tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82518509112301035872024-02-21T03:22:24.064-05:00MOUNT CARMELA Carmelite Sister's collection of topics, reflections, photos and links Sr. Helena of Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10070479492275590982noreply@blogger.comBlogger500125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8251850911230103587.post-22041486637616733122023-09-30T10:34:00.000-04:002023-09-30T10:34:40.325-04:00Saint Therese: Love Endures All things<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1DcuTtFMS7M/SZ9YrqSLVGI/AAAAAAAAAmE/8-2iPVCSZek/s1600-h/therese9.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305056393173881954" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1DcuTtFMS7M/SZ9YrqSLVGI/AAAAAAAAAmE/8-2iPVCSZek/s320/therese9.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 232px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
I love this photo of Saint Therese after her death , September 30, 1897. The first time I saw this before I entered Carmel, I was so struck by the peace that was reflected on her face that one would not know how much suffering she endured in the many months she was afflicted with TB.<br />
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This photo shows Therese with a crown of flowers symbolizing her status as a Spouse of Jesus Christ. It also symbolized the crown of victory she now enjoys in heaven after the battle of earthly life. It echoes St. Paul's words, "death where is your victory, death where is your sting?" In St. Therese's time and even now in some Carmelite monasteries, a Carmelite nun is placed in a flower-laden bed of brown or black cloth after death and laid out in the choir for family and friends to see. The choir is usually with a grille so the public can only see the body but not touch it. Her face was partially turned to the right and one could see a sweet smile on her face. I do not belong to an enclosed Community but when God calls me back to Himself, I will also be laid with a crown of flowers. The day of St. Therese's death, September 30, 1897, she suffered the agony which made her exclaim, "I never thought it possible to suffer as much as this." She was weak and parched, her pain caused by the severe coughing, caused her to gasp for air. Her Sisters had to pull her up, with Therese's arms on each of their shoulders in the form of a cross. She was experiencing the darkest of her nights where God seemed to be absent. She was reliving the agony of Jesus on the Cross and experiencing the spiritual abandonment He experienced. "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?" But her faith was exceptionally strong, her love pure, that in the end she surrendered her soul to God with the words "O my God, I love thee!" She was only 24 years old.<br />
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I have kept this picture of Therese in my breviary for the longest time. It reminds me of the reality and cost of discipleship. The death of the Saints is not as rosy and heavenly as we would like to imagine it. No angels hovering above, no supernatural light beaming down on them. More often, surrounded by intense spiritual darkness. It is raw and painful. But Therese showed us that true love can endure even the most painful of experiences. It reminds me how short life is here on earth. It reminds me that loving Jesus means to suffer. It reminds me that death is the prelude to something greater. How precious is the death of a just man in the eyes of God, the Psalmist exclaims! Pleasing in the eyes of God is the death of His Saint. <br />
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Therese did not want to be incorrupt. She believed that her little way is for ordinary people. Being preserved from decomposition is somewhat "extraordinary." Her wish was granted. It's amazing how much she had accomplished after death more than when she was alive. Her nine years in Carmel, hidden from the world, brought her holiness because she loved much. Ironic that never having left her precious Carmel, she was made co-Patroness of the Missions, together with St. Francis Xavier. This was because she had an intense love of the Missions and offered many sacrifices for missionaries. She had plans to volunteer as a missionary when Lisieux Carmel sent a foundation to Saigon, Vietnam. But her illness prevented her dream to come true. And now in heaven she makes true her promise: "I will spend my heaven doing good on earth. I will let down a shower of roses."<br />
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What makes St. Therese so special? What was her secret? I believe that Therese is one of those Saints who can speak to people of all ages, of different backgrounds, because she brings simplicity and humanity in our pursuit of holiness. She brings God and the experience of God down to our level of understanding and experience. Who does not identify with her struggles? Falling asleep in prayer? Being misunderstood despite our best of intentions? Feeling great desires for doing great things but falling short of talents, desires and efforts? Realizing how weak we are in climbing the arduous ladder of holiness? Her "little way of confidence and love" brought many souls to God.<br />
<i>"Love proves itself by deeds, so how am I to show my love? Great
deeds are forbidden me. The only way I can prove my love is by
scattering flowers and these flowers are every little sacrifice, every
glance and word, and the doing of the least actions for love." </i>Love is the secret of St.Therese. It was a love which endured.<br />
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Th%C3%A9r%C3%A8se_of_Lisieux#Autobiography_.E2.80.93_.22The_Story_of_a_Soul.22">LIFE OF ST. THERESE</a><br />
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August 26th<br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">“I saw an angel beside me toward the left side, in bodily form. He was not very large, but small, very beautiful, his face so blazing with light that he seemed to be one of the very highest angels, who appear all on fire. They must be those they call Cherubim…I saw in his hands a long dart of gold, and at the end of the iron there seemed to me to be a little fire. This I thought he thrust through my heart several times, and that it reached my very entrails. As he withdrew it, I thought it brought them with it, and left me all burning with a great love of God. So great was the pain, that it made me give those moans; and so utter the sweetness that this sharpest of pains gave me, that there was no wanting it to stop, nor is there any contenting of the soul with less than God”. (St. Teresa, Life…Chapter 29).</span><br />
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The transverberation is commonly referred to as St. Teresa's entrance into the state of Spiritual Marriage. This state is described in the Saint's 7th mansion in her book The interior Castle. It is interesting to note that when St. Teresa's incorruptible heart was preserved, a small puncture site was discovered thus confirming this precise experience.<br />
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The state of spiritual marriage is the lot of the very few in the spiritual life. But this is so because according to both St. Teresa and St. John of the Cross, we are the ones who put limits to the gifts of God. Even though it is equally true that it is pure gift and therefore unmerited, God is willing to grant it to those who dispose themselves to it by acts of total surrender and abandonment to the will of God, which can take the form of spiritual darkness and sufferings. The journey to the different mansions of our soul entails a journey of transformation, of leaving the familiar for the unfamiliar, of following unknown paths, and even complete surrender of reason to the darkness of faith. Even though we may never reach this high state of union, it still does us good to realize what God prepares for those who love Him. No eye has seen, no ear has heard, or has it even dawned on man, what is in store for us, if we only allow God to work His miracle in us. This is the lesson we glean from the lives of the Saints. May God help us.Sr. Helena of Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10070479492275590982noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8251850911230103587.post-77818089871815006122023-07-15T21:01:00.001-04:002023-07-26T11:21:20.409-04:00Martyrs of Compiegne ("Dialogues of the Carmelites")<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJXN3mCRZCAJfQ1DFh8-VRwBHeAiyHxxXfV3BdZFyXYcaYctDqBGjbo43qI9_K_VQ4_yzSt38elIKrVVyBKfSDqdy8Ufht016YR6xVvcLNWUwDRVm9ZcMcJDbdinwQ3hO7qrM-5gc8M5bV/s1600-h/compiegne.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" bl-teresa-st-augustine-and-companions-ocd-virgins-and-martyrs-m="" border="0" content="" en="" http:="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342932805788610802" liturgy="" ocarm.org="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJXN3mCRZCAJfQ1DFh8-VRwBHeAiyHxxXfV3BdZFyXYcaYctDqBGjbo43qI9_K_VQ4_yzSt38elIKrVVyBKfSDqdy8Ufht016YR6xVvcLNWUwDRVm9ZcMcJDbdinwQ3hO7qrM-5gc8M5bV/s320/compiegne.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 320px Feast Day: July 17th<br /> <a href=;" /></a>
<br /><a href="https://ocarm.org/en/item/713-bl-teresa-of-st-augustine-and-companions-ocd-virgins-and-martyrs">https://ocarm.org/en/item/713-bl-teresa-of-st-augustine-and-companions-ocd-virgins-and-martyrs</a><br /><br />
I saw the Opera "Dialogues of the Carmelites" on Broadway a long time back. The production is based on the play by Georges Bernanos and set into an operatic production by Francis Poulenc (1899-1963). The play was based on the true story of sixteen Discalced Carmelite Nuns who were guillotined during the French Revolution. Here is a short historical account I lifted out of the Carmelite Liturgy of the Hours:<br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">"As the French Revolution entered its worst days, sixteen Discalced Carmelites from the Monastery of the Incarnation in Compiegne offered their lives as a sacrifice to God, making reparation to him and imploring peace for the Church. On June 24, 1794, they were arrested and thrown into prison. Their happiness and resignation were so evident that those around them were also encouraged to draw strength from God's love. They were condemned to death for their fidelity to the Church and their religious life and for their devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary. Singing hymns, and having renewed their vows before the Superior, Teresa of St. Augustine, they were put to death in Paris on July 17, 1794."</span><br />
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I confess that I have known the story of the Martyrs of Compiegne for the length of time I have known Carmel. There were many lines in the Broadway production which spoke to me directly. The protagonist in this story was a woman called Blanche. She was the daughter of the Marquis De la Force. After the death of her mother, being caught up in the panic surrounding the French Revolution, Blanche was forever sealed with an inordinate fear of death and suffering. Even a mere shadow of a servant throws her into a panic and nervous breakdown. She decided to enter the cloister with the hope of finding the peace and security of the cloister walls and to hopefully experience a respite from all her fears. The Mother Prioress strongly reminded Blanche that the cloister was not a refuge to protect them. "Our Order does not protect us, we must protect the Order!" I love this line because it brings home the idea that an Order's charism is preserved through the efforts of its members. We can remain truly Carmelites to the extent we want to be and to the extent that we work at it. <br />
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Once inside the monastery, she met a fellow Novice Sr. Constance, who was her opposite in character. Sr. Constance was an enthusiastic, cheerful young novice who welcomed sufferings and nurtured the idea of martyrdom as an offering to God. She had a premonition of dying young. Quite a clash of attitude. But this difference in characters provided me the most uplifting plot in the story as these two opposing personalities were welded together in the scaffold, singing with ONE voice, the hymn of courage. It was a beautiful and inspiring spiritual twist and ending for me. During some early scenes leading up to the climax of the execution, the Mother Prioress was exhorting her spiritual daughters to be brave in facing whatever God had in store for them. But she tempered this exhortation with the line, "Prayer is our duty, martyrdom is the fruit." In other words, for me it meant, "let us go about our business of prayer for that is what brought us to Carmel, and leave God the free hand to grant us the glory of martyrdom, if that is what pleases Him." In other words, we should not seek martyrdom as an end in itself. She reiterated a spiritual truth that aspiring to great things can sometimes be a sign of spiritual pride. The Mother Prioress tried to temper Sr. Constance's longing for martyrdom by words such as these. In this instance, the Mother Prioress stood as a true daughter of St. Teresa of Avila who in her lifetime said many times, "our true martyrdom is the martyrdom of conquering self."<br />
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The story was the triumph of grace over nature. It was the story of how Sr. Blanche, a fear-ridden woman, ended up choosing death over freedom because she was given the strength for it in the end. Courage is not the absence of fear but embracing the object feared with the end result of overcoming it. It was the story of how God accomplished great things in simple and obscure women who never sought to win the crown of martyrdom but succeeded in obtaining it. The Reign of Terror ended a few days after the execution of the Carmelites. We know for certain that their sacrifice was well received by Almighty God and bore fruit for France and the Church.<br />
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You can buy the book "To Quell the Terror" by William Bush and distributed by Institute of Carmelite Studies Publications <a href="https://www.icspublications.org/">https://www.icspublications.org/</a></p><p> <br /></p>
