#blessedmarieeugeneofthechildjesus — Public Fediverse posts

Quote of the day, 28 March: Blessed Marie-Eugène

Mary… on the Way to Calvary

“The people followed him in great numbers.”

We had sought her, and we had not found her. And now—here she is: Mary, on the way to Calvary. She must be there.

Dark rumors had spread through the night about her Son—they said he had been arrested, brought before the Sanhedrin. She had come, accompanied by the holy women. She heard the cries: “Crucify him!” … They said he was to be crucified.

And here she is on the way to Calvary.

She wants to see her Son, and the holy women who accompany her make a way for her through the crowd—at a crossing, at a turn—so that she might be very near.

Jesus passes. Their eyes meet.

What happens in that gaze? All their love.

And the Virgin Mary looks at her Son. She looks upon that face, bruised and swollen. Oh, that gaze of a mother—what does it see? The Word is hidden. She is accustomed to mystery; yet she does not know this suffering. She does not yet know this form of the mystery presented to her.

She enters into it by faith. She accepts it in love.

Jesus, you look upon your Mother—and in that gaze, what a meeting! Your two loves, your two missions, your two offerings—united in the one will of God laid upon you: a shared acceptance of God’s design for each of you, a shared offering of your love for all humanity.

Mary, teach me to read, as you did, this living book that is Jesus on the way to Calvary.

Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Mary, for your love.

Blessed Marie-Eugène of the Child Jesus

Assidus à la prière avec Marie, Fourth Sorrowful Mystery (excerpt)

Marie-Eugène de l’Enfant-Jésus. Assidus à la prière avec Marie: Méditations sur les mystères du Rosaire. Toulouse: Éditions du Carmel, 2017.

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

Featured image: Detail from Mater Dolorosa and Christ of Sorrows by Simon Marmion (French, 1420-1489). Oil on wood panel, ca. 1460, from the Museum of Fine Arts, Strasbourg. Image credit: jean louis mazieres / Flickr (Some rights reserved).

Quote of the day, 25 March: Blessed Marie-Eugène

Before the Annunciation, Mary was the daughter of God in prayer. Certainly, she didn’t yet know about her divine motherhood. She was aware of her grace, the treasure she possessed, the abundance of this grace; yet she remained unaware of herself in the sense that she didn’t recognize the superiority of this grace over ordinary and common grace.

The Virgin was concerned only with uniting herself to God. It was this self-forgetfulness, this purity, that allowed God to pour Himself into her. She continually sought Him, going to find Him in the Temple, and orienting herself toward Him like a child to her Father.

Let us not think that simplicity implies limited horizons. From a human perspective, Mary surely does not seek satisfaction for her faculties; no, she turns solely toward God, practicing in her external actions—required by this simple orientation—the virtue of obedience, like a child who does what is asked without seeking anything beyond it, without even becoming attached to the work itself.

We, on the other hand, are restless in our faculties; Mary is not. She finds this peace in faith. Everything else would be an unnecessary distraction, diverting her from her contact with God. For her, this contact is entirely simple, without ecstasies or raptures, for her faculties are flexible enough to receive and endure—without leaving a trace in her senses—the brilliance and anointing of the Divinity present within her.

What matters, in fact, is not strength but flexibility. The strong are inevitably broken; the flexible bend and endure. In the Virgin, simplicity and flexibility reach perfection. Nothing externalizes itself in her. “She is so simple that I fear she will not be recognized,” they said about Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus. The same can be said of the Virgin at that moment.

Blessed Marie-Eugène of the Child Jesus

La Vierge Marie toute Mère (The Virgin Mary, All Mother)
Présence Maternelle: La prière de Marie (Maternal presence, Mary’s prayer)

de l’Enfant-Jésus, M 2019, La Vierge Marie Toute Mère, edited by Institut Notre-Dame de Vie, Éditions du Carmel, Toulouse.

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

Featured Image: This detail from The Annunciation by the Italian artist Orazio Lomi Gentileschi (1563–1639) is an oil on canvas painting executed in 1623 for Charles Emmanuel I, the Duke of Savoy. It is one of the masterpieces found in the collections of the Musei Reali di Torino. Image credit: Adobe Stock (stock photo)

Quote of the day, 11 March: Blessed Marie-Eugène

“What happens is that my intellect is suddenly seized by things sometimes so trivial that at other times I would laugh about them. The devil makes the soul upset in every way he wants and shackles it there without its being master of itself or able to think of anything else than the absurdities he represents to it…”
(St. Teresa of Avila, The Book of Her Life, 30:11).

It is natural enough that the devil should use his great power and take advantage of the relative weakness of beginners in prayer, to stop them in their journey towards God by causing in them, as far as he is able, as much dryness and distraction as he can. That he thus intervenes—often successfully—in the prayer of beginners seems certain; and, although using on them much more benign procedures than on Saint Teresa, these are probably much more effective.

Blessed Marie-Eugène of the Child Jesus

Chapter VI, Distractions and dryness

Note: Blessed Marie-Eugène of the Child Jesus made his first religious profession on 11 March 1923.

Marie-Eugène de l’Enfant-Jésus & Doran V 1990, I Want to See God, Christian Classics, Allen, Texas.

Featured image: Father Marie-Eugène of the Child Jesus. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites (by permission)

Quote of the day, 4 February: Blessed Marie-Eugène

The contemplative is an explorer of realms that begin at the outer limits of human understanding and extend into the infinity of God. Having reached God, how could such a soul not also one day discover Mary—the one through whom every divine gift passes? In these mysterious expanses, the contemplative advances by the light of living faith: “The Lord lives, in whose presence I stand” [1 Kgs 17:1].

It is the living presence of God that the contemplative seeks; why, then, should that same gaze not also seek the living presence of Mary?

The contemplative discovery of the Blessed Virgin closely resembles the contemplative discovery of God Himself. It is of the same nature and unfolds under the same conditions. Both rest upon a presence within the soul of the living realities they are called to encounter.

