Wisdom of the Little Flower - celebrating St Therese of Child Jesus Feast day

Soon, soon, to heaven that waits for us, my soul shall swiftly fly.
O Thou who can'st to smile on me at dawn of life's beginning!
Come once again to smile on me.... Mother! the night is nigh.
I fear no more thy majesty, so far, so far above me,
For, I have suffered sore with thee; now hear my heart's deep cry!
Oh! let me tell thee face to face, dear Virgin! how I love thee;
And say to thee forevermore:
thy little child am I.
(The Last poem written by St. Therese)

“Sometimes I find my self saying to the Holy Virgin: “Do you know, O cherished Mother, that I think myself more fortunate than you? I have you for Mother and you have not, like me, the blessed Virgin to love … You are, it is true, the Mother of Jesus but you have given Him to me, and He, from the Cross gave you to us as our Mother, so we are richer than you. Of old it was your desire that you might be the little handmaiden of the Mother of God; and I, poor little creature, I am, not your servant, but your child: you are the Mother of Jesus and you are my Mother.” (Thoughts of Saint Therese, 154-5)

For a sermon about Mary to bear fruit, I believe that we need to talk about her real life, such as we can discover in the Gospel and not just what we merely imagine her life was like. It is easy to imagine that her real life, in Nazareth and later, was very ordinary… 'He lived under their authority...' (Lk 2:51). How simple that sounds! We often depict Mary as inaccessible, but wouldn’t it be better to show her as imitable, practising hidden virtue, living from her faith, just like we do? We could give examples of her behavior taken from the Gospel, 'They did not understand what he meant' (Lk 2:50), or, 'The child’s father and mother were wondering at the things that were being said about Him' (Lk 2:33). Their wondering could perhaps imply a certain amount of astonishment, don’t you agree, my Mother? (St Therese, Last Talks)

"A priest, clad in his sacred vestments, is Christ's viceregent to pray to God for himself and for all the people, in a suppliant and humble manner. He has before him and behind him the sign of the Cross of the Lord, that he may always remember the Passion of Christ. He bears the cross before him in his vestment, that he may diligently behold the footsteps of Christ, and fervently endeavor to follow them. He is marked with a cross behind, that he may mildly suffer, for God's sake, whatsoever adversities shall befall him from others. he wears the cross before him, that he may bewail his own sins; and behind him, that through compassion he may lament the sins of others, and know that he placed, as it were, a mediator betwixt God and the sinner. Neither ought he to cease from prayer and the holy oblation, till he be favoured with the grace and mercy which he implores. (Imitation, Bk 4;5)

The harvest-time had not yet come,

But Thou didst yearn to see

The golden grain all garnered safe

In Heaven's granary.

Lord of the harvest, send Thy priests

To reap where Thou didst sow!

To them I dedicated my life,

My sufferings here below.

(St Therese, Poems)

"Temptations are often very profitable to a man, although they be troublesome and grievous; for in them a man is humbled, purified, and instructed. All the saints have passed through many tribulations and have profited by them: and they who could not support temptations have become reprobate, and fell off. There is not any Order so holy, nor place so retired, where there are not temptations and adversities." (Imitation, 1:13)

"On the eve of Profession - which is usually spent in holy joy and peace before the dawn of the great day - I suddenly saw my vocation as a delusion, a dream. The devil - for it was assuredly he - inspired me with the conviction that the life of a Carmelite was quite unsuited for me, and that I was deceiving my Superiors by continuing in it in spite of having no vocation. I was plunged into such darkness That I could only see one thing clearly, which was, that not being called to the religious life, I must go back to the world. My distress was indescribable and I did not know what to do. However, I did the very best thing by revealing this temptation to my novice mistress; I called her out of choir, and feeling much ashamed told her in what state I was. Luckily she saw through the temptation, and laughingly reassured me. My act of humiliation instantly put the devil to flight; he had tried to make me conceal the trial and so fall into the trap, but he himself was caught, for I told all to Mother Prioress as well, and her consoling answer dispelled any lingering doubts." (The Story of a Soul)

"Thou must be content to be made a fool for Christ, if thou wilt lead a religious life" (Imitation of Christ, 1:27)

 "I am very glad, Celine, that you do not feel any natural attraction for Carmel now that you are about to enter; this is a delicate attention on the part of Our Lord who is enabling you to make Him a gift. He knows that it is more blessed to give than to receive. How blessed also to suffer reproach for the sake of Him who loves us, and to pass for fools in the eyes of the world! The foolish world, judging us by its own standard, calls us by this name, but let us take comfort in the thought that we are not the first. The only crime of which Herod accused Our Lord was madness...and in a sense he was right. It was indeed madness for the King of Glory, seated above the Cherubim, to seek out poor human hearts in which to set up His throne. Was He not infinitely happy with the Father and the Spirit of Love? Why come down on earth to make sinners His intimate friends?

