#blessed-virgin — Public Fediverse posts

Quote of the day, 21 May: St. Raphael Kalinowski

My job at Kursk was to draw up the necessary plans for [construction of a railway line from Kursk, Russia to Odesa, Ukraine]. It was necessary for me to make many journeys to Putywl [Ukraine] and other places to pick up statistical and geographical ideas of which I was in need. Nowhere did I find a Catholic church…

At Kursk I lived near the Orthodox Church. I only set foot in there once, invited to a wedding by a family who were known to me. Perhaps here I could do some praying. That evening, the thought of the cemetery which was close to my room, and the cry of the owls that inhabited the neighbourhood, exercised a salutary impression on my mind.

The old sacristan who was a very honest man became a friend. When I returned after a long absence and asked him how he was, he would reply, “I am very well, thanks be to God and to your prayers.”

In all this expedition I can report only one benefit, not from my work, but from a little religious book, an anthology of prayers to the Blessed Virgin. It had been given to me by a young Polish man who helped me draw up the plans and it had been a keepsake of his mother.

The reading of this little book had a great influence on me. It instilled in me particularly a lively trust in the intercession of the Holy Virgin. One remark on the efficacy of the Hail Mary remained deeply engraved on my memory, and on one occasion when I found myself exposed to imminent danger, I recited the Ave and I emerged safe and sound.

What a powerful weapon prayer is! How easy it is to obtain everything through the intercession of Mary! What efficacious means of salvation Holy Church places in our hands through these religious books, which open the eyes of our souls to the splendor of divine truth!

Saint Raphael Kalinowski

Memoirs, ch. 2

Tierney, T  2016,  Saint Raphael Kalinowski: Apprenticed to Sainthood in Siberia,  Balboa Press  Australia.

Featured image: Antique Russian Orthodox icon. Image credit: kalichka / Adobe Stock (Asset ID#: 148978092).

Quote of the day, 20 March: Blessed Francis Palau y Quer

God in His providence has ordained not to cure our ills or grant us grace without the intervention of prayer. He wishes us to help in saving each other by means of our prayer (cf. Jas 5:16f). If the heavens showered down dew and the clouds rained the righteous One, if the earth opened to bring forth the Savior (cf. Is 45:8), it was God’s good pleasure that His coming should be preceded by the prayers of that singular Virgin who by the beauty of her virtues drew into her womb the uncreated Word of God.

The Redeemer came, and by constant prayer, He reconciled the world to the Father. If Christ’s prayer and the fruits of His redemptive work are to be applied to any nation or people, or if the gospel message is to enlighten them and they are to have someone to administer the sacraments, it is indispensable that someone or even many persons should have previously won them over and reconciled them to God by earnest entreaties and supplications, by prayers and sacrifices.

Christ prayed throughout His entire life, whereas He spent only three years preaching. Since God does not distribute His graces to men except through prayer, because He wishes us to recognize Him as the source from which all good things flow; in like manner, He does not wish to save us from danger, or cure our wounds, or console us in affliction, except by means of this same exercise of prayer.

Blessed Francis Palau y Quer

From his spiritual writings

Note: Born in Aytona (Lérida) on December 29, 1811, Blessed Francis Palau y Quer entered the Carmelite Order in 1832 and was ordained in 1836. Amid civil unrest, he lived for years in exile. Returning to Spain, he founded the School of Virtue in Barcelona, later suppressed, and was again exiled—this time to Ibiza (1854–1860), where he lived in solitude at El Vedrá and deepened his mystical insight into the mystery of the Church. He went on to found the Teresian Carmelite Missionary Brothers and Sisters and devoted himself to preaching and Marian devotion. He died at Tarragona on March 20, 1872, and was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1980.

Catholic Church 1993, Proper of the Liturgy of the Hours of the Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel and the Order of Discalced Carmelites (Rev. and augm.), Institutum Carmelitanum, Rome.

Featured image: Background: Es Vedrá is an islet in the Balearic Islands, near Ibiza, in Spain. It is part of the natural reserve of Es Vedrá, Es Vedranell and els illots de Ponent. The statue of Blessed Francis is found in the chapel of the Teresian Carmelite Missionary Sisters, Tarragona.
Image credits: Alejandro Tapia / Adobe Express (photo of the Balearic Islands) and bocachete / Wikimedia Commons (photo of the statue, public domain)

Quote of the day, 12 November: St. Thérèse

Loreto really charmed me! And what shall I say about the Holy House? Ah! how deep was my emotion when I found myself under the same roof as the Holy Family, contemplating the walls upon which Jesus cast His sacred glance, treading the ground bedewed with the sweat of St. Joseph, under this roof where Mary had carried Jesus in her arms, having carried Him in her virginal womb. I beheld the little room in which the angel had appeared to the Blessed Virgin. I placed my rosary in the little bowl of the Child Jesus. What ravishing memories!