God is present within us because He continually sustains our existence by His action and because He communicates to us grace, a participation in His own life. To this active and sustaining presence is added a new mode of presence brought about by grace itself. By drawing us, as children, into the movement of Trinitarian life, grace enables us to enter into relationship with God and to know Him directly and immediately as an object of knowledge and love. It is for this reason that this new mode of divine presence, created by these relationships, is called an objective presence.

With regard to the Blessed Virgin, we may affirm that there is a certain mode of presence, which we deliberately refrain from defining. We leave this task to theologians, so as not to tie truths that transcend all schools of thought to any single theological opinion… Mary could not communicate supernatural riches to us unless she were in real contact with us.

Blessed Marie-Eugène of the Child Jesus

Heureuse Celle qui a Cru: Découvrir Marie (1943)

de l’Enfant-Jésus, M 2017, Heureuse Celle qui a Cru, edited by Institut Notre-Dame de Vie, Éditions du Carmel, Toulouse.

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

Featured image: Detail from Madonna and Child, an undated oil on wood painting attributed to Bernardino Luini. Image credit: Smithsonian American Art Museum (Public domain).

#BlessedMarieEugeneOfTheChildJesus #BlessedVirginMary #grace #presenceOfGod #relationship

Quote of the day, 2 February: Blessed Marie-Eugène

“Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace,
according to thy word;
for mine eyes have seen thy salvation
which thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to thy people Israel.”
(Lk 2:29–32)

Turning toward the Virgin, Simeon makes a mysterious prediction: this rising light will be “a sign that is spoken against” (Lk 2:34). Jesus will always be a sign of contradiction because He is hidden, and only loving faith can discover Him. At the same time, He will be a cause of salvation for many. And Simeon announces to the Virgin: “A sword will pierce through your own soul also” (Lk 2:35).

This is the first time the Virgin hears such a confirmation of the message of the angel Gabriel, now accompanied by new details that illumine her path. How she must have been deeply moved by this announcement, which clarified the angel’s message.

Mary understands that she must bear the weight of this Divine Child by sharing in His mission. Yes, suffering will mark her life. This word will be inscribed not only in her soul, but in all her future horizons. She will walk in hope.

Blessed Marie-Eugène of the Child Jesus

Assidus à la prière avec Marie, Fourth Joyful Mystery (excerpt)

Marie-Eugène de l’Enfant-Jésus. Assidus à la prière avec Marie: Méditations sur les mystères du Rosaire. Toulouse: Éditions du Carmel, 2017.

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

Featured image: The Presentation of Christ in the Temple is color on poplar wood painting by Italian artist Fra Bartolomeo (1472–1517), the famous Dominican from Florence. It comes from the collections of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

#BlessedMarieEugeneOfTheChildJesus #BlessedVirginMary #FeastOfThePresentation #hope #suffering

Quote of the day, 11 January: Blessed Marie-Eugène

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me” (Is 61:1)

This descent of the Holy Spirit upon Christ—what is it? It’s not only a sign; it’s a true descent of the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit of the Father; it’s the Spirit of the Son. In Jesus, humanity is united to divinity. Our Lord is continually animated by his spirit of sonship, living from this filial movement as Son of the Father by nature, and as Son in his humanity. At the same time, his humanity, in all his actions, is guided and animated by the Spirit of God.

And there is not only the descent of the Holy Spirit; there is also the word of the Father: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Mt 3:17). The Trinity is present there, in the prayer of Jesus, and each of the three Persons affirms what he is and what he does: the Father, in recognizing his Son; the Son, in becoming incarnate, in allowing himself to be baptized and in praying here below; the Spirit, in taking possession of the humanity of the Son.

This grasp of the Holy Spirit can be understood as a taking possession of the humanity of Christ for his public life, for all the acts he is going to accomplish. The Christian himself becomes perfect only when he is moved by the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who does everything.

Let us learn how to place ourselves in cooperation with him, allowing his action to work within us. The saint is the one who understands that God is everything. “This is my joy: he must increase, and I must decrease,” said John the Baptist (Jn 3:30). This sanctifying grace, this presence, this ever more powerful action of the Holy Spirit, will make of us perfect children of God.

Blessed Marie-Eugène of the Child Jesus

Assidus à la prière avec Marie, First Luminous Mystery (excerpt)

Marie-Eugène de l’Enfant-Jésus. Assidus à la prière avec Marie: Méditations sur les mystères du Rosaire. Toulouse: Éditions du Carmel, 2017.

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

Featured image: Detail from Baie 20, Basilica of Our Lady of Beaune, depicting the Baptism of Christ and the Crucifixion. Image credit: GO69 / Wikimedia Commons (Creative Commons BY-SA 4.0).

#BaptismOfTheLord #BlessedMarieEugeneOfTheChildJesus #ChristianLife #HolySpirit #HolyTrinity

Quote of the day, 8 December: Blessed Marie-Eugène

The Holy Church has established a feast to praise and thank God for the marvel of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin. The Immaculate Conception is, indeed, an exception to this law of misery and privation that strikes all humanity coming into this world since the fall of our first parents.

At Mass, the holy Church had us read, in the Book of Wisdom, the passages that concern in a special way the Word of God—the Wisdom of God—always present before the gaze of the Most Holy Trinity before anything existed, and present as He created all things.

This assimilation of the Virgin Mary to divine Wisdom shows us that, from all eternity, when God was bringing forth His creative work, His contemplation did not rest only upon the distant vision of the Incarnate Word and His Church—His masterpiece, the end of all things, the goal of His creation. Already, He was distinguishing, in a clear and precise way, this Immaculate Conception whose realization filled Him with joy in advance.

Let us enter into this joy of God, which we sense in these passages from the Book of Wisdom. God rejoiced beforehand, and He rejoiced immeasurably when His work was accomplished. In doing so, He affirmed His power—the power of His Love and His mercy. Let us rejoice today in the joy of God. And let us also offer our congratulations to the Blessed Virgin in her joy.

Did she realize the privileges she had received? Perhaps not. The Virgin was so humble, so simple; the light within her was so pure that she scarcely perceived she could ever have been stained. She hardly saw how she had been preserved. But now, in heaven, she certainly sees it; today she sings the mercy of God. Saint Teresa of Avila, Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Saint John of the Cross—they all sang this mercy, just as we ourselves sing it.