We could never go to such lengths of folly to repay our Bridegroom; compared with His, our actions are quite reasonable. Let the world then leave us in peace, for it is the world which is foolish, knowing nothing of all Jesus has done and suffered to save it from perdition. (Letters)

"A disciple is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully qualified will be like the teacher" (Luke 6:40)

A soul isn't holy just because God uses it as an instrument. It is like an artist who uses this brush or that one. Why choose this one, or leave the other aside? It isn't any less a brush, and it could even be better than the other one. Anyway, to be used for the Master's work doesn't make one better. (...) Let's not take credit for anything, let's not make judgments. It is all to God (Advice and Memories)

"None of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions" (Luke 14:33)

"I did not expect to come to Carmel to receive praise; also after the parlor visit [the interview], I never stopped telling God that it was for him alone that I wanted to be a Carmelite". (The Story of the Soul)

"They are all one through the bond of love; they have the same sentiments, the same will, and all mutually love one another" (The Imitation of Christ, Bk 3;58)

"Take, O Lord, from our hearts all jealousy, indignation, wrath, and contention, and whatsoever may hurt charity, and lessen brotherly love" (ibidem Bk 4;9)

"She spoke of the Communion of Saints, and explained that what one possessed would be shared by all: "Just as a mother is proud of her children, so we shall be proud of one another without the least trace of jealousy." (St Therese, Novissima Verba)

"It is true I am not always faithful, but I do not give way to discouragement; I just place myself in Our Lord's arms, and He teaches me to draw profit from both the good and the bad in me. He shows me how to gamble on the bank of love, or rather, He makes all the investments without consulting me. It is not my concern to know how much I am winning; what I have to do is to give myself entirely to Him. After all, I am no prodigal, there is no need for Him to prepare a feast for me, because I am always with Him (Luke 15:31).  (Letters)

Remember, Lord, that Thou didst yearn

To set man's heart aflame

With that consuming fire of love

Which from Thine own Heart came!

If from a little spark can spring

A mighty fire, Oh! then

May heart's love run through the world

And fire the hearts of men!

(Poems)

There are no obstacles for children; they get through everywhere. The big souls can overcome things, toss aside the difficulties, and reach a way to rise above it all by reasoning or virtue. But we who are so small must not try that. (...) To give in to things is to not look at them too closely, not to reason them out (Advice and Memories).

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Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Peter Paul Rubens Assumption of the 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)

Among his favourite feasts, besides those of the Blessed Trinity and Corpus Christ, were the feasts of the Blessed Virgin. In his prison cell, on the Vigil of the Assumption, after nine months of severe privation, he was asked what he was thinking of. He replied, “I was thinking that tomorrow is the feast of our Lady and that it would give me great joy to say Mass”. The sight of an image of the Mother of God brought love and brightness to his soul. (St John of the Cross, The Collected Works, A Portrait of the Saint) 

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Feast of Our Lady of Mt Carmel

All who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart (Luke 2: 18-19)

Close to you, Oh my loving Mother, I have found rest for my heart. I want nothing more on earth. If, at times, i feel sadness, if fear assails me, always, by supporting my weakness, Mother, you have deemed to bless me. (St Therese, Poems)

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Solemnity of St Peter and St Paul, Apostles

"Simon son of Jonah, do you love me?"..."Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you."...Feed my sheep" (Jn 21:17)

How did Jesus love his disciples and why did he love them? It wasn't their human qualities that attracted him; an infinite distance existed between them. He was knowledge, Eternal Wisdom; they were poor sinners - ignorant, filled with worldly thoughts. Yet, Jesus calls them his friends, his brothers. He wants to open his Father's Kingdom for them and see them reign with Him in this Kingdom. He wants to die on the cross because he said: "There is no greater love than to give one's life for those we love" (St Therese, Autobiographical Manuscripts, C)

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Corpus Christi with Carmelite Saints

Carl Emil Doepler, Corpus Christi Procession

Lord, you have given your people the food of angels, from heaven untiringly sending them bread already prepared, containing every delight, satisfying every taste. (Wisdom 16:20)

This is what I received from the Lord, and in turn passed on to you: that on the same night that he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread, and thanked God for it and broke it, and he said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this as a memorial of me.’ In the same way he took the cup after supper, and said, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Whenever you drink it, do this as a memorial of me.’ (1 Cor 11:23-25)

Bl Titus Brandsma:

In speaking of Carmelites' tender devotion to the Sacrament of the Altar...They have always seen a symbol of the sacred host in the wonderful food which the angels pointed out to Elijah and which strengthened the prophet in finding the way that he was able to cross the desert. The Eucharist is the power which permits them to arrive at contemplation...St Peter Thomas who died in 1365 was prior general at the time of the Avignon popes....He was not hindered by the many occupations of his busy life from spending several hours each night before the Blessed Sacrament, oftentimes he was found lost in adoration...Blessed John Soreth...a great reformer of the Carmelites in fifteenth century, his life imperiled, grasped the Blessed Sacrament from a burning church...Bl Bartholomew Fanti, who counted Bl Baptist Spignola among his disciples, taught his novices that it was not possible to be a good Carmelite without special devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. What determined St Mary Magdalene de Pazzi to enter the Carmel of Florence was the practice of daily Communion observed in this convent - a thing rare for the times. The Carmelites are rightly numbered among the mendicant orders, for their constitutions demand the greatest simplicity in their monasteries. BUT for their churches and the cult of the Eucharist, grandeur was always permitted. (from the teaching on the Blessed Sacrament given during retreat) 

St Mary Magdalen de Pazzi:

1. When you are to receive Communion, think that you are about to perform the greatest and most worthy action that can be done, which is to receive the Lord God within yourself.