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Sr. Helena of Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10070479492275590982noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8251850911230103587.post-19991622967230697752023-07-15T19:55:00.000-04:002023-07-15T19:58:57.498-04:00Our Lady of Mount Carmel<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1DcuTtFMS7M/SHJ-U2PVsFI/AAAAAAAAAFo/xZ9xfUWlgeQ/s1600-h/OLMC_Leonia.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220373814698160210" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1DcuTtFMS7M/SHJ-U2PVsFI/AAAAAAAAAFo/xZ9xfUWlgeQ/s320/OLMC_Leonia.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><br />
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The Catholic Church will celebrate the feast of Mary under her title of Our Lady of Mount Carmel on July 16th. This is a very special day for all Carmelites as they honor Mary as their Patroness.<br />
This is a very special day for me because this day marks the day I was led to a deeper appreciation of the Mother of God and my Catholic faith. I still vividly remember, and can accurately recall, the words of the priest that gave me my first brown scapular on July 16, 1984, <span style="font-style: italic;">"Wear this and call on the Virgin Mary." </span>Everyone experiences life-changing events, this was mine.<br />
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Someone who doesn't have a devotion to Mary will never understand the sentiments I have for her. I can say that even of Catholics. She did something for me that no other Saint in heaven did. She awakened in me a deep sense of being loved and made me understand that the practice of religion is a way of life, a relationship, and not just a collection of pious exercises. She made me want to give more of myself as an act of gratitude, not just to obtain favors. She opened my eyes to the reality that Jesus, her Son, is a person, not just an object of ideology, or a leading character in a book we call Holy Bible. But because he is a person, he is most alive and desires to be known, to be loved, to be talked to and to be listened to.<br />
He is a person who understands us and invites us, even begs us, to know and to understand him better.<br />
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I owe a lot to the Mother of God. I would like to publicly acknowledge that and to honor her. I fall short in serving her worthily but I renew my intentions everyday. People who have been touched by Mary will share my sentiments. Our individual experiences will serve to witness her many and particular influence. This was a poem I wrote when I was a Novice to honor Our Lady of Mount Carmel.</div>
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<i><b>To the Blessed Virgin Mary<br />
Of Mount Carmel</b></i></div>
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<i>A place of beauty and green serenity</i><br />
<i>Blowing breeze of coolness</i><br />
<i>Transported from the sea.</i><br />
<i>Earth’s creation finds abode in thee</i><br />
<i>With the holy hermits of Elias’ glory</i><br />
<i>This is Carmel</i><br />
<i>a mountain most heavenly.</i></div>
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<i>O Virgin Mary, Queen most holy</i><br />
<i>You are our Lady inspiring many.</i><br />
<i>Your quiet life, simplicity, purity</i><br />
<i>All speak to me of Carmel’s story.</i><br />
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<i>Glorious Lady, our mother too!</i><br />
<i>Who comes to us when life is blue.</i><br />
<i>In gentle stillness of your ways</i><br />
<i>You whisper softly, firmly,</i><br />
<i>“You do exactly as Jesus says.”</i></div>
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<i>To be with us forever, </i></div>
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<i>not to leave us ever</i><br />
<i>Her Scapular she gave us.</i><br />
<i>To those with true devotion, </i></div>
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<i>a token of compassion</i><br />
<i>a garment of salvation.</i></div>
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<i>As Saint Elias beheld your image</i><br />
<i>God and Father whose Spouse thou art</i><br />
<i>Behold your image in our lives and hearts.</i><br />
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<i>Dear Lady of Carmel,</i><br />
<i>Virgin of our solitude,</i><br />
<i>Teach us how to please the Spirit</i><br />
<i>Show us God our only good.</i><br />
<i>To climb life’s mountain heights</i><br />
<i>In the steep ways of the spirit</i><br />
<i>Faith, hope and love </i></div>
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<i>Our surest guides. </i></div>
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<i>When life’s burden weighs heavy</i><br />
<i>And the journey makes me weary</i><br />
<i>Mother of Carmel, come quickly</i><br />
<i>With your mantle covering me</i><br />
<i>I will find repose in thee</i><br />
<i>Like a child asleep </i></div>
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<i>with confidence</i><br />
<i>So deep.</i></div>
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The feast of Saint Elijah is celebrated July 20th in the Carmelite calendar.</div>
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Saint Elijah was a prophet of the Old Testament. His story is recorded in the First and Second Book of Kings. He is also acknowledged as the spiritual father of Carmelites because the early hermits of Mount Carmel lived together near the spring of Elijah (wadi en-Siah)in Mount Carmel to follow his way of life.<br />
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He is known for his spirit of courage when he confronted the prophets of Baal for a showdown to determine who is the one and true God of Israel.<br />
<i>“ How long will you straddle the issue? If Baal is god, follow him. If it is the Lord, then follow him.” (1 Kings 18:21). </i>The events that followed were so dramatic that it became the most repeated story in the Carmelite tradition.<br />
Elijah was both a man of prayer and action. He lived in Mount Carmel to savor the delights of deep contemplation and left it only when sent by God to do His bidding. He was a man of no compromise, a man who spoke the truth when it wasn’t popular, a man who allowed himself to be guided by his zeal for the Lord God of Hosts. He was also a man of deep compassion and sensitivities. When the son of the widow of Zarapath, whose hospitality Elijah was enjoying during the drought in Israel died, Elijah performed a miracle of raising him back to life. He felt the human feeling of sympathy and did what he could to comfort the widow. He wasn’t always brave. When Queen Jezebel sent her men to hunt him down, after Elijah slaughtered most of her false prophets, at the showdown in Mount Carmel, Elijah went into hiding and despair and begged God to take his life (1 King 19:1-4).But true to his calling, he continued his mission, prompted by God and nourished by the food from heaven. After Elijah was taken up to heaven by fiery chariots (2Kings 2: 9-12), the prophet Elisha succeeded him. </div>
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The story of Elijah is always an inspiring one for me. I think he is very relevant to us in our modern age. The basic needs of the human heart never really change. The ways of expressing these needs may vary because of culture and time, but the realities of thirst for the supernatural, search for truth, dissatisfaction with the false gods of power, wealth, ambitions and prestige, longing for a deeper respect for human life, the need to call on a power greater than our own, experiences of fear and despair when faced with forces greater than our own, remain the same. Faced as we are in this modern era with materialism, secularism and intellectual atheism, we most often straddle important issues of our day and adopt a “politically correct” and overly simplistic approach to life’s most important questions.<br />
Elijah did not find solutions to his problems by himself. He allowed himself to be filled and guided by God in moments when he sought Him in prayer. He did not weigh the consequences of his actions in the sense of acting only when there was assured victory. He was totally abandoned, docile and trusting that God would finish what he has began. Even in his dark night of spirit he was docile and humble. He was not afraid to lend a voice to his despair and to acknowledge the fact that he was afraid and inadequate. He desired death because the fight became wearisome. He felt abandoned thinking he was the only one left among the followers of Yahweh. He was ready to give up. How could this chosen man of God feel the way he did? This man who left everything of the world, lived in solitude and deep intimacy with God, drank the wine of deep contemplation? How did he end up the way he did, in despair, and almost suicidal?<br />
Yet, it was through this fear that true courage was born. It was through this emptiness that the cup was filled. It was in this nothingness of man that God was manifested as God.</div>
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As Carmelites, I pray that the spirit of our holy father Saint Elijah be given us. His double spirit of prayer and action is the hallmark of true Carmelite spirituality. In our age of intellectual rationalizations, the voice of this great prophet is once again heard: <i>How long will we straddle the issue?</i> If we believe in God then we must follow him unreservedly, with docility and courage, and with holy indifference. What does holy indifference mean? It means not counting the cost, not acting only because of assured success, not worrying too much about the good opinions of others and not being too preoccupied with results whether they be good or bad as we define them to be good or bad. We accept the fact that we will never understand everything that happens to us despite our greatest and honest efforts. We will constantly fall into despair and fear, but we can rise again and be filled by the grace of God. This was the story of Elijah. This may be our story also. </div>
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The clip below is a short introduction to the contemplative life of the Order. It is not the entirety of Carmel. Carmel has many streams, but only One Source. That Source is God. Carmelite spirituality is lived today in the double-spirit of St. Elijah, action and contemplation or better yet, contemplation in action. The Carmelite spirituality is lived in the cloister, hermitages and in the apostolic ministries of education, healthcare, foreign missions and in the hearts and souls of men and women living in the world.<br />
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Solemnity of the Annunciation</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Solemnity of the Annunciation is one of those beautiful feasts I love. There are two events we are celebrating in this one Gospel passage: the Mystery of the Incarnation, the Word made Flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary, and the maternity of Mary. The Pro-life movement chose this feast for its Patronal feast day and the reason is I think pretty obvious. I like this feast not because of the vision of angel or supernatural light. In fact, there is nothing in the Gospel which explicitly tells us how the Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary. For all we know it may not have been a visual encounter but an internal locution or apprehension. All we can be sure of is that "God had sent his angel to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph of the House of David, and the virgin's name was Mary." I like to imagine Mary exactly as she is portrayed in the photo above- in the midst of the ordinary. God comes to us in the ordinary events and circumstances of life. Without fanfare and fireworks. Just in the ordinary, right in the familiar and everyday. It is in this cloak of the ordinary which makes us sometimes miss Him. But Mary, who ponders all things in her heart, and in silence waits lovingly for the promise of the Messiah like all the women of Israel in her days, recognized the moment. And when she recognized the presence of something special, she was afraid. But only for a short moment because the one who is full of grace was open to all possibilities. Her doubt was not the expression of unbelief but a sign of openness to what was being spoken by the angel. What was announced to her was still an invitation, and she was free to choose. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">The lesson of the Annunciation is the "fiat" which Mary uttered. "I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done to me as you have said." These are the words we try to live by everyday of our lives. This "Fiat" is the word we not only say once in the big moments of our life, but in the everyday, ordinary events of life. It needs to be renewed at every moment because God makes His Will known to us at every moment and we are asked to respond. According to Caryll Houselander in her book "The Reed of God" saying "yes" does not so much mean that we agree to do something for God. It is more that we agree to have God do something in us. Transform us, make us more like His Son, live His life again in us so that He can continue His mercy and works in the world. It is complete abandon to the merciful designs of a loving God who knows what is best for us. When I am faced with a choice, I think of the Annunciation, and try to work my way from fear, to doubts, to resignation.</span></span></div>
<br />Sr. Helena of Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10070479492275590982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8251850911230103587.post-58984404777869828582022-03-06T14:33:00.001-05:002022-03-06T14:34:00.027-05:00Temptations: Good or Bad?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>"The LORD God formed man out of the clay of the ground
and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being. </i>The breath of life... this breath is sometimes referred to in some theological books as the "soul" given to man making him a spiritual being. Did you ever wonder why the story of creation began with the natural world and ended with the creation of man? Why did God created Paradise before he created Adam and Eve? It was an act of pure love. He wanted to make sure that they would want for nothing, everything would be ready, when they opened their eyes for the first time. It was a great act of hospitality. How good God is. "Lord, what is man that you care for him?" the Psalmist would ask. The story of Adam and Eve is I think a story of great betrayal. It is a story of great ingratitude. It was not the apple which made the difference but the disobedience, the total disregard, to what God had requested them not to do. <i> </i><br />
<i>"The woman saw that the tree was good for food,
pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom.