On certain days of grace, we feel in a special way the weight of God’s grace upon our souls. The Virgin sang it; let us unite ourselves to her canticle of thanksgiving. We will offer the merits of the Sacrifice of the Mass to help her, in a certain way, to sing even more perfectly this glory of God and her gratitude toward the Eternal One.

Blessed Marie-Eugène of the Child Jesus

La Vierge Marie Toute Mère, “Marvel of Mercy” (excerpt)

Marie-Eugène de l’Enfant-Jésus, B & Centre Notre-Dame de Vie 1988, La Vierge Marie Toute Mère, Editions du Carmel, Toulouse.

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

Featured image: This cope hood featuring an image of Mary Immaculate was created ca. 1850 by the Dominican Sisters of St Catherine of Siena in Staffordshire, England. Image credit: Lawrence Lew OP (Some rights reserved)

#blessedMarieEugeneOfTheChildJesus #gratitude #immaculateConception #joy #mercy2

Quote of the day, 23 July: Blessed Marie-Eugène

The Holy Church has established a feast to praise and thank God for the marvel of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin. The Immaculate Conception is, indeed, an exception to this law of misery and privation that strikes all humanity coming into this world since the fall of our first parents.

Through their fault, our first parents lost for themselves and for all their descendants the privileges of preternatural gifts as well as supernatural gifts. God reacts with his mercy. He had already foreseen this fall, this fault: it was directed toward new outpourings of his mercy.

What will these new outpourings be? They are the great mysteries of the Incarnation, of the Redemption, and of the Church, mysteries that will ensure the salvation of humanity, its return to God.

Before accomplishing these mysteries, God wanted to prepare his work. He caused to spring forth a marvel of purity and integrity from this mud in which humanity was plunged (so to speak). This is the Virgin Mary. The sun will rise: it is the Word who becomes incarnate, the God-Man.

We do not see the infinity proper to God in this prodigy, only that which is created in the Virgin. But this creation exists in all its fullness and beauty: it is the integrity of her body, her human nature in which there is no stain or shadow.

We find a fullness of created grace in this resplendent human nature. It is already a marvel for the angels of heaven, and for all those who contemplate her directly with the power of vision of the lumen gloriae [light of glory]. Only this power, which allows them to penetrate the depths of the Holy Trinity, can uncover all the Virgin’s beauty. Also, the angel will come as if in ecstasy, admiring, to greet the Virgin and say to her, “You are full of grace.” She is full of human grace and full of divine grace.

Blessed Marie-Eugène of the Child Jesus

Merveille de la Miséricorde

Marie-Eugène de l’Enfant-Jésus, B & Centre Notre-Dame de Vie 1988, La Vierge Marie Toute Mère, Editions du Carmel, Toulouse.

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

Featured image: Detail from Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, The Immaculate Conception, 1767–1769, oil on canvas, Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado. Image credit: © Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado (used by permission).

#BlessedMarieEugeneOfTheChildJesus #BlessedVirginMary #ImmaculateConception #mercy #MotherOfDivineGrace

Quote of the day, 22 April: Blessed Marie-Eugène

Mary, Mother of the Risen One

Yesterday, we contemplated the Risen Jesus, and in a sense, we were carried away by His light and by the joy of the apostles, who recovered all their hope as they beheld their risen Master.

Today, it is good for us to pause with Mary, the Mother of the Risen One. She is our mother, and we want to understand what was happening in her soul.

We are drawn to seek her in her solitude—to contemplate her there. She does not step into the foreground; she remains hidden, always in the background. We have to make an effort to find her, to draw close to her, but we feel this need.

Let us linger with Mary for a few moments on the day of the Resurrection.

It seems certain that the Lord revealed Himself to her. Her risen Son surely wanted her to share in His joy and in His triumph.

We last saw her on the evening of Good Friday and throughout Holy Saturday, immersed in a sorrow we can hardly imagine. Yes, she remained noble and serene, magnified by suffering, above all by the living word her Son had spoken. On Calvary, He had consecrated her motherhood: a divine motherhood that had become a motherhood of grace for the Mystical Body of Christ and for all humanity made new.

She was great, yet profoundly sorrowful. We have tried to grasp this. In her suffering—in that sea of grief that threatened to bury her in its bitter waves—there burned a flame: the small flame of hope. But it was strong and immense—a hope that sustained the Virgin and, through her, sustained the Mystical Body of Christ.

Beside the cross, beside the body of her dead and buried Son, Mary remained the one true hope—a living hope, rooted in the fruitfulness of a Mother who never ceased to give life.

And now, Jesus is risen. He reveals Himself to her. What joy must have flooded her soul!

At the Visitation, she sang: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” [Lk 1:46–47]. How much greater her exultation must have been on this morning! Her soul rejoiced. Her hope took hold of its object. Her whole being exulted.

Yes, the angel’s words at the Annunciation were true. The Son she bore was truly the Son of God, truly the Messiah. He had been put to death—for it was necessary that He pass through suffering and death—and now He was alive again, risen.

He was the promised King, the God-Man of incomparable human stature, radiant now in the full glory of His divine majesty.

Mary rejoiced—not only in her soul, but in her body. Her whole being responded with joy at the sight, the touch, the embrace—if we may put it that way—of the risen body of her Son.

This was her joy, her exultation—a movement of the Holy Spirit through her entire being. And all of it unfolded in an outward serenity, a purity, a beauty that already belonged to heaven.

St. John of the Cross speaks of the awakenings of the Word in the soul (cf. The Living Flame Of Love, stanza 4). Here was one of those awakenings—the Word, seemingly at rest, stirring again in the soul under the flame and breath of the Holy Spirit. He sings within it, exults within it, and causes not only the soul and grace to rejoice, but even the body itself.

So it is when the source of joy is spiritual: it reaches the furthest edges of one’s being and person.

Here, it was more than just a radiance in Mary’s body or flesh—her very flesh exulted at the sight and the embrace of the risen body of the God-Man, her Son.