Saint Thérèse of Lisieux

Manuscript A, folio 59 verso

My dear Thérésita,

Monseigneur is awaiting the end of the trip in order to make his decision.

Today, really confide your entire affair to the Blessed Virgin. There, in that blessed house where she worked, prayed, suffered, what delightful things she is about to make your heart understand. One does not go to the Blessed Virgin’s home without coming back with hands filled with graces. Oh, little home of Nazareth, you are worth a thousand times more than all the palaces of this world! There, truly, is heaven’s vestibule!. . .

Little Friend and fiancée of little Jesus, don’t forget that He grew up under this roof of mystery. . . . Don’t forget that He wept there often, very often; He wept there with love and with the desire to see all souls take flight towards Him, and He wept with sorrow when seeing so few would love Him in the future!

When the Blessed Virgin noticed that her Darling was weeping, it was then that she quickly placed the mysterious ball in His hand, and He smiled immediately. . . on the dear ball was written this name: Thérésita of the Child Jesus.

Adieu, adieu, little pilgrim, little toy of Jesus. Fear nothing, for Jesus says to you as He said formerly to St. Teresa: “Nobody will be able to snatch you from My Hands!”

Your confidante,
Agnes of Jesus
r.c.ind.

You should also pray to good St. Joseph, for he, too, worked for Him and suffered in this little house, thrice blessed.

Your little letter pleased me very much; don’t worry about your handwriting. When we are traveling, this is insignificant.

Agnès of Jesus, O.C.D. (Pauline Martin

Letter LC 57 From Sister Agnes of Jesus to Thérèse
November 9, 1887

Note: This letter was addressed to St. Thérèse at Loreto, Italy, mailed at the same time as two letters to St. Louis Martin and Céline Martin, and a note from Sister Marie of the Sacred Heart to Thérèse. At the beginning of this letter, Pauline explains Bishop Hugonin’s decision to postpone his answer concerning Thérèse’s vocation until after the trip to Rome was over. Thérèse took this as a negative answer: “I learned from one of your letters, Mother, that he was no longer favorably disposed toward me. My only plank of salvation was in the permission of the Holy Father, but to obtain it I had to ask for it, I had to dare speak to the pope in front of everybody. This thought made me tremble” (Ms A 62r).

Thérèse of Lisieux, S & Clarke, J 1982, General Correspondence: Letters of Saint Therese of Lisieux: Volume 1 1877-1890, Centenary ed., Institute of Carmelite Studies, Washington DC.

Thérèse & Foley, M 2005, Story of a Soul: The autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Study edn, translated from the French by Clarke, J, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

We always refer to the website of the Archives of the Carmel of Lisieux for the vast majority of our quotes concerning Saint Thérèse, Saint Zélie, and Saint Louis Martin. If you would like to purchase English translations for the collected works of St. Thérèse, please visit the website of our Discalced Carmelite friars at ICS Publications. 

Featured image: The famed image of Our Lady of Loreto in the Basilica of the Holy House. Image credit: kppl / Adobe Stock (File 207764768).

#207764768 #BlessedVirgin #CelineMartin #ChildJesus #familyLife #HolyHouseOfLoreto #PaulineMartin #pilgrimage #SantaCasaDiLoreto #StThereseOfLisieux

Today's Flickr photo was taken in Pompeii: the dome of the Santuario della Beata Vergine del Rosario (Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary).

#pompeii #church #architecture #dome #fresco #BlessedVirgin #rosary

Today's Flickr photo was taken in Pompeii: the dome of the Santuario della Beata Vergine del Rosario (Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary).

#pompeii #church #architecture #dome #fresco #BlessedVirgin #rosary

Today's Flickr photo was taken in Pompeii: the dome of the Santuario della Beata Vergine del Rosario (Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary).

#pompeii #church #architecture #dome #fresco #BlessedVirgin #rosary

Today's Flickr photo was taken in Pompeii: the dome of the Santuario della Beata Vergine del Rosario (Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary).

#pompeii #church #architecture #dome #fresco #BlessedVirgin #rosary

Quote of the day, 16 May: Hermann Cohen

There may still be some who, from deference to the naturally staid, impassive character of the English, would counsel Catholics to maintain a certain reserve in their devotion to Mary, as though, indeed, there were any other than Mary who was to crush the head of error; as though there could be danger or excess where God has so wondrously surpassed Himself: can the love of Catholics for Mary ever rise to such a height, or can they honour her with glory so sublime, as that to which God Himself has chosen to exalt her?