So she took some of its fruit and ate it;" </i>Spiritual writers have warned us that sin comes to us in the guise of good. St. John of the Cross has this to say: <i>"it must be noted that, among the many wiles used by the devil to deceive spiritual persons, the most ordinary is that of deceiving them under the appearance of what is good and not under the appearance of what is evil; for he knows that if they recognize evil they will hardly touch it. " </i>(Counsels of Love and Light). In our world where the idea of freedom is treated as an absolute value, separate from accountability and responsibility, this might be an apple we may want to bite without hesitation.<br />
<i>"and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her,
and he ate it." </i>Misery loves company. I wonder if Adam ate it because he loved her too much and wanted to share with Eve whatever would come about, or was it because he just didn't know any better? Sin made malicious what was previously seen as innocent. <br />
Why did God created the serpent which created this mess that Adam and Eve found themselves in? It comes down to the notion of choice. The greatest thing about being human is the fact that we were created with our reason and free will. These are gifts which elevate and give us dignity. When God endowed us with free will, he was running the risk of us using it to our own advantage- and so it happened. But love opens itself to risks. True love, if it is to be true, think only of the beloved's good. St. John of the Cross warns us that true love subjects the lover to the beloved- so be careful who and what we love. If we fix our heart on frivolous things, we become frivolous. That's why St. Paul encouraged us by saying: whatever is noble, whatever is beautiful, whatever is true, think about these things. We become what we love. Temptations can make us humble because we are forced to acknowledge our weaknesses and depend on God's grace . They can make us strong when we persevere in resisting them. They can make us wise when we learn from our mistakes. They can make us compassionate towards others because we learn to understand their struggles. Ultimately, the choice is ours.<br />
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The Gospel reading on this First Sunday of Lent is about the temptations of Jesus. Temptation can be both external and internal. We are tempted by what we see or hear or perceive around us. But it can also be internal because we have our inner obsessions, compulsions and addictions. Jesus was tempted by the devil over three important areas of human needs: physical (food), knowledge,and possessions. Jesus shows us that having the Word of God for our foundation, we can fight the snares of the devil. If we know the truths of God, we will recognize the lies of the devil. The truth will set us free. <br />
Temptations can be good even when we fall. We don't look for them, just as Jesus didn't look for his, but if we cling to God's words and trust in his mercy, everything will work out for the good of those who love Him.Sr. Helena of Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10070479492275590982noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8251850911230103587.post-56481961525621619602022-03-06T14:33:00.000-05:002022-03-06T14:33:46.145-05:00Lenten Journey<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In our Catholic liturgical calendar, the Lenten season opens with Ash Wednesday.<br />
I have never been to a desert. I have never seen one. I don’t believe this is a unique experience. I have seen nice pictures of deserts with sand and sun, a play of darkness and light, and they have awakened in me a deep sense of the transcendent and mysterious. But I don’t think I would even try to visit a place like that even if the opportunity arises.<br />
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But the desert is often synonymous with the Season of Lent. I guess because a desert embodies a vision of solitude, silence, deprivations and purification. Early in our Christian history, and even at present, some individuals sought God in earnest and were inspired to “leave the world” and fled to the desert to encounter him there. They sought solitude and silence to better hear what God had to say to them. They embraced the deprivations of that cruel place to tame the body and bring it under the control of the spirit. But more often than not, one also meets someone else in the desert- one‘s self. You know the saying "you can run from the world, even run from the devil, but you can never run from yourself." And it’s interesting to note that the best stranger we can meet in life is one’s self.<br />
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The Lenten season is a time to do a spiritual inventory. We are invited to take a serious and closer look at ourselves in the light of Jesus’ teachings and make an assessment on where we stand in the spiritual journey. I do not mean here an unhealthy preoccupation with our spiritual profile but an honest approach to gain more self-knowledge. In my opinion, Lent is not a time to cut down on the carbohydrates and sweets just to make us feel good about doing something for Lent. Sadly, even among good people, Lent is turned into "a good time to diet." I liken Lent to a big sale. If we are patient enough and diligent enough to browse around our spiritual nooks and crannies, we may find something worthy our time and attention. During a big sale, those endowed with a flair for shopping may endure the crowd and traffic, for what they consider to be a worthy cause.<br />
If we are honest enough, I think our lives and minds are filled with crowding distractions, preoccupations, inordinate attachments and useless activities of all sorts. We are often times left exhausted and ruffled. But if we find the patience and goodwill to sort through the maze, we might obtain the grace to see the pearl of great price hidden in the midst of them.<br />
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For example, why do we work frantically and slavishly like there is no tomorrow? Is it for the glory of God or a hidden self-satisfaction of knowing that nobody else can do a better job? Why do we feel angered when someone disagrees with our opinions? Is it because we love the truth or because we think we are often right basing only on our training, education and authority? Why do we feel offended when someone else takes the initiative of performing an act of charity? Is it true love of service or is it because helping others makes us feel superiorly good? In other words, what motivates you and your good actions? What is the fuel that drives your engine?<br />
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These are hard questions to ask ourselves but, more accurately, hard questions to honestly answer. The effort of being honest can shatter our imaginary sense of spiritual security. But this is the consequence of following Jesus. He came so that we may be full of life. We have to give up what is not life-giving and open ourselves to a transfusion of grace that only comes to those who are willing, courageous and humble enough to receive it. But before we can give anything up, we have to name it and own it. This is part of the reason for Lent. After going through this spiritual exercise we will experience the joy of rising with Our Lord at Easter.<br />
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The journey to self-knowledge is both exciting and disconcerting. But it is the science of the Saints. It is the door to true life. It is both an acquired skill and an infused gift by the Holy Spirit. We are never able to completely know ourselves and purify ourselves however much we try, according to St. John of the Cross, but we can lay the ground works and do our part. God will eventually finish the job of purification and transformation so that we can be the person he created us to be. Saint Teresa wisely noted that in looking at ourselves, we must not remain there. We must immediately turn our gaze back to Jesus. Why did she say that? Because there is a danger that in looking too much at our miseries and imperfections, we would fall into discouragement and despair. But fixing our gaze on Jesus on the Cross, we are reminded that He already knew what kind of person we are but still loved us and went to die for us. Then are we made to understand that the Heart of God is all merciful. Realizing this our hearts are engulfed in love and we are moved to love Him back. "Love is repaid by love alone," says St. John of the Cross. And John also said, "I look at your Cross, O Christ, and I see there the song of Your love."<br />
Lent is a beautiful time given us by God. It is a great gift of His mercy. Let us not receive it in vain. "If today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts."Sr. Helena of Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10070479492275590982noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8251850911230103587.post-10258467336611563462022-02-01T20:58:00.000-05:002022-02-01T20:58:33.866-05:00Feast of the Presentation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We celebrate February 2nd as the Feast of the Presentation of the the Lord or traditionally called "Candlemas."This is an ancient feast in the Roman Catholic Church dating back to as far back as 312 with some historical homilies by bishops. This feast falls 40 days after Christmas and commemorates the Purification of Mary in the temple in Jerusalem following the mandate of the Law of Moses in the Book of Leviticus (Leviticus 12:2-8). According to this Mosaic Law, any woman who had given birth to her first-born son is considered impure, and would have to go through a process of ritual purification. Consequently, the Child Jesus was also presented to the temple to be consecrated to God according to the same Law. Candlemas was originally a celebration of the blessing of candles. These candles were blessed and were reserved for the use of the Church in its different liturgical celebrations throughout the year. In the liturgy, we still have the part of Simple or Solemn procession and blessing of the candles. After Vatican II, the emphasis was refocused on the feast of the Presentation itself. It traditionally became the day when Religious renew their vows as a symbol of renewing their religious consecration. </div>
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This feast presents to us many points for personal reflection. There are many things which come to my mind and among these are the following:</div>
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<b>A lesson on poverty:</b> This feast recalls to mind how Mary and Joseph were really poor. They offered to God what was prescribed in the Law as the offering of poor people: turtle doves. Sometimes we may be tempted to think that the Holy Family's poverty was a pious tradition to exalt the virtue of poverty to those who were born poor in this world. Or to pacify the restless hearts of peasants during the middle ages by the backing of religion. But this Gospel event proves to us that they were materially poor in the true sense of the word. It is so consoling to think that material possessions are not always a badge of God's favor and the lack of them is not a sign of God's disfavor.</div>
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<b>We are all consecrated: </b> By virtue of our baptism, we are consecrated to God. We are set apart to do a particular mission in life to bring about the Kingdom. Consecration is lived out in many ways. Religious are consecrated by a certain ritual in the Church which sets them aside for a particular ministry following a particular charism, within a particular Religious Order. Ordained Priests are consecrated to be God's ministers of Word and Sacraments for the life of one's soul. A baptized Christian in the world is consecrated to be a leaven, a salt of the earth, to make present the presence of God in the market-places of the world. No one is exempted. We just do not exist, we live for a purpose. The Presentation of the Child Jesus was a statement of this truth.</div>
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<b>God lives in His temple</b> and because of that we ought to give the House of God the respect it deserves. The drama of Mary's purification, Jesus' consecration, the prophecy made by Simeon and the love of the prophetess Anna, all demonstrate to us how holy the temple or Church is. In our Catholic Churches is present, day and night, the Son of God, Lord of Heaven and earth, who chose to remain in that little piece of bread we call the Eucharist so that He can be with us always. And yet, for one reason or other, we take it for granted. We need to recapture the reverence and awe we once had for the House of God. Everyone of us can cite examples of how people can be so disrespectful of God's temple.</div>
