Born about 1305 in southern Perigord in France, Peter Thomas entered the Carmelites when he was twenty-one. He was chosen by the Order as its procurator general to the Papal Court at Avignon in 1345. After being made bishop of Patti and Lipari in 1354, he was entrusted with many papal missions to promote peace and unity with the Eastern Churches. He was translated to the see of Corone in the Peloponnesus in 1359 and made Papal Legate for the East. In 1363, he was appointed Archbishop of Crete and in 1364 Latin Patriarch of Constantinople. He won a reputation as an apostle of church unity before he died at Famagosta on Cyprus in 1366.
From the Common of Pastors
Office of Readings
The First Reading
A reading from the First Letter of St. Paul to Timothy
1 Timothy 1:1-7, 15-19, 2:1-8
The calling of a pastor
From Paul, apostle of Christ Jesus appointed by the command of God our savior and of Christ Jesus our hope, to Timothy, true child of mine in the faith; wishing you grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Christ Jesus our Lord.
As I asked you when I was leaving for Macedonia, please stay at Ephesus, to insist that certain people stop teaching strange doctrines and taking notice of myths and endless genealogies; these things are only likely to raise irrelevant doubts instead of furthering the design of God which are revealed in faith. The only purpose of this instruction is that there should be love, coming out of a pure heart, a clear conscience and a sincere faith. There are some people who have gone off the straight course and taken a road that leads to empty speculation; they claim to be doctors of the Law, but they understand neither the arguments they are using nor the opinions they are upholding.
Here is a saying that you can rely on and nobody should doubt: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. I myself am the greatest of them; and if mercy has been shown to me, it is because Jesus Christ meant to make me the greatest evidence of his inexhaustible patience for all the other people who would later have to trust in him to come to eternal life. To the eternal King, the undying, invisible and only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Timothy, my son, these are the instructions that I am giving you: I ask you to remember the words once spoken over you by the prophets, and taking them to heart to fight like a good soldier with faith and a good conscience for your weapons. Some people have put conscience aside and wrecked their faith in consequence.
My advice is that, first of all, there should be prayers offered for everyone — petitions, intercessions and thanksgiving — and especially for kings and others in authority, so that we may be able to live religious and reverent lives in peace and quiet. To do this is right, and will please God our Savior: he wants everyone to be saved and reach full knowledge of the truth. For there is only one God, and there is only one mediator between God and mankind, himself a man, Christ Jesus, who sacrificed himself as a ransom for them all. He is the evidence of this, sent at the appointed time, and I have been named a herald and apostle of it and — I am telling the truth and no lie — a teacher of the faith and the truth to the pagans.
In every place, then, I want the men to lift their hands up reverently in prayer, with no anger or argument.
Responsory
R/. Bear with one another in love; do all that you can to preserve the unity of the Spirit by the peace that binds you together; there is one body and one Spirit, * —just as you were all called into one and the same hope when you were called. V/. A servant of the Lord is to aim for holiness and faith, love, and peace, in union with all those who call on the Lord with pure minds; * — just as you were all called into one and the same hope when you were called.
The Second Reading
A reading from The Book of the Institution of the First Monks
Bk I, Ch 6
Love your neighbor as yourself
The Lord says, “The man who hears My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me.” And the first of all commandments is: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. This is the greatest and first commandment.” This cannot be observed without love of neighbor, because “he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen;” “and the second commandment is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” namely, in the things and for the reason that you love yourself. “His soul hates him who loves violence,” says the Psalmist. Therefore, love your neighbor as yourself in good and not in evil, and “whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them” and “what you hate, do not do to anyone.” Thus, you must love your neighbor, and so act that he becomes just if he is wicked, or remains just if he is good.
Again you must love yourself, not because of yourself, but because of God. Whatever is loved because of itself is thus made a source of joy and a happy life, the hope of attaining which is comforting even on earth. But you must not place the hope of a blessed life in yourself or another man. “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his arm, whose heart turns away from the Lord.” Therefore, you must make the Lord the source of your joy and the happy life, as the apostle says: “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the return you get is sanctification and its end, eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
If you understand this clearly, you must love God because of Himself, and yourself, not because of yourself, but because of God; and, since you must love your neighbor as yourself, you must love him, not because of himself, nor because of yourself, but because of God, and what else is this but to love God in your neighbor? “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey His commandment.” In the preparation of your soul you do all of this if you love God because of Himself and your neighbor as yourself because of God. “On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.”
Responsory
R/. With all our hearts we desired nothing better than to share with you our own lives, as well as God’s gospel, * — so greatly had we learned to love you. V/. My little children, I am in travail over you afresh, until I can see Christ’s image formed in you, * — so greatly had we learned to love you.
Prayer
Lord, You inspired in Your bishop St. Peter Thomas an intense desire to promote peace and Christian unity. Following His example may we live steadfast in the faith and work perseveringly for peace.
We ask this through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Canticle of Zechariah
I am the good shepherd; I lay down my life for my sheep; and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.
Canticle of Mary
May the peace of Christ fill your hearts with joy, that peace to which all of you are called as one body.
Saint Peter Thomas Francisco de Zurbarán (Spanish, 1598–1664) Oil on canvas, after 1634 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Tú me apareces, Virgen, en lo alto del Calvario,
de pie junto a la Cruz, cual preste ante el altar,
ofreciendo a Jesús, tu Hijo, el Emmanuel,
a fin de la justicia de su Padre aplacar…
Un profeta dijo, ¡oh, Madre desolada ! :
« ¡No hay dolor que se pueda al tuyo comparar ! »
¡Oh, Reina de los mártires !, ¡desterrada prodigas
por nosotros tu sangre, corazón maternal !
Mary, at the top of Calvary standing beside the Cross
To me you seem like a priest at the altar,
Offering your beloved Jesus, the sweet Emmanuel,
To appease the Father’s justice…
A prophet said, O afflicted Mother,
“There is no sorrow like your sorrow!”
O Queen of Martyrs, while remaining in exile
You lavish on us all the blood of your heart!
Jesús, no puedo ir más allá en mi petición, temería verme aplastada bajo el peso de mis audaces deseos…
La excusa que tengo es que soy una niña, y los niños no piensan en el alcance de sus palabras. Sin embargo sus padres, cuando ocupan un trono y poseen inmensos tesoros, no dudan en satisfacer los deseos de esos pequeñajos a los que aman tanto como a sí mismos; por complacerles, hacen locuras y hasta se vuelven débiles…
Pues bien, yo soy la HIJA de la Iglesia, y la Iglesia es Reina, pues es tu Esposa, oh, divino Rey de reyes…
No son riquezas ni gloria (ni siquiera la gloria del cielo) lo que pide el corazón del niñito… El entiende muy bien que la gloria pertenece a sus hermanos, los ángeles y los santos… La suya será un reflejo de la que irradia de la frente de su madre.
Lo que él pide es el amor… No sabe más que una cosa: amarte, Jesús…
Las obras deslumbrantes le están vedadas: no puede predicar el Evangelio, ni derramar su sangre… Pero ¿qué importa?, sus hermanos trabajan en su lugar, y él, como un niño pequeño, se queda muy cerquita del trono del Rey y de la Reina y ama por sus hermanos que luchan…
¿Pero cómo podrá demostrar él su amor, si es que el amor se demuestra con obras? Pues bien, el niñito arrojará flores, aromará con sus perfumes el trono real, cantará con su voz argentina el cántico del amor…
Jesus, I cannot fathom the depths of my request; I would be afraid to find myself overwhelmed under the weight of my bold desires.
My excuse is that I am a child, and children do not reflect on the meaning of their words; however, their parents, once they are placed upon a throne and possess immense treasures, do not hesitate to satisfy the desires of the little ones whom they love as much as they love themselves. To please them they do foolish things, even going to the extent of becoming weak for them.
Well, I am the Child of the Church and the Church is a Queen since she is Your Spouse, O divine King of kings.
The heart of a child does not seek riches and glory (even the glory of heaven). She understands that this glory belongs by right to her brothers, the angels and saints. Her own glory will be the reflected glory which shines on her Mother’s forehead.
What this child asks for is Love. She knows only one thing: to love You, O Jesus.
Astounding works are forbidden to her; she cannot preach the Gospel, shed her blood; but what does it matter since her brothers work in her stead and she, a little child, stays very close to the throne of the King and Queen. She loves in her brothers’ place while they do the fighting.
But how will she prove her love since love is proved by works? Well, the little child will strew flowers, she will perfume the royal throne with their sweet scents, and she will sing in her silvery tones the canticle of Love.
Mi Amado, las montañas,
los valles solitarios nemorosos,
las ínsulas extrañas,
los ríos sonorosos,
el silbo de los aires amorosos,
la noche sosegada
en par de los levantes del aurora,
la música callada,
la soledad sonora,
la cena que recrea y enamora.
San Juan de la Cruz
Cántico Espiritual (Redacción B)
Canciónes entre el alma y el esposo
Canciónes 14-15
St. John of the Cross, enlightened by the Holy Spirit | Credit: Discalced Carmelites
My Beloved, the mountains,
and lonely wooded valleys,
strange islands,
and resounding rivers,
the whistling of love-stirring breezes,
the tranquil night
at the time of the rising dawn,
silent music,
sounding solitude,
the supper that refreshes and deepens love.
Saint John of the Cross
The Spiritual Canticle (Redaction B)
Songs between the soul and the Bridegroom
Stanzas 14-15
John of the Cross, St. 1991, The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross, Revised Edition, translated from the Spanish by Kavanaugh, K and Rodriguez, O with revisions and introductions by Kavanaugh, K, ICS Publications, Washington DC.
Mi alma exiliada a la tierra
Aspira a la felicidad eterna
Nada la satisfaría
que ver a su Dios en el cielo.
Pero antes de verlo sin sombra
Quiero luchar por Jesús…
para ganar almas sin número
¡Quiero amarlo más y más!…
Mi vida pasará como un día
Pronto sin vela, sin nube
Veré a Jesús, mi amor
Por allí… En la orilla celestial
¡Me besará para siempre!
Pasaron por ti en los días de la victoria…
Y el honor
Ya tus enemigos quieren ocultar tu gloria
En su furia
Pronto te tomarán, te harán prisionero…
Una mazmorra negra
Se convertirá en tu refugio, te quedarás sin luz…
Pero cada noche
Bajando a ti, Juana, dulce martirio…
Nosotros que te amamos
Para encantarte, al sonido de nuestra lira
Cantaremos.
Pobre niña, no tengas miedo, te consolarás.
En tu desgracia
Te prometemos que te entregaremos…
Por el Señor!….
Thérèse de l’Enfant Jésus, 1895 | Credit: Discalced Carmelites
My soul in earthly exile
Aspires to eternal happiness.
Nothing can satisfy it
But to see its God in Heaven.
But before seeing Him clearly,
I want to fight for Jesus…
To win Him countless souls.
I want to love Him more and more! …
My life will pass like a single day
And soon without veil or cloud
I will see Jesus, my love. There….
On that Heavenly shore,
He will embrace me forever!!!
They have passed for you, the days of victory
And honor.
Already your enemies seek to hide your glory
In their rage.
Soon they will take you and make you a prisoner.
A dark dungeon
Will become your shelter, you will be without light.
But every evening
Descending to you, Joan, sweet martyr,
We who love you
Will sing to the tune of our lyre
To delight you.
Do not fear, poor child, you will be consoled
In your sorrow.
We promise you, you will be delivered
By the Lord!….
¡Bienaventurada alma que la trae el Señor a entender verdades! ¡Oh, qué estado éste para los reyes! ¡Cómo les valdría mucho más procurarle, que no gran señorío! ¡Qué rectitud habría en el reino! ¡Qué de males se excusarían y habrían excusado! Aquí no se teme perder vida ni honra por amor de Dios. ¡Qué gran bien éste para quien está más obligado a mirar la honra del Señor, que todos los que son menos, pues han de ser los reyes a quien sigan!
Por un punto de aumento en la fe y de haber dado luz en algo a los herejes, perdería mil reinos, y con razón. Otro ganar es. Un reino que no se acaba. Que con sola una gota que gusta un alma de esta agua de él, parece asco todo lo de acá. Pues cuando fuere estar engolfada en todo ¿qué será?
Santa Teresa de Jesús Libro de la Vida: Capítulo 21
Santa Teresa de Jesús por Gerardo Lopez Bonilla / Fuente: Carmelitas Descalzos
Blessed is the soul the Lord brings to the understanding of truth! Oh, how fit a state this is for kings! How much more worthwhile it would be for them to strive for this stage of prayer rather than for great dominion! What righteousness there would be in the kingdom! What evils they would avoid and have avoided! In this stage one does not fear to lose one’s life or honor for the love of God! What a great blessing this is for anyone who has a greater obligation to look after the honor of God than do all those who are subordinate, since these latter must follow their kings!
