” in other words, God doesn’t need our opinions about what is best for us!
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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
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