2.Guard against going to Communion through habit or by chance, but go with actual devotion.

3 If you realize that as long as the sacramental species continue, you have within yourself the entire Most Holy Trinity, you would not go to Communion only occasionally; you would also think about it before you left off Communion, in order not to be deprived of so great a good.

4. Take care lest, on account of your little desire and disposition, you may be the cause of closing that little window of heaven.

5. One cannot find a more effective means of perfecting a soul than to approach this divine table; and if you knew how to use this well, in a short time you would become filled with the love of God, for only one Communion is enough to make a soul holy.

6. Never of your own will deprive yourself of Communion, because you do not know if that Communion might be the very time when God has determined to give you some grace and particular gift. (Teaching on the Most Holy Communion in Complete Works of St Mary Magdalen de Pazzi)  

St Teresa of Avila:

Receiving Communion is not like picturing with the imagination. as when we reflect upon the Lord on the cross or in other episodes of the Passion, when we picture within ourselves how things happened to him in the past. In Communion, the event is happening now, and it is entirely true. Since we know that Jesus is with us as long as the natural heat doesn't consume the accidents of bread, we should approach him. Now, then, if when he went about in the world the mere touch of his robes cured the sick, why doubt, if we have faith, that miracles will be worked while He is within us and that he will give what we ask of him since he is in our house? His Majesty is not accustomed to paying poorly for his lodging if the hospitality is good. (The Way of Perfection)

Augustin-Marie of the Blessed Sacrament, OCD (Hermann Cohen):

My well-Beloved when all are asleep

And seem to forget your love

Do permit me to watch

Alone with you in this abode

(Canticle from his music collection 'Love of Jesus Christ')

Blessed Mary of Jesus Cricified:

...To fly to my Beloved

Hail, hail, blessed tree;

Thou bearest the fruit of life

Under Thy shade, I wish to sigh;

At thy feet, I wish to die.

(Mariam, the Little Arab)

St Therese of Child Jesus:

Living Bread, Bread of Heaven, Divine Eucharist,

O touching mystery produced by Love,

Come dwell within my heart, Jesus, my white Host...

Deign to unite me unto Thee, O holy and sacred Vine, 

That my feeble branch may yield its fruit to Thee;

And I will offer Thee a gilded cluster...

This cluster of love of which the grapes are souls.

(Poems)

Bl Elizabeth of the Trinity:

Every Sunday, we have the Blessed Sacrament exposed in the oratory. When I open the door and contemplate the divine prisoner who has made ma a prisoner in this dear Carmel, it seems to me rather like the gate of heaven opening! Then I present to Jesus all those who are in my heart, and there, close to him, I find them again. (Light, Love, Life)

St Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein):

Communion delivers us from evil, because it cleanses us of sin and gives us peace of heart that takes away things of all other 'evils'. It brings us the forgiveness of past sins and strengthens us in the face of temptations. It is itself the bread of life that we need daily to grow into eternal life. It makes our will into an instrument at God's disposal. Thereby, it lays the foundation for the kingdom of God in us and gives us clean lips and a pure heart to glorify God's holy name. participation in the sacrifice  and in the sacrificial meal actually transforms the soul into a living stone in the city of God - in fact, each individual soul - into a temple of God. (Essential Writings)

Servant of God, Pere Jacques de Jesus Bunel:

Our participation at Mass, our grace filled actions, our Communions must be religious acts stamped with prayer and love. Our material work of the day must be a work bathed in prayer. (Resplendent in Victory).

St Teresa of Jesus of the Andes:

Thank God, we have always had Mass and we've had the Blessed Sacrament. Since Eli, Gorda, and I are the sacristans, we've spent moments of heaven by our Lord's side. (Letters).

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Holy Week and Easter with St Therese and Carmelite Saints

Gratitude is the one thing which disposes God to grant his blessings. If we thank Him for His graces, He is grateful and showers us with ten more graces...My gratitude is limitless for all he has given me and I show it to Him in a thousand ways (Advice and Memories 72). There are certain souls who require regular payment. For me, I take my chances at the bank of Love...I go for the big win. If I lose, I will know. I don't concern myself with the ups and downs, Jesus takes care of them for me. I do not know if I am rich or poor but I will know this later (Advice and Memories 71)

"The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and they will fast" (Mt 9:15)

Blessed Husband of our souls! If we had the love from all the hearts, all that love would be for you...Give us this love and quench your thirst through your humble brides. (Prayers 12)

"I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance" (Lk 5:32)

When you are angry with someone, the way to find peace is to pray for that person (Advice and Memories 150)

"Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil" (Mt 4:10).

