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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Quote of the day, 16 May: Kieran Kavanaugh, ocd
According to tradition, Our Lady of Mount Carmel appeared to the Carmelite prior general, St. Simon Stock in 1251. Fr. Kieran Kavanaugh explains the fact, fiction, and faith concerning this tradition.
Reading time: 5 minutes, 856 words
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16 May: Saint Simon Stock
Simon, an Englishman, died at Bordeaux in the mid-thirteenth century. He has been venerated in the Carmelite Order for his personal holiness and his devotion to Our Lady. A liturgical celebration in his honor was observed locally in the fifteenth century, and later extended to the whole Order.
Reading time: 4 minutes, 746 words
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Quote of the day, 4 May: St. Teresa of the Andes
St Teresa of the Andes admitted in her journal in 1917 that she felt drawn to “the rigors of penance;” she added, “I feel a longing to be a martyr in my body.”
Reading time: 1 minute, 200 words
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4 May: Blesseds Angel Maria Prat Hostench, Lucas of St. Joseph Tristany Pujol, Priests, and Companions
Carmel desired to bring together in one single memorial its own martyrs who, in different locations in Spain, bore witness during the long and bloody Civil War (1936-1939). Mentioned in this memorial are Father Angel Maria Prat Hostench, O. Carm., killed with his community in Tarrega in 1936, and Father Lucas of St. Joseph O.C.D., killed with his fellow friars in Barcelona, also in 1936. In this memorial, we also remember the groups from Lérida, Tarragona, Toledo, Olot, Terrasa, etc. The entire group of bishops, diocesan priests, religious from various orders, and laity was beatified partly (498 martyrs) by Benedict XVI on October 28, 2007, and partly (522 martyrs) by Francis on October 13, 2013.
Reading time: 5 minutes, 970 words
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17 April: Blessed Baptist Spagnoli
Born in Mantua on April 17th, 1447, as a youth Baptist joined the Carmelites of the Congregation of Mantua at Ferrara. He made his religious profession in 1464 and served in many positions of responsibility in the community; he was vicar general of his congregation six times, and in 1513 was elected prior general of the whole Order. In his own time, he was a renowned humanist 'who brought his richly varied poetry into the service of Christ." He used his friendships with scholars as an opportunity of encouraging them to live a Christian life. He died in Mantua on March 20th, 1516.
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Quote of the day, 23 March: St. Edith Stein
Today once again we read St. Edith Stein's powerful words, "God is truth," written on 23 March 1938. She adds that God's mercy can't be contained by the boundaries of the "visible Church."
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St. John of the Cross Novena 2022, Day 9: Abandonment
“I abandoned and forgot myself, laying my face on my Beloved…” Thank you for joining our St. John of the Cross novena; join us once again for our St. Joseph novena in March 2023.
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St. John of the Cross Novena 2022, Day 8: Rest
“Let Christ crucified be enough for you,” writes St. John of the Cross, adding: “with him suffer and take your rest…” O Lord, “even the darkness is not dark to you!” (Ps 139).
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St. John of the Cross Novena 2022, Day 7: Charity
The Virgin Mary’s charity at work in her Visitation to St Elizabeth highlights the teaching of St John of the Cross, “charity prepares the will and unites it with God through love.”
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St. John of the Cross Novena 2022, Day 6: Hope
St John of the Cross explains: “hope always pertains to the unpossessed object. If something were possessed there could no longer be hope for it.” The annunciation to St Joseph give us hope, as well.
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St. John of the Cross Novena 2022, Day 5: Faith
“When the soul is clothed in faith the devil is ignorant of how to hinder her,” says St. John of the Cross, because “faith gives her strong protection” against that “most astute enemy,” the devil.
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St. John of the Cross Novena 2022, Day 4: Love
“Love is strong as death, passion fierce as the grave,” we read in the Song of Songs. Similarly, St. John of the Cross cautions us that love doesn’t consist “in feeling great things...”
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St. John of the Cross Novena 2022, Day 3: Transformation
“O night that has united the Lover with his beloved, transforming the beloved in her Lover,” St. John writes. The Blessed Virgin’s “fiat” was her transforming moment!
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St. John of the Cross Novena 2022, Day 2: Stillness
As the Eyptians pressed hard behind the Israelites, Moses told them, “you have only to be still.” In 'The Dark Night,' St. John of the Cross proclaims that he found “sheer grace” in darkness, hiddenness, and stillness.
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St. John of the Cross Novena 2022, Day 1: Belief
At the Annunciation, the Virgin Mary asked, “how can this be, since I am a virgin?” St John of the Cross says that “belief in God’s being” is the way to reach union with God, not by understanding.
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St. John of the Cross Novena 2022: Introduction
Father Quang D. Tran, S.J. leads our meditations this year on the theme of the night that guides our footsteps better than light and is brighter than the dawn: the night that gives sight.
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St. Elizabeth of the Trinity Novena 2022, Day 9: Our Lady, full of light
The day before she died, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity foresaw her death: “It is our Lady, full of light,” she said, “who will take me by the hand to lead me into heaven.” Thank you for joining our novena!
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St. Elizabeth of the Trinity Novena 2022, Day 8: My mission
Elizabeth summed up her heavenly calling thus: “My mission will be to draw souls into interior recollection, by helping them to go out from themselves.”
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St. Elizabeth of the Trinity Novena 2022, Day 7: The Eucharist, heaven on earth
In her song of praise to Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, Elizabeth exclaims that it is “God in us and we in him.” For Elizabeth, the Eucharist is “heaven on earth.”
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