As if this filial homage could be out of place in England, the birth-place of the devotion of the Holy Scapular, the favoured spot to which the Blessed Virgin came, bringing from heaven that pledge of salvation, to bestow it upon a Religious, not of Italy or of Spain, but on an English Saint, born and bred in England, English in his labors, in his mission, and in his election as General of the Carmelite Order.

This preference for England as the scene of that revelation, and the choice of an Englishman, St. Simon Stock, as the receiver of the promise attached to the Scapular is, to my mind, a pledge of the future conversion of that nation.

Servant of God Augustine of the Blessed Sacrament
Hermann Cohen

Lecture at Malines (3 September 1864)

Tierney, T  2017,  A Life of Hermann Cohen: From Franz Liszt to John of the Cross,  Balboa Press,  Bloomington, IN

Featured image: This close-up photo shows the monumental reliquary of St. Simon Stock in the chapel of the Carmelite priory in Aylesford, England. Image credit: British Province of Carmelites / Flickr (Some rights reserved)

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
Do I believe there can be “danger or excess” in loving Our Lady as God exalts her?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments.

#BlessedVirgin #BrownScapular #CarmeliteOrder #Catholic #Catholics #conversion #England #HermannCohen #Mary #PriorGeneral #scapular #StSimonStock

Quote of the day, 19 January: St. Mary Magdalen de’ Pazzi

Turning to an image of the Blessed Virgin, [Sister Mary Magdalen de’ Pazzi] said:

“O Mary! I see after all the most pure and resplendent eyes of my Spouse, looking down upon me with a countenance no longer troubled but benign. But, pray! tell me, O my Jesus, what did I do in so short a space of time for which I may have deserved so sweet and smiling a look?”

And she was answered: “Conformity of will.”

In August of 1588, the wine in a keg in the monastery having become sour and the mother prioress having no means to provide good wine, she ordered Sister Mary Magdalen to pray to Jesus that He might be pleased to turn the spoiled wine again into good wine.

Then our Saint, strengthened by obedience, took a little framed picture which represented St. [James], and going with it to the wine cellar, after a short prayer, made the sign of the cross over the keg.

After this, the sister butler came to draw wine, and found it, in fact, restored to its former good taste. The nuns gave thanks to God, who had so miraculously provided for their needs.

A fellow sister, Mary Angiola Santucci, was then confined to her bed by a serious illness, and, on hearing of this miracle, asked for a drink of the wine. No sooner had she tasted it than she felt a notable relief from her illness, and, feeling her hope of ultimate recovery increase, she wanted to taste more of it on the following day. After this, she felt better; and on the third day, taking the same small quantity, she recovered her health entirely, to the inexpressible wonder of the sisters, who could not help being cognizant the double prodigy worked through the virtue of our humble and holy [Sister].

Father Placido Fabrini

Chapters 25 and 17 (excerpts)

Fabrini, P. & De’ Pazzi, M.M. 1900, The life of St. Mary Magdalen De-Pazzi: Florentine noble, sacred Carmelite virgin, translated from the Italian by Isoleri A., [publisher not identified] Philadelphia.

#beloved #BlessedVirgin #conformity #miracle #obedience #StMaryMagdalenDePazzi #willOfGod #wine

Quote of the day, 30 December: St. John Paul II and St. Thérèse

The Marian pope was, in an exemplary manner, a man of hope. On this point, he is particularly close to Thérèse of Lisieux, who is par excellence the Doctor of Mercy and Hope—that is, of unlimited Hope in the infinite Mercy of the Redeemer. Already, in his first encyclical, John Paul II highlighted the Mystery of Merciful Love contemplated in Christ the Redeemer:

“God is love” (1 Jn 4:8). Above all, love is greater than sin, than weakness, than the “futility of creation” (cf. Rom 8:20), it is stronger than death; it is a love always ready to raise up and forgive, always ready to go to meet the prodigal son (cf. Lk 15:11–32), always looking for “the revealing of the sons of God” (Rom 8:19), who are called to the glory that is to be revealed” (cf. Rom 8:18). This revelation of love is also described as mercy (cf. St. Thomas, Summa Theol., III, q. 46, a. 1, ad 3); and in man’s history this revelation of love and mercy has taken a form and a name: that of Jesus Christ (Redemptor Hominis, n. 9).