The more you press forward, the less you have to fight, or rather you win because you see the good side of things. It is then that your soul rises above the humans. It is incredible how, in the end, everything anyone tells me doesn't even graze my soul because I have understood the weakness of human judgement. (Advice and Memories 186)

Jesus said to his disciples: «In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. This is how you are to pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and do not subject us to the final test, but deliver us from the evil one. If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.(Mat 6:7-15)

Outside the Divine Office which I am very unworthy to recite, I do not have the courage to force myself to search out beautiful prayers in books. There are so many of them it really gives me a headache! and each prayer is more beautiful than the others...However, I would not want you to believe, dear Mother, that I recite without devotion the prayers said in common in the choir or the hermitages. On the contrary, I love very much these prayers in common, for Jesus has promised to be in the midst of those who gather together in His name. (Mt 18:19-20).  I feel then that the fervor of my Sisters makes up for my lack of fervor; but when alone (I am ashamed to admit it) the recitation of the rosary is more difficult for me than the wearing of an instrument of penance. I feel I have said this so poorly! I force myself in vain to meditate on the mysteries of the rosary; I don't succeed in fixing my mind on them. For a long time I was desolate about this lack of devotion which astonished me, for I love the Blessed Virgin so much that it should be easy for me to recite in her honor prayers which are so pleasing to her. Now I am less desolate; I think that the Queen of Heaven, since she is my Mother, must see my good will and she is satisfied with it. Sometimes when my mind is in such a great aridity that it is impossible to draw forth one single thought to unite me with God, I very slowly recite an "Our Father" and then the angelic salutation; then these prayers give me great delight; they nourish my soul much more than if I had recited them precipitately a hundred times.(Autobiography)

'Later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became dazzling white. (Mt 17:1-2)

'Oh Holy Face, more beautiful than the lilies and spring roses! You are not hidden from us! The tears which come from your Divine Face are like diamonds...of infinite value. We want to gather them so we can buy back the souls of our brothers and sisters. (Prayers 12)

"Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day."  (Mat 20:17)

  Jesus declared himself to be head of the mystical Body of which we are the members. He is the vine, we the branches (Jn 15:5). He stretched himself out on the winepress and began to tread it. Thus he gave us the wine by which we might, by drinking, live his life and share his sufferings. 'If anyone wishes to do my will, let him take up his cross daily. Whoever follows me has the light of life. I am the Way. I have given you an example that you also might do what I have done for you' (Lk 9:23; Jn 8:12; 14:6; 13:15). And as his disciples themselves did not understand that his way was to be a way of suffering, he explained it to them, saying: 'Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and so enter into his glory?' (Lk 24:26). Then the disciples' hearts burned within them (v.32). God's Word inflamed them. And when the Holy Spirit came down like a divine flame upon them to set them on fire (Acts 2), then they were happy to suffer scorn and persecution (Acts 5:41) since in this way they would become like him who had gone before them on the path of suffering. The prophets had already foretold this path of Christ's suffering and the disciples finally understood that he had not avoided it. From the crib to his agony on the cross, poverty and incomprehension had been his lot. He had spent his life teaching that God's view of suffering, poverty and human incomprehension is different to the world's foolish wisdom (1Cor 1:20)... In the cross is salvation. In the cross is victory. This is how God wanted it to be. (Bl Titus Brandsma 'The Mysticism of Suffering')

No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day...Whoever believes has eternal life. (Jn 6:44-47)

To live in charity is to give without seeking return here on earth;... being sure that when we love, we do not measure. Divine Heart, overflowing with tenderness, I gave you my all! I run unburdened. I have nothing but my humble treasure which is to live in love . (St Therese, Poetry, 17)

It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life (Jn 6:63)

Some of the thoughts of the soul can't be translated into human language without losing their heavenly and intimate meaning. They are like this white stone which will be given to the victor, upon which is written the name no one knows, except the person who receives it. (The story of a soul)

Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture (Jn 10:7,9)
I also feel the desire to love the Lord alone and to find joy only in Him (The Story of a soul) 

Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen my Father...I am in the Father and the Father is in me (Jn 14:9-11).

Yes, the Face of Jesus shines. If we consider it beautiful in spite of its wounds and tears, what will it be when we see it in heaven?...Yes, just to have the chance to see the Face of Jesus and contemplate the eternal beauty of Jesus, the poor grain of sand is willing to be scorned on earth (St Therese, Letters 95)

I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Juat as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another (Jn 13:34-35)

I understand that love encompasses all vocations and that love is everything. Love encompasses all times and places. In a word, it is eternal! Then, in the overabundance of my extraordinary love, I exclaimed "Oh Jesus, my love....my vocation, I finally found my vocation"...(The Story of a Soul)

"These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you - that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled." Then He opened their minds to understand the scriptures (Lk 24:44-45).

Beloved Sister, how happy we are to understand the intimate secrets of our Divine Spouse! If you would write down all you know of them, we would have some brautiful pages to read. However, you prefer to keep "the secrets of the King" deep within your heart (The Story of a Soul) 

Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end (Jn 13:1)

At the Last Supper, when Jesus knew his disciples' hearts burned with devoted love after he had just given himself to them through the unfathomable mystery of the Eucharist, this gentle Saviour gave them a new commandment. (...)Love one another just as I have loved you .(The story of a soul) 

When Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the Scripture), "I am thirsty."...When Jesus had received the wine, he said, "It is finished." Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit (Jn 19:28, 30).