For one fraction of an increase in faith and for having given some light to the heretics such a king would be willing to lose a thousand kingdoms — and rightly so; for the gain would be far greater: a kingdom without an end, which when the soul tastes only one drop of its water, makes everything here below seem repulsive. How much more if the soul be immersed in this water?
Saint Teresa of Avila The Book of Her Life: Chapter 21
Kieran Kavanaugh, K, Rodriguez, O, and Teresa 1976, The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, Vol. 1ICS Publications, Washington DC.
The work of salvation takes place in obscurity and stillness. In the heart’s quiet dialogue with God the living building blocks out of which the kingdom of God grows are prepared, the chosen instruments for the construction forged. The mystical stream that flows through all centuries is no spurious tributary that has strayed from the prayer life of the Church—it is its deepest life.
When this mystical stream breaks through traditional forms, it does so because the Spirit that blows where it will is living in it, this Spirit that has created all traditional forms and must ever create new ones. Without him, there would be no liturgy and no Church. Was not the soul of the royal psalmist a harp whose strings resounded under the gentle breath of the Holy Spirit?
From the overflowing heart of the Virgin Mary blessed by God streamed the exultant hymn of the Magnificat. When the angel’s mysterious word became visible reality, the prophetic Benedictus hymn unsealed the lips of the old priest Zechariah, who had been struck dumb.
Whatever arose from spirit-filled hearts found expression in words and melodies and continues to be communicated from mouth to mouth. The “Divine Office” is to see that it continues to resound from generation to generation. So the mystical stream forms the many-voiced, continually swelling hymn of praise to the triune God, the Creator, the Redeemer, and the Perfecter.
Therefore, it is not a question of placing the inner prayer free of all traditional forms as “subjective” piety in contrast to the liturgy as the “objective” prayer of the Church. All authentic prayer is prayer of the Church.
Si hablamos de la sobrenatural, según se puede en esta vida, de potencia ordinaria no tiene el entendimiento disposición ni capacidad en la cárcel del cuerpo para recibir noticia clara de Dios, porque esa noticia no es de este estado, porque, o ha de morir, o no la ha de recibir.
Y ésta es la causa por que Moisés en la zarza, como se dice en los Actos de los Apóstoles (7,32), no se atrevió a considerar, estando Dios presente; porque conocía que no había de poder considerar su entendimiento de Dios como convenía, conforme a lo que de Dios sentía.
San Juan de la Cruz Subida del Monte Carmelo: Libro 2 Capítulo 8
17th c. Spanish, Carmel of Brescia | Credit: Discalced Carmelites
If we speak of supernatural knowing, insofar as one can in this life, we must say that the intellect of its ordinary power, while in the prison of this body, is neither capable of nor prepared for the reception of the clear knowledge of God. Such knowledge does not belong to our earthly state; either one must die or go without this knowledge.
This is why Moses, as affirmed in the Acts of the Apostles (7:32), did not dare to look at the bush while God was present. He knew that his intellect was powerless to consider God in an appropriate way, a way that conformed to what he felt about him.
Saint John of the Cross The Ascent of Mount Carmel: Book Two, Chapter 8
John of the Cross, St. 1991, The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross, Revised Edition, translated from the Spanish by Kavanaugh, K and Rodriguez, O with revisions and introductions by Kavanaugh, K, ICS Publications, Washington DC.
La sabiduría entra por el amor, silencio y mortificación. Grande sabiduría es saber callar y no mirar dichos ni hechos ni vidas ajenas.
San Juan de la Cruz Puntos de amor, reunidos en Beas, No. 29
17th c. Spanish, Carmel of Brescia | Credit: Discalced Carmelites
Wisdom enters through love, silence, and mortification. It is great wisdom to know how to be silent and to look at neither the remarks, nor the deeds, nor the lives of others.
Saint John of the Cross Sayings of Light and Love, No. 109
December 14 SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS Our Father, Priest, and Doctor of the Church
Solemnity
When December 14 falls on a Sunday, the solemnity is transferred to the following day.
John was born at Fontiveros in Spain about 1542. He entered the Carmelites and with the permission of his superiors began to live a stricter life. Afterward, he was persuaded by Saint Teresa to begin, together with some others, the Discalced reform within the Order; this cost him much hard work and many trials. He died in Ubeda in 1591, outstanding in holiness and wisdom, to which his many spiritual writings give eloquent witness.
Evening Prayer I
Hymn
Soldier of the King eternal,
Valiant warrior, hail to thee!
Column raised to heights supernal
In unshaken majesty.
We revere thy glorious merits
And the tide of homage wells
From the fountain of our spirits,
Heav’nward rising as it swells.
Thou hast felt the strong protection
Of the Virgin Mother’s power,
Saving thee with sweet election
In the dread and dangerous hour.
Since thy youth she never swerveth
In her watchful care of thee,
And forever she preserveth
Him who vowed her slave to be.
Chosen offspring of our Mother,
In her labors thou didst share,
Aiding her, as son and brother,
Carmel’s beauty to repair;
Ruined shrine and temple raising
From the dust of slow decay,
Mary’s honor meetly praising,
In the dawn of fairer day.
Lo, the Cross thy weapon glorious,
As on Calvary’s height of yore,
When our Jesus reigned victorious,
Fallen nature to restore;
So thy burning love retrieveth
Glory of an ancient race,
And by suffering achieveth
Marvels of renewing grace.
Praise unto thy God be given
For the grace, O John, conferred,
When with chalice raised to Heaven,
Thine entreating prayer was heard:
In that first rapt celebration
Of the sacrifice divine,
Pledge of thine assured salvation
He hath deigned in love to sign.
87.87.D. Regis aeterni generose miles
Psalmody
Ant. 1He opened his mouth in prayer, and the Lord filled him with the spirit of understanding.
Psalm 113
Praise, O servants of the Lord, *
praise the name of the Lord!
May the name of the Lord be blessed *
both now and forevermore.
From the rising of the sun to its setting *
praised be the name of the Lord!
High above all nations is the Lord, *
above the heavens his glory.
Who is like the Lord, our God, *
who has risen on high to his throne
yet stoops from the heights to look down, *
to look down upon heaven and earth?
From the dust he lifts up the lowly, *
from his misery he raises the poor
to set him in the company of princes, *
yes, with the princes of his people.
To the childless wife he gives a home *
and gladdens her heart with children.
Ant. He opened his mouth in prayer, and the Lord filled him with the spirit of understanding.
Ant. 2 The Lord gave him treasures out of the darkness, and riches that had been hidden away.
Psalm 146
My soul, give praise to the Lord; +
I will praise the Lord all my days, *
make music to my God while I live.
Put no trust in princes *
in mortal men in whom there is no help.
Take their breath, they return to clay *
and their plans that day come to nothing.
He is happy who is helped by Jacob’s God, *
whose hope is in the Lord his God,
who alone made heaven and earth, *
the seas and all they contain.
It is he who keeps faith forever, *
who is just to those who are oppressed.
It is he who gives bread to the hungry, *
the Lord, who sets prisoners free,
the Lord who gives sight to the blind, *
who raises up those who are bowed down,
the Lord, who protects the stranger *
and upholds the widow and orphan.
It is the Lord who loves the just *
but thwarts the path of the wicked.
The Lord will reign forever, *
Zion’s God, from age to age.
Ant.The Lord gave him treasures out of the darkness, and riches that had been hidden away.
Ant. 3 No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has conceived all that God has prepared for those who love him.
Canticle: Rev 4:11; 5:9, 10, 12
O Lord our God, you are worthy *
to receive glory and honor and power.
For you have created all things; *
by your will they came to be and were made.
Worthy are you, O Lord, *
to receive the scroll and break open its seals.
For you were slain; *
with your blood you purchased for God
men of every race and tongue, *
of every people and nation.
You made of them a kingdom +
and priests to serve our God, *
and they shall reign on the earth.
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, *
to receive power and riches,
wisdom and strength, *
honor and glory and praise.
Ant.No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has conceived all that God has prepared for those who love him.
Reading
Ephesians 3:14-19
I, Paul, kneel before the Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name; and I pray that he will bestow on you gifts in keeping with the riches of his glory. May he strengthen you inwardly through the working of his Spirit. May Christ dwell in your hearts through faith, and may charity be the root and foundation of your life. Thus you will be able to grasp fully, with all the holy ones, the breadth and length and height and depth of Christ’s love, and experience this love which surpasses all knowledge, so that you may attain to the fullness of God himself.
Responsory
The God who brought light out of darkness has shone in our hearts. —The God who brought light out of darkness has shone in our hearts.
To give the light of knowledge of God’s glory that appears in the face of Christ. —He has shone in our hearts.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit —The God who brought light out of darkness has shone in our hearts.
Canticle of Mary
Ant. I sought wisdom in my prayer; I found it abundantly within myself, and advanced greatly in it.
Intercessions
Christ our Redeemer inspired our Father Saint John of the Cross to follow him, and raised him to the heights of contemplation. Let us praise our Lord, and say:
R/.Glory to you forever!
Christ our God, you taught your servant John the science of the Cross; —kindle the fire of your love in those to whom you have entrusted the teaching and government of your Church.
Christ, unfailing light, you reveal yourself in the night of faith to the poor in spirit; —let your face shine on all those who seek you in poverty amid the darkness of this world.
Christ, our only teacher, you disclose your highest secrets to those who love and seek you; —grant the consummation of your love to those you have called to serve you in Carmel.
Christ, triumphant in heaven in the midst of all your saints, —grant everlasting rest and peace in your glory to all our departed brothers and sisters.
Our Father…
Prayer
Lord,
you endowed our Father Saint John of the Cross
with a spirit of self-denial and a love of the cross.
By following his example
may we come to the eternal vision of your glory.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Invitatory
Ant. Come, let us worship Christ Jesus, sole Word of the Father.
Invitatory psalm, as in the Ordinary
Office of Readings
Hymn
O John, rejoice this hallowed day
The triumph of the Cross to hail,
Whereon with Christ ‘twas thine to stay,
Transfixed with pang of spear and nail!
Nor insults, scorn, nor cruel scourge,
Bondage, nor hunger can restrain
The love thy panting soul doth urge
To taste the bitter draught of pain.
Thine only joy, thy sole reward,
The boon for which thy spirit sighed,
To mirror here thy suffering Lord,
Like Him in anguish crucified.
While thou dost search the mystic night,
Through darkness gleams a radiant star,
And Carmel’s camp is all alight,
With flame that leads to heights afar.
Let them that dwell in bliss above
Praise Thee, O Christ, with joyful lay,
Let them that run to Thee in love
Pursue, like John, the thorn-strewn way.
L.M. Diem Ioammes advehit
Psalmody
Ant. 1 God chose us to be conformed to the image of his Son.
Psalm 16
Preserve me, God, I take refuge in you. +
I say to the Lord: “You are my God. *
My happiness lies in you alone.”
He has put into my heart a marvelous love +
for the faithful ones who dwell in his land. *
Those who choose other gods increase their sorrows.
Never will I offer their offerings of blood. *
Never will I take their name upon my lips.
O Lord, it is you who are my portion and cup; *
it is you yourself who are my prize.
The lot marked out for me is my delight: *
welcome indeed the heritage that falls to me!
I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel, *
who even at night directs my heart.
I keep the Lord ever in my sight: *
since he is at my right hand, I shall stand firm.
And so my heart rejoices, my soul is glad; *
even my body shall rest in safety.
For you will not leave my soul among the dead, *
nor let your beloved know decay.
You will show me the path of life, +
the fullness of joy in your presence, *
at your right hand happiness forever.
Ant. God chose us to be conformed to the image of his Son.
Ant. 2 Among you I claimed to know nothing save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
Psalm 34: I
I will bless the Lord at all times,
his praise always on my lips;
in the Lord my soul shall make its boast. *
The humble shall hear and be glad.
Glorify the Lord with me. *
Together let us praise his name.
I sought the Lord and he answered me; *
from all my terrors he set me free.
Look towards him and be radiant; *
let your faces not be abashed.
This poor man called; the Lord heard him *
and rescued him from all his distress.
The angel of the Lord is encamped *
around those who revere him, to rescue them.
Taste and see that the Lord is good. *
He is happy who seeks refuge in him.
Revere the Lord, you his saints. *
They lack nothing, those who revere him.
Strong lions suffer want and go hungry *
but those who seek the Lord lack no blessing.
Ant. Among you I claimed to know nothing save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
Ant. 3 For me, to live is Christ, to die is gain.