In the same spirit, the pope would later write the encyclical Dives in Misericordia and would beatify and canonize Sister Faustina Kowalska. Along the same lines, he named the renowned theologian Hans Urs Von Balthasar as Cardinal, who was a steadfast advocate for the universal hope of salvation. Before him, the poet Charles Péguy had discovered the same reality of hope in Mary, “All Hope,” as we will see in one of our meditations.

But there is no doubt that the principal authority on this point is Thérèse of Lisieux as a Doctor of the Church. John Paul II’s expression at the end of the Letter to the Montfort religious family is certainly inspired by Thérèse of Lisieux: “Together with the Blessed Virgin and with the same maternal heart, the Church prays, hopes and intercedes for the salvation of all men and women.”

Here, it is necessary to summarize Thérèse’s doctrine, which we will explore more deeply in upcoming meditations. Indeed, it was already with the same maternal heart that young Thérèse, at the age of 14, before entering Carmel, hoped against all hope for the salvation of the criminal Pranzini, condemned to death and unrepentant, wanting “at all costs to prevent him from falling into hell.” She herself calls him “my first child,” affirming the full certainty of hope in his regard, which has as its sole foundation the infinite Mercy of Jesus (Ms A, 45v–46v).

This extreme hope explicitly becomes hope for all on the day of her religious profession when she asks her spouse: “Jesus, allow me to save very many souls; let no soul be lost today” (Pri 2)—that is, among all those who die today, let not one go to hell. Similarly, when she offers herself “as a victim of holocaust to Merciful Love,” she expresses her desire to “save souls on earth,” meaning all souls (Pri 6).

François-Marie Léthel, o.c.d.

The Light of Christ in the Heart of the Church
Meditation 4: The Splendor of Charity, Faith, and Hope Lived by John Paul II with Mary Most Holy

Lethel, F 2011, La lumière du Christ dans le coeur de l’Église : Jean-Paul II et la théologie des saints : retraite de carême avec Benoît XVI, 13-19 mars 2011, Parole et Silence, Paris.

Translation from the French text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.

Featured image: Photographer Frank McKenna captures this image of five birds in flight above the Pacific shore at San Diego, California. Image credit: Frank McKenna / Unsplash (Stock photo)

#BlessedVirgin #DoctorOfTheChurch #FrançoisMarieLéthelOCD #hope #Pranzini #salvation #StJohnPaulII #StThérèseOfLisieux

St. Thérèse of Lisieux reflects on Mary’s quiet trust. Misunderstood, Thérèse chose to imitate Mary, who kept all things in her heart. #HolyFamily #BlessedVirgin

http://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/12/28/tej8jul97/

St. Thérèse of Lisieux reflects on Mary’s quiet trust. Misunderstood, Thérèse chose to imitate Mary, who kept all things in her heart. #HolyFamily #BlessedVirgin

http://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/12/28/tej8jul97/

St. Thérèse of Lisieux reflects on Mary’s quiet trust. Misunderstood, Thérèse chose to imitate Mary, who kept all things in her heart. #HolyFamily #BlessedVirgin

http://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/12/28/tej8jul97/

Quote of the day, 29 December: St. Thérèse

With a serious and gentle look, I don’t recall any longer the occasion, but she had been misunderstood:

“The Blessed Virgin did well to keep all these things in her ‘little’ heart. . . . [Lk 2:19, 51] They can’t be angry with me for doing as she did.”

Saint Thérèse of Lisieux

Her Last Conversations, 8 July 1897 no. 10

Thérèse of Lisieux, S & Clarke, J 1977, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Her Last Conversations, Institute of Carmelite Studies, Washington DC.

Featured image: This detail of The Virgin and Child is from an undated oil on canvas painting by Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, Italian, 1483–1520). It comes from the collections at the Royal Cornwall Museum in Truro, England. Image credit: Royal Cornwall Museum / ArtUK (Public domain)

#BlessedVirgin #heart #misunderstood #model #StThérèseOfLisieux

The ecstasy she had on the 17th of September of the same year, 1587, was very wonderful and effective.

Being fiercely attacked in the virtue of chastity, as was related, and forbidden by her confessor and her mother superioress from again throwing herself among thorns, or doing any other injury to her body, she, by way of compensation, gave herself up to prayer with redoubled fervor, imploring above all the assistance of the Queen of virgins.

On the same day, it happened that, having withdrawn to a remote chamber, by prayers of a most suppliant devotion and by most touching tears, she turned to the most pure Mother of God, that she might obtain for her such a victory over the impure temptations, that her virginity would not be stained in the least thereby.