Blessed Marie-Eugène of the Child Jesus

Homily for Easter Monday, 15 April 1963

Marie-Eugène de l’Enfant-Jésus 1986, Jésus, Contemplation du Mystère Pascal, Editions du Carmel, Toulouse.

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

Featured image: In Ushered in a Tearful Joy (c. 1890), Russian painter Vasily Polenov (1844–1927) captures the moment when Resurrection light breaks into the house of mourning. A woman—possibly Mary Magdalene—stands in the doorway, clothed in blue, announcing news that will change everything. Seated in the shadows, one veiled figure turns to listen; another sits with head in hands, still bowed in grief. The painting evokes the Easter Monday Gospel (Mt 28:8–10), in which the women, “fearful yet overjoyed,” run from the tomb to tell the disciples, and meet the Risen Lord along the way. Image credit: WikiArt (Public domain)

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
How might I linger with Mary today, allowing her hidden joy to deepen my faith in the risen Christ?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments.

#BlessedMarieEugeneOfTheChildJesus #BlessedVirginMary #embrace #hope #MotherOfChrist #MotherOfTheLiving #resurrectionOfChrist #solitude #sorrow #StJohnOfTheCross

Quote of the day, 19 April: Blessed Marie-Eugène

Mary, Hope in the Night

At the foot of the cross, the Blessed Virgin stood—sorrowful, yet noble and strong, a true power. John was near her; he, too, was suffering. Among those whom Jesus had chosen, he alone remained at the foot of the cross. He welcomed the Virgin Mary, received her as his own.

What boldness, what grace—and at that moment, what a burden of sorrow! She followed where he led. She remained dignified, steadfast; conceived without sin, she was all purity and strength. There was not the slightest weakness in her will—and yet in her heart, what suffering, and in her spirit, what anguish!

Her Son, the Word made flesh, her King, was dead. He had been laid in a tomb like any mortal—He truly was dead, as the wound in His side made plain. There could be no illusions, not even for the most ardent love that longs to hope. Jesus was dead. And now, she no longer even had His body.

She was alone.

She was alone—the only true power that remained—but alone. And that strength, that fruitfulness, she carried with great pain, with deep sorrow.

The cross is our hope. O Mary, now you are our only living hope, and we come to stay near you.

O Virgin Mary, even today you reveal the power and effectiveness of Jesus’ final word on the cross: “Behold your mother.”

You truly are our mother. We wanted to comfort you, but in the presence of your strength, in the atmosphere you create, in the light and peace you radiate, we can only be—and we only want to be—your children.

O Virgin Mary, mother of Holy Saturday, impress our souls with the mark of this day; help us preserve everything that flows from you in this hour. We already knew you as our tender mother—we had never seen you so noble, so majestic, so powerful, and at the same time, so sorrowful. What a lesson for us: a lesson in trust, in hope in you, and a lesson for how we are to live.

Yesterday we asked to share in your motherhood—and that meant asking to share in your prayer, in your suffering, in your union with Jesus. You show us how to carry the weight of suffering so that it becomes fruitful, so that it brings forth new life in us.

O Virgin Mary, tomorrow—or even tonight—be a mother to us, mother of the life of the Risen Christ! Be a mother to each of us, to all those we love, to the Church, to the world. Make the world share in the peace that radiates from you.

Blessed Marie-Eugène of the Child Jesus

Meditation for Holy Saturday, 13 April 1963

Marie-Eugène de l’Enfant-Jésus 1986, Jésus, Contemplation du Mystère Pascal, Editions du Carmel, Toulouse.

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

Featured image: Ivan Meštrović’s Descent from the Cross, sculpted between 1942 and 1946, captures the moment when Christ’s body is gently lowered into the arms of His Mother. The sculpture is located in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, where it continues to invite silent meditation on the mystery of Good Friday. Image credit: Nheyob – Own work / Wikimedia Commons (Some rights reserved).

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
When I find myself alone in sorrow, do I entrust myself to Mary’s strength and allow her to shape my hope?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments.

#BlessedMarieEugeneOfTheChildJesus #BlessedVirginMary #CrossOfChrist #HolySaturday #hope #MotherOfAllTheFaithful #Pietà #trust

Blessed Marie-Eugene: Contemplation and Mission

Why are we in this world? The great reason is that God is love and that He has loved us. He created you out of love, He called you out of love, and this love remains alive. What He has loved, He still loves; what He has given, He will never take away. As St. Paul, who deeply understood God’s nature, reminds us: “The gifts of God are irrevocable” (Rom 11:29), and what He has begun, He will bring to completion!

God cannot let us go, He cannot abandon us, because He loves us. Our great hope is God; our great hope is eternity! He sees all things in truth and clarity, while we only see appearances. He sees us in our eternal reality. He longs to share His vision with us, to awaken our hope in this eternal reality.

Blessed Marie-Eugene of the Child Jesus

Homily, 1 December 1963 (excerpt)

Blessed Marie Eugene of the Child Jesus dedicated his life to helping souls discover and respond to God’s love. Born Henri Grialou in 1894 in Le Gua, France, he discerned his call to Carmel while still a seminarian but was delayed by military service during World War I.

Ordained in 1922 for the Diocese of Rodez, he soon followed his call to the Discalced Carmelites, taking the name Marie-Eugene of the Child Jesus. His life was marked by a deep trust in the Holy Spirit and an unwavering commitment to the teachings of St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross.

One of his greatest contributions was the foundation of the Secular Institute Notre Dame de Vie in 1932. He envisioned a path where secular laity and diocesan priests could integrate deep contemplative prayer with their daily lives in the world, living out Carmelite spirituality while remaining in their respective vocations.

As Vicar General of the Discalced Carmelites, he was also instrumental in restoring unity among the Discalced Carmelite nuns in France, fostering their collaboration and guiding them in implementing Pope Pius XII’s Sponsa Christi. His efforts laid the groundwork for the federations that continue to support Carmelite nuns today.

