Carmelite wisdom to encourage & inspire
Teresian scholar Father Kieran Kavanaugh, o.c.d. states that St. Teresa didn’t believe that in order to pray “it was sufficient to follow the rubrics and pronounce” the [Latin] words. Thus, she taught her nuns to be aware of the One to whom they were speaking.
"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."
The Servant of God Herman Cohen was the first to lead a pilgrimage to Lourdes on 20 September 1858. Hundreds of people joined him in front of the grotto, although it was still blocked off by barricades and the civil authorities forbade close access to the site. He made quite an impression on St. Bernadette.
On this feast day of St. Albert of Jerusalem, we recall that he gave the Rule of Life to Carmelite hermits who lived "near the spring on Mount Carmel." He urged them to clothe themselves with God's armor and to prepare for "the enemy's ambush". The enemy came in human form when the Mamluks who conquered the Crusader stronghold at Acre moved south unchallenged and massacred the hermits on Carmel.
In her 1939 poem "The Valley of the Cat-tails" Jessica Powers writes: “My valley is a woman unconsoled. Her bluffs are amethyst, the tinge of grief; her tamarack swamps are sad. There is no dark tale that she was not told; there is no sorrow that she has not had.”
Here St. Teresa explains her image of the well-watered garden, irrigated by "the water flowing from a river or spring." She compares the soul's joy to the woman who called her neighbors when she found her lost coin, one of the parables in our Gospel for Sunday, 11 September.
On the morning of the second day of his retreat in Pontoise, Père Jacques stresses this point: “we must truly see Christ.” He continues that our knowledge of the Lord must be vital, not verbal: “we must strive to love Christ passionately and prepare to see him face to face, when we die.”
Père Jacques de Jésus began his preached retreat for the Discalced Carmelite nuns at the Carmel of Pontoise on this date in 1943. He reminded the nuns, “Prayer is the reason why God has placed us on earth.”
Bishop Silvio José Báez, o.c.d. reflects on the Jesus' admonition that we must carry our own cross and follow him to be his disciple. The bishop says that "when Jesus speaks of the cross, he isn't simply talking about suffering. The cross is synonymous with extreme love, like that of Jesus."
Even at the tender age of 15, St. Teresa of the Andes comprehended the importance of taking up the cross and following Jesus. But He called her to "take up the cross with love and joy."
St. Teresa Margaret made a private retreat in February 1768, only eight months after she experienced the contemplative intuition of the mystery of divine love. We share her principal resolution from the retreat; does it remind you of other Carmelite saints or authors?
Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity, always a spiritual director to her own mother, offers this word of wisdom in a letter written on this date in 1906: “The Master called the hour of his Passion ‘His hour’... When faced with great suffering or a tiny sacrifice, oh, let’s think right away that ‘this is our hour’...” Elizabeth faced great suffering in that moment of her life; was she encouraging herself, too?
Monsignor Joseph de Beaufort was the first biographer of Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection. In 1692 he published a Eulogy testifying to the virtues of the humble Carmelite. One example: "He had singular affection for the Blessed Virgin Mary and was especially devoted to her..."
Bishop Silvio José Báez, who is himself a Discalced Carmelite, describes the essential aspects of St. Teresa's encounter with the angel and his fiery dart: "God introduced her to the New Covenant."
On this day, 24 August 1562 St. Teresa established the first monastery of the Carmelite reform, St. Joseph's in Avila. As Father Peter-Thomas Rohrbach notes, she has "the unique distinction of being the only woman in the history of the Church ever to reform an order of men."
St. Elizabeth of the Trinity writes a letter to her younger sister Guite, which has become of the masterpieces of her correspondence. Writing on the Solemnity of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in the months before her death, St. Elizabeth describes how deep is her love for the Queen of Heaven, her Mother.
Bishop Silvio José Báez, o.c.d. reflects on Jesus's teaching about entering through the "narrow door". The Bishop reminds us that "it's necessary to make a daily effort to go through "the narrow door", which is nothing other than to shape our lives and orient our hearts to love with a love like that of the Father in Heaven."
In his retreat for the Carmel of Pontoise in 1943, the Servant of God Père Jacques de Jésus, OCD offered a meditation on The Divine Preparation in Mary and in Us. His essential point was this: "Divine preparations are always and above all spiritual rather than material."
Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity writes for the last time to Père Gonsalve Vallée, her Dominican spiritual father, that “next year I will celebrate your feast with St Dominic in 'the inheritance of the saints in light'.” This letter is a testament to his spiritual guidance over the course of six years.
Ask the Virgin Mary to be your guide – to be your star, the lantern that shines for you amid the darkness of your life. #StTeresaoftheAndesTweet
![Teresian scholar Father Kieran Kavanaugh, OCD states that St. Teresa didn’t believe that in order to pray “it was sufficient to follow the rubrics and pronounce” the [Latin] words. Thus, she taught her nuns to be aware of the One to whom they were speaking. Visit our blog to learn more:](https://scontent-iad3-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.2885-15/308954217_682184336115139_7294918452435920926_n.jpg?_nc_cat=108&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=8ae9d6&_nc_ohc=zkuEGy0cTf8AX8FrJtd&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-1.cdninstagram.com&edm=ANo9K5cEAAAA&oh=00_AT98bhF7pkUtywUDgiajZu_j4M0s9lhqy94GTl9D9UB8bw&oe=633AD37A)
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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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