Having just made the request, the Blessed Virgin appeared to her in the form of a noble and tender mother, and, consoling her, told her to be calm, as in all such temptations she had never offended God; nay, by her courageous fight with the impure spirit, she had come out completely victorious, and, as a reward therefor, the Blessed Virgin put on her a pure white veil, and told her, moreover, that in future she would not again have to suffer the temptations or suggestions of impurity.

At this moment, Mary Magdalen interiorly felt as if all appetite of carnal concupiscence was being reduced, and that all the disordered fire of sensuality had been extinguished in an ineffable manner.

In fact, during all her life, this angelic soul was not again molested by a desire of the flesh, nor even by any imagination or the least thought contrary to holy purity.

Father Placido Fabrini

Chapter XIV, no. 10

Fabrini, P. & De’ Pazzi, M.M. 1900, The life of St. Mary Magdalen De-Pazzi: Florentine noble, sacred Carmelite virgin, translated from the Italian by Isoleri A., [publisher not identified] Philadelphia.

Featured image: This detail of a portrait of Saint Mary Magdalen de’ Pazzi by Bernard de Bailliu (Flemish, 1641-1694) and another unidentified artist is an oil paint illumination of an engraving attached to a panel (17th or 18th c.). It is part of the collection in the Museo del Convento de Santa Teresa, Arequipa, Peru. Photo: Franz Grupp / PESSCA 2921B Image credit: Ojeda, A 2005-2023, Project for the Engraved Sources of Spanish Colonial Art (PESSCA), PESSCA, viewed 25 April 2019, https://colonialart.org/.

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/05/24/mdj2024-ep25/

#apparition #BlessedVirgin #chastity #courage #prayers #purity #StMaryMagdalenDePazzi #suffering #temptation #veil #virginity

We reached Paris in the morning and commenced our visit without any delay. Poor little Father tired himself out trying to please us, and very soon we saw all the marvels of the Capital.

I myself found only one which filled me with delight, Our Lady of Victories! Ah! what I felt kneeling at her feet cannot be expressed. The graces she granted me so moved me that my happiness found expression only in tears, just as on the day of my First Communion.

The Blessed Virgin made me feel it was really herself who smiled on me and brought about my cure. I understood she was watching over me, that I was her child. I could no longer give her any other name but ‘Mama,’ as this appeared ever so much more tender than Mother.

How fervently I begged her to protect me always, to bring to fruition as quickly as possible my dream of hiding beneath the shadow of her virginal mantle! This was one of my first desires as a child. When growing up, I understood it was at Carmel I would truly find the Blessed Virgin’s mantle, and toward this fertile Mount I directed all my desires.

I prayed Our Lady of Victories to keep far from me everything that could tarnish my purity; I was fully aware that on a voyage such as this into Italy I could easily meet with things capable of troubling me. I was still unacquainted with evil and so was apprehensive about making its discovery.

I had not yet experienced that to the pure all things are pure, that the simple and upright soul sees evil in nothing since it resides only in impure hearts, not in inanimate objects.

I also prayed to St. Joseph, asking him to watch over me; ever since my childhood I had a devotion for him that easily merged with my love for the Blessed Virgin. I recited each day the prayer in his honor: ‘O St. Joseph, Father and Protector of virgins…’

And so it was without any fear I undertook the long journey; being so well protected what was there to fear?

Saint Thérèse of Lisieux

Manuscript A, folios 56 verso, 57 recto

Note: Saint Louis Martin loved the Church of Our Lady of Victories so much that from the outset of his grand pilgrimage to Rome with Thérèse and Céline in 1887, he took the girls to see that beloved parish. St. Thérèse described their arrival on Friday, 4 November 1887.

We always refer to the website of the Archives of the Carmel of Lisieux for the vast majority of our quotes concerning Saint Thérèse, Saint Zélie, and Saint Louis Martin. If you would like to purchase English translations for the collected works of St. Thérèse, please visit the website of our Discalced Carmelite friars at ICS Publications. 

of Lisieux, T 1996, Story of a Soul: The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, 3rd edn, translated from the French by Clarke J, ICS Publications, Washington, DC.

Featured image: The statue of Notre-Dame de Victoires stands tall in the Chapel of the Virgin in the Paris Archdiocese church that bears her name. Image credit: beatrix kido / Adobe Stock (Some rights reserved)

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/05/20/mdj2024-ep21/

#BlessedVirgin #Carmel #family #France #healing #NotreDameDesVictoires #OurLadyOfVictories #Paris #purity #smile #StJoseph #StThereseOfLisieux

Dear Friend,

I won’t be able to get to Alençon until Monday; the time seems so long, I can’t wait to be near you.

