St Maximilian Kolbe, Martyr and Knight of the Immaculate Virgin

Amen, amen, I say to you, if you ask the Father anything in My Name, He will give it to you. St. John 16:23

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION: These words fell from the lips of the Immaculata herself. Hence, they must tell us, in the most precise and essential manner, who she really is.

Since human words are incapable of expressing Divine realities, it follows that these words, "Immaculate" and "Conception", must be understood in a much more profound, much more beautiful and sublime meaning than usual: a meaning beyond that which human reason at its most penetrating commonly gives to them.

Who then are you, O Immaculate Conception?

Not God, of course, because He has no beginning. Not an angel, created directly out of nothing. Not Adam, formed out of the dust of the earth. Not Eve, molded from Adam's rib. Not the Incarnate Word, Who exists before all ages, and of Whom we should use the word "conceived" rather than "conception."

Humans do not exist before their conception, so we might call them created "conceptions." But you, O Mary, are different from all other children of Eve. They are conceptions stained by Original Sin; whereas you are the unique, Immaculate, Conception.

Everything which exists, outside of God Himself, since it is from God and depends on Him in every way, bears within itself some semblance to its Creator; there is nothing in any creature which does not betray this resemblance, because every created thing is an effect of the Primal Cause.

...

Who is the Father? What is His personal life like? It consists in begetting, eternally, because He begets His Son from the beginning and forever.

Who is the Son? He is the Begotten-One, because from the beginning, and for all eternity, He is begotten by the Father.

And Who is the Holy Spirit? The flowering of the love of the Father and the Son. If the fruit of created is a created conception, then the fruit of Divine love, that prototype of all created love, is necessarily a Divine "conception." The Holy Spirit is, therefore, the "uncreated, eternal conception," the prototype of all the conceptions that multiply life throughout the whole universe.

The Father begets; the Son is begotten; the Spirit is the "conception" that springs from their love; there we have the intimate life of the Three Persons by which They can be distinguished from one another. But They are united in the Oneness of Their Nature, of Their Divine existence. The Spirit is, then, this thrice holy "conception," this infinitely holy Immaculate Conception.

...

The creature most completely filled with this love, filled with God Himself, was the Immaculata, who never contacted the slightest stain of sin, who never departed in the least from God's will. United to the Holy Spirit as His spouse, she is one with God in an incomparably more perfect way than can be predicated of any other creature.

What sort of Union is this? It is above all an interior union, a union of her essence with the "essence" of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit dwells in her; lives in her. This was true from the first instance of her existence. It was always true and it will always be true.

And in what does this life of the Spirit in Mary consist? He Himself is uncreated Love in her; the Love of the Father and of the Son, the Love by which God loves Himself, the very love of the Most Holy Trinity. She is a fruitful Love, a "Conception." Among creatures made in God's image, the union brought about by married love is the most intimate of all. In a much more precise, more interior, more essential manner, the Holy Spirit lives in the soul of the Immaculata, in the depths of her very being. He makes her fruitful, from the very first instance of her existence, all during her life, and for all eternity.

This eternal "Immaculate Conception" [the Holy Spirit] produces in an immaculate manner Divine life itself in the womb or depths of Mary's soul, making her the Immaculate Conception, the human Immaculate Conception. And the virginal womb of Mary's body is kept sacred for Him; there He conceives in time the human life of the Man-God.

... she, the Immaculata, grafted into the Love of the Blessed Trinity, becomes, from the first moment of her existence and forever afterwards, the "complement of the Blessed Trinity." In the Holy Spirit's union with Mary we observe more than the love of two beings... .

So it is that, in this union, Heaven and Earth are joined; all of Heaven with the Earth, the totality of eternal love with the totality of created love. It is truly the summit of love. (St Maximilian Kolbe: Meditation on the Immaculate Conception)

credit: Rorate caeli blog

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Prayer to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, by Pope Pius X

O Immaculate Virgin, Mother of God and Mother of Humanity, we believe with all the fervour of our faith in your triumphal Assumption both in body and in soul into heaven where you are acclaimed as Queen by all the choirs of angels and all the legions of saints; we unite with them to praise and bless the Lord who has exalted you above all other pure creatures and to offer you the tribute of our devotion and our love.