Psalm 34: II
Come, children, and hear me *
that I may teach you the fear of the Lord.
Who is he who longs for life *
and many days to enjoy his prosperity?
Then keep your tongue from evil *
and your lips from speaking deceit.
Turn aside from evil and do good, *
seek and strive after peace.
The Lord turns his face against the wicked *
to destroy their remembrance from the earth.
The Lord turns his eyes to the just *
and his ears to their appeal.
They call and the Lord hears *
and rescues them in all their distress.
The Lord is close to the broken-hearted; *
those whose spirit is crushed he will save.
Many are the trials of the just man *
but from them all the Lord will rescue him.
He will keep guard over all his bones, *
not one of his bones shall be broken.
Evil brings death to the wicked, *
those who hate the good are doomed.
The Lord ransoms the souls of his servants. *
Those who hide in him shall not be condemned.
Ant.For me, to live is Christ, to die is gain. In you is the source of life. —In your light we see light itself.
First Reading
From the letter of the apostle Paul to the Colossians Colossians 1:11-29
God has transferred us to the Kingdom of his beloved Son
By the might of his glory you will be endowed with the strength needed to stand fast, even to endure joyfully whatever may come, giving thanks to the Father for having made you worthy to share the lot of the saints in light. He rescued us from the power of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of his beloved Son. Through him we have redemption, the forgiveness of our sins.
He is the image of the invisible God, the first born of all creatures. In him, everything in heaven and on earth was created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominations, principalities or powers; all were created through him and for him. He is before all else that is. In him everything continues in being. It is he who is head of the body, the church; he who is the beginning, the first-born of the dead, so that the primacy may be his in everything. It pleased God to make absolute fullness reside in him and, by means of him, to reconcile everything in his person, both on earth and in the heavens, making peace through the blood of his cross.
You yourselves were once alienated from him; you nourished hostility in your hearts because of your evil deeds. But now, Christ has achieved reconciliation for you in his mortal body by dying, so as to present you to God holy, free of reproach and blameless. But you must hold fast to faith, be firmly grounded and steadfast in it, unshaken in the hope promised you by the gospel you have heard. It is the gospel which has been announced to every creature under heaven, and I, Paul, am its servant.
Even now I find my joy in the suffering I endure for you. In my own flesh I fill up what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ for the sake of his body, the church. I became a minister of this church through the commission God gave me to preach among you his word in its fullness, that mystery hidden from ages and generations past but now revealed to his holy ones. God has willed to make known to them the glory beyond price which this mystery brings to the Gentiles—the mystery of Christ in you, your hope of glory. This is the Christ we proclaim while we admonish all men and teach them in the full measure of wisdom, hoping to make every man complete in Christ. For this I work and struggle, impelled by that energy of his which is so powerful a force within me.
Responsory
This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased;
—listen to him.
In many and varied ways God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us in his Son. —Listen to him.
The second reading and responsory may be taken from The Liturgy of the Hours or the following may be used:
Alternative Second Reading
From The Spiritual Canticle by Saint John of the Cross (Red. B, st. 1,4 — ed. Kavanaugh-Rodriguez 1979, pp. 434-45)
Traces of the divine beauty in creation
Created things in themselves, as Saint Augustine declares, give testimony to God’s grandeur and excellence. For God created all things with remarkable ease and brevity, and in them he left some trace of who he is, not only in giving all things being from nothing, but even by endowing them with innumerable graces and qualities, making them beautiful in a wonderful order and unfailing dependence on one another. All of this he did through his own wisdom, the Word, his only begotten Son by whom he created them.
Saint Paul says: The Son of God is the splendor of his glory and the image of his substance. It should be known that only with this figure, his Son, did God look at all things, that is he communicated to them their natural being and many natural graces and gifts, and made them complete and perfect, as is said in Genesis: God looked at all things that he made, and they were very good. To look and behold that they were very good was to make them very good in the Word, his Son.
Not only by looking at them did he communicate natural being and graces, as we said, but also with this image of his Son alone, he clothed them in beauty by imparting to them supernatural being. This he did when he became man and elevated human nature in the beauty of God and consequently all creatures, since in human nature he was united with them all.
Accordingly, the Son of God proclaimed: If I be lifted up from the earth, I will elevate all things to me. And in this elevation of all things through the incarnation of his Son and through the glory of his resurrection according to the flesh, the Father did not merely beautify creatures partially, but rather we can say, clothed them wholly in beauty and dignity.
Responsory
Prayer of a Soul Taken with Love
O God, you will not deprive me of what you have given me in Christ. —In him you have given me all things.
Mine are the heavens, mine is the earth,
mine are the peoples, the just and the sinners,
mine are the angels, and mine is the Mother of God —In him you have given me all things.
Where the Vigil Office is celebrated:
Canticles
Ant. Come, let us climb the mountain of the Lord, where God is pleased to dwell; there dwell his honor and glory alone.
Canticle I
Tobit 13:8-11,13-15
The future glory of Jerusalem
You have come to Mount Sion and the city of the living God (Heb 12:22)
Let all men speak of his majesty, *
and sing his praises in Jerusalem.
O Jerusalem, holy city, †
he scourged you for the works of your hands, *
but will again pity the children of the righteous.
Praise the Lord for his goodness, †
and bless the King of the ages, *
so that his tent may be rebuilt in you with joy.
May he gladden within you all who were captives; †
all who were ravaged may he cherish within you
for all generations to come.
A bright light will shine to all parts of the earth; *
many nations shall come to you from afar,
And the inhabitants of all the limits of the earth, †
drawn to you by the name of the Lord God, *
Bearing in their hands their gifts for the King of heaven.
Every generation shall give joyful praise in you, †
and shall call you the chosen one, *
through all ages forever.
Go, then, rejoice over the children of the righteous, †
who shall all be gathered together *
and shall bless the Lord of the ages.
Happy are those who love you, *
and happy those who rejoice in your prosperity.
Happy are all who shall grieve over you, *
over all your chastisements,
For they shall rejoice in you *
as they behold all your joy forever.
My spirit blesses the Lord, the great King.
Canticle II
Is 2:2-3
All the peoples will come to the house of the Lord
The kings of the earth will bring glory and honor to the holy city of Jerusalem (Rev 21:24)
It shall come to pass in the latter days *
that the mountain of the house of the Lord
shall be established as the highest of the mountains †
and shall be raised above the hills, *
and all the nations shall flow to it.
And many people shall come, and say: †
‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, *
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways *
and that we may walk in his paths.’
For out of Sion shall go forth the law, *
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
Canticle III
Jer 7:2b-7
Amend your ways and I will dwell among you
Go and be reconciled with your brother first, and then come and present your offering (Mt 5:24)
Hear the word of the Lord, †
all you men of Judah *
who enter these gates to worship the Lord.
Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, †
Amend your ways and your deeds, *
and I will let you dwell in this place.
Do not trust these deceptive words: †
‘This is the temple of the Lord, * The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord,’
For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, * If you truly execute justice one with another, If you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow. † Or shed innocent blood in this place, † In the land that I gave of old * To your fathers for ever.
Ant. Come, let us climb the mountain of the Lord, where God is pleased to dwell; there dwell his honor and glory alone.
Gospel Jn 12:35-36a, 44b-50
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John
Believe in the light and you will become sons of light
Jesus declared publicly:
“The light will be with you only a little longer now.
Walk while you have the light,
or the dark will overtake you;
he who walks in the dark does not know where he is going.
While you still have the light,
believe in the light
and you will become sons of light.”
“Whoever believes in me
believes not in me
but in the one who sent me,
and whoever sees me,
sees the one who sent me.
and whoever sees me,
sees the one who sent me.
I, the light, have come into the world,
so that whoever believes in me
need not stay in the dark anymore.
If anyone hears my words and does not keep them faithfully,
it is not I who shall condemn him,
since I have come not to condemn the world,
but to save the world:
he who rejects me and refuses my words
has his judge already:
the word itself that I have spoken
will be his judge on the last day.
For what I have spoken does not come from myself;
no, what I was to say, what I had to speak,
was commanded by the Father who sent me,
and I know that his commands mean eternal life.
And therefore what thee Father has told me
is what I speak.
Te Deum
You are God: we praise you; *
You are the Lord: we acclaim you;
You are the eternal Father: *
All creation worships you.
To you all angels, all the powers of heaven, *
Cherubim and Seraphim, sing in endless praise:
Holy, holy, holy, Lord, God of power and might, *
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
The glorious company of apostles praise you. †
The noble fellowship of prophets praise you. *
The white-robed army of martyrs praise you.
Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you: *
Father, of majesty unbounded,
your true and only Son, worthy of all worship, *
and the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.
You, Christ, are the King of glory, *
the eternal Son of the Father.
When you became man to set us free *
you did not spurn the Virgin’s womb.
You overcame the sting of death, *
and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
You are seated at God’s right hand in glory. *
We believe that you will come, and be our judge.
Come then, Lord, and help your people, *
bought with the price of your own blood,
and bring us with your saints*
to glory everlasting.
Save your people, Lord, and bless your inheritance.
— Govern and uphold them now and always.
Day by day we bless you.
— We praise your name for ever.
Keep us today, Lord, from all sin.
— Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy.
Lord, show us your love and mercy,
— for we have put our trust in you.
In you, Lord, is our hope:
— And we shall never hope in vain.
Prayer
Lord,
you endowed our Father Saint John of the Cross
with a spirit of self-denial and a love of the cross.
By following his example
may we come to the eternal vision of your glory.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Morning Prayer
Hymn
Bearing His Cross, the gentle Lord drew nigh,
Offering the crown by merit richly won.
O Love! to quaff Thy cup and with Thee die,
Low answers John.
To live despised, in suffering and alone,
The one insatiate yearning of his breast;
To die devoid of honor, and unknown,
His heart’s request.
Death yielded triumph of the Cross at last,
While dazzling globes of fire from Heav’n descend,
And o’er his deeds the light of glory cast
To cheer his end.
His dying couch, with light irradiate,
Dims with celestial beam earth’s fitful flame,
Perfumes exhale, breathing of heavenly state
And saintly fame.
Honor supreme be to the Father given,
To Word and Paraclete in praise unite,
Upon whose Triune flame the hosts of Heaven
Feed with delight.
10.10.10.4. Dum crucem gestat Dominus, Ioanni
OR:
Let us together
Up the high mountain
Go where the weather
Keeps a June glow.
You in your beauty,
I in your beauty,
Earth in your beauty,
All give delight.
Up past the steepest
Cliffs of our striving,
Up from the deepest
Thickets of pain
Where darkness bound you,
Ravaged and slew you,
Till daybreak found you,
Risen again.
Haste then our going
Up the high mountain,
Pure water flowing
Down from the height,
Wind in the spruces,
Light on the aspens,
Fruit of sweet juices
All give delight.
Deep caverns holding
Secrets of heaven,
Summits unfolding
Myst’ries divine,
Nightingale singing,
Grove lit with beauty
Each new day bringing
Taste of new wine.
Sweet the ascending
Up the high mountain,
Sweeter the ending
Love spread abroad.
Everyone sharing
Grace of your image.
Everyone bearing
The beauty of God.
54.54.D Sr. Miriam of the Holy Spirit, O.C.D.
Psalmody
Ant. 1 Truly you are a hidden God, O God of Israel, our Savior.
Psalms and canticle from Sunday, Week I
Ant. 2 All things are yours, for you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.
Ant. 3 Give thanks to the Lord in your hearts, sing him spiritual canticles.
Reading
2 Corinthians 3:17-18
The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. All of us, gazing on the Lord’s glory with unveiled faces, are being transformed from glory to glory into his very image by the Lord who is the Spirit.
Responsory
Your light will shine in the darkness and the darkness will be as noon. —Your light will shine in the darkness and the darkness will be as noon.
The Lord will fill your soul with his splendor, —and the darkness will be as noon.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit —Your light will shine in the darkness and the darkness will be as noon.
Canticle of Zechariah
Ant.While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become children of light.
Or: The Lord has come to give light to those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet in the way of peace.
Intercessions
Jesus Christ, the head and bridegroom of his Church makes us joyful today on this feast of John of the Cross, his servant. Let us say to him:
R/.You, Christ, are the King of Glory.
Only Word of the Father, uttered eternally in the eternal silence, and in the fullness of time received in the Virgin’s womb;
—may we hear your words today in the depths of our hearts, and put them into practice.
Wisdom of the Father, you showed your great love for us by emptying yourself in the Incarnation and on the Cross; —may we, who have been redeemed by your blood, always live in close communion with you.
