The Holy Innocents, Feast 28th Dec

Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matt 5:10)

If you had been of the world, the world would love its own: but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. (John 15:19)

credits: Matteo di Giovanni and Tintoretto paintings of the Holy Innocents slaughter.

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St John of the Cross, Priest, Doctor of the Church

John de Yepes was born in Fontiveros, in Spain, in about 1542, and became Carmelite friar in 1563, some time before he met St Teresa of Avila. Soon after, she persuaded him to help her in her persuit to reform the Carmelite order. This was a difficult and a dangerous task, which culminated in his imprisonment and punishments at the hands of the Church authoritiess. By the time he died he was recognised of his sanctity. He is renowned for his mystical works and is considered one of the great Spanish poets. he was canonised in 1726 and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1926.

 

Oh, how sweet Your presence will be to me, You Who are the supreme good! I must draw near You in silence and uncover my feet before You that You may be pleased to unite me to You in marriage (Ruth 3:7), and I will not rest until I rejoice in Your arms. Now I ask You, Lord, not to abandon me at any time in my recollection, for I am a squandered of my soul. (Maxims and Counsels, 45). 

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Feast of St Andrew the Apostle - click for link

As in the case of all the apostles except Peter and John, the Gospels give us little about Andrew. He was an apostle. That is enough. He was called personally by Jesus to proclaim the Good News, to heal with Jesus' power and to share his life and death. Holiness today is no different. It is a gift that includes a call to be concerned about the Kingdom, an outgoing attitude that wants nothing more than to share the riches of Christ with all people. “The Twelve called together the community of the disciples and said, ‘It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to serve at table. Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom, whom we shall appoint to this task, whereas we shall devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word’” (Acts 6:2-4).

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Novena to the Immaculate Conception 29th November to 7th December - click to pray

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Feast of Christ the King - click to read encyclical of Pope Pius XI 'Quas Primas' on the reign of Christ

The Feast of Christ the King was established by Pope Pius XI to celebrate the Jubilee Year and 16th centenary of the Council of Nicea. In his encyclical letter issued on this noble occasion on Decemebr 11, 1925, the Pope brings to our attention traditional and biblical sources confirming the sovereignty of Our Lord Jesus Christ. He also explains the need for special liturgical celebration of the universal Church each year on the last Sunday of the liturgical year before the first Sunday of Advent.

“If to Christ our Lord is given all power in heaven and on earth; if all men, purchased by his precious blood, are by a new right subjected to his dominion; if this power embraces all men, it must be clear that not one of our faculties is exempt from his empire. He must reign in our minds, which should assent with perfect submission and firm belief to revealed truths and to the doctrines of Christ. He must reign in our wills, which should obey the laws and precepts of God. He must reign in our hearts, which should spurn natural desires and love God above all things, and cleave to him alone. He must reign in our bodies and in our members, which should serve as instruments for the interior sanctification of our souls, or to use the words of the Apostle Paul, as instruments of justice unto God.[35] If all these truths are presented to the faithful for their consideration, they will prove a powerful incentive to perfection.” Pope Pius XI – Quas Primas

Let us adore Our Lord with Carmelite Saints:

Long live Christ the King!

(Blessed Teresa of the Child Jesus of Guadalajara Carmel, martyred in 1936)

"You, my God, are an eternal King, and Yours is no borrowed kingdom...When the Credo says: 'of Your Kingdom there shall be no end' this phrase nearly always makes me feel particularly happy. Yes, I praise You, Lord, and bless You, for Your Kingdom will endure forever" (St Teresa of Jesus, Way of Perfection, ch 22)

"I Shall Stay with You...."

Your throne is at the Lord's right hand,

Within the realm of His eternal glory,

God's word from when the world began.

You reign upon the highest throne of all,

Even in transfigured form,

Since You fulfilled Your task on earth.

So I believe, because Your word has taught me,

And, thus believing, know that this delights me,

And blessed hope blooms out of it.

For where you are, there also Your dear ones.

And Heaven is my glorious fatherland,

With You I share the Father's throne.