The cry of the Lord on the Cross, "I am thirsty" sounded continually in my heart...I wanted to give my Beloved a drink, and felt myself devoured by the thirst of all souls...It was not the souls of priests that attracted me, but those of the big sinners. I burned with the desire to pull them from the eternal flames. (The Story of a Soul) 

There was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid....They laid Jesus there (Jn 19:41-42)

When I saw the blood running from the wounds of Jesus, the thirst of all souls entered my heart.(....) Oh, each day since this special blessing [Pranzini conversion], my desire to save these souls grew, I felt I heard Jesus tell me, "give me something to drink!" (The Story of a Soul)

"Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen" (Lk 24:5)


Celebrations! Even if the most important feasts do not come very often, my heart is brought to celebrate one every Sunday...That is God's feast, the feast of rest...The whole family goes to Mass (The Story of a Soul). 

"Stay with us, because it is towards evening, and the day is now far spent" (Lk 24)

Rejoice, O my soul...and since the Lord finds His delights in you, may all things on earth not suffice to make you cease to delight in Him and rejoice in the greatness of your God. (St Teresa of Avila, Exclamation of the Soul to God)

Picture at the top represents Crucifixion of Christ by Lucas Cranach and engraving is by Gustave Dore.
Some citationd adopted from 'Through the Year with St Therese'

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The Annunciation of the Lord, solemnity

Oh! I love you, Mary, saying you are the servant

Of the God whom you charm by your humility.

This hidden virtue makes you all-powerful.

It attracts the Holy Trinity into your heart.

Then the Spirit of Love covering you with his shadow,

The Son equal to the Father became incarnate in you,

There will be a great many of his sinner brothers,

Since he will be called: Jesus, your first-born!…

From St Therese poem 'Why I love you, O Mary'

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ASH WEDNESDAY - click to read the post

...On this day the Church blesses ashes, and places them on the heads of her faithful children, saying: "Remember man, thou art dust, and unto dust thou shalt return." The Christians of the earliest times followed this practice as often as they did public penance for their sins (Jer 25:34; Psalm 101: 10; Jonas 3: 5; Judith 9:1; Esth 4:1; Job 42:6).

Prayer at the beginning of Lent

Almighty God! I unite myself at the beginning of this holy season of penance with the Church militant, endeavoring to make these days of real sorrow for my sins and crucifixion of the sensual man. O Lord Jesus! in union with Thy fasting and passion, I offer Thee my fasting in obedience to the Church, for Thy honor, and in thanksgiving for the many favors I have received, in satisfaction for my sins and the sins of others, and that I may receive the grace to avoid such and such a sin, N. N. and to practice such and such a virtue, N. N.

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Christmas Epiphany prayer

O Infant Jesus
(Prayer revealed to Venerable Cyril of the Mother of God, OCD, by Our Lady)

O Infant Jesus! I have recourse to You
O beg of You by Your holy Mother, deliver me
from (mention your petition here) for
I firmly believe Your Divinity will protect me
I hope with all confidence to obtain Your holy grace

I love You with all my heart and soul
I repent of my sins and I beseech You
O Jesus, to pardon them.
I firmly resolve to correct myself and never more to offend You.

Therefore I offer myself to You,
In order to suffer much and patiently
Moreover, I wish to serve You patiently
And to love myself for Your sake.

O holy Infant Jesus!
O adore You, O powerful Child.
I beg of You to deliver me from
(here mention your particular need)
In order that I may enjoy You
With angels eternlly. Amen

Ven Cyril of the Mother of God (1590-1675) was born Nicholas Schockwilerg in 1590 in Luxemburg. He entered the Carmelite Order at an early age and was ordained a priest in 1624 and was later elected a prior. In 1628 he left monastery to join the more austere Discalced Carmelites in Prague. Fr Cyril is known for his work in promoting devotion to the Infant Jesus of Prague. It was he who rescued the statue of Infant Jesus from the rubble of a church, after it had been ransacked by Saxons. The statue had been damaged and the hands broken off. One day when Father Cyril was praying in the oratory he heard the words: "Have pity on Me and I will have pity on you. Give Me back my hands and I will give you peace. The more you honour Me, the more I will bless you." Father Cyril was able with much difficulty to have the statue repaired, and immediately the friars were blessed with relief from their financial difficulties. Many miracles have been received throughout the centuries through the intervention of the Divine Child. Father Cyril died in 1675 and is entombed in the catacombs beneath the church of Discalced Carmelites in Prague where the statue is enshrined.

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Mary, the Holy Mother of God

Madonna and the Child by Lucas Cranach the Elder, 1530

“Mother of God, tell me your mystery; of how your earthly life was spent: the way, right from the time of ‘Fiat – how you’d be buried in adoration, Mary! (Bl Elizabeth of the Trinity) 

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CHRISTMAS WITH ST THERESE

"...the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son" (Luke 2: 6).

(Christ) I am the Lover of purity, and the Giver of all holiness. I seek a pure heart, and there is the place of My rest. Make ready for me a large supper room, and I will make the pasch with Thee (Mark 24: 15)

Perhaps Jesus wished to show me the world before his first visit that I could more freely choose the way I should promise to follow him.