Discover more about Blessed Marie Eugene’s life and spiritual wisdom in our latest podcast episode, embedded below. Listen in as we reflect on his teachings and explore how his legacy continues to inspire us today.

https://youtu.be/pI4LVrSt5fM

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

Featured image: Blessed Marie-Eugene of the Child Jesus is featured in this vault painting by Maltese artist Manuel Farrugia in the Church of St. Teresa, administered by the Discalced Carmelite friars in Cospicua, Malta. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites

#BlessedMarieEugeneOfTheChildJesus #DiscalcedCarmelites #eternity #founder #friar #God #hope #love #NotreDameDeVie #Podcast

Blessed Marie-Eugene: Contemplation and Mission

Why are we in this world? The great reason is that God is love and that He has loved us. He created you out of love, He called you out of love, and this love remains alive. What He has loved, He still loves; what He has given, He will never take away. As St. Paul, who deeply understood God’s nature, reminds us: “The gifts of God are irrevocable” (Rom 11:29), and what He has begun, He will bring to completion!

God cannot let us go, He cannot abandon us, because He loves us. Our great hope is God; our great hope is eternity! He sees all things in truth and clarity, while we only see appearances. He sees us in our eternal reality. He longs to share His vision with us, to awaken our hope in this eternal reality.

Blessed Marie-Eugene of the Child Jesus

Homily, 1 December 1963 (excerpt)

Blessed Marie Eugene of the Child Jesus dedicated his life to helping souls discover and respond to God’s love. Born Henri Grialou in 1894 in Le Gua, France, he discerned his call to Carmel while still a seminarian but was delayed by military service during World War I.

Ordained in 1922 for the Diocese of Rodez, he soon followed his call to the Discalced Carmelites, taking the name Marie-Eugene of the Child Jesus. His life was marked by a deep trust in the Holy Spirit and an unwavering commitment to the teachings of St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross.

One of his greatest contributions was the foundation of the Secular Institute Notre Dame de Vie in 1932. He envisioned a path where secular laity and diocesan priests could integrate deep contemplative prayer with their daily lives in the world, living out Carmelite spirituality while remaining in their respective vocations.

As Vicar General of the Discalced Carmelites, he was also instrumental in restoring unity among the Discalced Carmelite nuns in France, fostering their collaboration and guiding them in implementing Pope Pius XII’s Sponsa Christi. His efforts laid the groundwork for the federations that continue to support Carmelite nuns today.

Discover more about Blessed Marie Eugene’s life and spiritual wisdom in our latest podcast episode, embedded below. Listen in as we reflect on his teachings and explore how his legacy continues to inspire us today.

https://youtu.be/pI4LVrSt5fM

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

Featured image: Blessed Marie-Eugene of the Child Jesus is featured in this vault painting by Maltese artist Manuel Farrugia in the Church of St. Teresa, administered by the Discalced Carmelite friars in Cospicua, Malta. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites

#BlessedMarieEugeneOfTheChildJesus #DiscalcedCarmelites #eternity #founder #friar #God #hope #love #NotreDameDeVie #Podcast

Blessed Marie-Eugene: Contemplation and Mission

Why are we in this world? The great reason is that God is love and that He has loved us. He created you out of love, He called you out of love, and this love remains alive. What He has loved, He still loves; what He has given, He will never take away. As St. Paul, who deeply understood God’s nature, reminds us: “The gifts of God are irrevocable” (Rom 11:29), and what He has begun, He will bring to completion!

God cannot let us go, He cannot abandon us, because He loves us. Our great hope is God; our great hope is eternity! He sees all things in truth and clarity, while we only see appearances. He sees us in our eternal reality. He longs to share His vision with us, to awaken our hope in this eternal reality.

Blessed Marie-Eugene of the Child Jesus

Homily, 1 December 1963 (excerpt)

Blessed Marie Eugene of the Child Jesus dedicated his life to helping souls discover and respond to God’s love. Born Henri Grialou in 1894 in Le Gua, France, he discerned his call to Carmel while still a seminarian but was delayed by military service during World War I.

Ordained in 1922 for the Diocese of Rodez, he soon followed his call to the Discalced Carmelites, taking the name Marie-Eugene of the Child Jesus. His life was marked by a deep trust in the Holy Spirit and an unwavering commitment to the teachings of St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross.

One of his greatest contributions was the foundation of the Secular Institute Notre Dame de Vie in 1932. He envisioned a path where secular laity and diocesan priests could integrate deep contemplative prayer with their daily lives in the world, living out Carmelite spirituality while remaining in their respective vocations.

As Vicar General of the Discalced Carmelites, he was also instrumental in restoring unity among the Discalced Carmelite nuns in France, fostering their collaboration and guiding them in implementing Pope Pius XII’s Sponsa Christi. His efforts laid the groundwork for the federations that continue to support Carmelite nuns today.

Discover more about Blessed Marie Eugene’s life and spiritual wisdom in our latest podcast episode, embedded below. Listen in as we reflect on his teachings and explore how his legacy continues to inspire us today.

https://youtu.be/pI4LVrSt5fM

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

Featured image: Blessed Marie-Eugene of the Child Jesus is featured in this vault painting by Maltese artist Manuel Farrugia in the Church of St. Teresa, administered by the Discalced Carmelite friars in Cospicua, Malta. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites

#BlessedMarieEugeneOfTheChildJesus #DiscalcedCarmelites #eternity #founder #friar #God #hope #love #NotreDameDeVie #Podcast

Blessed Marie-Eugene: Contemplation and Mission

Why are we in this world? The great reason is that God is love and that He has loved us. He created you out of love, He called you out of love, and this love remains alive. What He has loved, He still loves; what He has given, He will never take away. As St. Paul, who deeply understood God’s nature, reminds us: “The gifts of God are irrevocable” (Rom 11:29), and what He has begun, He will bring to completion!

God cannot let us go, He cannot abandon us, because He loves us. Our great hope is God; our great hope is eternity! He sees all things in truth and clarity, while we only see appearances. He sees us in our eternal reality. He longs to share His vision with us, to awaken our hope in this eternal reality.

Blessed Marie-Eugene of the Child Jesus

Homily, 1 December 1963 (excerpt)

Blessed Marie Eugene of the Child Jesus dedicated his life to helping souls discover and respond to God’s love. Born Henri Grialou in 1894 in Le Gua, France, he discerned his call to Carmel while still a seminarian but was delayed by military service during World War I.