The Eternal One, creator of all being,

Who, holy thrice, encompasses

Retains a quiet realm all to Himself,

The inmost chamber of the human soul

Is favourite dwelling to the Trinity,

His heavenly throne right here on earth.

To free this heaven'ly realm from the hostile hand,

God's Son descended as the Son of Man

He gave His blood as ransom.

Within the heart of Jesus pierced with lances,

The realms of Heaven and earth become united.

And here we find the spring of life itself.

This is the heart of Trinity divine,

The center also of all human hearts.

Source of our life from God.

It draws us close with its mysterious might,

It keeps us safe within the Father's lap

And floods us with the Holy Spirit.

This heart beats in a tiny tabernacle

Where it remains in hidden mystery,

Within that orbit, silent, white.

That is Your royal throne, O Lord, on earth,

Which You have built for us, plainly to see,

It pleases You when we draw near....

Each morn You come to me at early Mass,

Your flesh and blood become my food and drink;

And wonders are accomplished...

How wondrous are the marvels of Your love,

We are amazed, we stammer and grow dumb,

For word and spirit fails us.

(St Benedicta of the Cross "Selected Works") 

Prayer (St Raphael Kalinowski (1835-1907)

Jesus, hope of suffering humanity, our refuge and our strength, whose light pierces the black cloud that hang over our stormy sea, enlighten our eyes so that we can direct ourselves toward You Who are our harbour. Guide our bark with the rudder of the nails of Your cross, lest we drown in the storm. With the arms of this cross rescue us from the turbulent waters and draw us to Yourself, our only repose, Morning Star, Sun of Justice, for with our eyes obscured by tears, we can catch a glimpse of You there, on the shores of our heavenly homeland. redeemed by You, we pray: Salvos nos fac propter nomen tuum - "Save us for the sake of Your holy name." And all this through Mary.

("Saint Raphael Kalinowski: An Introduction to His Life and Spirituality")
 

Picture represents 18th century Cuzco, Peru, art school - "Triumph of Christ the King over four continents" original in the Brooklyn Museum NY.

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It seems to me that nobody has penetrated the mystery of Christ in its depth except the Blessed Virgin. Saint Paul often speaks about "the understanding"....The secret that she pondered and kept in her heart, no tongue has been able to tell, nor pen translate. May this Mother of Grace form my heart, so that her little child be a living and striking image of her first-born, the Son of the Eternal, the One who was the perfect praise of the glory of his Father (Bl Elisabeth of the Trinity, Mary, Model of Interior Souls).

After 'A Moment with Mary'

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Bl Francis dAmboise, memoria

  “You have various afflictions which constitute your cross. Bear them willingly to the very end, when you will finally yield your soul to God. Give Him praise and thanks for calling you to His service. Scorn no-one, for it is God’s will that you love each one of your neighbors as you do those of your own community. Strive to curb all unruly instincts within you. To this end try one remedy today and another tomorrow, so that gradually you will subdue your unruly impulses, and when the Lord sees your good will and your perseverance, He will give you the support of His grace, enabling you to sustain to the end the burdens of religious life. Through His love nothing will be too difficult for you to bear.” Bl Frances d’Amboise Exhortations to her Nuns, after www.ocarm.org, click on the post tile for more.

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All Souls' Day

'Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light' (Matt 11:30) 

Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom...Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise (Luke 23: 42-43)

'..here we recommended her to the Lord and offered prayers for her soul in all our monasteries'...'it is those who do not recall there is an everlasting life that feel such pain when someone departs from the miseries of this life' (St Teresa letter to Lorenzo de Cepeda, 1570) 
'..you can consider all the nuns of this house to be your servants and capellanas (Carmelites devoted to pray for specific souls) (St Teresa letter to Diego de San Pedro de Palma, 1570). 
'...why we should feel sorry about those who depart for a safe heaven, whom God draws out of this world with its dangers and instability'.  (St Teresa letter to Dona Luisa de la Cerda, 1571).
'I feel it, we must go to heaven by the same route, the one of suffering united with love. When I reach the harbour, I will teach you...how to navigate on the stormy sea of the world, with the abandon and love of a child who knows that his Father cherished him and would not leave him alone in a time of danger'. ( St Therese Letters)

'...I cannot bring myself to fear Purgatory; I know that I am not worthy to enter that place of expiation with the Holy Souls, but I also know that the fire of love is more sanctifying that that of Purgatory, that Our Lord does not want us to suffer needlesly, and that He would never inspire me with desires that He does not intend to fulfill'. (St Therese Story of a soul)

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Feast of All Saints

I saw a great multitude which no man could number, of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and in the sight of the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and with palms in their hands. (Ap 7:2-12).