God, the divine Guest of our hearts, knows our poverty, all He asks, and expects to find, is an empty tabernacle.

In spite of all the graces Heaven was showering upon me, I was far from deserving them. I had a great desire for virtue, but all that I did was full of imperfections. i was so sensitive that i was a very great trial to others; it was useless to reason with me, for I was powerless to correct this fault. How could I expect to be received at Carmel?  It would need a miracle to make me grew up once and for all, and God worked this little miracle on a date i shall never forget: December 25, 1886. The newborn Child turned my darkness into light; having for my sake become small and weak, he made me strong and brave; He armed me with His own weapons, and after that I ran my course  like a giant (Ps 18), going from victory to victory. The fountain of my tears was dried up, and very rarely flowed again.  This is how I received the grace of conversion. They still treated me at home like a baby, filling my shoes with presents and putting them by the fire-place on Christmas Eve. My father had always shared in my  delight as I drew out each gift, but this year Our Lord wished to cure me of my childishness. As I went up to my room after midnight Mass, I heard my father say: "Therese is too big a girl for such a nonsense; I hope this will be the last year." The words cut me to the heart, and Celine, knowing my sensitiveness, begged me not to go down at once, as I would be sure to cry; but I was no longer the same,  Jesus had changed my heart. I went down to the dining-room as though nothing had happened, and gaily pulled out the presents one by one, my father joining in the merriment. Celine thought that she was dreaming, but the fact remained that I had found once more the fortitude I had lost at the age of four and a half. On that blessed night the third period of my life opened, the most beautiful and full of graces. The work I had attempted for years, was done in an instant by Our Lord, who accepted my good will. Like the Apostles, I could say: Master we have laboured all the night, and have taken nothing (Luke 5:5), but Our Lord did more for me than He did for them, for He cast the net Himself and drew it in full of fish, and changed me into a fisher of souls. Charity took possession of my soul and filled me with the spirit of self-forgetfulness, and from that time I was always happy. 

...true greatness is found in one's soul and not in one's name. (...) Thus, it is in heaven that we will find our true value. Then, "each of us will receive our just reward from God." He who has chosen to be poorest and most forgotten for the sake of Jesus on earth, will become the first, the noblest, and the richest.

i experienced several transports of love; one during my novitiate, lasted a whole week, during which time I seemed to make use of a borrowed body, and felt far away from this world, which was veiled from my sight. Yet I was not burned by real flame, and could enjoy these delights without hope of their breaking my hold upon life; whereas if other experience (see March 29) of which I told you, had been prolonged for a few instants, I would have died....Alas! I came back on earth, and immediately my soul become a prey to dryness of spirit.

Speaking of the Communion of Saints, she said: "With the virgins we shall be virgins, with the doctors we shall be doctors, with the martyrs we shall be martyrs, for all the Saints are our kindred; but those who followed the way of spiritual childhood will always keep the charm of children. From my earliest days God has given me the conviction that I would die young. (Novissima Verba)  

Opening the Gospel my eyes fell upon these words: Going up into a mountain he called to him whom he would (Mark 3:13). These words sum up the mystery of my vocation and of my whole life, and above all the mystery of the special graces bestowed on my soul. He does not choose those who are worthy, but those whom He is pleased to call. As St Paul says, quoting Exodus: I will have mercy on whom i will have mercy (Exod. 33:19). So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy (Rom 9:16) 

Picture represents 'Concert of Angels and Nativity' by Matthias Gruenewald 

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SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS, Priest and Doctor of the Church, solemnity.

John de Yepes was born in 1542 at Fontiveros, Spain, and entered the Carmelite Order in 1563. In 1568 he became, at St Teresa’s suggestion, one of the first two friars of the Discalced reform, taking the name of John of the Cross. He was an heroic defender of the reform for the rest of his life. He died at Ubeda in 1591, and from that time he has enjoyed great esteem for sanctity and for the spiritual wisdom to which his writings testify. 

 He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation; for in him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities – all things were created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together (Col 1:16) 

Traces of divine beauty in creation. 

...God created all things with remarkable ease and brevity, and in them he left some trace of who he is, not only in giving all things being from nothing, but even by endowing them with innumerable graces and qualities, making them beautiful in a wonderful order and unfailing dependence on one another. All od this he did through hisown Wisdon, the Word, has only begotten Son by whom he created them. St Paul says, ‘The Son of God is the splendour of his glory and the countenance of his substance.’ It should be known that only with this countenance, his Son, did God look at all things, that is he communicated to them their natural being and many natural graces and gifts, and made them complete and perfect, as is said in Genesis: ‘God looked at all things that he made, and they were very good’. To look and behold that they were very good was to make them very good in the Word, his Son. Not only by looking at them he communicate natural being and graces, as we said, but also with this cointenance of his Son alone, he clothed them in beauty by imparting to them supernatural being. This he did when he became man and elevated human nature into the beauty of God and consequently all creatures, since in human nature he was united with them all. Accordingly, the Son of God proclaimed: ‘If I be lifted up from the earth, I will elevate all things to me’. And in this elevation of all things through the incarnation of his Son and through the glory of his resurrection according to the flesh, the Father did not merely beautify creatures partially, but rather can we say, clothed them wholly in beauty and dignity. (A reading from ‘The Spritual Canticle’ by St John of the Cross) 

After Discalced Carmelite Proper Offices.  

