Carmelite wisdom to encourage & inspire
On Monday, June 8, 1891, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity received the sacrament of Confirmation from the bishop of Dijon. To mark this important day, we present our translation of her poem, "Pentecost," which includes the first mention of the Trinity in her writings.
Reading time: 1 minute, 218 words
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Blessed Mary of the Incarnation, the famed founder Madame Acarie, was beatified by Pope Pius VI on 5 June 1791, amid the anti-clerical uproar of the French Revolution. Here is her prayer of surrender to God, "O more than admirable power."
Reading time: 2 minutes, 287 words
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Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection tells a nun, “you are not the only one who experiences distractions.” His remedy: be simple and brief in speaking to God; "strive to be attentive to God's presence.”
Reading time: 1 minutes, 247 words
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“We have to look more to God,” wrote St. Titus Brandsma in his lectures on the Richness of Pentecost. “Pray with Mary the Mother of the Lord. Turn your eye to God and ask Him what you should do.”
"The Holy Spirit knew the Virgin Mary in advance, for he taught her the rich lessons of prayer," says Père Jacques de Jésus. “The Holy Spirit inflamed Mary’s heart and swept her up into the bosom of the triune God.”
Reading time: 1 minute, 228 words
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The year 1587 was decisive in the spiritual life of St Mary Magdalen de' Pazzi. On 17 September the Blessed Virgin appeared to the Saint and assured her that she had never offended God.
Reading time: 2 minutes, 414 words
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St Mary Magdalen de’ Pazzi was half a century younger than St Teresa, yet Mary Magdalen was drawn to the same love of poverty. Read about her 1587 call to wear a patched habit and remove her shoes.
St Teresa's youngest brother Agustín de Ahumada left with the Spanish armada on 24 May 1546, bound for Peru. Here Teresa writes to her brother Lorenzo: "I am very concerned about Agustín... I pray a great deal for him."
Reading time: 3 minutes, 652 words
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Père Jacques de Jésus reminds us of the purpose of prayer and the master teacher of prayer, the Holy Spirit. “Christ himself specifies who is the teacher for this difficult, but necessary instruction.”
Reading time: 1 minute, 111 words
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St. John of the Cross writes about the beauty of nature as an aid to prayer, that it is one of the places where "God usually moves the will." Don't go there to focus on creation, though; focus on God the Creator.
Reading time: 1 minute, 250 words
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We recall the canonization of St Mary of Jesus Crucified on 17 May 2015, sharing her powerful prayer to Mary: “O Blessed Virgin, my Mother, I cast myself at your feet.”
Reading time: 1 minute, 228 words
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St. John Paul II offered this prayer on the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God in 1979: “Spare all mothers on this earth the death of their sons... keep for them the joy of birth... implore with us peace and justice in the world!"
Reading time: 2 minutes, 456 words
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In St. Edith Stein’s biography of St. Teresa, Edith recounts the death of Teresa’s mother, which inspired her love of the Virgin: “The young person certainly surmised that she needed special protection.”
Reading time: 1 minute, 182 words
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St Teresa of the Andes admitted in her journal in 1917 that she felt drawn to “the rigors of penance;” she added, “I feel a longing to be a martyr in my body.”
Reading time: 1 minute, 200 words
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St. Teresa of Avila favors meditating on the humanity of Christ: "We have him so near in the Blessed Sacrament... Behold Him here without suffering, full of glory, before ascending into heaven."
Reading time: 2 minutes, 427 words
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On the anniversary of the beatification of St. Teresa on 24 April 1614, we recall the indefatigable foundress who felt Christ present beside her. Bishop Báez reminds us that Jesus walks with us, too, along life’s pathways.
Reading time: 1 minute, 232 words
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Fr. Antoine-Marie Leduc leads us in our Easter meditation on prayer; Father and St. Thérèse remind us that prayer has two dimensions: missionary and priestly, and they explains how this is so. https://carmelitequotes.blog/2023/04/08/leduc-tejprayer/
We ponder once again St. Edith Stein’s haunting exhortation: "Stand before the Lord who hangs from the cross with his heart torn open. He poured out the blood of his heart in order to win your heart."
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St Teresa reflects on the period in her life when she gave up the practice of prayer "under the pretext of humility." She says, "it seems to me that this was the way the devil began to tempt Judas."
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In her article for the Augsburg Post published 31 March 1935, St Edith Stein explains the heart of the Carmelite Rule, "meditating on the Law of the Lord day and night and watching in prayer."
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Let nothing disturb you, Let nothing frighten you, All things are passing away: God never changes. Patience obtains all things. Whoever has God lacks nothing; God alone suffices. ~ St. Teresa of Avila
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