Perfect Image of the Godhead, in whom all the mysteries of eternal love are revealed and poured out, —may we go forward in the strength of your Spirit, toward your inaccessible light.
Supreme Delight of the Father, in whom God looks mercifully on all men; —may we become perfect in compassion as our heavenly Father is perfect.
First-born of all creation, through you the Father in his goodness created and re-created all things, —may our thoughts be turned today from the visible world to your invisible beauty.
Our Father…
Prayer
Lord,
you endowed our Father Saint John of the Cross
with a spirit of self-denial and a love of the cross.
By following his example
may we come to the eternal vision of your glory.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Daytime Prayer
Complementary psalmody
Midmorning
Ant.Those who wish to come after me must deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow me.
Reading
Ephesians 4:22-24
Acquire a fresh, spiritual way of thinking. You must put on that new man created in God’s image, whose justice and holiness are born of truth.
A pure heart create for me, O God. —Put a steadfast spirit within me.
Midday
Ant. Whoever would draw near to God must believe; the righteous live by faith.
READING
Romans 5:1-2
Now that we have been justified by faith, we are at peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have gained access by faith to the grace in which we now stand, and we boast of our hope for the glory of God.
I live by faith in the Son of God. —Who loved me and gave himself for me.
Midafternoon
Ant. Your strength will lie in silence and hope.
Reading
Romans 8:24-25
In hope we were saved. But hope is not hope if its object is seen; how is it possible for one to hope for what he sees? And hoping for what we cannot see means awaiting it with patient endurance.
The Lord is good to those who trust in him. —To the soul who seeks him.
Prayer
Lord,
you endowed our Father Saint John of the Cross
with a spirit of self-denial and a love of the cross.
By following his example
may we come to the eternal vision of your glory.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Evening Prayer II
HYMN
Saint of the eagle eye,
Gazing enrapt on high
Mid dread abysses of Divinity;
Martyr by heart’s intent,
Virgin yet penitent,
Prophet and guide in realms of mystery.
Oft in thy life, ’tis told
Sweet converse thou didst hold
With the pure Virgin and her Son divine;
Thence came the wondrous light
Flooding with glory bright
Thy mystic page, for wisdom there did shine.
Clearly thou dost reveal
Secrets the clouds conceal
For thou hast seeped thy soul in rays above,
Pondering the mountain height,
Darkness of faith’s long night
And the reviving flame of mystic love.
When by God’s holy will
Thou dost His word instill,
Wondrous the marvels by the soul divined,
Like Him evoking light
From chaos deep as night,
Cheering with healthful beams the darkened mind.
O John, thy praise intone
Prostrate before the throne!
Thee hath the Father signed with light most true,
Gifts of the Spirit shine
And the meek Lamb divine
Openeth the book of life to thy pure view.
6.6.10.D. O satis felix! Speculator alti
Ant. 1 God loved us so much that he brought us to life with Christ.
Psalm 15
Lord, who shall be admitted to your tent *
and dwell on your holy mountain?
He who walks without fault; *
he who acts with justice
and speaks the truth from his heart; *
he who does not slander with his tongue;
he who does no wrong to his brother, *
who casts no slur on his neighbor,
who holds the godless in disdain, *
but honors those who fear the Lord;
he who keeps his pledge, come what may; *
who takes no interest on a loan
and accepts no bribes against the innocent. *
Such a man will stand firm forever.
Ant. God loved us so much that he brought us to life with Christ.
Ant. 2 We know and believe in the love God has for us.
Psalm 112
Happy the man who fears the Lord, *
who takes delight in all his commands.
His sons will be powerful on earth; *
the children of the upright are blessed.
Riches and wealth are in his house; *
his justice stands firm forever.
He is a light in the darkness for the upright: *
he is generous, merciful and just.
The good man takes pity and lends, *
he conducts his affairs with honor.
The just man will never waver: *
he will be remembered forever.
He has no fear of evil news; *
with a firm heart he trusts in the Lord.
With a steadfast heart he will not fear, *
he will see the downfall of his foes.
Open-handed, he gives to the poor; +
his justice stands firm forever. *
His head will be raised in glory.
The wicked man sees and is angry, +
grinds his teeth and fades away; *
the desire of the wicked leads to doom.
Ant.We know and believe in the love God has for us.
Ant. 3 The love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given us.
Canticle: Ephesians 1:3-10
Praised be the God and Father *
of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Who has bestowed on us in Christ *
every spiritual blessing in the heavens.
God chose us in him *
before the world began,
to be holy *
and blameless in his sight.
He predestined us +
to be his adopted sons through Jesus Christ, *
such was his will and pleasure,
that all might praise the glorious favor *
he has bestowed on us in his beloved.
In him and through his blood we have been redeemed, *
and our sins forgiven,
so immeasurably generous *
is God’s favor to us.
God has given us the wisdom *
to understand fully the mystery,
the plan he was pleased *
to decree in Christ.
A plan to be carried out *
in Christ, in the fullness of time,
to bring all things into one in him, *
in the heavens and on the earth.
Ant. The love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given us.
Reading
1 Corinthians 13:8-10, 12-13, 14:1a
Love never fails. Prophecies will cease, tongues will be silent, knowledge will pass away. Our knowledge is imperfect and our prophesying is imperfect. When the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away. Now we see indistinctly, as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. My knowledge is imperfect now; then I shall know even as I am known. There are in the end three things that last: faith, hope and love, and the greatest of these is love. Seek eagerly after love.
Responsory
Love is as strong as death: It flashes forth like flames of fire. —Love is as strong as death: It flashes forth like flames of fire.
Who can separate us from the love of Christ? —It flashes forth like flames of fire.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit —Love is as strong as death: It flashes forth like flames of fire.
Canticle of Mary
Ant. Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, so that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and that I may be in them.
Intercessions
God the Father has given us his Spirit through Jesus Christ his beloved Son, so that we may be partakers in the divine nature and witnesses to his love in the Church. Let us praise him and say:
R/.Through the intercession of Saint John, hear us, O Lord.
Give your Church the living faith that will lead all men and women to seek you; —and bring them to the closest union with you.
Give the hope of heaven to all who are faithful in seeking you; —may they obtain all that they hope for.
Pour out your love upon us; —that where there is no love we may put love and so draw love out.
May all Carmelites be imitators of the Virgin Mary, Mother of our Order; —may we follow every inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
Grant final purification to our departed brothers and sisters, —so that they may come without delay to sing canticles of love with all your saints.
Our Father…
Prayer
Lord,
you endowed our Father Saint John of the Cross
with a spirit of self-denial and a love of the cross.
By following his example
may we come to the eternal vision of your glory.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Saint John of the Cross and three miraculous apparitions in his relics Anonymous (Spanish, 17th c.) Engraving, used as a cover for the ms. Informaciones sobre la vida y milagros de San Juan de la Cruz Manuscrito 12738, Biblioteca Nacional de España
December 11 SAINT MARIA MARAVILLAS OF JESUS Virgin
Optional Memorial
Maria Maravillas was born at Madrid in 1891. She entered the El Escorial Carmel, Madrid on 12th October 1919. In 1924 she was inspired to found a Carmel at Cerro de los Angeles, alongside the monument to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. From this foundation followed nine others in Spain and one in India. She always gave first place to prayer and self-sacrifice. She had a true, passionate zeal for the glory of God and the salvation of souls. Even while living a life of poverty in the cloister she helped those who were in need, initiating apostolic, social and charitable works. In a particular way, she helped those of her own order, priests, and other religious congregations. She died in the monastery of La Aldehuela, Madrid, on 11th December 1974. She was canonized on 4th May 2003 in Madrid.
From the common of virgins or of holy women (religious)
Office of Readings
Second Reading
From the letters of Saint Maravillas of Jesus, Virgin
(Letters to her spiritual directors: 305, 254, 101, 458b)
My delight is to be with the children of men
Yesterday, Sunday, on climbing the stairs to go to the upper choir for the sung Mass, I was quite recollected, yet without any particular thought, when I heard clearly within me, My delight is to be with the children of men. These words which made a strong impression on me, I understood were not for me this time, but rather in the nature of a request the Lord was making me to offer the whole of myself to give him these souls he so much desires. It is hard to explain, but I saw clearly, that a soul which sanctifies itself becomes fruitful in attracting souls to God. This so deeply moved me that I offered with my whole heart to the Lord all my sufferings of body and soul for this purpose, despite my poverty. It then seemed to me that this offering was right, but what was strictly important was to surrender myself, wholly and completely to the divine will, so that he could do what he desired in me, and likewise I would accept the pain along with the pleasure. I seemed to understand that what pleased him was not the greatest sacrifice but rather the exact and loving fulfillment in the least detail of that will. In this I understood many things I find hard to explain, and how he wished me to be very sensitive in this fulfillment, which would carry me a long way in self-sacrifice and love.
I offered myself in such a way that nothing would excuse me, not even hell (if there you can love the Lord), but then I am so cowardly. The Lord will remedy that, since I can do no more than commit myself to Him in all my misery. I began experiencing this as a desire to commit myself for souls and to be faithful for this purpose: thinking about what he had done for them, it seemed he was saying to me I could not do much, but he could, with my help. On feeling this immense desire of the Lord for the salvation of souls, it seemed so amazing that nothing remained but to be committed to God so that He could carry out all his work in the soul and thus make it, despite its poverty, capable of giving him what he desires. Each time it became clearer to my soul so that nothing of my own remained important, except that the Lord alone be glorified.
What a treasure the Lord has given me in allowing me to live in Carmel! Here, everything is arranged with such simplicity, yet in such a way that, living it to the full, you can do everything. How can we live in the House of the Virgin, pleasing the Lord with her, yet not imitating her, as the Holy Mother desired? I felt that this is the Carmelite’s way, imitating Mary, how we must grow less, to be truly poor, self-sacrificing, humble, nothing. I felt quite deeply how Jesus gives us in his own life continual examples of sacrifice, of humiliation, of making ourselves small, yet we do not understand. I felt his mercy and zeal for souls in this way, that here is the strength that can take hold of our life through his mercy. By his grace, may I, who am so absolutely poor in everything, be well able to imitate him in this with more ease than other creatures. I seemed also to understand that these lights were not given only for myself, but also for guiding my sisters. The sole thing I do, many times in the day, is to say to the Lord that I wish to live only to love him and to please him, that I desire all that he wishes in the way that he wills.
Responsory Cf Mt 25:1, 2, 10; Ps 119:16; 40:10
R/. Prudent virgin whom the Bridegroom found watching with her lamp alight, —enter into the eternal nuptial banquet. V/.I find my delight in your will,
your saving justice in the depths of my heart. —Enter into the eternal nuptial banquet.
Prayer
Lord God,
who drew Saint Maria Maravillas of Jesus
into the secrets of the heart of your Son,
grant through her intercession and example,
that we may work together for the salvation of souls,
experiencing the delights of your love.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Saint Maria Maravillas of Jesus | Credit: Discalced Carmelites
November 29 BLESSEDS DENIS OF THE NATIVITY, PRIEST,
AND REDEMPTUS OF THE CROSS, RELIGIOUS Martyrs
Optional Memorial in the provinces of India: Memorial
Denis of the Nativity, a priest, called in the world Pierre Berthelot, was born in Honfleur in France in 1600. He was a cartographer and naval commander for the kings of Portugal and France before he joined the Discalced Carmelites in Goa in 1635. It was also at Goa that the Portuguese lay brother, Thomas Rodriguez da Cunha, born in 1598, had made his profession in 1615, taking the name Redemptus of the Cross. They were sent to the island of Sumatra (Indonesia), where, in the town of Achen (Aceh), they received the martyr’s crown on November 29, 1638.
From the common of several martyrs
Office of Readings
Second Reading
From The Ascent of Mount Carmel by Saint John of the Cross
(Bk 2, Ch 7:5—ed. Kavanaugh-Rodriguez 1979, pp. 122-24)
True self-denial means carrying Christ’s Cross
If anyone wishes to follow my way, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. For he who would save his soul shall lose it, but he who loses it for me shall gain it. Oh, who can make this counsel of Our Savior understandable and practicable and attractive, that spiritual persons might become aware of the difference between the method many of them think is good and that which ought to be used in traveling this road! They are of the opinion that any kind of withdrawal from the world or reformation of life suffices. Some are content with a certain degree of virtue, perseverance in prayer, and mortification, but never achieve the nakedness, poverty, selflessness, or spiritual purity (which are all the same) that the Lord counsels us here. For they still feed and clothe their natural selves with spiritual feelings and consolations rather than divesting and denying themselves of these for God’s sake.
