Carmelite wisdom to encourage & inspire
On the journey of faith, “we need to climb the mountain, over and over again, allowing the light of the Risen Lord to illuminate the darkness of our existence,” says Bishop Silvio José Báez, o.c.d.
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St. Thérèse of Lisieux studied French composition at the Benedictine abbey boarding school, Notre Dame du Pré. On 18 February 1886 she wrote "The Little Savoyard," a story that combines a tale of French mountain culture and childlike trust.
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Brother Lawrence comforts a sick nun, saying: "God indeed knows what we need, and everything he does is for our good." Brother Lawrence urges us to recognize and accept God's loving action.
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On 31 January 1579 St. Teresa wrote a memorable letter to her nuns in Seville to encourage them in the midst of a great trial: the learned and talented prioress was unjustly deposed from office and an ill-equipped nun was appointed in her place. In this letter we read some of the great pearls of Teresian wisdom: pithy phrases of encouragement to aid her nuns in distress.
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We join the faithful in celebrating the 38th anniversary of Bishop Silvio José Báez’s priestly ordination. This excerpt from one of his homilies talks about placing ourselves at the service of the crucified. Ad multos annos, Bishop!
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"The world is all in flames; they want to sentence Christ again, so to speak, since they raise a thousand false witnesses against Him," cries St. Teresa of Avila, pleading: "this is not the time to be discussing with God matters that have little importance."
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On the anniversary of St John of the Cross’s canonization, we read a quote from St Edith Stein’s “Science of the Cross,” which recounts an assault on John from an angry lover whose girlfriend John converted.
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On the feast of St. Stephen, St. Edith Stein pauses to write to a former student; she explains the vocation “to suffer with Christ and thereby to cooperate with him in his work of salvation.”
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“Love is strong as death, passion fierce as the grave,” we read in the Song of Songs. Similarly, St. John of the Cross cautions us that love doesn’t consist “in feeling great things...”
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St. Teresa of the Andes was profoundly moved by the writings of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity. “I love her,” Teresa writes in her diary. “Although she was a saint, I will imitate her and be a saint.”
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St. Elizabeth of the Trinity wrote a series of farewell letters at the end of October 1906; today we read her promise to pray for young Clémence, a companion in the novitiate who left Carmel in the summer of 1906. Elizabeth was her “guardian angel” in Carmel, helping her to adapt and adjust to monastic life.
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Blessed John Paul I was born on this day in 1912. In his beautiful letter to St. Thérèse that was published by Messaggero di San Antonio magazine, he writes: “I was seventeen when I read your autobiography. It struck me forcibly.”
St. John of the Cross points to Moses and Zechariah as two examples of biblical heroes who practiced perseverance in prayer. What is St. John's message? “Do not become discouraged and give up prayer.”
Edith Stein was canonized in Rome on 11 October 1998. In this blog post we share excerpts from the homily of St John Paul II and images that reflect her life and mission.
Today we read about St. Teresa’s vision of hell. Hell is a theme that appears often in her writings; it underlines the fact that free will is a gift and that we can choose to love God freely for our redemption through Christ.
Saint Teresa often refers to the humanity of Christ in her writings; it is crucial to her doctrine on prayer. Let’s recognize that she invites us to be in love with Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, God-With-Us.
Quote of the day, 10 September: Père Jacques devoted his Friday evening retreat conference at the Carmel of Pontoise to the Cross and suffering. Paraphrasing St Teresa, he said, “Life without suffering is a waste of time. Every hour not united to God's will is an hour squandered.”
Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity, always a spiritual director to her own mother, offers this word of wisdom in a letter written on this date in 1906: “The Master called the hour of his Passion ‘His hour’... When faced with great suffering or a tiny sacrifice, oh, let’s think right away that ‘this is our hour’...” Elizabeth faced great suffering in that moment of her life; was she encouraging herself, too?
Blessed Maria Sagrario of St. Aloysius Gonzaga was a Discalced Carmelite martyr of the Spanish Civil war, who was executed on 15 August 1936. In her writings, we find this passage: "Blessed be he who arranges everything for our good! In possessing him, we possess everything."
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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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