We know that your gaze, which on earth watched over the humble and suffering humanity of Jesus, in heaven is filled with the vision of that humanity glorified and with the vision of uncreated Wisdom, and that the joy of your soul in the direct contemplation of the adorable Trinity causes your heart to throb with overwhelming tenderness; and we, poor sinners whose body weights down the flight of the soul, beg you to purify our hearts so that, while we remain below, we may learn to see God and God alone in the beauties of his creatures.

We trust that your merciful eyes may deign to gaze down upon our miseries and anguish, upon our struggles and our weaknesses; that your countenance may smile upon our joys and our victories; that you may hear the voice of Jesus saying to you of each one of us, as He once said to you of His Beloved Disciple:

"Behold you son," and we who call upon you as our Mother, we, like John, take you as the guide, strength and consolation of our mortal life.

We are inspired by the certainty that your eyes, which wept over the earth crimsoned by the blood of Jesus, are yet turned toward this world racked by wars and persecutions, the oppression of the just and the weak. From the shadows of this vale of tears, we seek in your heavenly assistance, tender mercy, comfort for our aching hearts, and help in the trials of Church and country.

We believe finally that in the glory where you reign, clothed with the sun and crowned with stars, you are, after Jesus, the joy and gladness of all the angels and the saints, and from this earth, over which we tread as pilgrims, comforted by our faith in the future resurrection, we look to you our life, our sweetness, our hope; draw us onward with the sweetness of your voice, so that one day, after our exile, you may show us Jesus, the blessed fruit of your womb.

O clement, O loving,

O sweet Virgin Mary.

Amen.

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Feast of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world - Matthew 25:34

He showed me [His Mother's] ascend to heaven, the happiness and solemnity with which she was received, and the place where she is...The glory my spirit experienced in seeing so much glory was magnificent. The effects of this favour were great. (St Teresa of Avila, 'Collected Works' 1:353)

That life from above,
That is true life...
Death, be not aloof,
In dying first, may life be,
I die because I do not die
(St Teresa of Avila "Collected Works" 3: 376)

According to apocryphal writings, after the Ascension, or after dispersal of the Apostles, Mary lived between fifteen and twenty-two years in her house in Jerusalem. Three days before her death an angel announces her approaching end. It happened when Mary was coming down the Mount of Olives, when she was met by the Archangel Gabriel, who gace her a palm in token of her triumphal entry into heaven. This was three days before her death. The place is still known as 'et Tamir', the palm Tree, and the ruins of a church were still visible there until 1882. On the third day, when Apostles forewarned, have arrived, a Sunday, Mary dies: Jesus receives her soul which He consigns to Michael. Jesus ordered the burial of Mary in Gethsemane. The Apostles carried the bier, but are attacked by the Jews who wish to snatch the corpse, and who were struck blind (up to this day the site is marked on Mt Sion). Having placed the body in Gethsemane, it was transported to paradise by angels, where it was reunited with the soul. According to some the Assumption took place after three days, and some relate that the reunion of the soul would take place only at the final resurrection. This in short is the early tradition of the Church, as shown in the apocryphal writings which show remarkable harmony in their various versions. It is possible to quote the early Fathers of the Church, but they reflect in great part the early tradition of Jerusalem.

After crossing the Brook of Cedron we have at the foot of the Mount of Olives the Church of the Assumption erected on the tomb that received the mortal remains of the Blessed Virgin. From this tomb she was taken into heaven, for not being subject to the yoke of sin, she bore not the consequences of sin, which are the corruption of flesh. Therefore,
she only went through the tomb but did not delay there; her tomb became the shrine of her glorious Assumption into Heaven. That Mary, at the end of her earthly existence was assumed into heaven was defined as an article of faith on November 1, 1950. Jerusalem Catholics celebrated the definition by a great procession...A first Church was erected by the patriarch Modestus but it was again destroyed, except the little edicule over the Tomb, before the arrival of the Crusaders, who rebuilt it, keeping the form of a lower and upper Church.