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<b>Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit </b>and as such should be treated with respect and reverence. Our body is the instrument to render homage to God by acts of good deeds and virtues or to be used as an instrument to offend Him. This feast reminds us to be conscious of this reality.</div>
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The sword piercing Mary's heart was a <b>prophecy of the Cross</b>. Along with the joy of having given birth to God, the joy was lined with sorrow because the prophecy foretells rejection, hate and death. Isn't this a consequence of following Jesus, of discipleship? The Cross is never far away from those who truly follow God. That is one reason why people are afraid to follow Christ, "it is difficult, too complicated" many would say. It entails dying: to self, selfish desires, life of sin.</div>
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As we celebrate this feast of the Presentation, let us again be mindful of these truths and ponder the insights which God reveals to those who seek Him. "And suddenly there will come to the temple the Lord whom you seek (Malachi 3:1-4). "Are you not aware that you are God's temple?" Let us enter in, into the temple of our soul. Let us remain in silence before the Lord our God. Nothing is needed for this journey except the desire to be united with Him. As St. John of the Cross would say, the language God hears best is the silent language of love.</div>
Sr. Helena of Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10070479492275590982noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8251850911230103587.post-33557223108916737872021-12-05T07:46:00.000-05:002021-12-05T07:46:35.482-05:00Advent's Main Characters<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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There are three major personalities in the season of Advent: Isaiah, John the Baptist and Mary. It is very helpful to meditate on the significance of these three personalities and to find their significance in the event of Christmas.<br />
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<b>Isaiah</b> is the great prophet of Advent. Most of the liturgical readings are taken from him. For the most part, they are proclamations of Israel’s infidelities to God and God’s plan of salvation. Despite Isaiah’s cries of woes, the liturgical texts of Advent are really beautiful in the sense of being invitations to keep our faith anchored in God’s promise of redemption. Advent is a season of supernatural hope. It reminds us that despite our infidelities, or precisely because of our weakness, God is ready to take us back if only we repent.<br />
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This subject of repentance brings us to the person of <b>John the Baptist.</b> John was an ascetic, the “voice in the wilderness.” Isaiah proclaimed John as the one to prepare the way of the Lord. Advent does not have the penitential rigors of Lent though the priest uses purple vestments during Mass, but an inward conversion of heart. God’s coming is to take the form, not as judge, but as an infant. That in itself is a joyful event. There is a jubilant expectation, love is in the air. John calls us to repent and to turn away from everything that lies in the way of God’s coming to us. It is a call to a deeper awareness of who it is “leaving heaven” to be with the sons of men. After having grasped this we are moved to love. Advent requires that we make room for the Spirit of God. We need to do away with things that are not compatible with Him. Having offered the little we have, God purifies them so that we may be presented to Him as a “chaste bride to her bridegroom.”<br />
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<b>Mary</b> is the central figure in Advent because she is the Mother of God made Man. It is fitting to celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception during Advent because it makes sense to honor the Ark that contained the New Covenant. She had to be immaculately conceived to bear the Sinless One. Mary’s greatness does not only depend on her privilege of physical motherhood but more so because she exemplifies the faith of a true disciple. I think it was St. Bernard who said that Mary gave birth only to what she had already conceived in her heart and mind. This was manifested in her complete submission, her living faith, her readiness to give herself to the fulfillment of what the great prophets had foretold. She exemplifies the true spirit of Advent, the vigilant waiting we must try to practice. You and I will make it our aim to make this Advent and Christmas Season different. Let us ponder how..Sr. Helena of Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10070479492275590982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8251850911230103587.post-42889254100647373172021-11-28T10:21:00.000-05:002021-11-28T10:21:47.788-05:00Advent- Be vigilant in Love!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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With Mother Nature having transformed herself into the colorful trees and that cold wintry air, the Church's liturgical year turns its page to a new season- the Season of Advent- which begins this Sunday. We traditionally celebrate our New Year on the 1st of January, but our church calendar actually starts its new year in the evening hour of the last Saturday of the 34th week in Ordinary Time. Prior to this, the reading at Masses were pointed towards the "end times." The readings were ominous in character, apocalyptic, and speak of the end of the world as we know it and the final coming of Jesus as Judge of the living and the dead. Advent also speaks of another coming. It is the season of vigilant waiting. There is a penitential spirit implicit in our celebrating Advent. The penitential color of purple vestment worn by the priest at Mass reminds one of the same color vestment worn during Lent. But when one pays close attention to the readings used at the liturgical celebration, one would notice, aside from the reminders of preparedness, a loving expectation of something beautiful to come or someone wonderful to come. We are encouraged during Advent to lay aside cares and avoid distractions which may come in the way of our interior vigilance and waiting for the Lord. Advent is really a spiritual preparation for the birthday of Jesus. There is a tendency in everyone to be so taken up with the many activities connected with Christmas. There's the shopping to be done, cards to be written and sent, parties to plan, etc. Unfortunately, these have become part and parcel of the days leading up to Christmas. I used to think that it is impossible to fully appreciate the season of Advent because of these demands. Even when one is living in the convent like I do, there are demands and responsibilities the Sisters find themselves responding to. But I found that it is possible to take the time to be quiet, to lay aside concerns, and to plan one's activities so as to make room for the spiritual.</div>
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There is beauty in Advent and Christmas none of the other liturgical feasts have. Although Easter is theologically larger in significance, Christmas speaks to the heart. It is my favorite season. The idea of God coming to us as a Child, in total dependence, awakens in everyone a sentiment too deep for words. It brings out the best in everyone. We find ourselves more loving, more giving and forgiving, at Christmas. Let us enter into the Advent Season with determination to be open to whatever the Spirit of God brings and to listen attentively to the prophecies read in Scriptures during Mass. Let us imitate Mary in her loving vigilance, waiting for the coming of the Lord, as a Child.</div>
Sr. Helena of Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10070479492275590982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8251850911230103587.post-63932730722984619822021-11-21T20:40:00.000-05:002021-11-21T20:40:13.644-05:00In Allegiance to Jesus Christ<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The second chapter of the Rule of Carmel has this to say: <i>"In many and various ways the holy fathers established how everyone, whatever his order or whatever kind of religious life he has chosen, must live in allegiance to Jesus Christ and serve him faithfully from a pure heart and a good conscience."</i><br />
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November 21 is the Solemnity of Christ the King and the last Sunday in the liturgical year. Next Sunday, November 28 is the First Sunday of Advent. The whole Church gathers in churches everywhere to give glory and homage and pledge our allegiance to the King of Kings and Lord of lords. We acknowledge the kingship of Christ and so I reflect on what this kingship means.<br />
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The life of Jesus was a paradox. He was the God who lowered himself and assumed a human estate. He was the Master who served his disciples at the Last Supper. He was the Teacher who showed surprise at the faith of the centurion. He was the innocent man who was crucified for a man-made crime. And now, a King, flogged and mocked, stripped naked, crowned with thorns, dragged on the streets and crucified on the cross. What a pathetic King! A joke of a kingship! And so they all thought...<br />
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And Jesus said: <i>"My Kingship is not of this world. " </i> The kingdom of God is not of this world. Living in allegiance to Jesus Christ is living in hope. It is fixing our eyes on what is to come. It is the joyful expectation that the promises made are to be fulfilled. Jesus also answered Pilate:<i> "It is you who say I am a king. The reason I was born, the reason why I came into the world, is to testify to the truth. Anyone committed to the truth hears my voice."</i> Living in allegiance to Jesus Christ means living in truth, conforming our lives to the truth of the Gospels as we discern these truths in prayer and in the teachings of the Church, Christ's voice on earth. In our modern times, it has become more and more difficult to hear the truth because there has arisen many voices which claim to be the bearers of truth. The notion of an objective truth, a truth which is distinct from us and does not change, is vehemently challenged. We are bombarded by people who mean well but are misguided, advising us to listen to "our heart" and to do what "we think is right." The phrase sounds good but deceiving. Decisions, especially moral decisions, made separate from the teachings of Christ as revealed in the New Testament and the Commandments as revealed in the Old Testament, are mere sentimentalism and secular humanism.<br />
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This feast of Christ the King is a reminder to all of us that the kingdom promised by Jesus comes with a heavy price. We profess to follow a King who went through humiliations and unspeakable sufferings. His was the 'Royal Road of the Cross." While on earth, "this valley of tears," we cannot escape the Cross, as much as we try, without sacrificing our allegiance to Jesus Christ.<br />
Sr. Helena of Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10070479492275590982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8251850911230103587.post-19311658730628065772021-10-28T15:49:00.000-04:002021-10-28T15:49:51.556-04:00Prayer to The Most Blessed Trinity<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NtXeyqsw-lE/UaFD__vx16I/AAAAAAAAEG0/If4ytGZoTNc/s1600/Trinity_El%2520Greco%5B1%5D.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="350" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NtXeyqsw-lE/UaFD__vx16I/AAAAAAAAEG0/If4ytGZoTNc/s320/Trinity_El%2520Greco%5B1%5D.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span class="lettrine_english" style="font-weight: bold;">O</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> my God, Trinity whom I adore,</span>
let me entirely forget myself that I may abide in you, still and
peaceful as if my soul were already in eternity; let nothing disturb
my peace nor separate me from you, O my unchanging God, but that
each moment may take me further into the depths of your mystery !