I don’t need to tell you that your letter gave me great pleasure, except to see that you were tiring yourself out far too much. I would therefore recommend calm and moderation, especially in your work. I have a few orders from the Compagnie Lyonnaise; once again, don’t worry so much, we’ll manage with God’s help to make a good little home.

I had the pleasure of receiving Communion at Our Lady of Victories, which is like a little paradise on earth. I also lit a candle for the whole family.

My heart goes out to you all, and I look forward to being reunited with you. I hope Marie and Pauline are well-behaved.

Your husband and true friend, who loves you for life.

Saint Louis Martin

Letter to his wife, 8 October 1863

Note: Saint Louis Martin writes while on a business trip in Paris, promoting St. Zélie’s Alençon lace business. He mentions doing business with the Compagnie Lyonnaise, a fashion retailer in Paris. Louis loved the Church of Our Lady of Victories so much that from the outset of his grand pilgrimage to Rome with Thérèse and Céline in 1887, he took the girls to see that beloved parish. St. Thérèse described their arrival: “We reached Paris in the morning [Friday, 4 November 1887] and commenced our visit without any delay. Poor little Father tired himself out trying to please us, and very soon we saw all the marvels of the Capital. I myself found only one which filled me with delight, Our Lady of Victories!” (Ms A 56v).

We always refer to the website of the Archives of the Carmel of Lisieux for the vast majority of our quotes concerning Saint Thérèse, Saint Zélie, and Saint Louis Martin. If you would like to purchase English translations for the collected works of St. Thérèse, please visit the website of our Discalced Carmelite friars at ICS Publications. 

of Lisieux, T 1996, Story of a Soul: The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, 3rd edn, translated from the French by Clarke J, ICS Publications, Washington, DC.

Translation from the French text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.

Featured image: The statue of Notre-Dame de Victoires stands tall in the Chapel of the Virgin in the Paris Archdiocese church that bears her name. Image credit: Fr Lawrence Lew, O.P. / Flickr (Some rights reserved)

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/05/19/mdj2024-ep20/

#Alençon #BlessedVirgin #business #candle #family #France #HolyCommunion #NotreDameDesVictoires #OurLadyOfVictories #paradise #Paris #StLouisMartin #StThérèseOfLisieux #StZélieMartin

There may still be some who, from deference to the naturally staid, impassive character of the English, would counsel Catholics to maintain a certain reserve in their devotion to Mary, as though, indeed, there were any other than Mary who was to crush the head of error; as though there could be danger or excess where God has so wondrously surpassed Himself: can the love of Catholics for Mary ever rise to such a height, or can they honour her with glory so sublime, as that to which God Himself has chosen to exalt her?

As if this filial homage could be out of place in England, the birth-place of the devotion of the Holy Scapular, the favoured spot to which the Blessed Virgin came, bringing from heaven that pledge of salvation, to bestow it upon a Religious, not of Italy or of Spain, but on an English Saint, born and bred in England, English in his labors, in his mission, and in his election as General of the Carmelite Order.

This preference for England as the scene of that revelation, and the choice of an Englishman, St. Simon Stock, as the receiver of the promise attached to the Scapular is, to my mind, a pledge of the future conversion of that nation.

Servant of God Augustine of the Blessed Sacrament
Hermann Cohen

Lecture at Malines (excerpt)

Summary of Teaching and Resources about the Scapular

The term “scapular” is frequently mentioned on the websites of both the Carmelite (O.Carm.) and Discalced Carmelite (O.C.D.) generalates, reflecting its deep spiritual and historical significance within the Carmelite family.

• Symbol of Mary’s Protection: The scapular is a sign of Mary’s motherly love and protection, symbolizing a commitment to live like her, embodying her virtues and dedication to Christ.
• Historical Context: According to tradition, the Brown Scapular devotion began with a vision reported by St. Simon Stock in the 13th century, where Mary promised protection to those who wore it.
• Rituals and Enrolment: The Carmelites have specific rites for blessing and enrolling members in the Scapular, including prayers and rituals that emphasize its significance as a sign of consecration to Mary and unity with the Carmelite Order.
• Spiritual Meaning: The scapular represents a commitment to follow Jesus and emulate Mary’s example, emphasizing openness to God’s will, continuous prayer, and living a life of service and charity.

The Popes Speak About the Scapular

Pope Pius XII: Pope Pius XII highlighted the significance of the Scapular as a “Habit or Garment of Mary.” He emphasized that the Scapular is a sign and a pledge of the protection of the Mother of God. He encouraged the faithful to see in the Scapular a mirror of humility and purity, a lesson in modesty and simplicity, and a symbol of their prayers for divine assistance. He stated, “The Holy Scapular, which may be called the Habit or Garment of Mary, is a Sign and a Pledge of the protection of the Mother of God”​ (Letter of Pope Pius XII on the Scapular)​.