The Church was committed to the care of the Benedictines of Cluny, and besides it stood the well-known abbey of the Valley of Josaphat. When Saladin took the city in 1187, he ordered the destruction of the monastery and the upper church, but allowed the lower to remain out of respect for the Mother of Jesus, whom the Moslems hold in veneration. Probably at this time the Moslems excavated in the Byzantine wall of the crypt, to the right of the Tomb, a praying niche (a mihrab). Although few of them formally pray there nowadays, many of them brings offerings candles, oil and incense in fulfillment of vows.

The ruin of the sacred monument would nevertheless have been inevitable, had not the Franciscans entered into possession of the Church in the second half of the 14th century and carried out important restorations. For two centuries the Franciscans had the exclusive and peaceful possession of the Tomb, while the Armenians, the Greeks, the Abyssinians and the Syrians carried out their liturgy on altars within the crypt. With the coming of the Turks, in 1517, began the intrigues of the Greeks and finally in 1757 the Franciscans lost the place completely. This usurpation has never been made good, and today the Church is shared by the Greeks and the Armenians, while the Syrians and the Copts are allowed to celebrate the liturgy within the shrine. The building today is very badly kept, but beneath all the filth one can recognize its one time beauty in the Crusader and Byzantine structures. The church was completely flooded in 1948 and 1955, and it unexpectedly helped to clean it.

We stand beside the death-bed of Mary: no physical pain torments her, simply the longing to be with her Divine Son is consuming her earthly tenements of flesh. Mary dies without pain as gently as ripe fruit falls from the tree. With St John Damascene we can say: "The Blessed Virgin Mary did not on this day return to dust. For no sinful propensity ever inclined her towards the earth. No, the sentiments of her heart were ever directed upwards towards heaven. Why should she have to taste death from whom was born the true life of all? Still she submits to the general law of death, since it was promulgated by her son. As a daughter of Eve she submits to the ancient decree, as indeed her Son, who is Life Itself, submitted to it. But, inasmuch as she is the Mother of the Living God, she was worthy to be taken up to Him. Eve harkened to the voice of the serpent. the pains of motherhood and of death are therefore her punishment and in the gloomy dungeons of Limbo she is appointed a dwelling. But the Blessed Mother of Christ harkened to the Word of God and then the efficacious might of the Holy Ghost descended upon her.
How could she became the prey of the ravages of death. How could decomposition claim possession of the body in which the life of Our lord was conceived" (Second Seromn of Assumption)."

Excerpts from "Marian Shrines of the Holy Land" by Fr Hoade, 1958 edition

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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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Transfiguration of Our Lord

With three chosen disciples Jesus went up the mountain. Then he was transfigured by a wonderful light that made even his clothes seem to shine. Moses and Elijah stood by him and spoke with him of how he was going to complete his task on earth by dying in Jerusalem. In other words, they spoke of the mystery of his incarnation, and of his saving passion upon the cross. For the law of Moses and the teaching of the holy prophets clearly foreshadowed the mystery of Christ... The presence of Moses and Elijah, and their speaking together, was meant to show unmistakably that the law and the prophets were the attendants of our Lord Jesus Christ... They did not simply appear in silence; they spoke of how Jesus was to complete his task by dying in Jerusalem, they spoke of his passion and cross, and of the resurrection that would follow.

Thinking no doubt that the time for the kingdom of God had already come, Peter would gladly have remained on the mountain. He suggested putting up three tents, hardly knowing what he was saying. But it was not yet time for the end of the world; nor was it in this present time that the hopes of the saints would be fulfilled - those hopes founded on Paul's promise that Christ «would transform our lowly bodies into the likeness of his heavenly body» (Phil 3,21).