Who are those glorious saints? They have lived upon earth as we have, they have known our miseries, our difficulties, our struggles. Some of them we recognize easily, for the Church has raised them to the honours of the Altar; but the great majority are entirely unknown to us. They are humble people who lived obscurely in the accomplishment of duty, without display, without renown, whom no one here below remembers, but whom the heavenly Father looked upon, knew in secret, and, having proved their fidelity, called to His glory. The honourable positions occupied by some in this vast gathering, or the mighty deeds accomplished by others, no longer possess any value of themselves: eternal beatitude is not determined by the great things achieved here below. One things only endures, for the humble and the great, the poor and the wealthy: the degree of love they had attained, to which corresponds the degree of glory which now renders them eternally happy. (Ven Gabriel of St Mary Magdalen de Pazzi, OCD)

O blessed souls, who knew so well how to profit by the gifts of God, and to purchase with the precious ransom so delectable and enduring a heritage, tell us how you won through Him such an eternal blessing! Assist us, since you are so near the Fountainhead. Draw water for those of us on earth who are perishing with thirst. Teresa of Jesus, Exclamation of the Soul to God

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St Simon and St Jude, the Apostles

It is God who works in you both to will and to accomplish. Phil. 2:13

Simon was a Galilean, first cousin of Jesus, son of Mary, the wife of Cleophas who was the brother of Saint Joseph, according to tradition. All the sons of this family were raised at Nazareth near the Holy Family (St Matthew 13:53-58). Simon, Jude and James were called by Our Lord to be Apostles. St Simon preached in Egypt, Mauritania (Spain), and Lybia, leaving behind him the fertile hills of Galilee, where he had been engaged in the cultivation of the vineyards and olive gardens. He later rejoined his brother, St Jude, in Persia, where they labored and died together. At first they were respected by the king, for they had manifested power over two ferocious tigers, as the legend says, who had terrorized the land. With the king, sixty thousand Persians became Christians, and churches rose over the temple ruins. But when the two went elsewhere, the pagans commanded them to sacrifice to the sun. St Simon told the crowd that their gods were only demons, and ordered them to come out of the statues, which they did, revealing themselves under hideous forms. But the idolaters fell on the Apostles and massacred them, while they blessed God and prayed for their murderers. Saint Jude has left us a short but powerful epistle, written after the death of his brother James, bishop of Jerusalem, and addressed to the new Christians being tempted by false brethren and heretics.

After sanctoral.com

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Feast of St Luke Evangelist

ST LUKE EVANGELIST Luke was born in Antioch to pagan Greek parents. St. Paul met him at Troas and invited him to accompany him into Macedonia where they traveled first to Samothrace, Neapolis, and finally Philippi about the year 51. Later, he became the constant companion of St. Paul, following him everywhere. He alone remained with Paul when he was imprisoned in Rome about the year 61. After St. Paul's death, St. Luke left Rome. There are conflicting reports about where he went. Some say he preached in Greece, others in Gaul. He wrote his Gospel with the aim of attracting the Gentiles to the goodness and mercy of the Lord. A little later he wrote the Acts of the Apostles. He died without shedding his blood, but the Church honored him with the title of martyr for the long sufferings and mortifications he endured for the cause of the Gospel.  