Pope St. John Paul II: Pope St. John Paul II had a lifelong devotion to the Brown Scapular. He wore it from a young age and even during his emergency surgery following the assassination attempt in 1981. He spoke about the Scapular as a symbol of Mary’s constant protection and a call to live a Christian life through prayer, sacraments, and acts of mercy. He stated, “Two truths are evoked by the sign of the Scapular: on the one hand, the constant protection of the Blessed Virgin… on the other, the awareness that devotion to Her… must become a ‘habit,’ that is, a permanent orientation of one’s own Christian conduct”​ (Message of John Paul II to the Carmelite Family)​.

Specific Resources

For those who wish to join the scapular confraternity and learn about the blessing and imposition rituals, the Carmelites (O.Carm.) official website offers comprehensive, authorized resources:

• The Brown Scapular Confraternity
• Rite for the Blessing and Enrollment

Additionally, the Discalced Carmelite friars (O.C.D.) also provide valuable information:

• Catechesis on the Brown Scapular
• The Brown Scapular Explained by a Discalced Carmelite Priest

These resources provide detailed instructions and spiritual guidance for those interested in the scapular devotion.

Tierney, T  2017,  A Life of Hermann Cohen: From Franz Liszt to John of the Cross,  Balboa Press,  Bloomington, IN

Featured image: Saint Simon Stock receives the scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, ceiling fresco, Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Marostica, Italy. Image credit: isaac74 / Adobe Stock

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/05/16/mdj2024-ep16/

#BlessedVirgin #BrownScapular #CarmeliteOrder #Catholic #Catholics #conversion #England #HermannCohen #Mary #PriorGeneral #scapular #StSimonStock #TimothyTierneyOCD

Since Sister Lucia met the Lady brighter than the sun and saw the Light which is God, she never took her eyes off her face, which was etched forever in her heart.

Her eyes brightened by that unmistakable light, never strayed from this Star, which led sometimes into the midst of thick darkness, lit only by the certainty of the Mother’s promise:

I will never leave you. My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God.

Mary is always the way, the guide, and light that leads to God, Trinity of Love.

The Discalced Carmelite nuns of Coimbra

A pathway under the gaze of Mary, XVII.3

of St. Teresa Coimbra Portugal, C 2015, A pathway under the gaze of Mary : biography of Sister Maria Lucia of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart O.C.D., translated from the Portuguese by Colson, J, World Apostolate of Fatima USA, Washington NJ.

Featured image: This stained glass window from the Shrine of Our Lady of Tylicz, Poland, depicts the three seers of Our Lady of Fatima. Image credit: Adam Ján Figeľ / Adobe Stock

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/05/12/lucia-light/

#BlessedVirgin #CarmelOfCoimbra #darkness #Fatima #guide #ImmaculateHeart #light #refuge #Trinity #VenerableMariaLuciaOfJesusAndTheImmaculateHeart #way

All day yesterday I felt very lonely, for except when I received Communion I benefited little from the fact that it was Easter Sunday. At night when I was with all the Sisters, a little song was sung about how hard it is to endure life without God. Since I was already afflicted, the effect upon me was so great that my hands began to grow numb. My efforts to resist weren’t enough; but just as I am carried out of my senses through the joyous raptures, so in the same way through extreme affliction my soul is suspended, for it is left enraptured.

And even to the present day, I haven’t understood this. Rather, for some days it seemed to me that I hadn’t been experiencing impulses as great as I previously had, and now I think the reason is this one I mentioned. I don’t know if it could be that previously the affliction wasn’t great enough to make me go out of myself.

Since it is so intolerable, and I was still in possession of my senses, it caused me to make loud cries without my being able to avoid doing so. Now, since the pain has increased, it has reached this extreme of transpiercing the soul.

I have understood better what our Lady experienced, for until today—as I say—I did not understand the nature of this transpiercing. The body remains so torn apart that even what I write today causes suffering, for my hands are as though disjointed and in pain.

Your Reverence can tell me when you see me whether pain can cause suspension and whether I experience it as it is or whether I’m being deceived.

Even this morning I felt the pain, for while in prayer I experienced a great rapture. And it seemed that our Lord brought my spirit next to His Father and said to Him; “This soul You have given to Me, I give to You.” And it seemed the Father took me to Himself.

This was not an imaginative vision, but it caused such great certitude and had a delicacy so spiritual that I don’t know how to describe it at all. He spoke some words I do not recall; certain of them were about granting me a favor. It was for some time that He kept me near Him.