Only the initial stage of the divine plan had as yet been accomplished. Until its completion was it likely that Christ, who came on earth for love of the world, would give up his wish to die for it? For his submitting to death was the world's salvation, and his resurrection was death's destruction. (Saint Cyril of Alexandria (380-444), Bishop, Doctor of the Church, Homilies on the Transfiguration, 9)

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Feast of St John Vianney

The Marian Childhood of John Mary Vianney (I)

When John went out to the fields to herd his father’s sheep, he enjoyed kneading the clay-like soil into small statues of the Blessed Virgin and the saints as best he could. His sister told me that John had once made a fairly good statue of the Blessed Virgin. So they had it baked in a kiln and kept it in their home a long time.

Later, someone gave John a statuette of the Blessed Virgin as a gift and this made him very happy. He kept it close to him both day and night. (Catherine Lassagne 'The Virgin Mary and the Curé of Ars')

credit: A Moment with Mary

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Feast of St Dominic, founder of the Order of Preachers, click to read more

Then Jesus went from that place and withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, "Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon." But he did not say a word in answer to her. His disciples came and asked him, "Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us." He said in reply, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But the woman came and did him homage, saying, "Lord, help me." He said in reply, "It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs." She said, "Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters." Then Jesus said to her in reply, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed from that hour.   (Matthew 15:21-28)

 
 

"Have pity on me, Lord, son of David!" This is a cry for help of immense force..., a groan emerging as if from fathomless depths. It greatly surpasses our nature for it is the Holy Spirit himself who puts forth this groaning within us (Rom 8:26)... But Jesus says to her: "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." ... And what did she do, thus dismissed as she was?... She descended even more deeply into the abyss. Stooping down and humbling herself she continued to trust and said: "Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters."

       Ah! If only you, too, could manage to penetrate the depths of truth so truly, not through learned treatises, grandiose words or even with the senses, but within your own real depths. Neither God nor any creature would be able to tread you under foot or crush you if only you would remain in the truth, in trustful humility. People might affront, despise or rebuff you but you would stand firm in your perseverance, pushing down even deeper still, filled with complete confidence, and would increase in persistence even more. Everything depends on this and whoever reaches this point will succeed. These paths, and these alone, are what truly lead to God without any stopping places in between. Yet there are few who remain in this great humility in this way, with the perseverance and whole and entire confidence like this woman. (From the Sermon of John Tauler OP, Dominican at Strasbourg, c1300-1361)

credit: DGO

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Feast of St Ignatius of Loyola - click to read previous posts

Saint Ignatius of Loyola spent nine months in convalescence from March 1522 to February 1523, in Manresa, close to the Benedictine monastery of Montserrat in Spain, in the diocese of Barcelona, due to a war wound. Ignatius had a vision that he shared in his autobiography.

One night, he was awoken and he saw the Blessed Virgin with the Holy Child; during this vision, which lasted a good length of time, he received great spiritual consolation and the memory of his past life became very distasteful to him, especially the things concerning the flesh. He had the impression that all the images that had been imprinted in his heart before had been completely removed. From that moment until August 1533, when he wrote these words, he never again gave even the smallest consent to the things of the flesh. Without indicating the origin of this vision, he simply recorded the fruits, which in their sobriety, were never doubted. ('Dictionary of Apparitions')

credit: quoted after 'A Moment with Mary', picture represents Black Madonna of Montserrat, Spain. To visit the breathtaking photo gallery of Montserrat shrine, click HERE

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July, is the time dedicated to the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord - click to read more

According to Traditional Liturgical Calendar, today is the Feast of Most Precious Blood of Our Lord and the first day of July, the month dedicated to the Precious Blood that our merciful Lord shed for us. I provided the link on this post's title for more reading on the subject from my favourite blog - Vultus Christi. 
Pope Benedict XVI thoughts on the Precious Blood of Our Lord
To read the encyclical of Pope John XXIII, 'Inde a Primis - On Promoting the Devotion to the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus' click HERE.
To recite or listen to mp3 file of the Litany of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord
click HERE

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Feast of St Martha

Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain town: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary. who, sitting also at the Lord's feet, heard his word. But Martha was busy about much serving. Who stood and said: Lord, hast thou no care that my sister hath left me alone to serve? Speak to her therefore, that she help me. And the Lord answering, said to her: Martha, Martha, thou art careful and art troubled about many things: But one thing is necessary. Mary hath chosen the best part, which shall not be taken away from her. (St Luke 10:38-42).