Ordained in 1922 for the Diocese of Rodez, he soon followed his call to the Discalced Carmelites, taking the name Marie-Eugene of the Child Jesus. His life was marked by a deep trust in the Holy Spirit and an unwavering commitment to the teachings of St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross.

One of his greatest contributions was the foundation of the Secular Institute Notre Dame de Vie in 1932. He envisioned a path where secular laity and diocesan priests could integrate deep contemplative prayer with their daily lives in the world, living out Carmelite spirituality while remaining in their respective vocations.

As Vicar General of the Discalced Carmelites, he was also instrumental in restoring unity among the Discalced Carmelite nuns in France, fostering their collaboration and guiding them in implementing Pope Pius XII’s Sponsa Christi. His efforts laid the groundwork for the federations that continue to support Carmelite nuns today.

Discover more about Blessed Marie Eugene’s life and spiritual wisdom in our latest podcast episode, embedded below. Listen in as we reflect on his teachings and explore how his legacy continues to inspire us today.

https://youtu.be/pI4LVrSt5fM

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

Featured image: Blessed Marie-Eugene of the Child Jesus is featured in this vault painting by Maltese artist Manuel Farrugia in the Church of St. Teresa, administered by the Discalced Carmelite friars in Cospicua, Malta. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites

#BlessedMarieEugeneOfTheChildJesus #DiscalcedCarmelites #eternity #founder #friar #God #hope #love #NotreDameDeVie #Podcast

Quote of the day, 2 December: St. Teresa of Avila

To the King Don Philip II

The grace of the Holy Spirit be with your majesty, amen. I strongly believe that our Lady has chosen you to protect and help her order. So, I cannot fail to have recourse to you regarding her affairs. For the love of our Lord, I beg you to pardon me for so much boldness.

I am sure your majesty has received news of how the nuns at the Incarnation tried to have me go there, thinking they would have some means to free themselves from the friars, who are certainly a great hindrance to the recollection and religious observance of the nuns. And the friars are entirely at fault for the lack of observance previously present in that house. The nuns are very much mistaken in their desire that I go there, for as long as they are subject to the friars as confessors and visitators, I would be of no help—at least not of any lasting help. I always said this to the Dominican visitator, and he understood it well.

Since God allowed that situation to exist, I tried to provide a remedy and placed a discalced friar in a house next to them, along with a companion friar. He is so great a servant of our Lord that the nuns are truly edified, and this city is amazed by the remarkable amount of good he has done there, and so they consider him a saint, and in my opinion, he is one and has been one all his life.

When the previous nuncio through a long report sent him by the inhabitants of the city was informed of the things that were happening and of the harm that the friars of the cloth were doing, he gave orders under pain of ex-communication that the confessors be restored to their house (for the calced friars had driven them from the city heaping abuse on them and giving much scandal to everyone). And he also ordered that no friar of the cloth under pain of ex-communication go to the Incarnation for business purposes, to say Mass, or hear confessions, but only the discalced friars and secular clergy. As a result, the house was in a good state until the nuncio died. Then the calced friars returned—and so too the disturbance—without demonstrating the grounds on which they could do so.

And now a friar who came to absolve the nuns caused such a disturbance without any concern for what is reasonable and just that the nuns are deeply afflicted and still bound by the same penalties as before, according to what I have been told. And worst of all he has taken from them their confessors. They say that he has been made vicar provincial, and this must be true because he is more capable than the others of making martyrs. And he is holding these confessors captive in his monastery after having forced his way into their cells and confiscating their papers.

The whole city is truly scandalized. He is not a prelate nor did he show any evidence of the authority on which these things were done, for these confessors are subject to the apostolic commissary. Those friars dared so much, even though this city is so close to where your majesty resides, that it doesn’t seem they fear either justice or God. I feel very sad to see these confessors in the hands of those friars who for some days have been desiring to seize hold of them. I would consider the confessors better off if they were held by the Moors, who perhaps would show more compassion. And this one friar who is so great a servant of God is so weak from all that he has suffered that I fear for his life.

I beg your majesty for the love of our Lord to issue orders for them to set him free at once and that these poor discalced friars not be subjected to so much suffering by the friars of the cloth. The former do no more than suffer and keep silent and gain a great deal. But the people are scandalized by what is being done to them. This past summer in Toledo, without any reason, the same superior took as prisoner Fray Antonio de Jesús—a holy and blessed man, who was the first discalced friar. They go about saying that with orders from Tostado they will destroy them all. May God be blessed! Those who were to be the means of removing offenses against God have become the cause of so many sins. And each day matters will get worse if your majesty does not provide us with some help. Otherwise, I don’t know where things will end up, because we have no other help on earth.

May it please our Lord that for our sakes you live many years. I hope in him that he will grant us this favor. He is so alone, for there are few who look after his honor. All these servants of your majesty’s, and I ask this of him continually.

Dated in St. Joseph’s in Avila, 4 December 1577.

Your majesty’s unworthy servant and subject,

Teresa of Jesus, Carmelite

Saint Teresa of Avila

Letter 218 to King Philip II

We recall two important events on this date:

In early December 1577—some scholars say the exact date was 2 December—St. John of the Cross and fellow chaplain-confessor Fray Germán de San Matías were abducted from their chaplain’s residence at the Monastery of the Incarnation in Avila. In the general introduction to The Collected Works of Saint John of the Cross, Father Kieran Kavanaugh, O.C.D. describes the scene:

On the night of December 2, 1577, a group of Carmelites, lay people, and men-at-arms broke into the chaplain’s quarters, seized Fray John, and took him away. By a secret journey, with orders from Tostado, they carted him off, handcuffed and often blindfolded, to the monastery in Toledo, the order’s finest in Castile, where nearly 85 friars lived.