 

Joy in temporal goods. How a person should direct it to God. 1. We listed the first kind of goods as temporal.[1] By temporal goods we mean: riches, status, positions, and other things claiming prestige; and children, relatives, marriages, and so on. All these are possible objects of joy for the will. But the vanity of rejoicing over riches, titles, status, positions, and other similar goods after which people usually strive is clear. If people were better servants of God by being richer, they would be obliged to rejoice in riches. But riches are rather the occasion of their offending God, as the Wise Man teaches: Son, if you be rich you shall not be free from sin [Ecclus. 11:10]. Though it is true that temporal goods of themselves are not necessarily the cause of sin, yet, because of the weakness of its tendencies, the human heart usually becomes attached to them and fails God, which is sin. Thus the Wise Man says you will not be free from sin. This is why the Lord in the Gospel calls them thorns; the one who willfully handles them will be wounded with some sin [Mt. 13:22; Lk. 8:14]. In St. Luke's Gospel the exclamation – which ought to be greatly feared - asserts: How difficult will it be for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of heaven (those who have joy in them), and demonstrates clearly a person's obligation not to rejoice in riches, since one is thereby exposed to so much danger [Lk. 18:24; Mt. 19:23]. In order to turn us from this danger, David also taught: If riches abound, do not set your heart on them [Ps. 62:10]. St John of the Cross, ‘Ascent of Mt Carmel’, Book 3. Ch 18. 

 

The picture of St Luke the Evangelist is from fresco in Cappella Tornabuoni, Santa Maria Novella, Florence, 1486-90

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Feast of the Holy Guardian Angels

FEAST OF THE HOLY GUARDIAN ANGELS Father Goffine's "Devout Instructions" after www.catholic-forums.org/saints/ This feast was instituted: 1.To thank God that to each one of us He has given a particular guardian angel to conduct him unharmed through the dangers of this world. 2.To inspire us with gratitude to the angels who do us such great good, and to incite us to efforts to render ourselves worthy of their guardianship. What is the office of a guardian angel? To guard men against dangers of soul and body. The Psalmist says: "He hath given His angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways; in their hands shall they bear thee up, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone" (Psalm 90:11); that is, that thou mayest neither fall into sin nor misfortune. "Oh, what great regard for us," hereupon exclaims Saint Bernard, "what wonderful love! Who is it that has given charge? God. To whom has He given charge? The angels, those noble spirits, His own household. What charge has He given them? To guard and defend us, poor men. 'O Lord, what is man, that Thou art mindful of him'?" Saint Paul calls the angels "ministering spirits" sent to minister to them who shall receive the inheritance of salvation (Hebrews 1:14). In innumerable other places in the Bible they are represented as friends of children, guides of youth, defenders of innocence, promoters of good deeds, monitors against evil, guardians of the pious, protectors against misfortune, comforters in need, deliverers in danger, helpers in combat, companions of the souls in everlasting joy. What should we do every day, but particularly this day? We should thank God for having given us guardians so holy and powerful, and our guardian angel himself for the help he has rendered us; should think of and call upon him often, especially in the hour of temptation; finally, we should promise fidelity and obedience to his admonitions. Whatever in this regard is at any time binding upon us should especially be done to-day. Prayer O God, Who by an unspeakable providence dost vouchsafe to send Thy angels to guard us, grant to Thy suppliants to be ever defended by their protection, and to rejoice eternally in their society. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen. Epistle: Exodus 23:20-23 Thus saith the Lord: Behold I will send My angel, who shall go before thee, and keep thee in thy journey, and bring thee into the place that I have prepared. Take notice of him, and hear his voice, and do not think him one to be contemned; for he will not forgive when thou hast sinned, and My name is in him. But if thou wilt hear his voice, and do all that I speak, I will be an enemy to thy enemies, and will afflict them that afflict thee. And My angel shall go before thee. Gospel: Matthew 18:1-10 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying: Who thinkest Thou is the greater in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus calling unto Him a little child, set him in the midst of them, and said: Amen I say to you, unless you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, he is the greater in the kingdom of heaven. And he that shall receive one such little child in My name receiveth Me. But he that shall scandalize one of these little ones that believe in Me, it were better for him that a millstone should be hanged about his neck, and that he should be drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of scandals. For it must needs be that scandals come, but nevertheless, woe to that man by whom the scandal cometh. And if thy hand or thy foot scandalize thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee. It is better for thee to go into life maimed or lame, than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into everlasting fire. And if thy eye scandalize thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee. It is better for thee having one eye to enter into life, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire. See that you despise not one of these little ones: for I say to you, that their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father Who is in heaven. 