“I have understood better what our Lady experienced.” #StTeresaOfAvila

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Since your Reverence went away so quickly yesterday (and I realize that your many occupations do not allow you time to be consoling me, even when necessary—for I see that Your Reverence’s duties concern more important things), I remained afflicted and sad for awhile. Perhaps the loneliness I mentioned contributed to this.

Since I don’t think I’m attached to any creature on earth, I felt some scruple and feared lest I begin to lose this freedom. This sadness happened last night.

And today our Lord responded and told me I shouldn’t be surprised, that just as human beings desire companionship in order to communicate about the joys of their sensual natures so the soul desires when there is someone who understands it to communicate about its joys and pains; and it becomes sad when there is no one. He told me: “He is doing well and his deeds are pleasing to Me.”

Since our Lord remained some time with me, I recalled I had told your Reverence that these visions pass away quickly. He told me there is a difference between this one and the imaginative ones and that there couldn’t be any fixed rule about the favors He grants us because sometimes it was fitting that they take place in one way and at other times in another way.

“After His resurrection He went to see our Lady because she then had great need.” #StTeresaOfAvila

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One day after receiving Communion, it seemed most clear to me that our Lord sat beside me; and He began to console me with great favors, and He told me among other things: “See Me here, daughter, for it is I: give Me your hands.” And it seemed He took them and placed them on His side and said: “Behold My wounds. You are not without Me. This short life is passing away.”

From certain things He told me, I understood that after He ascended to heaven He never came down to earth to commune with anyone except in the most Blessed Sacrament.

He told me that immediately after His resurrection He went to see our Lady because she then had great need and that the pain she experienced so absorbed and transpierced her soul that she did not return immediately to herself to rejoice in that joy.

By this I understood how different was this other transpiercing, the one of my soul. But what must have been that transpiercing of the Blessed Virgin’s soul! He also said that He had remained a long time with her because it was necessary in order to console her.

Saint Teresa of Avila

Spiritual Testimonies, 12
Salamanca, 15–16 April 1571

Teresa of Avila, St. 1985, The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, translated from the Spanish by Kavanaugh, K; Rodriguez, O, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: This is a detail of one of the famed statues of St. Teresa of Avila by Spanish sculptor Gregorio Fernández (1576–1636), which is a prized possession of the national sculpture museum at the Colegio de San Gregorio in Valladolid, Spain. Information about this statue comes from the Discalced Carmelite nuns of Alba de Tormes online catalog: It arrived at the Museo Nacional Colegio de San Gregorio in Valladolid as a result of the great Spanish Confiscation to become one of the museum’s most precious jewels. The statue was sculpted by Gregorio Fernández shortly after the festivities of St. Teresa of Avila’s canonization, around 1624 or perhaps the following year. Its destination then was the now-defunct convent of the Carmelite Friars of the Ancient Observance (O.Carm.).  Image credit: Ángel Cantero, Iglesia en Valladolid / Flickr (Some rights reserved)

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#BlessedVirgin #ecstasy #heaven #JesusChrist #life #love #pain #painful #rapture #StTeresaOfAvila #StTeresaOfAvila #transpierced

"On the eve #LaGritería, I can't forget Rolando, my brother #bishop of #Matagalpa. I ask the Virgin to take care of him & give him strength, and I demand, together with all the people of #Nicaragua, that he be released. #BlessedVirgin take care of Rolando and give him back to us!"
#BishopSilvioJoseBaez

#Catholic Bishop #RolandoAlvarez is a #politicalprisoner in Nicaragua. He was kidnapped on 19 August 2022 after being sequestered in his residence. His whereabouts are unknown.

"On the eve #LaGritería, I can't forget Rolando, my brother #bishop of #Matagalpa. I ask the Virgin to take care of him & give him strength, and I demand, together with all the people of #Nicaragua, that he be released. #BlessedVirgin take care of Rolando and give him back to us!"
#BishopSilvioJoseBaez

#Catholic Bishop #RolandoAlvarez is a #politicalprisoner in Nicaragua. He was kidnapped on 19 August 2022 after being sequestered in his residence. His whereabouts are unknown.

"On the eve #LaGritería, I can't forget Rolando, my brother #bishop of #Matagalpa. I ask the Virgin to take care of him & give him strength, and I demand, together with all the people of #Nicaragua, that he be released. #BlessedVirgin take care of Rolando and give him back to us!"
#BishopSilvioJoseBaez

#Catholic Bishop #RolandoAlvarez is a #politicalprisoner in Nicaragua. He was kidnapped on 19 August 2022 after being sequestered in his residence. His whereabouts are unknown.