In her introduction to Science of the Cross, St. Edith Stein continues the story of John’s abduction:

He was interrogated, and because he refused to abandon the Reform he was treated as a rebel. His prison was a narrow room, about 10 feet long and 6 feet wide. Teresa later wrote: “small though he was in stature, he could hardly stand erect in it.” This cell had neither window nor air vent other than a slit high up on the wall. The prisoner had to “stand on the poor-sinner-stool and wait until the sun’s rays were reflected on the wall in order to be able to pray the breviary” [a very plain stool typically found in a monastic cell]. The door was secured by a bolt.

We also recall that on 2 December 1894, Blessed Marie-Eugène of the Child Jesus (Henri Grialou) was born in Aubin (Aveyron) France. After his priestly ordination on February 4, 1922, he was captivated by the doctrine of St. Therese of the Child Jesus and St. John of the Cross and decided to join the Discalced Carmelites.

John of the Cross, St. 1991, The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross, Revised Edition, translated from the Spanish by Kavanaugh, K and Rodriguez, O with revisions and introductions by Kavanaugh, K, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Stein, E 2002, The Science of the Cross, The Collected Works of Edith Stein, Book 6, translated from the German by Koeppel, J, ICS Publications, Washington D.C.

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: The walls of Avila are featured in this nighttime winter scene. (Stock photo)

#abduction #BlessedMarieEugeneOfTheChildJesus #CarmeliteFriars #history #imprisonment #KingPhilipII #MonasteryOfTheIncarnation #Spain #StEdithStein #StJohnOfTheCross #StTeresaOfAvila

How did Our Lady pray?

We could say almost the same thing about her prayer as about Our Lord’s.

Prayer is a request, a lifting up of our soul to God. But in the Virgin’s case, this union with God is constant, and even her outward activity in no way detracts from this union. Could it be an expression of need? But she found everything in her union.

Yet the Virgin prayed.

She prayed, too, to pay God her homage of dependence, but above all she prayed because she was a mother: the mother of humankind.

The Virgin bore an immense grace that united her to the Word. She prayed for this grace of her Son to pass into souls and be realized, for his reign to come and for the Mystical Body to be constituted.

Under what conditions did Mary pray? Did she need and seek silence?

Yes, but she needed it so much less than we do! Her union with God removed her, almost as a matter of course, from the noise and bustle of external events. For the Annunciation, the Virgin was in the solitude of Nazareth, and later she returned there, far from the noise.

This is a lesson for us: we must seek solitude and silence to pray.

How did the Virgin pray?

Vocal prayer, most likely, with all the people, singing the psalms. It was an act of submission to God. But we need to go further to understand her prayer: we need to return to Our Lord.

Blessed Marie-Eugène of the Child Jesus

La prière de Marie (excerpt)

Marie-Eugène de l’Enfant-Jésus 2019, La Vierge Marie Toute Mère, edited by Institut Notre-Dame de Vie, Éditions du Carmel, Toulouse.

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

Featured image: Henry Ossawa Tanner created this stunning painting of Christ and His Mother Studying the Scriptures, seen here in detail, around the year 1908. Executed in oil on canvas, it comes from the Dallas Museum of Art. Image credit: Dallas Museum of Art (Public domain)

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/08/13/grialou-virginpray/

#BlessedMarieEugeneOfTheChildJesus #grace #MysticalBody #OurLady #prayer #Psalms #silence #solitude #unionWithGod #VirginMary #vocalPrayer

How did Our Lady pray?

We could say almost the same thing about her prayer as about Our Lord’s.

Prayer is a request, a lifting up of our soul to God. But in the Virgin’s case, this union with God is constant, and even her outward activity in no way detracts from this union. Could it be an expression of need? But she found everything in her union.

Yet the Virgin prayed.

She prayed, too, to pay God her homage of dependence, but above all she prayed because she was a mother: the mother of humankind.

The Virgin bore an immense grace that united her to the Word. She prayed for this grace of her Son to pass into souls and be realized, for his reign to come and for the Mystical Body to be constituted.

Under what conditions did Mary pray? Did she need and seek silence?

Yes, but she needed it so much less than we do! Her union with God removed her, almost as a matter of course, from the noise and bustle of external events. For the Annunciation, the Virgin was in the solitude of Nazareth, and later she returned there, far from the noise.

This is a lesson for us: we must seek solitude and silence to pray.

How did the Virgin pray?

Vocal prayer, most likely, with all the people, singing the psalms. It was an act of submission to God. But we need to go further to understand her prayer: we need to return to Our Lord.

Blessed Marie-Eugène of the Child Jesus

La prière de Marie (excerpt)

Marie-Eugène de l’Enfant-Jésus 2019, La Vierge Marie Toute Mère, edited by Institut Notre-Dame de Vie, Éditions du Carmel, Toulouse.

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

Featured image: Henry Ossawa Tanner created this stunning painting of Christ and His Mother Studying the Scriptures, seen here in detail, around the year 1908. Executed in oil on canvas, it comes from the Dallas Museum of Art. Image credit: Dallas Museum of Art (Public domain)

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/08/13/grialou-virginpray/

#BlessedMarieEugeneOfTheChildJesus #grace #MysticalBody #OurLady #prayer #Psalms #silence #solitude #unionWithGod #VirginMary #vocalPrayer

Some years before our departure for France, M. de Bretigny made a journey to Spain. He begged most earnestly of the Superiors of the Order permission to take some Spanish Carmelites to France; but he could not then succeed in his design.

Not having been able to get the Carmelites, he took home the writings of the Saint and had them translated into French. As in these works there is so much said in favor of France, the French servants of God who had devotion to our holy Foundress loved her more and more, and took new courage.

In several cities they gathered together some very virtuous high-born ladies to initiate them little by little into the spirit of this new Order. These reunions once well established, they asked permission of the king to found a monastery in Paris, desiring for this purpose to have Spanish Carmelites brought there; but in case the Carmelites were not willing, their plan was to have our Constitutions brought from Spain and be taught to these young ladies whom they had gathered together, with the intention of giving them the habit and making them daughters of the Order of our Holy Mother, St. Teresa. 

This first foundation having been arranged, the servant of God whom I mentioned above, M. de Bretigny, returned to Spain, bringing with him three noble French ladies. They intended, if their enterprise was successful, to take Spanish religious with them to France. Besides, during their stay in Spain, they were to learn the language of the country.