 

 

 

 

 

Prayer to the Guardian Angel Angel of God, my guardian dear, To whom His love commits me here, Ever this day be at my side, To light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen. (100 days' indulgence each time)

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Feast of Our Lady of Walsingham

Our Lady of Walsingham belongs to England. And it is a 15th-century poet, laureate of the famous chapel now destroyed, who sang that England belonged to Mary:

O England, great cause thou hast glad for to be,
Compared to the land of promised Sion,
Thou attainest my grace to stand in that degree
Through this glorious Lady’s supportation,
To be called in every realm and region
The holy land, Our Lady’s dowry;
Thus art thou named of old antiquity.

One cannot doubt that Our Lady is still looking with a maternal love on this island where, for centuries, countless pilgrims came to put down their burden at her shrine «where grace is poured out daily upon men of all ages» and, when they departed, they carried with them in the intimate recess of their heart the peace of heaven, sprung from the faith of their childhood, which brings peace to the heart and lifts up the veil that hides the vision of a pure and everlasting joy. (His Holiness Pope Pius XII - An address to British Soldiers on April 11, 1947)

credit 'A Moment with Mary'

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Novena Rose Prayer to St Therese starts 22nd September

Novena Rose Prayer

O Little Therese of the Child Jesus, please pick for me a rose from the heavenly gardens and send it to me as a message of love.

O Little Flower of Jesus, ask God today to grant the favors I now place with confidence in your hands...(mention petitions)

St. Therese, help me to always believe as you did, in God's great love for me, so that I might imitate your "Little Way" each day. Amen.

credit to Carmelite Sisters of the Divine Heart of Jesus, Manchester, St Louis

The image is my drawing of St Therese image with mixed media, charcol/watercolour.

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FEAST OF EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROS - click to read

O God, Who on this day givest us joy by the annual solemnnity of the exaltation of the holy cross, grant, we beseech Thee, that we may deserve the reward of His redemption in heaven Whose mystery we have known upon earth. Through the same Lord Jesus Christ, etc. Amen. EPISTLE Brethren. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and in habit found as a man. He humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross. For which cause God also hath exalted him, and hath given him a name which is above all names: That in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth: And that every tongue should confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father. GOSPEL (John 12:31-36) At that time Jesus said to the multitude of the Jews: Now is the judgment of the world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself. (Now this he said, signifying what death he should die.) The multitude answered him: We have heard out of the law, that Christ abideth for ever; and how sayest thou: The Son of man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of man? Jesus therefore said to them: Yet a little while, the light is among you. Walk whilst you have the light, that the darkness overtake you not. And he that walketh in darkness, knoweth not whither he goeth.Whilst you have the light, believe in the light, that you may be the children of light. These things Jesus spoke; and he went away, and hid himself from them. INSTRUCTION ON THE WAY OF THE CROSS What is the Holy Way of the Cross? It is a devotional exercise by which we meditate upon the passion and death of Jesus, and particularly upon His last way of sorrows, from the house of Pilate to Mount Calvary. Tradition testifies that after Christ's ascension the Christians living in Jerusalem were accustomed particularly to venerate the holy places which had been sanctified by the passion of the divine Redeemer. But after Jerusalem fell into hands of the infidels, so that it became dangerous, and often impossible, to pass over the ground which Our Lord had trod, the children of St. Francis of Assisi began to erect in their churches the fourteen stations of the Way of the Cross, by meditating on which the faithfull might, in spirit, accompany the pilgrims to Jerusalem on the way to Calvary, dwelling in thought on what Christ had suffered for men. Stations here means a place to pause, a resting-point for meditation. This devoution has been examined and approved by many Popes, enriched with indulgences, and earnestly recommended to Christians. It may be found in any prayer-book. No exercise is more profitable to our souls than this. What can bring before us the love of God and the abominabless and frightfulness of sin in a more vivid manner than the sufferings of the God-man? How can we any longer indulge in hate when we hear Jesus pray for His enemies? How can we give ourselves up to sensuality and lust when we see the divine Saviour scourged, crowned with thorns, and hanging on the cross? How can we murmur at our trials when we think that Jesus innocent takes up the cross for us guilty? In truth, we should see our coldness and indifference disappear, as ice melts in the heat, we should grow more and more zealous in the way of virtue, if we would but rightly meditate upon the passion of Christ. How are visit to the stations of the Cross to be made? Rightly to visit the Stations of the Cross, and to draw therefrom real benefit, we should at each station consider with attention, with devotion and sorrow, what Jesus has done and suffered for us. We should not content ourselves with merely reciting at each station the proper prayers and meditations, but should pause, to impress upon our hearts what is there represented, that we may be moved and quickened to wholesome resolutions. In order to gain indulgences we must endeavour to be in the state of grace, and therefore at least, by the way of beginning, we must have perfect contrition for our sins.