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The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, solemnity

The Altar of Immaculate Conception at St Peter's Basilica in Rome

Prov. 8:22-35.
The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his ways, before he made any thing from the beginning. I was set up from eternity, and of old, before the earth was made. The depths were not as yet, and I was already conceived, neither had the fountains of waters as yet sprung out. The mountains, with their huge bulk, had not as yet been established: before the hills, I was brought forth: He had not yet made the earth, nor the rivers, nor the poles of the world. When he prepared the heavens, I was present: when with a certain law, and compass, he enclosed the depths: When he established the sky above, and poised the fountains of waters: When he compassed the sea with its bounds, and set a law to the waters that they should not pass their limits: when he balanced the foundations of the earth; I was with him forming all things: and was delighted every day, playing before him at all times; Playing in the world: and my delights were to be with the children of men. Now, therefore, ye children, hear me: blessed are they that keep my ways. Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not. Blessed is the man that heareth me, and that watcheth daily at my gates, and waiteth at the posts of my doors. He that shall find me, shall find life, and shall have salvation from the Lord.

Lk 1:26-28.

And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David: and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

In 1854 Pius IX gave the infallible statement: “The most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instant of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin.” “Our Lady gave to the world the Life that renews all things, and she was enriched by God with gifts appropriate to such a role".“It is no wonder, then, that the usage prevailed among the holy Fathers whereby they called the mother of God entirely holy and free from all stain of sin, fashioned by the Holy Spirit into a kind of new substance and new creature. Adorned from the first instant of her conception with the splendors of an entirely unique holiness, the Virgin of Nazareth is, on God’s command, greeted by an angel messenger as ‘full of grace’ (cf. Luke 1:28). To the heavenly messenger she replies: ‘Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to thy word’ (Luke 1:38)” (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, 56).
According to William of Ware and Blessed John Duns Scotus, two prominent Franciscan theologians, Mary’s Immaculate Conception enhances Jesus’ redemptive work. Other members of the human race are cleansed from original sin after birth. In Mary, Jesus’ work was so powerful as to prevent original sin at the outset.

Above we can see original drawing commemorating this important moment in Church history.

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The Mystery of Advent

The mystery of the coming of Jesus or Advent is at once simple and threefold. It is simple, for it is the same Son of God that is coming; it is threefold, because He comes at three different times and in three different ways. 'In the first coming', says St Bernard, 'He comes in the flesh and in weakness; in the second, he comes in spirit and in power; in the third, he comes in glory and in majesty; and the second coming is the means whereby we pass from the first to the third." (Fifth sermon for Advent).  

Peter of Blois, in his third Sermon of Advent, gives the following explanation of this threefold visit of Our Lord: "There are three comings of Our Lord; the first in the flesh, the second in the soul, the third in the judgment. The first was at midnight, according to these words of the Gospel: At midnight there was a cry made, Lo the Bridegroom cometh! But the first coming is long since past, for Christ has been seen on the earth and has conversed among men. We are now in the second coming, provided only we are such as that He may thus come to us; for He has said that if we love Him, He will come to us and will take up His abode with us. So that this second coming is full of uncertainty to us; for who, save the Spirit of God, knows them that are of God? They that are raised out of themselves by the desire of heavenly things, know indeed when He comes; but whence He cometh, or whither He goeth, they know not. As for the third coming, it is most certain that it will be, most uncertain when it will be; for nothing is more sure than death, and nothing less sure than the hour of death...So the first coming was humble and hidden, the second is mysterious and full of love, the third will be majestic and terrible. In His first coming, Christ was judged by men unjustly; in His second, he renders us just by His grace; in His third, He will judge all things with justice. Int His first, a lamb; in His last, a lion; in the one between the two, the tenderest of friends" 

The holy Church, therefore, during Advent, awaits in tears and with ardour the arrival of her Jesus in His first coming....The Church aspires also for the second coming, the consequences of the first, which consists, as we have just seen, in the visit of the Bridegroom to the bride. This coming takes place, each year, at the feast of Christmas, when the new birth of the Son of God delivers the faithful from the yoke of bondage, under which the enemy would oppress them (Collect for Christmas Day). The Church, therefore, during Advent, prays that she may be visited by Him who is her head and her Spouse; visited in her hierarchy, visited on her members, of whom some are living, and some are dead, but may come to life again; visited, lastly, in those who are not in communion with her, and even in the very infidels, that so they may be converted to the true light, which shines even for them...The expressions of the liturgy which the Church makes use of to ask for this loving and invisible coming, are those which she employs when begging for the coming of Jesus in the flesh; for the two visits are for the same object. In vain would the Son of God have come, nineteen hundreds years ago, to visit and save mankind, unless He come again for each one of us and at very moment of our lives, bringing to us and cherishing within us that supernatural life, of which He and his holy Spirit are the sole principle. 