Pacify my soul! Make it your heaven, your beloved home and place of
your repose; let me never leave you there alone, but may I be ever
attentive, ever alert in my faith, ever adoring and all given up to
your creative action. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span class="lettrine_english" style="font-weight: bold;">O</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> my beloved Christ</span>,
crucified for love, would that I might be for you a spouse of your
heart! I would anoint you with glory, I would love you - even unto
death! Yet I sense my frailty and ask you to adorn me with yourself;
identify my soul with all the movements of your soul, submerge me,
overwhelm. me, substitute yourself in me that my life may become but a
reflection of your life. Come into me as Adorer, Redeemer and Savior. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span class="lettrine_english" style="font-weight: bold;">O</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Eternal Word, Word of my God</span>,
would that I might spend my life listening to you, would that I
might be fully receptive to learn all from you; in all darkness, all
loneliness, all weakness, may I ever keep my eyes fixed on you and
abide under your great light; O my Beloved Star, fascinate me so that
I may never be able to leave your radiance.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b class="lettrine_english" style="font-weight: bold;">O </b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Consuming Fire, Spirit of Love,</span>
descend into my soul and make all in me as an incarnation of the
Word, that I may be to him a super-added humanity wherein he renews
his mystery; and you O Father, bestow yourself and bend down to your
little creature, seeing in her only your beloved Son in whom you are
well pleased.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span class="lettrine_english" style="font-weight: bold;">O</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> my `Three',</span>
my All, my Beatitude, infinite Solitude, Immensity in whom I lose
myself, I give myself to you as a prey to be consumed; enclose
yourself in me that I may be absorbed in you so as to contemplate in
your light the abyss of your Splendor !</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><i>by Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity, OCD </i></span></div>
Sr. Helena of Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10070479492275590982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8251850911230103587.post-38529496612137992162021-10-23T10:34:00.001-04:002021-10-23T10:34:03.205-04:00Silent Companion<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><p style="text-align: center;"><img class="CSS_LIGHTBOX_SCALED_IMAGE_IMG" height="454" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1DcuTtFMS7M/TAMmlSpG3OI/AAAAAAAACns/zv3ufcVORRY/w340-h454/photo.jpg" style="height: 660px; width: 495px;" width="340" /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">I toss in bed tonight,</span></div><span style="font-size: medium;">
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what can be wrong?</span></div><span style="font-size: medium;">
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I cannot go to sleep,</span></div><span style="font-size: medium;">
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Is something wrong?</span></div><span style="font-size: medium;">
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I turned and saw your picture,</span></div><span style="font-size: medium;">
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your eyes beholding me.</span></div><span style="font-size: medium;">
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And then I thought in silence,</span></div><span style="font-size: medium;">
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You long for company.</span></div><span style="font-size: medium;">
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I sat beside my bed,</span></div><span style="font-size: medium;">
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in silence just sitting near.</span></div><span style="font-size: medium;">
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The Cross of Christ so silent,</span></div><span style="font-size: medium;">
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and yet, o how so near!</span></div><span style="font-size: medium;">
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And so I passed in silence,</span></div><span style="font-size: medium;">
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the hours you want me near.</span></div><span style="font-size: medium;">
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watching, loving, consoling,</span></div><span style="font-size: medium;">
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O Jesus keep me here!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">SHM <br /></span></div><p style="text-align: center;"></p>Sr. Helena of Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10070479492275590982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8251850911230103587.post-7904458865486177052021-10-16T11:28:00.009-04:002021-10-16T11:31:37.977-04:00The Presence<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW-OXmKLY7Dtxgrpgjtwitj8H09sfNCKciiR1zPtL1pHGIG_Fn76eJSmwtUIbe4Oe37q-T2gu6ctWZzgbZHqEuPsqQUNR4DaLBAYda1t7nlEnjqVV1DNt0RCY1ObtrVAiI10PDOf8b5GFV/s960/22049873_10155767430354712_5726106911509222918_n+-+Copy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="642" data-original-width="960" height="429" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW-OXmKLY7Dtxgrpgjtwitj8H09sfNCKciiR1zPtL1pHGIG_Fn76eJSmwtUIbe4Oe37q-T2gu6ctWZzgbZHqEuPsqQUNR4DaLBAYda1t7nlEnjqVV1DNt0RCY1ObtrVAiI10PDOf8b5GFV/w640-h429/22049873_10155767430354712_5726106911509222918_n+-+Copy.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"> A graveyard full of dead-fallen leaves,<br />
With the earth standing still.<br />
Nothing, nothing for the senses,<br />
Save for the gentle sway of color-filled branches.<br />
<br />
All of creation, in transformation,<br />
Gentle breezes on dancing branches,<br />
Giving proof to the presence,<br />
Of a Presence.<br />
<br />
My heart is lulled to slumber,<br />
This peaceful silence, oblivious to surroundings,<br />
Demanding a hearing...<br />
A silent heart hears ... Only a silent heart can hear.<br />
<br />
A harmony of movements -<br />
Tree-top branches gently swaying.<br />
Weathered branches softly bending,<br />
No ripple seen on silky waters.<br />
<br />
But the heart perceives something-<br />
Or Someone .. in the silence.<br />
<br />
"O send me the Spirit!<br />
I will be lifted up with His power!"<br />
How can you say, "Send me the Spirit?"<br />
When He is there abiding even in His silence?<br />
<br />
Enter... Enter<br />
Enter... Within!<br />
He is there... waiting!<br />
<br />
Faith will grasp Him,<br />
Love will capture Him.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>SHM </i></span><br /></div>
Sr. Helena of Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10070479492275590982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8251850911230103587.post-40075336092432230872021-10-14T19:30:00.000-04:002021-10-14T19:30:25.615-04:00SAINT TERESA OF JESUS<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1DcuTtFMS7M/TLewIbjiQJI/AAAAAAAAC-g/1iruYxaLbK4/s1600/1.+teresa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1DcuTtFMS7M/TLewIbjiQJI/AAAAAAAAC-g/1iruYxaLbK4/s400/1.+teresa.jpg" width="371" /></a></div>
<b>Feast Day: October
15</b><br />
<br />
The Carmelite Order celebrates the feast of St.
Teresa of Jesus (Avila) October 15th. St.Teresa does not need any introduction.
She is famous among the laity and a shining luminary in the Catholic Church. She
is one of the three women Doctors of the Church, with St. Therese of Lisieux and
St. Catherine of Siena, being the other two. She is known as the Reformer of
Carmel, along with St. John of the Cross, and founded the Discalced Order of the
Carmelite family. The Teresian reform is not the only reform in Carmel. There
were other reforms including the Reform of Touraine in France (17th century) and
the Mantuan reform in Italy, which effected many changes in the Order. But St.
Teresa's reform was the most well known partly because of her own charismatic
personality and widespread influence. She was a very influential woman of her
day and collaborated with powerful people .<br />
<br />
She wrote books
dealing with her Life and Prayer. To mention some of her famous works: The Life
(autobiographical), The Way of Perfection (written for her Nuns) and The
Interior Castle (on Prayer). There are a variety of commentaries written about
these books and you can check them out at <a href="http://www.icspublications.com/">http://www.icspublications.com/</a>.<br />
<br />
I
got to know St. Teresa in 1984 after I graduated from College. My favorite reading is her Way of Perfection
. It deals with the subject of prayer. I also like The Interior Castle when I am
trying to analyze what mansion I may be in! Although the Way of Perfection was
written for her nuns and is tailored to those living a solely contemplative
lifestyle, one can use her counsels in this book to know about prayer and how to
grow in the life of prayer. She summarized three preconditions for a life of
prayer: Humility, Detachment and Charity. The entire book expounds on these
three criteria.<br />
<br />
One subject St. Teresa persistently wrote about was
how to pray . In her own life, she had a terrible time praying, to be specific
18 years, of not being able to pray. In her autobiography, she stated that she
needed the security of a book to get her focused. Even though most of the time
she did not read the book, she needed the security of having it with her for
reassurance. Because of her personal difficulties in praying, she is able to
explain to us through her writings difficulties we ourselves often experience.
She is very insistent about imagining Christ in His humanity. She imagined him
in those moments when he was most alone because she figured she will not be
turned away when he is so abandoned.<br />
<br />
I thought of presenting a
little of her thoughts on Mental Prayer or meditation. I used the article
presented by Fr. Sam Anthony Morello OCD <a href="http://www.elcarmelo.org/lectiodivina.html">“Lectio Divina and the
Practice of Teresian Prayer”.</a><br />
<br />
Lectio Divina (or divine
reading) is not particularly exclusive to Saint Teresa of Avila. It is an old
form of monastic prayer used throughout many centuries. It is a monastic
designation for meditative reading of the Scriptures. According to Fr. Morello’s
book, there are four steps to lectio divina:<br />
<br />
<b>1.
Lectio</b>Meaning “reading”, understood as the careful repetitious
recitation of a short text of Scripture.<br />
<b>2.
Meditatio</b>Meaning “meditation”, an effort to understand the meaning
of the text and make it personally relevant to oneself.<br />
<b>3.
Oratio</b>Meaning “prayer”, a personal response to the text, asking for
the grace of the text.<br />
<b>4. Contemplatio</b>Meaning
“contemplation.” It is gazing at length on something. The idea behind this
element is that sometimes with God’s infused grace, one is elevated beyond
meditation to an experiential contact with the divine presence, to God’s truth
and benevolence.<br />
<br />
Applying the Teresian flavor to the basic
elements of lectio divina, we come to the following exercise:<br />
<b>1.
