Carmelite wisdom to encourage & inspire
As the Church marks the tenth anniversary of the election of Pope Francis, we read a brief, early homily that demonstrates St. Thérèse’s influence on the pontiff: “Jesus has this message for us: mercy.”
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In 1829 Sr Stanislaus of the Child Jesus from the Carmel of Baltimore received this prayer from her Jesuit spiritual director: “No more my sins shall tempt me to despair, My Father pities and forgives and hears a child's repenting prayer.”
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Brother Lawrence speaks with simplicity as he describes his relationship with Christ the King: “this King, full of goodness and mercy, lovingly embraces me, seats me at his table, waits on me himself, gives me the keys to his treasures and treats me in all things as his favorite.”
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"We cannot see God, but we can listen to Jesus who has revealed God to us with an existence full of goodness and forgiveness," writes Bishop Silvio José Báez. "The only way to see God is to listen to Jesus, follow him, and live in communion with him."
In Germany, the Discalced Carmelite family observes the memorial of Blessed Georg Häfner, priest of the Würzburg diocese who was martyred at Dachau on this date in 1942. His most famous quote, "We do not want to curse anyone..." comes from a letter to his parents three days before his transfer from Nazi detention in Würzburg to the concentration camp at Dachau. We have a translation of that tender letter in our quote of the day.
In his homily for the beatification of the Martyrs of Rochefort, St. John Paul II quoted the apostle Paul: "they fought the good fight of faith." He continued: "They even went through a long ordeal for having remained faithful to their faith and to the Church. If they died, it was because they insisted to the end on affirming their close communion" with the Pope.
As we remember Blessed Isidore Bakanja on his feast day, this "martyr of the Scapular" calls us to follow his example of fidelity to the Blessed Virgin. We share excerpts from the homily of St. John Paul II and a brief biography from the Carmelite Order's website.
On the evening of that unforgettable "first day of the week," the day of the Lord's resurrection, Jesus appeared to the disciples, full of mercy. He didn't reproach them; he didn't accuse or reject them. Instead, he offered them his peace.
Bishop Báez, preaching on the encounter of the Risen Christ with his disciples offers a timely commentary: "The Risen Christ always frees us and opens up horizons of mercy. Whoever believes in him and welcomes him always receives forgiveness as a gift..."
Bishop Silvio José Báez, o.c.d. explores the theological depths of Christ's death on the cross: "The cross of Jesus is the cathedra of infinite love, limitless forgiveness, and mercy that can change the world."
Commenting on the Gospel story of Jesus and the woman caught in adultery, Fr. Denis-Marie Ghesquières, OCD writes, "Jesus challenges each one of the onlookers to search his heart and, faced with the woman's sin, to question himself! A new path can open up by setting out from the truth about oneself in the presence of Jesus..."
In St. Teresa's commentary on the Our Father, she writes, "if we return to Him like the prodigal son, He has to pardon us. He has to console us in our trials. He has to sustain us in the way a father like this must."
St. Elizabeth of the Trinity conveys to a friend the consolation that she finds in knowing that the judge of the living and the dead is the savior who always dwells within her and within each one of us, loving and forgiving.
Lord, nothing here below can comfort me, neither creation, nor Heaven, nor earth, nor men, nor angels, nothing can give me the joy, the peace that I have lost in losing you, my God.
I am praying fervently for you, for I feel that the Master loves you so much, and I ask Him to take you, to draw you more and more to Himself so that through everything you will enjoy His presence.
This is a matter, Sisters, that we should reflect upon very much
A heart incapable of forgiving is impenetrable even for God.
May this new way of life give us peace based not on terror, but on mutual trust
A heart incapable of forgiving is impenetrable—even for God.
Indeed, Jesus could have put other virtues first... He said only, "forgive us because we forgive."
!["I took for my advocate and lord the glorious St. Joseph and earnestly recommended myself to him. [...] I don’t recall up to this day ever having petitioned him for anything that he failed to grant."](https://scontent-dfw5-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t39.30808-6/336879821_1374507696727108_3000064146961560788_n.jpg?_nc_cat=102&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=8ae9d6&_nc_ohc=GeKBPoaKfMcAX9h0wg5&_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-1.cdninstagram.com&edm=ANo9K5cEAAAA&oh=00_AfAcLb9BeLfzYJ7Lx7y3p7CUeWbXYuQwcKCz_isfJSl3zQ&oe=64238CFB)
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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
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