Carmelite wisdom to encourage & inspire
“Isn’t it fascinating, this promise of Jesus, the gift of living water, which he offers us?” Bishop Silvio Báez writes, “We are great only when we are rooted in God; we are strong only when we are sustained by his love.”
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When Jesus went to his hometown the people were amazed: “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son?” St. Thérèse says Joseph was amazed and humbled: “Must Jesus become a poor workman like me?”
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We recall the death of Blessed Josefa Naval Girbés, better known as Señora Pepa, on 24 September 1893. Her ideal was the sanctification of her soul, and her motto was "souls for God." Here are some of her famous sayings.
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In life and death Pope Benedict XVI was a disciple of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, whose birthday 150 years ago we celebrate today. Father Quang D. Tran, SJ reflects on the influence of Benedict and Thérèse.
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To prepare for the Theresian Anniversary Year, we offer three reflections based on the writings of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. The Day 3 reflection focuses on the theme of humility.
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In her unpublished notebooks, St. Mary of Jesus Crucified sings her praise to the Holy Family; “Glory and love to Jesus, to Mary, to Saint Joseph.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. Mary of Jesus Crucified never forgot her intimate relationship with the Blessed Virgin; in this prayer, she reminds Our Lady of their special bond.
For Saint Teresa, Jesus is the foundation and model of humility in the spiritual life. Humility plays an important role in our interior growth in holiness, and in truthful relationships with God and others.
One of St. Teresa's benchmark passages about humility, worthy of memorization, she describes the equivalence between humility and love: "I cannot understand how there could be humility without love or love without humility."
Blessed Maria Sagrario of St. Aloysius Gonzaga was a Discalced Carmelite martyr of the Spanish Civil war, who was executed on 15 August 1936. In her writings, we find this passage: "Blessed be he who arranges everything for our good! In possessing him, we possess everything."
Practical and prudent St. Teresa reminds us of the example of the sons of Zebedee, James and John, whose mother asked Jesus to declare that her sons should sit at his side in the kingdom. The Gospel tells us, "But Jesus answered, 'You do not know what you are asking'." St. Teresa reminds her Sisters of this many times in her writings, as she reminds us all in today's quote from the Interior Castle: we may think we are prepared to face trials in our spiritual life, but God knows what is best for us. "There's no need for us to be advising Him about what He should give us, for He can rightly tell us that we don't know what we're asking for."
St. Teresa of Avila is overflowing with love and praise as she begins her commentary on the Lord's prayer. "O my Lord, how You do show Yourself to be the Father of such a Son; and how Your Son does show Himself to be the Son of such a Father! May You be blessed forever and ever!"
St. Teresa of Avila counsels her daughters not to worry whether they are doing household chores or practicing mental prayer: "True humility consists very much in great readiness to be content with whatever the Lord may want to do with them and in always finding oneself unworthy to be called His servant."
What gives God joy? St. John of the Cross explains that he rejoices to find "the humility and the nakedness of our heart and in our contempt of worldly things for love of him." Not with sour faces, but with the joy that it gives him.
In her autobiography, St. Teresa of Avila writes about "the good that one who practices prayer possesses... I mean mental prayer—glory be to God for this good! If it were not for this good, even though I have little humility, I should not be so proud as to dare speak about mental prayer."
St. Edith Stein examines woman's sins and defects of character that are as old as the fall of Adam and Eve.
In the translated works of St. Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi, we find this meditation on our Lord's resurrection: "Thou didst wish to appear to Mary first because she had conceived Thee..."
"I would desire all fears so as not to offend for an instant Him who in an instant can annihilate us, because it pleases His Majesty that there be no one against us whom He will not put to flight."
St. Teresa begins her commentary on the Song of Songs by mentioning a homily from one Holy Thursday: "I recall hearing a priest who was a religious preach a very admirable sermon, most of which was an explanation of those loving delights with which the bride communed with God... He was speaking about love since the sermon was on Maundy Thursday when one shouldn't be speaking of anything else..."
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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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