...St. Martha was a saint, even though they do not say she was contemplative. Well now, what more do you want than to be able to resemble this blessed woman who merited so often to have Christ our Lord in her home, give him food, serve him, and eat at table with him [and even from his plate]?? If she had been enraptured like the Magdalene, there wouldn't have been anyone to give food to the divine Guest. Well, think of this congregation as the home of St. Martha and that there must be people for every task. And those who are led by the active life shouldn't complain about those who are very much absorbed in contemplation... and let them consider themselves lucky to serve with Martha. Let them consider how true humility consists very much in great readiness to be content with whatever the Lord may want to do with them and in always finding oneself unworthy to be called his servant.

If contemplating, practicing mental and vocal prayer, taking care of the sick, helping with household chores, and working even at the lowliest tasks are all ways of serving the Guest who comes to be with us and eat and recreate, what difference does it make whether we serve, in the one way or the other?

I don't say that we shouldn't try...What I am saying is that this is not a matter of your choosing but of the Lord's... Leave it up to the Lord of the house. (St Teresa of Avila, Way of Perfection)

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Feast of St Ann and St Joachim

"Joachim and Ann, how blessed a couple! All creation is indebted to you. For at your hands the Creator was offered a gift excelling all other gifts: a chaste mother, who alone was worthy of him." (St John Damascene)

Credit: DG 

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The chapel of Mount Carmel - click for link

When on the holy day of the Pentecost the Apostles, through heavenly inspiration, spoke diverse tongues and worked many miracles by the invokation of the most holy name of Jesus, it is said that many men who were walking in the footsteps of the holy prophets Elias and Eliseus, and had been prepared for the coming of Christ by the preaching of John the Baptist, saw and acknowledged the truth, and at once embraced the faith of the Gospel. These new Christians were so happy as to be able to enjoy familiar intercourse with the Blessed Virgin Mary and venerated her with so special an affection, that they before all others, built a chapel to the purest of Virgins on that very spot of Mount Carmel where Elias of old had seen the cloud, a remarkable type of the Virgin ascending. Many times each day they came together to the new oratory, and with pious ceremonies, prayers, and praises honoured the most Blessed Virgin as the special protectress of their Order. For this reason, people from all parts began to call them the Brethren of the Blessed Mary of Mount Carmel; and the Sovereign Pontiffs not only confirmed this title, but also granted special indulgencies to whoever called either the whole Order or individual Brothers by that name. But the most noble Virgin not only gave them her name and protection, she also bestowed upon blessed Simon the Englishman the holy scapular as a token, wishing the holy Order to be distinguished by that heavenly garment and to be protected by it from the evils that were assailing it. Moreover, as formerly the Order was unknown in Europe, and on this account many were importuning Honorius III for its abolition, the Blessed Virgin mary appeared by night to Honorius and clearly bade him receive both the order and its members with kindness. (Dom Prosper Gueranger 'Liturgical Year' from the Feast of OLMC, Holy Liturgy)

The picture represents the statue of OLMC in Stella Maris Carmelite monastery in Haifa - see link on the post's title

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His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI enjoys holidays at Castel Gandolfo while writing the book about the infancy of Our Lord

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Let not thy heart be troubled, and let it not fear. Believe in Me and trust My mercy. (Imitation fo Christ, Book 3:30)