But this annual visit of the Spouse does not content the Church; she aspires after a third coming, which will complete all things by opening the gates of eternity. She has caught up the last words of her Spouse, "Surely I am coming quickly"(Collect for Christmas Day); and she cries out to Him, "Ah! Lord Jesus! come!" (Apoc 22:20). She is impatient to be loosed from her present temporal state; she longs for the number of the elect to be filled up, and to see appear, in the clouds of heaven, the sign of her Deliverer and her Spouse "The nuptials of the Lamb are come, and His wife hath prepared herself." (Apoc 19:7).
(After the chapter 'The Mystery of Advent' from 'The Liturgical year', by Dom Prosper Gueranger.)

The mystery of Our Lord's three comings in the words of His Saints for our pious reflection:

The Nativity of Our Lord
"O Little Jesus, my only treasure, I abandon myself to every one of your adorable whims. I seek no other joy that that of making you smile. Grant me the graces and the virtues of your holy Childhood so that, on the day of my birth into Heaven, you may recognise me as your little spouse" (St Therese)

"O Lord, you have created for me the skies scattered with the stars, for me the earth, the mountains, the streams, and all the beautiful things on earth. Still, this did not satisfy you, to show me close up that you loved me tenderly, you came down from the purest delights of Heaven to this tarnished and tear-ridden world." (St Maximilian Kolbe)

"The people that walked in darkness has seen a great light; on those who live in a land of deep shadow a light has shone. You have made their gladness greater; you have made their joy increase. For there is a Child born for us, a Son given to us, and dominion is laid on His shoulders; and this is the name they give Him: Wonder-Counsellor, Mighty-God, Eternal-Father, Prince of Peace." (Isaiah)

To all who did accept Him, He gave power to become children of God, to all who believe in the name of Him who was born not out of human stock or urge of the flesh or will of man, but of God Himself. The Word was made flesh, He lived among us, and we saw His glory, the glory that is His as the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth." (St John)

Awaiting Our Lord's coming
"Jesus said, 'When the Son of Man comes in His glory, escorted by all the angels, he will take His seat on the throne of glory. All the nations will be assembled before Him and He will be assembled before Him and He will separate men from one another as the shepherd separates sheep from goats, the sheep on His right hand, the goats on His left. The the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you whom your Father has blessed, take for your heritage the Kingdom prepared for you. For I was hungry and you gave me food, thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcome me, naked and you clothed me, visited me when I was sick or in prison....For as long as you did this to one of the least of my brethren, you did it to me" (Matthew 28: 1-46)

"It was not any cleverly invented myths that we were repeating when we brought you the knowledge of the power and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; we had seen His majesty for ourselves. he was honoured and glorified by God the Father when He said, 'This is my Son, the Beloved; He enjoys my favour...You should be living holy and saintly lives while you wait and long for the day of God to come. We are waiting for what He has promised: the new heavens and new earth, the place where righteousness will be at home' (2Peter 1:16-18, 3:12-14)

"The Kingdom of God is within you,' says the Lord. Turn with all your heart to the Lord and forsake this wretched world and your soul will find rest. Learn to despise outward things and give yourself to things inward and you will see the Kingdom of God come to you. Give Christ free entrance into your heart and keep out everything, which impedes His coming." (Thomas a Kempis)

"This is a sacred season, the time of the Lord's favour, the day of salvation, peace and reconciliation for which the patriarchs and prophets prayed and longed for with all their hearts. We must celebrate it fittingly, giving praise and thanks to the eternal Father for the mercy He shows in this mystery of the coming of His only begotten Son."
"The Church uses the rites of this season, its hymns, songs, and utterances of the Holy Spirit to show us that our hearts should be as prepared now for the Coming of Christ Our Lord as if He were still to come into this world." (St Charles Borromeo)

"Pray that the best portion of your life may not be overshadowed by idle fears. We have only life's brief moments to spend for the glory of God, and well does Satan know it. That is why he employs every ruse to make us consume them in useless labour.'

"My God, far from becoming sad at the sight of my miseries, I come to you with confidence, recalling that 'those who are well do not need a doctor, but the sick do.' Tomorrow, with the help of your grace, I will begin a new life in which moment will be an act of love and renunciation." (St Therese)

Joyfully awaiting the Saviour

"Listen now House of David; are you not satisfied with trying the patience of my God too? The Lord Himself therefore will give you a sign. it is this: the maiden is with child and will soon give birth to a son whom she will call Emmanuel" (Is 7:13-14)

"Send dew from above you heavens and let the skies pour down upon us the rain we long for, Him the Just One: may He, the Saviour, spring from the closed womb of the earth...The glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all mankind shall see the salvation of our God" (Is 45:8)


"A Shoot springs from the tree of Jesse, a Scion (of David's royal House) thrusts from his roots; on Him the Spirit of the Lord rests...He does not judge by appearances...but judges the wretched with integrity, and with His equity gives a verdict fro the poor of the Land....The wolf lives with the lamb, the panther lies down with the kid, calf and lion cub feed together with a little boy to lead them...The infant plays over the cobra's hole; into the viper's lair the young child put his hand. They do no harm on all my holy mountain, for the country is filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters swell the sea" (Is 11:1-16)

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