Teresa’s “lectio”</b> <i>Reading the Word of God with Teresa</i><br />
She
counsels that when we start to pray, we must be aware of the following: who it
is who is praying (we are creatures), who it is we are praying to (God), what we
are praying for.<br />
<i>Attentiveness </i>to what one is doing and saying is
the first of Teresa’s advice.<br />
<br />
<b>2. Teresa’s “meditatio” -</b>
<i>meditating with Teresa.</i><br />
Saint Teresa counsels that one aid to
prayer is to find a companion at prayer. She is referring to taking Christ as
our companion in prayer. Whether one imagines Christ within oneself or before
the Blessed Sacrament (although Jesus’ presence in the Blessed Sacrament is not
imagined but a reality), or in the image of the crucifix. She teaches us to
think of God as very near to us or as within us, dwelling in our depths. With
Teresa we go where God is. Her advice is to locate God according to one’s
inclinations. There is no one way we ought to pray. We pray as we can, not as we
ought. Teresa also wants us to ‘think” of Christ. We address ourselves to him,
or we try to “hear” his words in Scriptures addressed to
us.<br />
<br />
<b>3. Teresa’s “Oratio” </b><i>Prayerful expression with
Teresa.</i>Teresa’s prayer is full of affectionate expression to
Christ. It is the prayer that comes out of a heart that begins to be filled with
love. The heart can express itself in a million ways. But here we implement the
Teresian principle of making Christ the object of that prayer. You can utter
words that come spontaneously to you. This is the part where prayer becomes a
conversation.<br />
<br />
<b>4. Teresa’s “Contemplatio”
</b><i>Contemplating with Teresa.</i>After going through the steps of
reading the text to feed the mind, meditating on the meaning of the text to move
the heart and praying the words or other emotions that come to heart. Teresa
describes a state of “resting” in the Lord. A new recollection of the soul, in
its innermost core, is experienced. With Teresa, we rest in the presence and
take a holiday from the work of meditation.<br />
<br />
The fruits of contemplation
for Teresa is shown in the growth of virtues. For her, the virtues are the
flowers in the garden of the soul.<br />
<br />
We have explained in summary
the exercise of mental prayer according to Saint Teresa of Avila. We should
endeavor to learn this exercise of mental prayer for our growth in the spiritual
life.<br />
<br />
<b>Prayer:</b><br />
<i>"God our Father, by Your Spirit you raised up Saint
Teresa of Jesus to show your Church the way to perfection. May her inspired
teaching awaken in us a longing for true holiness. Grant this through Christ our
Lord. Amen" </i><br />
<br />
<b>SHORT INTRODUCTION: </b><i> </i><br />
Known to her family as<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_2024478063"> </a><a href="http://ocarm.org/en/content/liturgy/st-teresa-jesus-virgin-and-doctor-church-feast">Teresa de Cepeda y Ahumada,</a> she became the
reformer of Carmel, mother of the Discalced Carmelite nuns and friars,
"spiritual mother" (as is engraved under her statue in the Vatican
Basilica), patron of Catholic writers (from 1965) and Doctor of the
Church (1970), the first woman with Saint Catherine of Siena to ever
receive this last title. She was born at Avila in Castile, Spain, on
28th March 1515 and died in Alba de Tormes, near Salamanca, on 4th
October 1582 (a correction due to the Gregorian reform of the calendar
that year, as the following day was officially 15th October). She was
beatified in 1614, canonised in 1622 and her feast day occurs on 15th
October. <br />
Her life needs to be understood in the light of the plan
which God had for her, with the great desires experienced in her heart,
with the mysterious illness to which she was subject in her youth (and
with the ill health from which she suffered throughout her life), and
with the "resistance" to divine grace for which she blamed herself more
than she should has. Running away from home, she entered the Carmel of
the Incarnation in Avila on 2nd November 1535. As a result, partly of
the prevailing conditions in the community and partly from her own
spiritual difficulties, she had to struggle before arriving at what she
called her conversion at the age of 39. But, benefitting from various
spiritual directors, she then began to make great strides towards
perfection. <br />
In 1560, the idea first emerged of a new Carmel, where
the Rule could be followed more closely, and this was realized two
years later when the monastery of St. Joseph was founded without any
endowments and "following the Primitive Rule": a phrase that needs to
be clearly understood because both then and later it was a notion which
was more nostalgic and "heroic" than practical. Five years later Teresa
obtained from the Prior General of the Order, John Baptist Rossi, then
visiting Spain, permission to increase the number of monasteries and a
licence to found two communities of contemplative Carmelite friars
(later to be called Discalced) who would be the spiritual counterparts
of the nuns and, as such, able to help them. At the death of Saint
Teresa, there were 17 monasteries of nuns in the Reform, and the
communities of friars also quickly outstripped the original number, some
founded with permission from the Prior General Rossi but others,
especially those in Andalusia, established against his will, relying on
the approval of the apostolic visitators, the Dominican Vargas and the
young Discalced Carmelite Jerome Gracian (a close spiritual companion
of Teresa, for whom she vowed to do whatever he asked her, as long as
it was not contrary to God's law). <br />
There followed a series of
unedifying quarrels, made worse by the interference of the civil
authorities and other outsiders, until in 1581, the Discalced were
formed into a separate Province. Saint Teresa was then able to write,
"Now all of us, Discalced and Calced, are at peace and nothing can
hinder us from serving the Lord".<br />
Saint Teresa is among the most
important figures of all time for Catholic spirituality. Her works -
especially the four best known (The Life, The Way of Perfection, The
Mansions and The Foundations) - together with her more historical
works, contain a doctrine which encompasses the whole of the spiritual
life, from the first steps right up to intimacy with God at the centre
of the Interior Castle. Her Letters show her occupied with a great
variety of everyday problems. Her doctrine on the unity of the soul
with God (a doctrine which was intimately lived by her) follows the
Carmelite tradition which had preceded her and to which she herself
contributed in such a notable way, enriching it as well as passing the
tradition on, not only to her spiritual sons and daughters, but also to
the whole Church which she served so unsparingly. When she was dying,
her one joy was to be able to affirm that "I die a daughter of the
Church".<br />
<br />
<b>SOURCE:</b> <a href="http://ocarm.org/en/content/liturgy/st-teresa-jesus-virgin-and-doctor-church-feast">CARMELITE WEBSITE </a>Sr. Helena of Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10070479492275590982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8251850911230103587.post-41577209791877734092021-10-06T19:07:00.001-04:002021-10-06T19:13:58.241-04:00Our Lady of the Rosary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1DcuTtFMS7M/TKkhT6APSGI/AAAAAAAAC9U/4Q1agP1TYdU/s1600/379_rosary1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1DcuTtFMS7M/TKkhT6APSGI/AAAAAAAAC9U/4Q1agP1TYdU/s640/379_rosary1.jpg" width="460" /></a></div>
<b>October 7th</b> is designated feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. The Holy Rosary has been described as a "compendium of the Gospels," a summary of the life of Christ and encapsulates the most memorable events in the life of Our Lady. The Rosary, along with the Brown Scapular, is the most popular devotion to Mary. For cradle Catholics, we learned of the Holy Rosary since childhood, and consider it to be the most powerful weapon against evil. Mary had placed her seal of approval on this devotion as evidenced by her many apparitions. The devotion of the rosary came to us through St. Dominic.<br />
<i>"According to tradition, the rosary was given to St. Dominic in an apparition by the Blessed Virgin Mary in the year 1214 in the church of Prouille. This Marian apparition received the title of Our Lady of the Rosary. Alain de la Roche or Saint Alan of the Rock, a learned Dominican
priest and theologian, and established the "15 rosary promises" and
started many rosary confraternities. However, most scholarly research suggests a more gradual and organic development of the rosary.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-encycrosary_19-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosary#cite_note-encycrosary-19"></a></sup></i>" <i>(wikipedia) </i><br />
<a name='more'></a><i></i><br />
<br />
The feast we are to celebrate is related to an annual feast commemorating the victory of Lepanto.<br />
<i>"In 1571 Pope Pius V instituted "Our Lady of Victory" as an annual feast to commemorate the victory of Lepanto. The victory was attributed to the Blessed Virgin Mary
as a rosary procession had been offered on that day in St. Peter's
Square in Rome for the success of the mission of the Holy League to hold
back Muslim forces<span style="font-size: small;"> from overrunning Western Europe. In 1573, Pope Gregory XIII changed the title of this feast-day to "Feast</span> of the Holy Rosary". This feast was extended by Pope Clement XII to the whole of the Latin Rite inserting it into the Roman Catholic calendar of Saints in 1716, and assigning it to the first Sunday in October. Pope Pius X changed the date to 7 October in 1913, as part of his effort to restore celebration of the liturgy of the Sundays. In 1969, Pope Paul VI changed the name of the feast to "Our Lady of the Rosary"."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_the_Rosary#cite_note-0"></a></sup></i><i><sup>(wikipedia.org)</sup></i><br />
<br />
Our late Holy Father Pope John Paul II wrote an apostolic letter on the Rosary called "Rosarium Virginis Mariae" (Rosary of the Virgin Mary). It is a wonderful document and is very much worth reading. Below is the conclusion of the said apostolic letter. You can read its entirety by clicking the link provided.<br /><br />
<b>CONCLUSION</b><br />
<br />
<div align="left">
<i><b>“Blessed Rosary of Mary, sweet chain linking us to God”</b></i></div>
<div align="left">
<i>39. What has been said so far makes abundantly clear the richness of this
traditional prayer, which has the simplicity of a popular devotion but also the
theological depth of a prayer suited to those who feel the need for deeper
contemplation.</i></div>
<div align="left">
<i>The Church has always attributed particular efficacy to this prayer, entrusting
to the Rosary, to its choral recitation and to its constant practice, the most
difficult problems. At times when Christianity itself seemed under threat, its
deliverance was attributed to the power of this prayer, and Our Lady of the
Rosary was acclaimed as the one whose intercession brought salvation.</i></div>
<div align="left">
<i>Today I willingly entrust to the power of this prayer – as I mentioned at the
beginning – the cause of peace in the world and the cause of the family.</i></div>
<div align="left">
<i><b>Peace</b></i></div>
<div align="left">
<i>40. The grave challenges confronting the world at the start of this new
Millennium lead us to think that only an intervention from on high, capable of
guiding the hearts of those living in situations of conflict and those governing
the destinies of nations, can give reason to hope for a brighter future.</i></div>
<div align="left">
<i>The Rosary is by its nature a prayer for peace, since it consists in the contemplation of Christ, the Prince of Peace, the one
who is “our peace” (</i><i>Eph 2:14). Anyone who assimilates the mystery of
Christ – and this is clearly the goal of the Rosary – learns the secret of peace
and makes it his life's project. Moreover, by virtue of its meditative
character, with the tranquil succession of </i><i>Hail Marys, the Rosary has a
peaceful effect on those who pray it, disposing them to receive and experience
in their innermost depths, and to spread around them, that true peace which is
the special gift of the Risen Lord (cf. </i><i>Jn 14:27; 20.21).</i></div>
<div align="left">
<i>The Rosary is also a prayer for peace because of the fruits of charity which it
produces. When prayed well in a truly meditative way, the Rosary leads to an
encounter with Christ in his mysteries and so cannot fail to draw attention to
the face of Christ in others, especially in the most afflicted. How could one
possibly contemplate the mystery of the Child of Bethlehem, in the joyful
mysteries, without experiencing the desire to welcome, defend and promote life,
and to shoulder the burdens of suffering children all over the world? How could
one possibly follow in the footsteps of Christ the Revealer, in the mysteries of
light, without resolving to bear witness to his “Beatitudes” in daily life?