Having received so many graces, I can cry out with the Psalmist: Give praise to the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever (Ps 117). I cannot help thinking that if everyone were given such graces, no one would fear God, but all would love Him with a boundless love. No longer out of fear, but out of love no soul would deliberately commit the least fault. (St Therese, Story of the Soul)

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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.” 

credit: Mary's Vitamin

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Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your selves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light. (Matt11:28-30)

O Jesus! when you were a Pilgrim on earth, you said: "Learn of Me for I am gentle and humble of heart and you will find rest for your souls." 0 Mighty Monarch of Heaven, yes, my soul finds rest in seeing you, clothed in the form and nature of a slave (Phil 2:7), humbling yourself to wash the feet of your apostles. I recall your words that teach me how to practice humility: "I have given you an example so that you may do what I have done. The disciple is not greater than the Master .... If you understand this, happy are you if you put them into practice» (Jn 13,15-17). Lord, I do understand these words that came from your gentle and humble Heart and I want to practice them with the help of your grace.

I want truly to humble myself and to submit my will to that of my sisters. I do not wish to contradict them nor seek to see whether or not they have the right to command me. O my Beloved, no one had this right over you and yet you obeyed not only the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph but even your executioners. Now in the Sacred Host I see you at the height of your annihilations. How humble you are, O divine King of Glory... O my Beloved, how gentle and humble of heart you seem under the veil of the white Host!... O Jesus, gentle and humble of heart, make my heart like yours. (St Therese of Child Jesus 'Prayer for acquiring humility')

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Selected Poems and Prayers composed by the Saints of Carmel in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Beauty and Queen of Carmel.

Mother of Mount Carmel, I kiss your Holy Scapular and thank you for this precious gift. Help and guide me always. I place my confidence in your intercession. Never has it been known, dearest Lady and Mother, that anyone who fled to your protection was left unaided. 

(Bl Nuno Alvares Pereira,1360-1411)

Mary and Carmel
For a long time Carmel had been planning
   Widespread honours for you, and in its happy caves it trains sons
who in white clocks will witness to perpetual chastity
for you and will bind your name with the name of this Mount
in everlasting  covenant. 
You are purer than gold
You are whiter than snow. 
You are brighter than the star of Venus.
Your virginity was not vitiated by child-bearing, 
nor can your brightens be darkened by any stain.
You certainly were not bound to this legitimate
custom, and in all justice you could have renounced these gifts.
Time will come when a future age will remember us
and on this solemn day will offer your honour on the altars
and will carry candles in long procession of a well-celebrated liturgy.
Then your priest, processing in golden vestments,
will chant your hymns and will sent forth a sweet-smelling cloud
throughout the Church and the breeze will
spread the pleasant scent far and wide,
and because our paths cross at this point,
posterity will call this day Hypante in the Greek language, 
and it will be lit up with numberless torches. 

(Bl Baptist Spagnoli of Mantua 1447-1516)

Supplication to the Most Blessed Virgin Mary
Glory of the world, Queen of Heaven, Mother
of the Almighty.harbour for mankind, soothing breeze in adversity,
As in my memory I call my sins to mind,
I am ashamed to open my lips in your sight.
For you lack any stain. You are brighter than gold,
which the smith submitted to the cracking fire ten times.

However, I am sacrificed by the consuming waves of the nether world,
and my members are besmirched by the mud of hell.
But as often as I call to mind your heart of mercy
that shame of mine haunts me just a little less.
Hope gives me a pledge that you will prove to be benign and gentle
and it promises your help to us.
Thus, do not be disgusted by my uncleanness, 
always grant me your favour before your Son.
Subdue my senses which seek pleasure in earthly goods
which poison the mind and rush to wrong doing.
Make heavenly nourishment give taste to our lips,
make love of God pierce my heart,
Make me look down on the earth; make me conquer hell,
While anger seizes the evil spirits,
Be my guide at the critical moments of my life,
nor let any hand attack me in body.
Under your care, may I be allowed to return to the kingdom of heaven,
and with shattered yoke to submit my vows to you.
May your Child, at your intercession, govern
me and my house in every adversity. 