Through this kind of conduct, they became, spiritually speaking, enemies of the cross of Christ. A genuine spirit seeks the distasteful in God rather than the delectable, leans more toward suffering than toward consolation, more toward going without everything for God rather than toward possession. It prefers dryness and affliction to sweet consolation. It knows that this is the significance of following Christ and denying self, that the other method is perhaps a seeking of self in God—something entirely contrary to love.
If a man resolutely submits to the carrying of this cross, if he decidedly wants to find and endure trial in all things for God, he will discover in all of them great relief and sweetness. A man makes progress only through imitation of Christ, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one goes to the Father but through him. This way is nothing other than a death to our natural selves.
Responsory
If anyone wishes to follow my way,
let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. —Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
They have persecuted me, and they will persecute you. —Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Morning Prayer
Canticle of Zechariah
Ant. Blessed are you when you are persecuted on my account: rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.
Prayer
Father,
we celebrate the memory of Blesseds Denis and Redemptus
who died for their faithful witnessing to Christ.
Give us the strength to follow their example,
loyal and faithful to the end.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Evening Prayer
Canticle of Mary
Ant. They loved Christ in their lives and imitated Him in their death: and so they reign with Him forever.
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Photos from the convent of the Discalced Carmelite Friars in Banda Aceh, Indonesia courtesy of the Discalced Carmelite General Curia (used by permission)
Raphael Kalinowski was born to Polish parents in the city of Vilnius in 1835. Following military service, he was condemned in 1864 to ten years of forced labor in Siberia. In 1877 he became a Carmelite and was ordained a priest in 1882. He contributed greatly to the restoration of the Discalced Carmelites in Poland. His life was distinguished by zeal for Church unity and by his unflagging devotion to his ministry as confessor and spiritual director. He died in Wadowice in 1907.
From the common of pastors or of holy men (religious)
Office of Readings
Second Reading
From the exhortations of Saint Raphael, Religious
(C. Gil, O. Rafal Kalinowski, pp. 109-110)
You must be holy
The Holy Scriptures praise nothing more than a perfect and holy life lived in the exact and perfect fulfillment of each one’s duties. In the Old Testament our Lord and God taught his people and told them: You must be holy because I am holy.
The Eternal Father gave us our Lord Jesus Christ as our teacher, master, and guide. He confirmed and ratified the Old Testament injunction where he taught us that we must emulate the holiness of the Father: You must be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect. How does one become perfect and holy? The Doctors of the Church, the leaders of souls, and the masters of the spiritual life answer: If you would be perfect and become holy, fulfill your duties faithfully.
Once a desert father was asked by a certain young hermit what books he ought to study in order to advance in holiness. The old man replied: My practice is to read two books only. In the morning hours I read the Gospel, and in the evening I read the Rule. The first teaches me the way I should walk as a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. The other teaches me what I should do to be a good religious. That is enough for me.
Let us, therefore, be students of the laws of God so that we may conduct ourselves according to them. When you walk, these will guide you; when you lie down, watch over you; when you wake, talk with you. Wherever we may be or go, may they go with us to direct our footsteps. May they be so near us when we sleep that they may fill our thoughts as soon as we awaken. His voice will speak to us in them. He will refresh us for the day ahead. Through his laws, we will gain the victory over our doubts. We will cast away every obstacle. We will free ourselves of that sluggishness of nature which is the enemy of strength, the foe of devotion, and the lover of ease. The law of life will help us to overcome our fears in the time of temptation and to follow eagerly in the way of obedience. May it always be at hand to counsel us, so that by it we may find the strength to follow God’s call with generous hearts and willing souls.
Responsory
Free your minds, then, of encumbrances, since it is the Holy One who has called you —be holy in all you do.
For it is I, the Lord, who am your God;
you have been sanctified and have become holy because I am holy. —be holy in all you do.
Prayer
Lord God, you made your priest Saint Raphael
strong in adversity and filled him with
a great love in promoting Church unity.
Through his prayers, make us strong in faith
and in love for one another,
that we too may generously work together
for the unity of all believers in Christ.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Saint Raphael of St. Joseph Kalinowski, photo taken 30 March 1897 | Photo credit: Discalced Carmelites
Born in Aytona, Lerida, on December 29, 1811, Blessed Francis Palau y Quer entered the Order in 1832 and was ordained priest in 1836. Civil turmoil forced him to live in exile and outside his community. On his return to Spain in 1851, he founded his “School of Virtue”—which was a model of catechetical teaching—at Barcelona. The school was suppressed and he was unjustly exiled to Ibiza (1854-1860) where he lived at El Vedra in solitude and experienced mystically the vicissitudes of the Church. While in the Balearic Islands he founded the Congregations of Teresian Carmelite Missionary Brothers and Sisters (1860-1861). He preached popular missions and spread love for Our Lady wherever he went. He died at Tarragona on March 20, 1872, and was beatified by Pope John Paul II on April 24, 1980.
Common of Pastors or Men Religious
Office of Readings
Second Reading
From the spiritual writings of Blessed Francis Palau y Quer
The efficacy of prayer in favor of the Church
God in His providence has ordained not to cure our ills or grant us grace without the intervention of prayer. He wishes us to help in saving each other by means of our prayer (cf. Jas 5:16f). If the heavens showered down dew and the clouds rained the righteous One, if the earth opened to bring forth the Savior (cf. Is 45:8), it was God’s good pleasure that His coming should be preceded by the prayers of that singular Virgin who by the beauty of her virtues drew into her womb the uncreated Word of God.
The Redeemer came, and by constant prayer, He reconciled the world to the Father. If Christ’s prayer and the fruits of His redemptive work are to be applied to any nation or people, or if the gospel message is to enlighten them and they are to have someone to administer the sacraments, it is indispensable that someone or even many persons should have previously won them over and reconciled them to God by earnest entreaties and supplications, by prayers and sacrifices.
For the purpose, among others, the Eucharistic sacrifice is offered on our altars. This sacred Victim which we present to the Father every day, accompanied by our own petitions, is not simply destined to recall the memory of the life, passion, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, but also to oblige God in His goodness to show His graciousness in applying the graces of His Son’s redemption to the nation, province, city, village, or to whatever person or persons for whom the Mass is offered. It is precisely here that we plead with the Father for the redemption of the world, namely, for the conversion of the nations. Before the grace of redemption is applied to the world or, in other words, before the standard of the cross is lifted up among the nations, God the Father ordains that His only Son, made man, should plead with Him by means of ‘prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears’ (Heb 5:7), in the anguish of death and through the shedding of His blood, especially on the altar of the cross that was raised on Calvary.
In order that God might give His grace to those who do not or cannot ask it, or who do not wish to ask it, He enjoined us to pray for one another, so that we might be saved (Jas 5:16f). If God gave the grace of conversion to St. Augustine, it was due to the prayers of St. Monica; nor would the church have St. Paul, according to one of the fathers, were it not for the prayers of St. Stephen.
It is noteworthy in this context that the Apostles, who were sent to preach and to teach all nations, acknowledged that the results of their preaching sprang from prayer more than from their words. In fact, at the election of the seven deacons who were charged with external works of charity, they said: ‘But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the Word’ (Acts 6:4). Notice carefully that they say they would devote themselves first of all to prayer and only afterward to the ministry of the Word. For they would never convert any nation until prayer had first obtained the grace of its conversion.
Christ prayed throughout His entire life, whereas He spent only three years preaching. Since God does not distribute His graces to men except through prayer, because He wishes us to recognize Him as the source from which all good things flow; in like manner, He does not wish to save us from danger, or cure our wounds, or console us in affliction, except by means of this same exercise of prayer.
Responsory
Ask and you shall receive; seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you. For whoever asks, receives; whoever seeks, finds; whoever knocks, is admitted. —The prayer of the righteous has great power in its effects.
Pray for one another that you may find healing. —The prayer of the righteous has great power in its effects.
Prayer
O God,
through your Spirit
you filled Bl. Francis, your priest,
with singular gifts of prayer and apostolic charity.
Through his intercession
grant that Christ’s beloved Church,
refulgent with the beauty of the Virgin Mother Mary,
may be an ever more effective universal sacrament of salvation.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit
one God, for ever and ever.
October 30
BLESSED MARIA TERESA OF SAINT JOSEPH TAUSCHER
Virgin
Optional Memorial
Anna Maria Tauscher van den Bosch was born in 1855 in Sandow, Brandenburg (now in Poland), the daughter of a Lutheran pastor. At a young age, she was attracted to the Catholic Church and desired to become a “sister”. While serving as Director of Nursing at a mental hospital in Berlin, her desires were realized; she made her profession of faith 30 October 1888. In the following year, she read the autobiography of St. Teresa and understood that her vocation was profoundly Carmelite and one of service to the poor. She opened her first home for needy children in Berlin; others followed. In 1906, she received permission to gather her companions, to profess vows and establish the religious institute “Carmel of the Divine Heart of Jesus”, taking the name Maria Teresa of St. Joseph. Despite much suffering, her work grew and prospered in Europe and North America. After a long illness, she died in the odor of sanctity, 20 September 1938 and was beatified 13 May 2006.
Office of Readings
Second Reading
From the Autobiography of Blessed Maria Teresa
A thirst to win souls for the Divine Heart
During the night of January 21, 1890, I seemed to see a very touching picture in my sleep. It was a living, life-size crucifix. From the hands to the feet, the body was framed with a wreath of thorns. A wreath of thorns in the shape of a heart was impressed into the left side of the heart. There was no crown of thorns on the head. The arms were not lowered; they were stretched out, as a sign of life. This vision was a shocking and pitiful sight, as well as horrible and jolting. There are no words to describe it. While my eyes rested on it, my heart trembled with pain.
I understood this picture to mean that the Divine Savior is the head in heaven, without pain or thorns. The Body is His holy Church, not only affixed to the cross by earthly powers but also wounded by lukewarm, lapsed Catholics, indicated by the thorns framing the body. The thorns impressed upon the heart are those consecrated to God, who have become the tepid and disloyal priests and members of religious Orders.
That morning I arose quite early and hurried to the church. My heart was profoundly moved by pain and compassion; no, it was wounded. It was clear that God was asking of me prayer and atonement! I was to pray for the conversion of sinners and to move the mercy of God for the freedom of Holy Church.
From that morning on my heart was filled with a new hunger and thirst, not only for God’s pleasure or for perfection, but with a burning hunger and thirst to win souls for the Divine Heart. That crucifix is stamped on my memory, and it not only keeps my zeal for the salvation of souls alive, it increases its fire and creates in me the desire to arrive soon at the throne of God, where my longing for souls may be satisfied.
Responsory
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, — and I complete that which is lacking in the sufferings of Christ in my own flesh for the sake of His body, that is the Church.
I appraised the cross always as the greatest sign of divine love, — and I complete that which is lacking in the sufferings of Christ in my own flesh for the sake of His body, that is the Church.
Prayer
Almighty and merciful God,
you imbued Blessed Maria Teresa
with outstanding zeal for serving your people
through persevering prayer and work;
grant that through her intercession,
we may work with the same love even amid hardships,
and so dedicate ourselves to building up your Church.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God forever and ever. Amen.
Proper Calendar Order of the Discalced Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary
(unofficial, working translation for our readers)
We present an English translation of the newly revised liturgical calendar for the Discalced Carmelite Order that was published online by the General Curia 16 October 2019 pursuant to the Decree of the Congregation of Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments (Prot. N. 345/18) dated 16 July 2019, its effective date. A commentary on the calendar and translation follows below.