And how could one contemplate Christ carrying the Cross and Christ Crucified,
without feeling the need to act as a “Simon of Cyrene” for our brothers and
sisters weighed down by grief or crushed by despair? Finally, how could one
possibly gaze upon the glory of the Risen Christ or of Mary Queen of Heaven,
without yearning to make this world more beautiful, more just, more closely
conformed to God's plan?</i></div>
<div align="left">
<i>In a word, by focusing our eyes on Christ, the Rosary also makes us peacemakers
in the world. By its nature as an insistent choral petition in harmony with
Christ's invitation to “pray ceaselessly” (</i><i>Lk 18:1), the Rosary
allows us to hope that, even today, the difficult “battle” for peace can be
won. Far from offering an escape from the problems of the world, the Rosary
obliges us to see them with responsible and generous eyes, and obtains for us
the strength to face them with the certainty of God's help and the firm
intention of bearing witness in every situation to “love, which binds
everything together in perfect harmony” (</i><i>Col 3:14).</i></div>
<div align="left">
<i><b>The family: parents...</b></i></div>
<div align="left">
<i>41. As a prayer for peace, the Rosary is also, and always has been, </i><i>a prayer
of and for the family. At one time this prayer was particularly dear to
Christian families, and it certainly brought them closer together. It is
important not to lose this precious inheritance. We need to return to the
practice of family prayer and prayer for families, continuing to use the Rosary.</i></div>
<div align="left">
<i>In my Apostolic Letter </i><i><a href="http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_20010106_novo-millennio-ineunte_en.html">Novo Millennio Ineunte</a> I encouraged the
celebration of the</i><i> Liturgy of the Hours by the lay faithful in the
ordinary life of parish communities and Christian groups;<a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=8251850911230103587&postID=4157720979187773409" name="fnref39"><sup>(</sup></a><sup><a href="http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_20021016_rosarium-virginis-mariae_en.html#fn39">39</a>)</sup> I now wish to do the same for the Rosary. These two paths of Christian
contemplation are not mutually exclusive; they complement one another. I would
therefore ask those who devote themselves to the pastoral care of families to
recommend heartily the recitation of the Rosary.</i></div>
<div align="left">
<i>The family that prays together stays together. The Holy Rosary, by age-old tradition, has shown itself particularly effective
as a prayer which brings the family together. Individual family members, in
turning their eyes towards Jesus, also regain the ability to look one another in
the eye, to communicate, to show solidarity, to forgive one another and to see
their covenant of love renewed in the Spirit of God.</i></div>
<div align="left">
<i>Many of the problems facing contemporary families,
especially in economically
developed societies, result from their increasing difficulty in
communicating.
Families seldom manage to come together, and the rare occasions when
they do are
often taken up with watching television. To return to the recitation of
the
family Rosary means filling daily life with very different images,
images of the mystery of salvation: the image of the Redeemer, the image
of his
most Blessed Mother. The family that recites the Rosary together
reproduces
something of the atmosphere of the household of Nazareth: its members
place
Jesus at the centre, they share his joys and sorrows, they place their
needs and
their plans in his hands, they draw from him the hope and the strength
to go
on. </i></div>
<div align="left">
<i><b>... and children</b></i></div>
<div align="left">
<i>42. It is also beautiful and fruitful to entrust to this prayer </i><i>the growth
and development of children. Does the Rosary not follow the life of Christ,
from his conception to his death, and then to his Resurrection and his glory?
Parents are finding it ever more difficult to follow the lives of their children
as they grow to maturity. In a society of advanced technology, of mass
communications and globalization, everything has become hurried, and the
cultural distance between generations is growing ever greater. The most diverse
messages and the most unpredictable experiences rapidly make their way into the
lives of children and adolescents, and parents can become quite anxious about
the dangers their children face. At times parents suffer acute disappointment at
the failure of their children to resist the seductions of the drug culture, the
lure of an unbridled hedonism, the temptation to violence, and the manifold
expressions of meaninglessness and despair.</i></div>
<div align="left">
<i>To pray the Rosary </i><i>for children, and even more, </i><i>with children,
training them from their earliest years to experience this daily “pause for
prayer” with the family, is admittedly not the solution to every problem, but
it is a spiritual aid which should not be underestimated. It could be objected
that the Rosary seems hardly suited to the taste of children and young people of
today. But perhaps the objection is directed to an impoverished method of
praying it. Furthermore, without prejudice to the Rosary's basic structure,
there is nothing to stop children and young people from praying it – either
within the family or in groups – with appropriate symbolic and practical aids to
understanding and appreciation. Why not try it? With God's help, a pastoral
approach to youth which is positive, impassioned and creative – as shown by the
World Youth Days! – is capable of achieving quite remarkable results. If the
Rosary is well presented, I am sure that young people will once more surprise
adults by the way they make this prayer their own and recite it with the
enthusiasm typical of their age group.</i></div>
<div align="left">
<i><b>The Rosary, a treasure to be rediscovered</b></i></div>
<div align="left">
<i>43. Dear brothers and sisters! A prayer so easy and yet so rich truly deserves
to be rediscovered by the Christian community. Let us do so, especially this
year, as a means of confirming the direction outlined in my Apostolic Letter</i><i>
<a href="http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_20010106_novo-millennio-ineunte_en.html">
Novo Millennio Ineunte</a>, from which the pastoral plans of so many particular
Churches have drawn inspiration as they look to the immediate future.</i></div>
<div align="left">
<i>I turn particularly to you, my dear Brother Bishops, priests and deacons, and to
you, pastoral agents in your different ministries: through your own personal
experience of the beauty of the Rosary, may you come to promote it with
conviction.</i></div>
<div align="left">
<i>I also place my trust in you, theologians: by your sage and rigorous reflection,
rooted in the word of God and sensitive to the lived experience of the Christian
people, may you help them to discover the Biblical foundations, the spiritual
riches and the pastoral value of this traditional prayer.</i></div>
<div align="left">
<i>I count on you, consecrated men and women, called in a particular way to
contemplate the face of Christ at the school of Mary.</i></div>
<div align="left">
<i>I look to all of you, brothers and sisters of every state of life, to you,
Christian families, to you, the sick and elderly, and to you, young people: </i><i>confidently
take up the Rosary once again. Rediscover the Rosary in the light of
Scripture, in harmony with the Liturgy, and in the context of your daily lives.</i></div>
<div align="left">
<i>May this appeal of mine not go unheard! At the start of the twenty-fifth year of
my Pontificate, I entrust this Apostolic Letter to the loving hands of the
Virgin Mary, </i><i>prostrating myself in spirit before her image in the splendid
Shrine built for her by Blessed Bartolo Longo, the apostle of the Rosary. I
willingly make my own the touching words with which he concluded his well-known
</i><i>Supplication to the Queen of the Holy Rosary: “O Blessed Rosary of
Mary, sweet chain which unites us to God, bond of love which unites us to the
angels, tower of salvation against the assaults of Hell, safe port in our
universal shipwreck, we will never abandon you. You will be our comfort in the
hour of death: yours our final kiss as life ebbs away. And the last word from
our lips will be your sweet name, O Queen of the Rosary of Pompei, O dearest
Mother, O Refuge of Sinners, O Sovereign Consoler of the Afflicted. May you be
everywhere blessed, today and always, on earth and in heaven”.</i></div>
<div align="left">
<i>From the Vatican, on the 16th day of October in the year 2002, the beginning of
the twenty- fifth year of my Pontificate.</i></div>
<div align="center">
<i><b>JOHN PAUL II</b></i></div>
Sr. Helena of Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10070479492275590982noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8251850911230103587.post-67184072501711745122021-10-05T19:50:00.000-04:002021-10-05T19:50:13.392-04:00Novena to St. Teresa of Jesus- October 6<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1DcuTtFMS7M/TKqAi3wj5kI/AAAAAAAAC9Y/QI1lOacHnIQ/s1600/2.++teresa+of+avila.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1DcuTtFMS7M/TKqAi3wj5kI/AAAAAAAAC9Y/QI1lOacHnIQ/s640/2.++teresa+of+avila.bmp" width="435" /></a></div>
<b>October 6th</b> is the beginning of our novena to
Saint Teresa of Jesus (Avila). Novena is a nine day act of prayers for the purpose of either
petition or thanksgiving. It recalls the nine days that the Apostles and the
Blessed Virgin gathered in the Upper room in prayer from the time Jesus ascended
to heaven until the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.
<br />
For Carmelites and the devotees of St. Teresa, we thank God
for the gift of this special Saint who gave herself for the life of the Church.
Her famous last words: "I am a daughter of the Church" certainly spoke for her
great love. We also invoke her, as part of the Church Triumphant, to continue to
intercede for us who are still on this earth. Below are the prayers we recite
for our special intentions:<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">FIRST DAY:</span><br />
by St. Alphonsus
Liguori<br />
<i>"O most amiable Lord Jesus Christ, we thank You for the
great gift of faith and of devotion to the Holy Sacrament, which You did grant
to Your beloved Teresa. We pray, by Your merits and by those of Your faithful
Spouse, to grant us the gift of a fervent devotion toward the Most Holy
Sacrament of the altar, where You O Infinite Majesty has obliged Yourself to
abide with us even to the end of the world, and wherein You did so lovingly give
Your whole self to us."</i><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">(Our Father,
Hail Mary, Glory Be..)</span><br />
<br />
<i>O Jesus, who Teresa's beauteous
soul<br />With thy love-dart didst fire,<br />Deep in my heart of
hearts<br />Her own sweet longing love of thee
inspire.</i><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">St. Teresa, pray for
us.<br />That we may become worthy of the promises of
Christ.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Let Us
Pray:</span><br />
<i>Graciously hear us, O God, our salvation! that as we
rejoice in the commemoration of the blessed virgin Teresa (our Mother) , so we
may be nourished by her heavenly doctrine, and draw from thence the fervor of a
tender devotion , through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns
with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. Amen. </i>Sr. Helena of Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10070479492275590982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8251850911230103587.post-88872668475789312772021-10-05T19:49:00.004-04:002021-10-05T19:49:57.624-04:00Novena to St. Teresa of Jesus- October 7<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1DcuTtFMS7M/TKqBtiXtbeI/AAAAAAAAC9c/ChDGJEqKH2w/s1600/2.++teresa+of+avila.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1DcuTtFMS7M/TKqBtiXtbeI/AAAAAAAAC9c/ChDGJEqKH2w/s640/2.++teresa+of+avila.bmp" width="435" /></a></div>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">SECOND DAY:</span><br />
by St.