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Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Our Lady's Birthday! What a beautiful feast on which to become the bride of Christ, baby Mary a day old presenting His little flower to little Jesus! On that day everything was little except the graces I received, and the peace and joy I felt when evening came and I gazed up at the starry heavens, where I would soon be united to my divine Bridegroom in everalsting happiness. From the time I awoke in the morning I was filled with peace, and it was in the peace of God which surpasseth all understanding (Phil 4; 7) that I pronounced my holy vows. At the close of this beautiful day I laid my wreath, as is the custom, at Our Lady's feet without any feeling of sadness, for I felt that time would not lessen my hapiness. O Jesus, I only ask Thee to give me peace!....Peace, and above all a love that knows no bounds. (St Therese, The Story of a Soul)

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St Teresa Margaet Redi

Carmelite Saint, St Teresa Margaret Redi, has some words to encourage the practice of recollection and the presence of God amid our daily duties:

“If we work here through obedience to God’s commands, it is impossible that He should destroy His own work in the soul....If we live and move in God, ... I do not think His company or love will desert us when we perform necessary external tasks, let alone constitute any obstacleto them....When I place everything in Love, Love will never abandon me. So I in my turn  abandon myself to the love of Jesus Christ with love for love, because His loving Heart desires to rule and reign in me, and of myself I would not know how to behave unless I place no obstacle to His acting in me.” Father, you unabled St Teresa Margaret Redi to draw untold resorces of humility and charity from the fountain-head, our Sviour. Through her prayers may we never be separated from the love of Christ. Grant this through our Lord, amen. After concluding prayer, Discalced Carmelite Proper Office.

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Commemoration of the Transverberation of St Teresa of Avila heart

St Teresa - ora pro nobis.

Today, Discalced Carmelites commemorate transverberation (piercing) of the heart of St. Teresa of Avila. In 1559, at the age of 44, the saint experienced one of the most sublime of her many mystical ecstasies. In a vision, she saw an angel, and in his hand he held a golden spear tipped with fire. He penetrated her heart and caused a very sharp pain that was at the same time exquisitely beautiful. Signs that the piercing were real are visible in her heart, which is incorrupt and kept in the glass reliquary (photo on the left) located in the Carmelite convent in Alba de Tormes, where St Teresa died in 1582 on her way back to Avila. We can read description of this mystical experience in Chapter 29 of her "Autobiography": “It pleased the Lord that I should sometimes…see beside me…an angel in bodily form…. He was not tall, but short, and very beautiful, his face so aflame that he appeared to be one of the highest types of angel who seemed all afire…. In his hands I saw a long golden spear and at the end of its iron tip I seemed to see a point of fire. With this he seemed to pierce my heart several times…[leaving] me completely afire with a great love of God.”

(picture after American Catholic

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Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, solemnity

See the beauty of the daughter of Jerusalem, who ascended to heaven like the rising sun at dawn (Morning Prayer, Benedictus Antiphon.

 

 One day, the feast of the Assumption of our Lady, Queen of Angels, the Lord desired to grant me the following favor; in a rapture He showed me her ascent to heaven, the happiness and solemnity with which she was received, and the place where she is. I wouldn't be able to describe how this happened. The glory my spirit experienced in seeing so much glory was magnificent. The effects of this favor were great. I was helped in having a deeper desire to undergo difficult trials, and I was left with a longing to serve our Lady since she deserved this so much. St Teresa of Avila, The book of her life, ch 39.

