As St. Thérèse concludes her retreat to prepare to be clothed in the Carmelite habit, her sister Pauline writes to encourage her: "the Beloved runs over the hills; He is coming; He is here; only two days more!"
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St. Thérèse Anniversary: Triduum Day 3
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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St. Thérèse Anniversary: Triduum Day 2
To prepare for the Theresian Anniversary Year, we offer three reflections based on the writings of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. The Day 2 reflection focuses on the theme of mercy.
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St. Thérèse Anniversary: Triduum Day 1
To prepare for the Theresian Anniversary Year, we offer three reflections based on the writings of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. The Day 1 reflection focuses on the symbolism of flowers.
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Quote of the day, 28 December: St. Teresa of the Andes
St. Teresa of the Andes had an emergency appendectomy on 28 December 1914. Here, she tells us about her mixed emotions and her preparation for death during the risky procedure.
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Quote of the day, 23 December: Jessica Powers
Carmelite poet Jessica Powers writes, "O Wisdom, Adonai, Root of Jesse / and sign by which the mouths of kings are dumb, / O Key, O Orient, King and Cornerstone, / O our Emmanuel, come..."
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Quote of the day, 14 December: St. John of the Cross
St. John of the Cross describes with exquisite beauty the goal of every Christian: “the soul's aim is a love equal to God's. [...] In the strong union of glory,” he adds, “her love will be God's love.”
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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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Quote of the day, 11 December: St. John of the Cross
In his letter to a Carmelite nun from Segovia, St John of the Cross encourages her to “pass the time in the virtues of mortification and patience,” reminding her that “this life is not good if it is not an imitation” of Christ’s life.
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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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Advent III — Splendor of Carmel
Well known Carmelite poet Jessica Powers explains how the image of Our Lady as a “ little light cloud rising / From Orient waters cleft by prophecy” inspires this prayer: “Cloud, encompass God and me.”
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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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Quote of the day, 7 December: Silvio José Báez, o.c.d.
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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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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