January
4 St. Kuriakos Elias of the Holy Family Chavara,
Priest —Optional Memorial In provinces in India: Memorial
8 St. Peter Thomas,
Bishop — Optional Memorial
9 St. Andrew Corsini,
Bishop — Optional Memorial In provinces in Italy: Memorial
27 St. Henry de Ossó y Cervelló,
Priest — Optional Memorial
February
4 Bl. Marie Eugene of the Child Jesus Grialou, Priest — Optional Memorial
24 Bl. Josepha Naval Girbes, Virgin — Optional Memorial
April
17 Bl. Baptist Spagnoli,
Priest — Optional Memorial
18 Bl. Mary of the Incarnation Barbe Acarie,
Religious — Optional Memorial In provinces of France: Memorial
23 Bl. Teresa Maria of the Cross Manetti, Virgin — Optional Memorial
May
4 Bl. Angel Maria Prat Hostench, Lucas of St. Joseph Tristany Pujol, Priests, and Companions,
Martyrs — Optional Memorial In Spain: Memorial
16 St. Simon Stock,
Priest — Optional Memorial In the Anglo-Irish province: Memorial
22 St. Joachina de Vedruna,
Religious — Optional Memorial
24 St. Bede the Venerable,
Priest and Doctor of the Church — Optional Memorial St. Gregory VII,
Pope — Optional Memorial
25 St. Mary Magdalene of the Incarnate Word de’ Pazzi,
Virgin — Memorial
June
7 Bl. Anne of St. Bartholomew,
Virgin — Optional Memorial In the Spanish province: Memorial
12 Bl. Alphonsus Mary of the Holy Spirit Mazurek,
Priest, and Companions, Martyrs — Optional Memorial In the Polish provinces: Memorial
July
10 St. Henry,
Optional Memorial
12 Sts. Louis Martin and Marie Azélie Guérin,
Spouses — Optional Memorial
13 St. Teresa of Jesus Fernández Solar,
Virgin — Memorial In the province of Chile: Feast
16 BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF MOUNT CARMEL, PATRONESS AND HEAD OF OUR ORDER — Solemnity
17 Bl. Teresa of St. Augustine Lidoine and Companions,
Virgins and Martyrs — Optional Memorial In the provinces of France: Memorial
18 St. Apollinaris,
Bishop and Martyr — Optional Memorial
19 St. Bridget,
Religious — Optional Memorial
20 OUR FATHER SAINT ELIJAH,
PROPHET — Feast
23 Blessed Virgin Mary,
Mother of Divine Grace — Memorial
24 Bl. Maria Pilar of St. Francis Borgia Martínez García, Bl. Maria Sagrario of St. Aloysius Gonzaga Moragas Cantarero and Companions,
Virgins and Martyrs — Optional Memorial
27 Bl. Titus Brandsma,
Priest and Martyr — Optional Memorial
28 Bl. John Soreth,
Priest — Optional Memorial In the provinces of France: Memorial
August
3 St. Sixtus II, Pope, and Companions, Martyrs — Optional Memorial St. Cajetan, Priest — Optional Memorial
7 St. Albert of Trapani, Priest — Memorial
9 St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Virgin and Martyr — Memorial In provinces of Europe: Patroness of Europe, Feast
18 Bls. Leonard Duverneuil, Michael Aloysius Brulard, and Hubert of St. Claude, Priests, and Companions, Martyrs —Optional Memorial
25 St. Mary of Jesus Crucified Baouardy, Virgin — Optional Memorial
26 Transverberation of the Heart of St. Teresa of Jesus Our Mother,
Optional Memorial
September
1 St. Teresa Margaret of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Virgin — Memorial In the provinces of Italy: Feast
11 Bl. Mary of Jesus López Rivas, Virgin —Optional Memorial In the Spanish province: Memorial
17 St. Albert of Jerusalem, Bishop and Lawgiver of our Order — Feast
18 St. Robert Bellarmine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church — Optional Memorial
October
1 SAINT THERESE OF THE CHILD JESUS, VIRGIN AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH — Feast
15 SAINT TERESA OF JESUS OUR MOTHER, VIRGIN AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH — Solemnity
30 Bl. Maria Teresa of St. Joseph Tauscher,
Virgin —Optional Memorial
November
6 St. Nuno of St. Mary, Religious — Optional Memorial In the province of Portugal: Memorial
7 Bl. Francis of Jesus Mary Joseph Palau y Quer, Priest — Optional Memorial
8 St. Elizabeth of the Trinity Catez, Virgin — Optional Memorial
14 ALL SAINTS OF OUR ORDER, Feast
15 Commemoration of all the Departed of Our Order, Optional Memorial
19 St. Raphael of St. Joseph Kalinowski, Priest — Memorial
29 Bls. Denis of the Nativity, Priest, and Redemptus of the Cross, Religious, Martyrs — Optional Memorial In provinces of India: Memorial
December
11 St. Maria Maravillas of Jesus Pidal y Chico de Guzmán, Virgin — Optional Memorial
14 SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS OUR FATHER, PRIEST AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH — Solemnity
APPENDIX
April
In the provinces of Latin America:
28 Bl. Maria Felicia of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament Guggeri Echeverría,
Virgin — Optional Memorial
May
In the provinces of Italy:
29 Bl. Elia of St. Clement,
Virgin — Optional Memorial
June
In the provinces of France:
14 St. Elisha, Prophet — Optional Memorial
In the provinces of Italy:
14 Bl. Maria Candida of the Eucharist Barba, Virgin — Optional Memorial
26 Bl. Maria Giuseppina of Jesus Crucified Catanea, Virgin — Optional Memorial
July
In the provinces of Europe:
7 Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Divine Grace — Memorial
In the province of Spain:
24 Bl. Maria Pilar of St. Francis Borgia Martínez García, Teresa of the Child Jesus García García, and Maria Angeles of St. Joseph Voltierra Tordesillas, Virgins and Martyrs — Optional Memorial
August
In the province of the Netherlands:
2 St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Virgin and Martyr, Patroness of Europe — Feast
In the province of Spain:
16 Bl. Maria Sagrario of St. Aloysius Gonzaga Moragas Cantarero, Virgin and Martyr — Optional Memorial
In the provinces of France:
30 St. Mary of Jesus Crucified Baouardy, Virgin — Optional Memorial
October
In the province of Nigeria:
1 SAINT THERESE OF THE CHILD JESUS, VIRGIN AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH — Feast
November
In the provinces of France:
7 Bl. Françoise d’Amboise, Religious
In the province of Austria:
16 Commemoration of all the Departed of Our Order, Optional Memorial
In the provinces of Austria and Germany:
7 St. Raphael of St. Joseph Kalinowski,
Priest — Memorial
December
In the provinces of Italy:
7 Bl. Mary of the Angels Fontanella, Virgin — Optional Memorial
Nota Bene: In its Appendix, the Decree provides for several celebrations to be assigned to specific jurisdictions. For example, Latin American provinces may observe the optional memorial of Blessed Chiquitunga on 28 April; the Italian provinces may observe the optional memorial of Blessed Elia of St. Clement on 29 May. In other jurisdictions, dates of Carmelite feasts have been changed to accommodate local calendars where a conflict exists. These changes primarily affect the Spanish, French, German, and Italian-speaking provinces.
In that which concerns English-speaking Discalced Carmelites, perhaps the most significant of these particular date changes concerns the provinces of Europe, where the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Divine Grace now will be celebrated on 7 July.
The Discalced Carmelite Procurator General, Father Jean Joseph Bergara, explains that the calendar became valid immediately upon the signature of the Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Cardinal Robert Sarah: “The calendar is already in force. It is in force effective from the date of the signing of the decree, 16 July 2019, but especially from the date of reception of the decree, 24 September 2019. From that date forward, it is the only valid calendar in all communities.”
You may view the Latin text of the Decree, the original Latin text of the newly revised calendar and its appendix, and the introduction from Father Bergara here.
You showed the way of perfection
to the point of rapture, you cherished the God of love
who lavished upon you His ineffable visions;
with the zeal of Elijah you conquered souls for Christ;
through your foundations you made the desert blossom again,
and your monasteries sanctify the people of the cities.
O venerable Teresa, having reached the castle of the great King,
intercede for the faithful who celebrate your glory, as they sing:
Rejoice, mystic spouse of Jesus!
Icon of St. Teresa venerated at the Pontifical Faculty of Theology Teresianum, Rome
Ikos
Rejoice, for so many graces sown in you!
Rejoice, for you were loved by the Lord!
Rejoice, you whose homeland was above!
Rejoice, splendid glory of Avila!
Rejoice, you who were nourished by manna!
Rejoice, you whose desert became a meadow!
Rejoice, shepherdess-friend of the Good Shepherd!
Rejoice, as you bring your lambs to the Creator!
Rejoice, you who were perfect in the Way!
Rejoice, you who radiate holy joy!
Rejoice, you whose passion was for the Eternal One!
Rejoice, for your way leads to heaven!
Rejoice, mystic spouse of Jesus!
Texts from the Byzantine Matins of our venerable mother Teresa of Jesus, mother of the Carmelite Order, graciously provided by Father J. Michael Thompson.
October 1 SAINT THERESE OF THE CHILD JESUS Virgin and Doctor of the Church
Feast
Thérèse Martin was born at Alencon in 1873. At the age of fifteen she entered the Carmel at Lisieux. She practiced heroic humility, evangelical simplicity and trust in God, and taught the novices these virtues by word and example. She offered her life for the salvation of souls and the growth of the Church. She died September 30, 1897.
Invitatory
Ant. The Lord reveals himself to little ones; come, let us worship him.
Invitatory psalm, as in the Ordinary.
Office of Readings
Hymn
Let all who lovingly avow
Those gifts the Christ Child came to share
Acclaim Thérèse’s virtues now
And praise her name in song and prayer.
Her patroness and mother chose
The lofty peaks of Carmel’s height
And there Thérèse in fervor goes
To follow Christ, her one delight.
Inspired by Jesus to convey
Amazing secrets of his grace,
She taught the world the simple way
Of childhood that the Gospels trace.
More like an angel than a child
She gathered virtue’s flowers at will
By whose sweet scent was God beguiled,
Whose tender fragrance charms us still.
Yet joy itself could not portray
The surge of her immense desire
Nor cloister walls have strength to stay
A love that swept the world like fire.
All glory, Jesus, be to you
This day revealed to little ones,
To Father and blest Spirit, too,
While age on age forever runs.
L.M. Nomen decusque concinant
Ant. 1 Your mercy will follow me all the days of my life.
Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd, *
there is nothing I shall want.
Fresh and green are the pastures *
where he gives me repose.
Near restful waters he leads me, *
To revive my drooping spirit.
He guides me along the right path; *
he is true to his name.
If I should walk in the valley of darkness *
no evil would I fear.
You are there with your crook and your staff; *
with these you give me comfort.
You have prepared a banquet for me *
in the sight of my foes.
My head you have anointed with oil; *
my cup is overflowing.
Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me *
all the days of my life.
In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell *
forever and ever.
Ant. Your mercy will follow me all the days of my life.
Ant. 2 See what love the Father has shown us, to let us be called children of God; yet that is what we are.
Psalm 103
My soul, give thanks to the Lord, *
all my being, bless his holy name.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord *
and never forget all his blessings.
It is he who forgives all your guilt *
who heals every one of your ills,
who redeems your life from the grave, *
who crowns you with love and compassion,
who fills your life with good things, *
renewing your youth like an eagle’s.
The Lord does deeds of justice, *
gives judgment for all who are oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses *
and his deeds to Israel’s sons.
The Lord is compassion and love, *
slow to anger and rich in mercy.
His wrath will come to an end; *
he will not be angry forever.
He does not treat us according to our sins *
nor repay us according to our faults.
For as the heavens are high above the earth *
so strong is his love for those who fear him.
Ant. See what love the Father has shown us, to let us be called children of God; yet that is what we are.
Ant. 3 The Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and believed in me.
As far as the east is from the west *
so far does he remove our sins.
As a father has compassion on his sons, *
the Lord has pity on those who fear him;
for he knows of what we are made, *
he remembers that we are dust.
As for man, his days are like grass; *
he flowers like the flower of the field;
the wind blows and he is gone *
and his place never sees him again.
But the love of the Lord is everlasting *
upon those who hold him in fear;
his justice reaches out to children’s children +
when they keep his covenant in truth, *
when they keep his will in their mind.
The Lord has set his sway in heaven *
and his kingdom is ruling over all.
Give thanks to the Lord, all his angels, +
mighty in power, fulfilling his word, *
who heed the voice of his word.
Give thanks to the Lord, all his hosts, *
his servants who do his will.
Give thanks to the Lord, all his works, *
in every place where he rules.
My soul, *
give thanks to the Lord!
Ant. The Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and believed in me.
Your word is a lamp for my feet — And a light on my path.
First Reading
From the first letter of the apostle Paul to the Corinthians
I Cor. 12:12, 27-31; 13:1-13
You together are Christ’s body, but each of you is a different part of it
The body is one and has many members, but all the members, many though they are, are one body; and so it is with Christ. You, then, are the body of Christ. Every one of you is a member of it. Furthermore, God has set up in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracle workers, healers, assistants, administrators, and those who speak in tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles or have the gift of healing? Do all speak in tongues, all have the gift of interpretation of tongues? Set your hearts on the greater gifts.
Now I will show you the way which surpasses all the others. If I speak with human tongues and angelic as well, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong, a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and, with full knowledge, comprehend all mysteries, if I have faith great enough to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give everything I have to feed the poor and hand over my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient; love is kind. Love is not jealous; it does not put on airs; it is not snobbish. Love is never rude; it is not self-seeking; it is not prone to anger; neither does it brood over injuries. Love does not rejoice in what is wrong, but rejoices with the truth. There is no limit to love’s forbearance, to its trust, its hope, its power to endure.
