Carmelite wisdom to encourage & inspire
Blessed Marie Henriette of Divine Providence, the infirmarian of Compiègne, demonstrated that the Lord gave her words and wisdom in the courtroom that defied human logic and glorified the martyrs for eternity.
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The Carmel of Dijon celebrated a triduum of liturgies from 13 to 15 October to mark the beatification of the Martyrs of Compiègne in 1906. St Elizabeth of the Trinity wrote, “I will be able to attend them.” We explain how this was possible.
On this date, three days before his death, Blessed John Paul I mentioned Georges Bernanos and the Dialogues of the Carmelites in his Angelus address. “Not violence but love,” he proclaimed, “can do everything.” His closing words were a prayer “that a new wave of love for our neighbour may sweep over this poor world.”
We recall the birth of Blessed Teresa of St. Augustine on this day in 1752, sharing important details about the “Act of Consecration”—not a vow of martyrdom—that she proposed to her spiritual daughters, the Discalced Carmelite nuns of Compiègne.
Keenly aware of Europe's urgent situation, in 1939 God prompted St. Edith Stein to offer herself to "the Heart of Jesus as a sacrifice of propitiation for true peace." We examine her request in the light of Carmelite spirituality and the examples of Discalced Carmelite martyrs who made similar offerings in centuries past.
We read a prophetic verse from a Christmas hymn composed by the prioress of the Blessed Carmelite Martyrs of Compiègne Mother Teresa of Saint Augustine, Marie Lidoine. Biographer Professor William Bush describes Mother Lidoine's resplendent transformation in her final moments at the foot of the scaffold.
As the French Revolution entered its worst days, sixteen Discalced Carmelites from the Monastery of the Incarnation in Compiègne offered their lives as a sacrifice to God, making reparation to him and imploring peace for the Church. On June 24th, 1794, they were arrested and thrown into prison. Their happiness and resignation were so evident that those around them were also encouraged to draw strength from God's love. They were condemned to death for their fidelity to the Church and their religious life and for their devotion to the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Singing hymns, and having renewed their vows before the superior, Teresa of St. Augustine, they were put to death in Paris on July 17th, 1794.
Sister Constance of Jesus, the novice and protomartyr of Compiègne, was seized with fear before their arrest. A clandestine priest offered her spiritual counsel: "you feel your head separated from your body and you enter paradise; are you happy?" She replied, "Yes, I'm no longer afraid."
One of three lay sisters in the community, Blessed Sister Saint Francis Xavier indicated five years before her martyrdom that her soul belonged to God alone.
The Carmelite Martyrs of Compiègne were beatified on 27 May 1906. Now the Holy Father has granted the opening of the Process of Equipollent Canonization. We have the details from the Discalced Carmelite General Curia.
We recall the birth of Blessed Teresa of St. Augustine on this date in 1752 with an excerpt from a Christmas carol that she wrote in 1792 or 1793
Nothing but death will be able to separate me from the company of my Sisters
Let Carmel echo joyfully the dying hymns that soared above when Compiègne so gladly gave its greatest witness to God’s love
Nothing but death will be able to separate me from the company of my Sisters
In the minds of young Christian idealists like Elizabeth, the idea of martyrdom could resurface from time to time
O loving Queen, Mother of might most holy, O deign to place us all within thy breast!
Remember the heroic and joyful fidelity with which they glorified you
Love will always be victorious, love can do everything
Let Carmel echo joyfully the dying hymns that soared above when Compiègne so gladly gave its greatest witness to God’s love
"Love will always be victorious, love can do everything."
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Antonio Mas Arrondo
Let nothing disturb you, Let nothing frighten you, All things are passing away: God never changes. Patience obtains all things. Whoever has God lacks nothing; God alone suffices. ~ St. Teresa of Avila
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