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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St. Edith Stein explains the teaching of St. John of the Cross, indicating how faith, hope, and love enable us to draw closer to transforming union with God in our intellect, memory, and will.
Reading time: 1 minute, 216 words
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"I offer you everything" is the motto of Blessed Chiquitunga, and with these words she begins her prayer for an increase in fervor and union with Jesus in the holy sacrifice of the Mass. We recall her birth on 12 January 1925 in Villarrica, Paraguay and revisit her beatification in video and images.
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In her unpublished notebooks, St. Mary of Jesus Crucified sings her praise to the Holy Family; “Glory and love to Jesus, to Mary, to Saint Joseph. Glory to all the Saints…”
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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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St. John of the Cross describes with exquisite beauty the goal of every Christian: “the soul's aim is a love equal to God's. [...] In the strong union of glory,” he adds, “her love will be God's love.”
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The Virgin Mary’s charity at work in her Visitation to St Elizabeth highlights the teaching of St John of the Cross, “charity prepares the will and unites it with God through love.”
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“O night that has united the Lover with his beloved, transforming the beloved in her Lover,” St. John writes. The Blessed Virgin’s “fiat” was her transforming moment!
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At the Annunciation, the Virgin Mary asked, “how can this be, since I am a virgin?” St John of the Cross says that “belief in God’s being” is the way to reach union with God, not by understanding.
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Saint Teresa writes, “If you do not strive for the virtues and practice them, you will always be dwarfs.” Today then, let’s pray for the grace to grow in virtue, so that God’s love for us may be expressed and nurtured in our love for Him.
When Saint Teresa wrote a poem about the Song of Songs, she said, “my Beloved One is mine and I at last am surely His.” All our self-denial and humble sacrifice prepare us for union with God.
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."
Blessed Chiquitunga led an active apostolic life in Paraguay's Catholic Action movement prior to entering Carmel. In this prayer, she pleads with God: "let this ardor of my heart change into an intense life of union with You, beloved Master, of intense apostolate for Your glory..."
What gives God joy? St. John of the Cross explains that he rejoices to find "the humility and the nakedness of our heart and in our contempt of worldly things for love of him." Not with sour faces, but with the joy that it gives him.
An recurring theme in the writings of St. John of the Cross is his counsel on how to achieve union with God; in other words, how to become a saint. In the Ascent of Mount Carmel, he explains in concrete terms the need to conform our will to God's will and to detach our soul from all things in order to go to God.
For the one who possesses Jesus possesses all; He is the treasure of treasures. In Him alone we find our joy and not in the creature.
Compared to the infinite goodness of God, all the goodness of the creatures of the world can be called wickedness. [...] Those who set their hearts on the good things of the world become extremely wicked in the sight of God.
True union with God, St. Teresa says, is union of our wills with His. She states that lack of obedience is an indicator of the presence of self-will and self-love. "Make your will one with God's. This is the union that I desire and would want for all of you."
The bride feels that this voice of the Bridegroom speaking within her is the end of evil and the beginning of good
St. Teresa of Avila reveals the human body to be Christ’s chosen dwelling place
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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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