Love never fails. Prophecies will cease, tongues will be silent, knowledge will pass away. Our knowledge is imperfect and our prophesying is imperfect. When the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away. When I was a child I used to talk like a child, think like a child, reason like a child. When I became a man I put childish ways aside. Now we see indistinctly, as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. My knowledge is imperfect now; then I shall know even as I am known. There are in the end three things that last: faith, hope, and love, and the greatest of these is love.
Responsory
When I am lifted up from the earth, — I will draw all people to myself.
Fragrant is the scent of your perfume; let us follow in your footsteps. — I will draw all people to myself.
Second Reading
From the autobiography of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus
(MS B, f. 3r-3v: ed. J. Clarke 1975, pp. 193-94)
In the heart of the Church I shall be love
My desires caused me a veritable martyrdom, and I opened the Epistles of Saint Paul to find some kind of answer. Chapters Twelve and Thirteen of the First Epistle to the Corinthians fell under my eyes. I read there, in the first of these chapters, that all cannot be apostles, prophets, doctors, etc., that the Church is composed of different members, and that the eye cannot be the hand at one and the same time. The answer was clear, but it did not fulfill my desires and gave me no peace. Without becoming discouraged, I continued my reading, and this sentence consoled me: Yet strive after the better gifts, and I point out to you a yet more excellent way. And the Apostle explains how all the most perfect gifts are nothing without Love. That Charity is the excellent way that leads most surely to God.
I finally had rest. Considering the mystical body of the Church, I had not recognized myself in any of the members described by Saint Paul, or rather I desired to see myself in them all. Charity gave me the key to my vocation. I understood that if the Church had a body composed of different members, the most necessary and most noble of all could not be lacking to it, and so I understood that the Church had a heart and that this heart was burning with love. I understood it was love alone that made the Church’s members act; that if love ever became extinct, apostles would not preach the Gospel and martyrs would not shed their blood. I understood that love comprised all vocations, that love was everything, that it embraced all times and places… in a word, that it was eternal!
Then, in the excess of my delirious joy, I cried out, “O Jesus, my Love… my vocation, at last I have found it… My vocation is Love!”
Yes, I have found my place in the Church and it is you, O my God, who have given me this place; in the heart of the Church, my Mother, I shall be love. Thus I shall be everything, and thus my dream will be realized.
Responsory
Joy and gladness fill my heart; — the Lord has been merciful to me.
He has looked with favor on his lowly servant and taken account of my soul’s needs. — the Lord has been merciful to me.
Where the Vigil Office is celebrated:
Canticles (Alternative 1)
Ant. The Lord spread his wings like an eagle; he lifted her up and bore her on his shoulders. The Lord alone was her leader.
Canticle I
Dt 32:3-7, 10-12
The deeds of kindness which God wrought for his people
How often have I longed to gather your children as a hen gathers her young under her wings (Mt 23:37)
I shall praise the name of the Lord. *
O give glory to this God of ours!
The Rock – his deeds are perfect, *
and all his ways are just,
a faithful God, without deceit, *
a God who is right and just.
Those whom he begot unblemished *
have become crooked, false, perverse.
Is it thus you repay the Lord, *
O senseless and foolish people?
Is he not your father who created you, *
he who made you, on whom you depend?
Remember the days of old, *
consider the years that are past;
ask your father and he will show you, *
ask your elders and they will tell you.
Israel God found him in a wilderness, *
in fearful, desolate wastes;
he surrounded him, he lifted him up, *
he kept him as the apple of his eye.
Like an eagle that watches its nest, *
that hovers over its young,
so he spread his wings; he took him, *
placed him on his outstretched wings.
The Lord alone was his guide *
and no other god was with him.
Canticle II
Song 1:3-4a; 2:8-10; 3:1b-2, 4bc
The faithful soul finds the beloved
Where have you hidden yourself, my Beloved? (St. John of the Cross)
Your name is oil poured out; *
therefore the maidens love you.
Draw me after you, let us make haste; *
your anointing oils are fragrant.
The king has brought me into his chambers; *
we will exult and rejoice in you.
The voice of my beloved: †
Behold, he comes, *
leaping upon the mountains, bounding over the hills.
My beloved is like a gazelle, *
or a young stag.
Behold, there he stands behind our wall, *
gazing in at the windows, looking through the lattice.
My beloved speaks and says to me: †
“Arise, my love, my fair one, *
and come away.”
I sought him whom my soul loves; *
I sought him, but found him not.
“I will rise now and go about the city; *
in the streets and in the squares
I will seek him whom my soul loves;” *
I sought him, but found him not.
I found him whom my soul loves. *
I held him, and would not let him go.
Canticle III
Song 4:8ab, 9bc, 12, 15; 5:2; 6:3; 8:6-7a
The strength of love
Love turns labor into rest (St. Teresa of Jesus)
Come with me from Lebanon, my bride; *
come with me from Lebanon.
You have ravished my heart with a glance of your eyes, *
with one jewel of your necklace.
A garden locked is my sister, my bride, *
a garden locked, a fountain sealed.
A garden fountain, a well of living water, *
and flowing streams from Lebanon.
I slept, but my heart was awake. *
Hark! my beloved is knocking.
“Open to me, my sister, my love, *
my dove, my perfect one,
for my head is wet with dew, *
my locks with the drops of the night.”
I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine; *
he pastures his flock among the lilies.
Set me as a seal upon your heart, *
as a seal upon your arm;
for love is strong as death, *
jealousy is cruel as the grave.
Its flashes are flashes of fire, †
a most vehement flame. *
Many waters cannot quench love.
Ant. The Lord spread his wings like an eagle; he lifted her up and bore her on his shoulders. The Lord alone was her leader.
Gospel (Alternative 1)
Jn 17:17-26
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John
I have sent them into the world
Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said:
Holy Father,
consecrate them in the truth;
your word is truth.
As you sent me into the world,
I have sent them into the world,
and for their sake I consecrate myself
so that they too may be consecrated in truth.
I pray not only for these,
but for those also
who through their words will believe in me.
May they all be one.
Father, may they be one in us,
as you are in me and I am in you,
so that the world may believe it was you who sent me.
I have given them the glory you gave to me,
that they may be one as we are one.
With me in them and you in me,
may they be so completely one
that the world will realize that it was you who sent me
and that I have loved them as much as you loved me.
Father,
I want those you have given me
to be with me where I am,
so that they may always see the glory
you have given me
because you loved me
before the foundation of the world.
Father, Righteous One,
the world has not known you,
but I have known you,
and these have known
that you have sent me.
I have made your name known to them
and will continue to make it known
so that the love with which you loved me may be in them,
and so that I may be in them.
Gospel (Alternative 2)
Jn 15:1-13
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John
Whoever remains in me, with me in him, bears fruit in plenty
Jesus said to his disciples:
“I am the true vine,
and my Father is the vinedresser.
Every branch in me that bears no fruit
he cuts away,
and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes
to make it bear even more.
You are pruned already,
by means of the word that I have spoken to you.
Make your home in me, as I make mine in you.
As a branch cannot bear fruit all by itself,
but must remain part of the vine,
neither can you unless you remain in me.
I am the vine,
you are the branches.
Whoever remains in me, with me in him,
bears fruit in plenty;
for cut off from me you can do nothing.
Anyone who does not remain in me
is like a branch that has been thrown away
-he withers;
these branches are collected and thrown on the fire,
and they are burned.
If you remain in me
and my words remain in you,
you may ask what you will
and you shall get it.
It is to the glory of my Father that you should bear much fruit,
and then you will be my disciples.
As the Father has loved me,
so I have loved you.
Remain in my love.
If you keep my commandments
you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s commandments
and remain in his love.
I have told you this
so that my own joy may be in you
and your joy be complete.
This is my commandment:
love one another,
as I have loved you.
A man can have no greater love
than to lay down his life for his friends.
Te Deum
You are God: we praise you; *
You are the Lord: we acclaim you;
You are the eternal Father: *
All creation worships you.
To you all angels, all the powers of heaven, *
Cherubim and Seraphim, sing in endless praise:
Holy, holy, holy, Lord, God of power and might, *
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
The glorious company of apostles praise you. †
The noble fellowship of prophets praise you. *
The white-robed army of martyrs praise you.
Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you: *
Father, of majesty unbounded,
your true and only Son, worthy of all worship, *
and the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.
You, Christ, are the King of glory, *
the eternal Son of the Father.
When you became man to set us free *
you did not spurn the Virgin’s womb.
You overcame the sting of death, *
and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
You are seated at God’s right hand in glory. *
We believe that you will come, and be our judge.
Come then, Lord, and help your people, *
bought with the price of your own blood,
and bring us with your saints*
to glory everlasting.
Save your people, Lord, and bless your inheritance. — Govern and uphold them now and always.
Day by day we bless you. — We praise your name for ever.
Keep us today, Lord, from all sin. — Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy.
Lord, show us your love and mercy, — for we have put our trust in you.
In you, Lord, is our hope: — And we shall never hope in vain.
Prayer
God our Father,
you have promised your kingdom
to those who are willing to become like little children.
Help us to follow the way of Saint Thérèse with confidence
so that by her prayers
we may come to know your eternal glory.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Morning Prayer
Hymn
Her boundless love for Christ her Lord
Impels Thérèse to greater things.
The martyr’s and apostle’s crown
To crown of virgins now she brings.
To be a victim of God’s love
Her heart aglow with mystic fire,
She begs her Spouse by love consume
Her life, a holocaust entire.
When death, the herald of true life,
Brings to its close, her life’s brief race,
She calls, “I love you” as she dies
And hastens to meet Christ’s embrace.
Now savoring all heaven’s joys,
The glories by her virtues won,
May she that shower of roses send
Which once she promised to her own.
O King of meek and gentle heart
Who for the little ones prepare
Your feast, grant us who follow her
In childlike trust, to enter there.
All praise be to the Father now,
Praise also to his only Son,
The Spirit in all virgin souls,
As ages endless through time run.
88.88. Immensa Christi caritas
Psalmody
Ant. 1 My soul clings to you; with your right hand you have raised me up.
Psalms and canticle from Sunday, Week I
Ant. 2 You holy and humble of heart, bless the Lord.
Ant. 3 The Lord takes delight in his people, and crowns the humble with salvation.
Reading
Romans 8:14-17
All who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. You did not receive a spirit of slavery leading you back into fear, but a spirit of adoption through which we cry out, “Abba!” (that is, “Father”). The Spirit himself gives witness with our spirit that we are children of God. But if we are children, we are heirs as well; heirs of God, heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so as to be glorified with him.
Responsory
See, I will pour out upon her a river of peace. — See, I will pour out upon her a river of peace.
The glory of the nations like an overflowing stream, — a river of peace.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. — See, I will pour out upon her a river of peace.
Canticle of Zechariah
Ant. Pray to the Lord of the harvest that he send laborers into his harvest.
Intercessions
Our Lord Jesus Christ has given Saint Thérèse to us as a model of the evangelical life. Let us pray to him and say:
R/.Hear us, O Lord.
Lord, you said, “Whoever is thirsty, let him come to me and drink;” — give us an intense thirst for your love.
Lord, you said, “If you do not become as little children, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven,” — help us to love you in simplicity of heart.
Lord, you told us, “There is joy in heaven over one sinner who repents;” — help us to have a childlike trust in your mercy.
Lord, you said, “Whoever does the will of my Father will enter the kingdom of heaven,” — give us a spirit of faithful obedience to all your commands.
Lord, you said, “Whatsoever you do to one of the least of my brethren you do to me;” — may we see you today in our brothers and sisters, and love you in them.
Lord, you said, “The harvest is great, but the laborers are few; pray therefore to the Lord of the harvest, that he send laborers into the harvest;” — give to all of us the missionary spirit of Saint Thérèse, who longed for the salvation of souls.
Our Father…
Prayer
God our Father,
you have promised your kingdom
to those who are willing to become like little children.
Help us to follow the way of Saint Thérèse with confidence
so that by her prayers
we may come to know your eternal glory.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Daytime Prayer
Psalms from the current weekday.
Midmorning
Ant. The Lord chose you for his own, to praise him and give glory to his name.
Reading
2 Corinthians 12:9b-10
I willingly boast of my weakness instead, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I am content with weakness, with mistreatment, with distress, with persecutions and difficulties for the sake of Christ; for when I am powerless, it is then that I am strong.
The Lord is my strength and my song. — In you I trust; I shall not be put to shame.
Midday
Ant. The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to little ones.
Reading
1 John 4:17-19
Our love is brought to perfection in this,
that we should have confidence on the day of judgment:
for our relation to this world is just like his.
Love has no room for fear;
rather, perfect love casts out all fear.