(Bl Baptist Spagnoli of Mantua, 1447-1516)

O most pure Mary, I offer and give myself to you, not only with that purity and innocence that I received when I consecrated myself to you, but adorned beyond that, and then repurified, and then adorned again. Receive me, therefore, O Mary, and keep me within yourself. 

 (St Mary Magdalen de'Pazzi 1566-1607)
 

I venerate you a thousand times, O true Mother of my Lord Jesus Christ: - Hail Mary
I venerate you, O sovereign Queen of the ANgels, Empress of the Universe: - Hail Mary.
I venerate you, most kindly Virgin Mary, most worthy mother of my Saviour Jesus: - Hail Mary 
 (St Theresa Margaret Redi of the Sacred Heart, 1747-1770).

Mary, you are the standart, the model,
The mirror, support, and firm strength of the virtues.  

(Bl Francis Palau y Quer, 1811-1872)

We entrust our task to our Most Holy Mother, the Virgin Mary, under her maternal care,
If there is anything to correct, let it be corrected once and for all; may the good that is done continue to increase. Toward this purpose, may God's love flood your souls along this earthly life, and finally lead you to the fountain of love, that is, to God Himself in eternity. 

(St Raphael Kalinowski, 1835-1907)

The bread set aside for me, my beautiful Mother has blessed it.
Now that my life on earth is drawing to its close, 
I ask you good Mother, to keep me forever beside you.
My food is the desire I have, dearest Mother, to see you;
The water my thirsty soul drinks is my love for you.
My true life, my soul's life, grows more vigorous by
loving you;
The rest I take is to seek you, restless, day and night  

(Bl Mary of Jesus Crucified, 1846-1878)

O Mary, my dear Mother, grant me the grace never to stain the robe of innocence that you will give me on the day of my profession (St Therese of the Child Jesus, 1873-1897)

Virgin full of Grace
Now 'tis at Nazareth, O Virgin full of grace,
In poverty abiding, you never knew desire;
Now ecstasy nor miracle nor rapture there had place,
To fill your life with splendour, O Queen of
heavenly choir!
Ah! Countless are the little ones that throng the earth today,
Unfearing, without tremour, to you they lift their eyes,
Incomparable Mother, 'tis by the common way
It pleases you to go, that you may lead them to the skies.
Throughout this exile sad I long, O mother mine,
To dwell with you, to follow each day your path above.
In contemplating you, enraptured, I divine in your pure, 
gentle heart the deep abyss of love,
Your gentle gaze maternal will banish all of fear,
It teaches me to weep, it teaches happiness. 
 (St Therese of Child Jesus, 1873-1897)

O faithful Virgin, when you uttered your 'fiat', the greatest of all mysteries was accomplished in you. In what peace and recollection did you live and act! Teach me to sanctify my most trivial actions and to spend myself for others when charity requires it, yes all the while to remain like you the constant adorer of God within me. (Bl Elizabeth of the Trinity, 1880-1906)

O Virgin most faithful, you remain night and day in profound silence, in ineffable peace, in a divine prayer that never ceases, your soul ever inundated with heavenly light. Your heart is like a crystal that reflects the divine One, the Guest who dwell in you, the Beauty that knows no setting. O Mary, you draw heaven down to you: see, the Father commits His Son to you that you may be His mother, and the Spirit of love overshadows you. The Blessed Three come to you, and all heaven is opened and abases itself before you...I adore the mystery of this God who made flesh in you, O Virgin Mary.

Mother of the Word, show me your mystery after the Incarnation of the Lord; how you lived buried in adoration...Keep me ever in a divine embrace. Let me carry upon me the stamp of this God of love. (Bl Elizabeth of the Trinity, 1880-1906)

Song

My heart is stirred by a noble theme:

I address my poem to the king. Psalm 45:1

A festive song streams from my heart,
Which to the King I dedicate
My tongue shall take the pen's swift part
His praises duly to behold
He is most glorious to behold
His arm is powerful and bold.