Alphonsus Liguori<br />
<br />
"O most merciful Lord, Jesus Christ! we thank
You for the great gift of hope which You did grant to Your beloved Teresa. We
pray You, by Your merits, and by those of Your holy spouse, to give us a great
confidence in Your goodness, by reason of Your Precious Blood, which You have
shed to its last drop for our salvation.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory
Be..)</span><br />
<br />
O Jesus, who Teresa's beauteous soul<br />
With
thy love-dart didst fire,<br />
Deep in my heart of hearts<br />
Her own
sweet longing love of thee inspire.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">St. Teresa, pray for us.<br />That we may become
worthy of the promises of Christ.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Let Us Pray:</span><br />
<i>Graciously hear us, O God,
our salvation! that as we rejoice in the commemoration of the blessed virgin
Teresa (our Mother) , so we may be nourished by her heavenly doctrine, and draw
from thence the fervor of a tender devotion , through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God
forever and ever. Amen. "</i>Sr. Helena of Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10070479492275590982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8251850911230103587.post-62286249308184209572021-10-05T19:49:00.003-04:002021-10-05T19:49:44.016-04:00Novena to St. Teresa of Jesus- October 8<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1DcuTtFMS7M/TKqCLOR82bI/AAAAAAAAC9g/PErLzG3OznY/s1600/2.++teresa+of+avila.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1DcuTtFMS7M/TKqCLOR82bI/AAAAAAAAC9g/PErLzG3OznY/s640/2.++teresa+of+avila.bmp" width="436" /></a></div>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Third Day:</span><br />
"O Most loving Lord Jesus Christ! We thank thee for the great gift of love which You did grant to Your beloved Teresa. We pray Thee by thy merits, and by those of Your most loving spouse, to give us the great, the crowning gift of Your perfect love."<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Our Father.. Hail Mary.. Glory be..</span><br />
<br />
O Jesus, who Teresa's beauteous soul<br />
With thy love-dart didst fire,<br />
Deep in my heart of hearts<br />
Her own sweet longing love of thee inspire.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">St. Teresa, pray for us.<br />That we may become worthy of the promises of Christ.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Let Us Pray:</span><br />
<i>Graciously hear us, O God, our salvation! that as we rejoice in the commemoration of the blessed virgin Teresa (our Mother) , so we may be nourished by her heavenly doctrine, and draw from thence the fervor of a tender devotion , through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. Amen. "</i>Sr. Helena of Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10070479492275590982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8251850911230103587.post-75056017379610782002021-10-05T19:49:00.002-04:002021-10-05T19:49:31.711-04:00Novena St. Teresa of Jesus- October 9 Day 4<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1DcuTtFMS7M/TK0oxob5XVI/AAAAAAAAC9w/yLs8PDTNJ2U/s1600/2.++teresa+of+avila.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1DcuTtFMS7M/TK0oxob5XVI/AAAAAAAAC9w/yLs8PDTNJ2U/s400/2.++teresa+of+avila.bmp" width="272" /></a></div>
"O most sweet Lord Jesus Christ! We thank thee for the gift of great desire and resolution which thou didst grant to thy beloved Teresa, the she might love thee perfectly; we pray thee by thy merits and by those of thy most generous spouse, to give us a true desire, and a true resolution of pleasing thee to the utmost of our power.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Our Father.. Hail Mary.. Glory be..</span><br />
<br />
O Jesus, who Teresa's beauteous soul<br />
With thy love-dart didst fire,<br />
Deep in my heart of hearts<br />
Her own sweet longing love of thee inspire.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">St. Teresa, pray for us.<br />That we may become worthy of the promises of Christ.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Let Us Pray:</span><br />
Graciously hear us, O God, our salvation! that as we rejoice in the commemoration of the blessed virgin Teresa (our Mother) , so we may be nourished by her heavenly doctrine, and draw from thence the fervor of a tender devotion , through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. Amen. "Sr. Helena of Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10070479492275590982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8251850911230103587.post-74095875613198234202021-10-05T19:49:00.001-04:002021-10-05T19:49:18.411-04:00Novena St. Teresa of Jesus- October 10<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1DcuTtFMS7M/TK0pyF60ekI/AAAAAAAAC90/G6vSQVTqN48/s1600/2.++teresa+of+avila.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1DcuTtFMS7M/TK0pyF60ekI/AAAAAAAAC90/G6vSQVTqN48/s400/2.++teresa+of+avila.bmp" width="272" /></a></div>
"O most kind Lord Jesus Christ! we thank thee for the great gift of humility which thou did grant to thy beloved Teresa; we pray thee by thy merits, and by those of thy most humble spouse, to grant us the grace of a true humility, which may make us ever find our joy in humiliations, and prefer contempt before every honor.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Our Father.. Hail Mary.. Glory be..</span><br />
<br />
O Jesus, who Teresa's beauteous soul<br />
With thy love-dart didst fire,<br />
Deep in my heart of hearts<br />
Her own sweet longing love of thee inspire.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">St. Teresa, pray for us.<br />That we may become worthy of the promises of Christ.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Let Us Pray:</span><br />
Graciously hear us, O God, our salvation! that as we rejoice in the commemoration of the blessed virgin Teresa (our Mother) , so we may be nourished by her heavenly doctrine, and draw from thence the fervor of a tender devotion , through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. Amen. "Sr. Helena of Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10070479492275590982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8251850911230103587.post-15785015158251447682021-10-05T19:49:00.000-04:002021-10-05T19:49:00.149-04:00Novena St. Teresa of Jesus- October 11<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu0kVwKu_QTtpVapOIvJ_Abkkvau_UQ9uToZVqP7sTYJmUSEa3Js6m64vTf4aLDAbxuH3i4strxcER2w6MwvvoX9HBpmTlqva_yNomyLdrOZS0NRLlop1Uuolr56WJXoShpE5j0wtI12ak/s1600/2.++teresa+of+avila.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu0kVwKu_QTtpVapOIvJ_Abkkvau_UQ9uToZVqP7sTYJmUSEa3Js6m64vTf4aLDAbxuH3i4strxcER2w6MwvvoX9HBpmTlqva_yNomyLdrOZS0NRLlop1Uuolr56WJXoShpE5j0wtI12ak/s400/2.++teresa+of+avila.bmp" width="272" /></a></div>
<span style="font-style: italic;">"O most bountiful Lord
Jesus Christ, we thank thee for the gift of devotion toward thy sweet Mother
Mary, and her holy spouse Joseph, which thou did grant to thy beloved Teresa; we
pray thee, by thy merits, and by those of thy most dear spouse to give us the
grace of a special and tender devotion toward thy most holy Mother Mary, and
toward thy beloved foster father, Joseph.<br /><br />Our Father.. Hail Mary.. Glory
be..</span><br />
<br />
O Jesus, who Teresa's beauteous soul<br />
With
thy love-dart didst fire,<br />
Deep in my heart of hearts<br />
Her own
sweet longing love of thee inspire.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">St. Teresa, pray for us.<br />That we may become
worthy of the promises of Christ.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Let Us Pray:</span><br />
Graciously hear us, O God,
our salvation! that as we rejoice in the commemoration of the blessed virgin
Teresa (our Mother) , so we may be nourished by her heavenly doctrine, and draw
from thence the fervor of a tender devotion , through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God
forever and ever. Amen. "Sr. Helena of Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10070479492275590982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8251850911230103587.post-26889038566537003512021-10-05T19:48:00.001-04:002021-10-05T19:48:30.124-04:00Novena St. Teresa of Jesus- October 13<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi85ANv-MA4aPu6zuGPjtRLJadNhGJym7edZxWtXlEliMIRdY85AUbrfee9yuLEOOTpGbHq-_BuhWsDA4GWXpgPNoJq04EKRkPjMYjkUQoR-bA-4IcRF7ldoC2CH278Ja4t0al2K4SoMuBQ/s1600/2.++teresa+of+avila.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi85ANv-MA4aPu6zuGPjtRLJadNhGJym7edZxWtXlEliMIRdY85AUbrfee9yuLEOOTpGbHq-_BuhWsDA4GWXpgPNoJq04EKRkPjMYjkUQoR-bA-4IcRF7ldoC2CH278Ja4t0al2K4SoMuBQ/s400/2.++teresa+of+avila.bmp" width="272" /></a></div>
"O most beloved Lord Jesus Christ! we thank thee for the
eminent gift of the desire for death which thou did grant to thy beloved Teresa;
we pray thee by thy merits, and by those of thy most constant spouse, to grant
us the grace of desiring death, in order to go and possess thee eternally in the
country of the blessed."<br />
<br />
Our Father.. Hail Mary.. Glory
be..<br />
<br />
O Jesus, who Teresa's beauteous soul<br />
With thy
love-dart didst fire,<br />
Deep in my heart of hearts<br />
Her own sweet
longing love of thee inspire.<br />
<br />
St. Teresa, pray for
us.<br />
That we may become worthy of the promises of
Christ.<br />
<br />
<b>Let Us Pray:</b><br />
Graciously hear us, O God, our salvation!
that as we rejoice in the commemoration of the blessed virgin Teresa (our
Mother) , so we may be nourished by her heavenly doctrine, and draw from thence
the fervor of a tender devotion , through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who
lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever.
Amen. "Sr. Helena of Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10070479492275590982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8251850911230103587.post-68158787595950655232021-10-05T19:48:00.000-04:002021-10-05T19:48:12.737-04:00Novena St. Teresa of Jesus- October 14<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1DcuTtFMS7M/TK0r2aiqq7I/AAAAAAAAC-E/12jyVKtxwMo/s1600/2.++teresa+of+avila.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1DcuTtFMS7M/TK0r2aiqq7I/AAAAAAAAC-E/12jyVKtxwMo/s400/2.++teresa+of+avila.bmp" width="272" /></a></div>
"Lastly, O dearest Jesus Christ! we thank thee for the gift
of the precious death which thou did grant to thy beloved Teresa, making her
sweetly to die of love; we pray thee, by thy merits and by those of thy most
affectionate spouse, to grant us a good death, and if we do not die of love,
yet, that we may, at least, die burning with love for thee, that so dying , we
may be able to go and love thee forever with a more perfect love in
heaven."<br />
<br />
Our Father.. Hail Mary.. Glory be..<br />
<br />
O
Jesus, who Teresa's beauteous soul<br />
With thy love-dart didst
fire,<br />
Deep in my heart of hearts<br />
Her own sweet longing love of
thee inspire.<br />
<br />
St. Teresa, pray for us.<br />
That we may
become worthy of the promises of Christ.<br />
<br />
<b>Let Us Pray:</b><br />
Graciously
hear us, O God, our salvation! that as we rejoice in the commemoration of the
blessed virgin Teresa (our Mother) , so we may be nourished by her heavenly
doctrine, and draw from thence the fervor of a tender devotion , through our
Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the
Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. Amen. "Sr. Helena of Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10070479492275590982noreply@blogger.com0