And since fear has to do with punishment,
love is not yet perfect in one who is afraid.
We, for our part, love
because he first loved us.
You, Lord, are our Father, our Redeemer. — From eternity this is your name.
Midafternoon
Ant. The Lord looks kindly on the prayer of the needy, and his word is addressed to the lowly.
Reading
1 John 3:1-2
See what love the Father has bestowed on us
in letting us be called children of God!
Yet that is what we are.
The reason the world does not recognize us
is that it never recognized the Son.
Dearly beloved,
we are God’s children now;
what we shall later be has not yet come to light.
We know that when it comes to light
we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he is.
I will run in the way of your commandments. — For you have given greatness to my heart.
Prayer
God our Father,
you have promised your kingdom
to those who are willing to become like little children.
Help us to follow the way of Saint Thérèse with confidence
so that by her prayers
we may come to know your eternal glory.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Evening Prayer
Hymn
From clear high mansions of that shining palace
Where you enjoy the light of God’s dear presence,
And plead our causes, mindful of your promise
Show’r down your roses.
Roses of faith to shed its light supernal,
Roses of hope when obstacles surround us,
And for our strengthening in daily living
Roses of pure love.
Through your own childlike confidence and candor
Send us the rose of quietly discerning
Love of a Father, shining in each happening
Both sweet and bitter.
This be our portion, God forever blessed,
Father eternal, Son and Holy Spirit,
Whose is the glory which through all creation
Resounds forever.
11.11.11.5. Luce divina rutilantis aulae
Psalmody
Ant. 1 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
Psalm 113
Praise, O servants of the Lord, *
praise the name of the Lord!
May the name of the Lord be blessed *
both now and forevermore!
From the rising of the sun to its setting *
praised be the name of the Lord!
High above all nations is the Lord, *
above the heavens his glory.
Who is like the Lord, our God, *
who has risen on high to his throne
yet stoops from the heights to look down, *
to look down upon heaven and earth?
From the dust he lifts up the lowly, *
from his misery he raises the poor
to set him in the company of princes, *
yes, with the princes of his people.
To the childless wife he gives a home *
and gladdens her heart with children.
Ant. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
Ant. 2 For their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth.
Psalm 131
O Lord, my heart is not proud *
nor haughty my eyes.
I have not gone after things too great *
nor marvels beyond me.
Truly I have set my soul *
in silence and peace.
As a child has rest in its mother’s arms, *
even so my soul.
O Israel, hope in the Lord *
both now and forever.
Ant. For their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth.
Ant. 3 God chooses those the world considers weak to confound the strong.
Phil. 2:6-11
Though he was in the form of God, +
Jesus did not deem equality with God *
something to be grasped at.
Rather, he emptied himself, +
and took the form of a slave, *
being born in the likeness of men.
He was known to be of human estate *
and it was thus that he humbled himself,
obediently accepting even death, *
death on a cross!
Because of this, *
God highly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name *
above every name,
So that at Jesus’ name +
every knee must bend, *
in the heavens, on the earth,
and under the earth, *
and every tongue proclaim
to the glory of God the Father: *
JESUS CHRIST IS LORD!
Ant. God chooses those the world considers weak to confound the strong.
Reading
1 Timothy 2:1, 3-6a
First of all, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be offered for all men. Prayer of this kind is good, and God our Savior is pleased with it, for he wants all men to be saved and come to know the truth. And the truth is this:
“God is one
One also is the mediator between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus,
who gave himself as a ransom for all.”
Responsory
I will tell of your name to my friends: in the midst of the assembly I will praise you. — I will tell of your name to my friends: in the midst of the assembly I will praise you.
For you have not despised the poor in their distress; — in the midst of the assembly I will praise you.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. — I will tell of your name to my friends: in the midst of the assembly I will praise you.
Canticle of Mary
Ant. Father, I have made your name known to those you have given me: make them holy in the truth.
Intercessions
Let us pray to God, our almighty Father, for his Church throughout the world:
Lord, remember your covenant with us.
May we be inspired by the example of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus; — may your Church give itself to you in love.
May all contemplatives be faithful witnesses of your goodness; — so that the world may believe in you.
May we bear one another’s burdens in a spirit of love; — so that your faithful people may see your face in us and imitate your Son.
Fill us with a faithful missionary spirit; — for you desire all the world to know the truth of Christ.
Grant to all the faithful departed the joy of seeing your face; — for Christ wants those you gave him to be with him where he reigns in glory.
Our Father…
Prayer
God our Father,
you have promised your kingdom
to those who are willing to become like little children.
Help us to follow the way of Saint Thérèse with confidence
so that by her prayers
we may come to know your eternal glory.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Born in 1560 at Tartanedo (Spain) Maria Lopez de Rivas took the Discalced Carmelite habit at Toledo in 1577 and made her profession the following year. She spent the rest of her life serving God in that Carmel, except for a brief period in 1585 when she helped with a foundation at Cuerva. She died at Toledo on September 13, 1640. Saint Teresa of Jesus thought extremely highly of her. She was a great contemplative, intensely devoted to our Lord, and often drawing inspiration from the liturgy.
From the common of virgins
Office of Readings
Second Reading
From the Interior Castle of Saint Teresa of Avila
(Dwell. VI, 7, 10-15; II, 1, 11)
No one comes to the Father except through me
What I mean by meditation is to busy one’s understanding in the following way. We begin to think about God’s goodness to us in giving us his only Son, but we don’t stop there: we go on to all the other mysteries of his glorious life. Or we begin with his prayer in the garden, and our understanding doesn’t stop until we picture him nailed to the cross. Or we take a single scene from the passion, and go on thinking about that one mystery, working out in detail everything that can be thought or felt about it. It is a very admirable and meritorious kind of prayer.
No soul that has received so much from God, such precious proofs of his love, can forget them. They are live sparks that can only intensify what we feel for our Lord. Anyone who says he can’t dwell on these mysteries is quite mistaken. He will often have them in mind, especially when they are being celebrated by the Catholic Church.
The company of our beloved Jesus, and his blessed Mother, is far too good to be given up. For my own part I could not wish for any blessing that had not been won for us by him, through whom every good thing comes to us.
Our Lord said himself, No one can come to the Father except through me, and Whoever sees me, sees my Father. So if we never look at him, or think about what we owe him and the death he underwent for our sake, I don’t see how we can hope to know him or do anything to serve him. (Without such good works, what good is faith? And what good are works unless they are joined to the merits of Jesus Christ, our only good, which alone have any worth?) And how can anyone persuade us to love our Lord?
Responsory
Let your hearts be comforted in the knowledge of Christ, God’s mystery: —in him lies hidden every treasure of wisdom and knowledge.
You must live in him, be rooted in him, built upon him; —in him lies hidden every treasure of wisdom and knowledge.
Morning Prayer
Canticle of Zechariah
Ant. Blessed be God, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing.
Prayer
Lord,
you enabled Blessed Mary of Jesus
to contemplate the mysteries of your Son
and become a living image of his love.
Give us through her prayers
the burning faith to seek Jesus in all things
and the love to prove by our actions
the presence within us of him
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Evening Prayer
Canticle of Mary
Ant. If you gladly share Christ’s sufferings, you will have far greater joy when his glory is revealed.
Image of Blessed Mary commissioned by the church of Tartanedo after her beatification | Source: santosocd.blogspot.com
September 1 SAINT TERESA MARGARET REDI OF THE SACRED HEART Virgin
Memorial
Teresa Margaret belonged to the noble family of Redi, and was born in the Tuscan city of Arezzo in 1747. She entered the Discalced Carmelite monastery at Florence on September 1, 1764. She was granted a special grace of contemplative insight based on Saint John’s phrase God is love, through which she felt called to a hidden life of love and self-sacrifice. She progressed rapidly, fulfilling her vocation through heroic charity toward others. She died in Florence in 1770, aged twenty-three.
From the common of virgins
Office of Readings
Hymn
Come, happy Saint, and teach us all
The boundless love of Christ,
His gifts to you, that for the height
Of sanctity sufficed.
You made Teresa’s teaching yours,
Together with her name,
Determined to become with her
A spirit of pure flame.
Drawn by your Spouse, you lived with Him
A hidden life apart.
Teach us to drink the healing springs
That well up from his heart.
Praise to You, Eternal Father
And to Your Only Son
Who with the Holy Spirit pure
Forever reign as One.
C.M. Unknown
Second Reading
From the Acts of Canonization of Saint Teresa Margaret
(Decr. “Super tuto” AAS 26 [1934], pp 105-06)
The love of Christ impels us
Brief as it was, Teresa Margaret’s whole life may be regarded as one continual raising up of her guiltless soul to God.
In its innocence, her soul turned spontaneously to God, and seemed able to find rest in him alone. In her, utter purity was joined to profound humility and she genuinely loved to be disregarded and despised. She did not simply bear humiliations, she rejoiced in them. Her purity of heart and her lowliness of spirit earned for her a high degree of charity, and this rapidly increased until her ardor became truly seraphic and she could hardly speak of God without her face becoming suffused with joy. Her love of God went hand in hand with a deep love for her neighbor and especially for sinners, on whose behalf she offered herself unreservedly to God as a victim. Her unassuming kindness and complete self-denial for the sake of her sisters in religion, especially the sick, were such that she was regarded as an angel of charity.
The fires of her love were fed principally by the Eucharist, and she looked forward with longing to her communions. She was also especially devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a devotion which did much to curb the advances of Jansenism at that time in Tuscany. She was utterly devoted to Our Lady, whom she regarded as the model and protectress of her own virginal purity. She was endowed to a high degree with the gift of contemplative prayer, and daily grew closer to God, as though reflecting the glories of the eternity she was fast approaching.
As her life neared its end this true daughter of the holy Mother Teresa and faithful disciple of Saint John of the Cross was called upon through a mystical martyrdom of the spirit, to resemble her crucified Spouse yet more closely. It was the very intensity of her love which caused this martyrdom; for the more fervent love becomes the more unrelentingly it spurs the soul on to further love, and since no love of ours can match God’s infinite lovableness, such a soul suffers exquisite torments from its insatiable thirst for greater love, and seems to itself to be wrapped in impenetrable darkness and to be totally lacking in love for God. In fact the greater love is, the less it seems to itself to be. It is the soul that is truly nailed to the cross with Christ by this supreme martyrdom of the heart that wins for itself and for others the choicest fruits of redemption.
Such souls by their silent apostolate of suffering, love and prayer, are foremost in the benefits they obtain for mankind and are the purest and most exalted in the whole Church.
Responsory
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord. —You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
and with all your soul, and with all your strength.
The Lord your God is a consuming fire; a jealous God. —You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
and with all your soul and with all your strength.
Morning Prayer
Hymn
The life that flowered in Carmel’s shade,
Yielding a fragrant-scented grace,
Is crowned in heaven, a bud of light
Washed in the radiance from God’s face.
Margaret, you blaze with charity
Among those weaving virgin choirs
Who, for reward, follow the Lamb
Singing the love his name inspires.
Help us to catch that same love’s fire
That, lit with the interior flame,
We find our life, our peace, our joy,
All things in Christ and in his name.
Help us deserve the Father’s gifts,
Tasting eternity and heaven
On the unclouded source of joy
From whom alone all gifts are given.
Open our hearts to take the life
Which his renewing Spirit pours,
Life that returns the Father’s love
With the same freedom it restores.
So even on earth we come to know
God’s Trinity by God’s own grace,
Happy, like you, for evermore
To sing his glory and his praise.
L.M.
Text: Bro. John Leonard Davies, O.C.D.
Canticle of Zechariah
Ant. I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through me.
Prayer
Father,
you enabled Saint Teresa Margaret Redi
to draw untold resources of humility and charity
from the fountainhead, our Savior.
Through her prayers
may we never be separated from the love of Christ.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Evening Prayer
Hymn
Jesu, the Virgins’ Crown, do thou
Accept us, as in prayer we bow;
Born of that woman, whom alone
Virgin and Mother we do own.
Amongst the lilies thou dost feed,
With virgin choirs accompanied;
With glory deck’d, the spotless brides
Whose bridal gifts thy love provides.
They, wheresoe’er thy footsteps bend,
With hymns and praises still attend;
In blessed troops they follow thee,
With dance, and song, and melody.
We pray thee therefore to bestow
Upon our senses here below
Thy grace, that so we may endure
From taint of all corruption pure.
To God the Father, God the Son,
And God the Spirit, Three in One,
Laud, honor, might, and glory be,
From age to age eternally. Amen.
88.88. Jesu, coróna Vírginum
Canticle of Mary
Ant. As the Father has loved me, I have loved you; remain in my love.
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