The Queen stands ever by His side
In splendid gold-brocaded gown;
Demure young maidens with her stride
Whom He has raised to high renown.
A joyous chorus, sweet they sing,
Entering the place of the King.
(St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, 1891-1942)

Vineyard of Carmel
Come, Love, to the vineyard
In the morning dew,
There we'll watch in silence,
It vineyards bloom anew,
If the grapes are growing,
Life with vigour glowing,
Fresh the vine and true.

From the heights of Heaven
Holy Mother descend,
Lead unto your vineyard
Our beloved friend.
Dew and rain let gently
Drop from His kind hand
And the balm of sunshine
Fall on Carmel's land.

Young vines, newly planted,
True though they be,
Grant them life eternal
A gift of grace from Thee.
Trusted vintners strengthen 
Their frail and feeble powers,
Shield them from the enemy
Who in darkness cowers.

Holy Mother grant reward
For your vintners' care
Give them, I beseech you,
Crown of Heaven fair.
Don't let raging fire
Kill these vines, we pray,
And frant your life eternal
To each young shoot some day.
(St Benedicta of the Cross, 1891-1942)

There are three things we will be judged on: Your blessings to us, our sins and our deeds, according to what our intention was. Oh, my God, I am not a saint even though You filled me with blessings! Pardon me so I may be a saint from now on. My Mother, make me become a saint! 

(St Teresa of Jesus of the Andes, 1900-1920)

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Saints of Mt Carmel litany - click for link

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St Thomas More - 475th Anniversary of his martyrdom

Today is anniversary of St Thomas' execution and martyrdom. He was loving father, husband, statesman, writer and lawyer, man of magnanimous integrity and faith. 

“[If a leader allows weariness to so grip] the mind that its strength is sapped and reason gives up the reins, if a [leader] is so overcome by heavy-hearted sleep that he neglects to do what the duty of his office requires…--like the cowardly ship’s captain who is so disheartened by the furious din of the storm that he deserts the helm, hides away cowering in some cranny, and abandons the ship to the waves—if a [leader] does this, I would certainly not hesitate to juxtapose and compare his sadness with the sadness that leads as [Paul] says, to hell….”(St Thomas More "The Sadness of Christ" - the book  written before his execution)

After 'Catholic and Loving It!' blog

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Madonna of the Precious Blood - click to read more

The picture is representation of Madonna of the Precious Blood. Please follow the link on the title to read insightful post from St Gaspar's Retreat blog and see more images.

"Truly it is right and just, our duty and our salvation,

always and everywhere to give you thanks,

Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God,

through Christ our Lord.

Christ, upon coming into the world,

offered to You the Body you had prepared for Him

together with the Precious Blood formed by the Holy Spirit

in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

This is the Blood in which Mary, the Daughter of Zion,

recognized the fulfillment of the ancient forms and shadows

and the end of every other sacrifice and offering.

This is the Blood shed by her Son when,

after eight days, He was circumcised and called Jesus,

the name given him by the Angel

before she bore Him in purest love.

This is the Blood she saw streaming from His wounds

when, with deepest sorrow, she followed Him in His Passion

even to the place of His sacrifice.

This is the Blood that flowed with water from His piercèd side,

the Blood that she offered to you, standing at the foot of the Cross

united to the redeeming work of her Son, both Priest and Victim.

This is the Blood by which,

in virtue of a wonderful disposition of your providence,

Mary was preserved from every stain of Adam's sin

so as to be a Mother full of grace

and worthy of the Lamb without blemish.

This is the Blood of the New and Eternal Covenant,

the Blood in which the martyrs above have washed their robes,

the Blood by which the Church on earth is, day by day, renewed in joy.

This is the Blood

by which we have confidence to come into your presence

where together with the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the saints,

we join our voices to the jubilation of the angels of heaven

to sing the ceaseless hymn of praise. (From the Preface of the Mass)

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