 

 

The image represents Titiano Vecelli's 'The Assumption of the Virgin' altarpiece, Venice Basilica di Santa Gloriosa dei Frari, after Titian.org

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St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross - Carmelite Nun.

"Those who join the Carmelite Order are not lost to their near and dear ones, but have been won for them, because it is our vocation to intercede to God for everyone....I keep thinking of Queen Esther who was taken away from her people precisely because God wanted her to plead with the king on behalf of her nation. I am a very poor and powerless little Esther, but the King who has chosen me is infinitely great and merciful. This is great comfort." (Edith Stein on Carmelite vocation, 1938). After being transferred to Dutch Carmelite convent from Cologne because of severe persecusion of Jews in Nazi Germany, she wrote in her will these words:  "Even now I accept the death that God has prepared for me in complete submission and with joy as being his most holy will for me. I ask the Lord to accept my life and my death ... so that the Lord will be accepted by His people and that His Kingdom may come in glory, for the salvation of Germany and the peace of the world.""

A brilliant philosopher who stopped believing in God when she was 14, Edith Stein was so captivated by reading the autobiography of Teresa of Avila that she began a spiritual journey that led to her Baptism in 1922. Twelve years later she imitated Teresa by becoming a Carmelite, taking the name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. Born into a prominent Jewish family in Wroclaw (Poland), Edith abandoned Judaism in her teens. As a student at the University of Göttingen, she became fascinated by phenomenology, an approach to philosophy. Excelling as a protégé of Edmund Husserl, one of the leading phenomenologists, Edith earned a doctorate in philosophy in 1916. She continued as a university teacher until 1922 when she moved to a Dominican school in Speyer; her appointment as lecturer at the Educational Institute of Munich ended under pressure from the Nazis.

After living in the Cologne Carmel (1934-38), she was moved to the Carmelite monastery in Echt, Netherlands.  In Echt, Edith Stein completed her study of "The Church's Teacher of Mysticism and the Father of the Carmelites, John of the Cross, on the Occasion of the 400th Anniversary of His Birth, 1542-1942." In 1941 she wrote to a friend, who was also a member of her order: "One can only gain a scientia crucis (knowledge of the cross) if one has thoroughly experienced the cross. I have been convinced of this from the first moment onwards and have said with all my heart: 'Ave, Crux, Spes unica' (I welcome you, Cross, our only hope)." Her study on St. John of the Cross is entitled: "Kreuzeswissenschaft" (The Science of the Cross). 

In retaliation for being denounced by the Dutch bishops, the Nazis arrested all Dutch Jews who had become Christians. Teresa Benedicta was arrested by the Gestapo on 2 August 1942, while she was praying in the convent's chapel with the other sisters. She was to report within five minutes, together with her sister Rosa, who had also converted and was serving at the Echt Convent. Her last words to be heard in Echt were addressed to Rosa: "Come, we are going for our people."

Together with many other Jewish Christians, the two women were taken to a transit camp in Amersfoort and then to Westerbork. This was an act of retaliation against the letter of protest written by the Dutch Roman Catholic Bishops against the pogroms and deportations of Jews. Edith commented, "I never knew that people could be like this, neither did I know that my brothers and sisters would have to suffer like this. ... I pray for them every hour. Will God hear my prayers? He will certainly hear them in their distress." Prof. Jan Nota, who was greatly attached to her, wrote later: "She is a witness to God's presence in a world where God is absent."

On 7 August, early in the morning, 987 Jews were deported to Auschwitz. It was probably on 9 August that Sister Teresia Benedicta a Cruce, her sister and many other of her people were gassed.

When Edith Stein was beatified in Cologne on 1 May 1987, the Church honoured "a daughter of Israel", as Pope John Paul II put it, who, as a Catholic during Nazi persecution, remained faithful to the crucified Lord Jesus Christ and, as a Jew, to her people in loving faithfulness."
 

To read the writings of St Teresa Benedicta on the history and spirit of Carmel, please follow LINK1

LINK2

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