Messrs. Rene Gauthier and de Berulle also went to Spain, not without meeting great dangers at sea, as they themselves narrated. For our Lord tried their courage in every way and on all sorts of occasions. But they were so faithful to God and so firm in their design, that nothing terrified them.

They were several months in Spain without succeeding in obtaining religious from the Order. Seeing this, M. de Berulle and the others did their utmost and labored for a whole year before obtaining from the Superiors of the Order what they asked.

The deputation sent from France had to endure much labor and many affronts; this, because it was not known what great servants of God they were; for they certainly were such—their works and the zeal they showed for the glory of God proved their great fervor.

But in order that their virtue might be more purified, God permitted that they should not be esteemed at their proper worth. Some said that they were heretics, and other things of a similar nature. They suffered with much patience and humility, and, persevering in this way, their enterprise was crowned with success.

At last our Father General, Francis of the Mother of God, came to Avila with several Fathers of the Order to arrange for our departure. We left on the morning of the Feast of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist. [1604] Our Father General accompanied us a great part of the day. When he was obliged to leave us we begged his blessing. He gave it with an emotion that was shared by all the religious. In parting, both Fathers and daughters made a great sacrifice to God.

Two friars of our Order, great servants of God, two French priests, one of whom was M. de Berulle, and the other, M. Rene Gauthier, together with three Frenchmen on horseback, and several Spaniards, accompanied us on this journey. The three French ladies were alone in one carriage and the six religious in another. We were together in the inns.

The French ladies taught us their language; it must be acknowledged we did not make great progress in it; we learned sufficient, however, to understand most of what was said to us. But we did not speak fluently; we could, with difficulty, say only a few sentences. Our Lord wished to humble us in this, and I think it was best for us, for by speaking little we did not give disedification. Every nation has its own customs.

Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew

Third Book, Chapter 1, Deputation Sent From France

“Every nation has its own customs,” wrote Blessed Anne. Truer words were never spoken. The influence of “Monsieur de Bérulle” upon the Carmelites in France grew and expanded as his authority expanded, not only in the Church but also in government.

Considered by many as the founder of the French School of Spirituality, he collaborated with Blessed Marie of the Incarnation, better known as Madame Acarie, in the foundation of the first Discalced Carmelite monastery in Paris, the original destination of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew, Venerable Anne of Jesus and their traveling companions in 1604. 

As a priest, Pierre de Bérulle was passionate in his ministry. Educated by the Jesuits, he had only been ordained five years earlier when he set out on his great adventure in Spain in the year 1604. In 1611, he undertakes another great project: the foundation of an Oratory in France similar to the Oratory founded by Philip Neri in Italy.

In the space of 18 years, Bérulle founded 40 Carmels and 60 houses for his Oratorians in France.

As his fame spread in the Church in France, he naturally attracted the attention of the royal family, as well. In 1625, he became a personal chaplain to Queen Consort Henrietta Maria of France, the wife of England’s King Charles I.

In 1627, Pope Urban VIII insisted upon creating him a Cardinal. His influence in affairs of state continued to develop when he was named head of the queen’s council, then councilor of state. Through all of this, Bérulle’s influence on the French Carmelites remained firm.

But there was dissension. The Venerable Anne of Jesus, Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew’s companion in making the original foundation, believed that Bérulle was leaving an imprint upon the Carmels in France that decidedly was not in keeping with the Teresian ideal. Further, she desired for the nuns to be directed by Discalced Carmelite friars. Frustrated, in 1607, she accepted an offer from the Archduke of Belgium to transfer to Flanders, where she founded Carmels in Brussels, Louvain, and Mons.

Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew had moved from Paris to Pontoise where she was elected prioress (1605) and then assumed the same office in the Carmel of Tours (1608). But in 1611, she too was called to make the journey north. She left on 5 October, “the day following the anniversary of the death of the Saint.” She wrote that she “had no desire to go to Flanders,” but Anne of Jesus needed her in Mons, and she would go on to found the Carmel of Antwerp.

Meanwhile, in France, the spirituality of le Carmel Bérullien that so concerned Venerable Anne of Jesus continued to thrive without the Spanish foundresses. Cardinal de Bérulle died suddenly while he was celebrating Mass on 2 October 1629, making the greatest ecclesiastical figure in France seem larger than life. His legacy did not fade.

Discalced Carmelite theologian François-Marie Léthel points out that the Bérullien influence is seen in the writings of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus. For example, Christocentrism is one of the hallmarks of his French School of spirituality. Father Léthel indicates that Thérèse refers to the name of Jesus twice as much as she mentions “God”: more precisely, she writes the name of Jesus more than 1600 times, but she only makes roughly 800 references to “God” (Léthel 2011).

Antoinette Guise Castelnuovo has carefully documented the history of the Bérullien crisis in the 20th century. In response to the promulgation of the new Code of Canon Law in 1917, all religious orders were obliged to revise their constitutions, including the Discalced Carmelites.

In France, disorder reigned supreme; every Carmel’s superior was the local bishop, and none of the local superiors consulted with one another. Thus, the nuns of the Carmel of Clamart—the post-revolutionary re-foundation of the original Carmel of Paris in Faubourg Saint Jacques—undertook the task to issue a set of constitutions in 1924 that might unify the Discalced Carmelites of the so-called “French Observance”. Getting Vatican approval for their text was another matter completely. (Castelnuovo 2015)

Every other Discalced Carmelite monastery worldwide turned to the general curia of the Discalced Carmelite friars for their care and direction. In short order, the friars’ revised constitutions for the nuns were approved in 1926. In France, no word of approval had been received yet.

At this point, St. Thérèse’s own sister, Mother Agnès of Jesus—then the prioress in Lisieux—saw an opportunity to restore a true Teresian spirit in France and make Venerable Anne of Jesus’ dream a reality, that the nuns in France might once again submit to the governance of the Discalced Carmelite friars in Rome.

Although Mother Agnès herself enjoyed an office that was hardly Teresian, having been named prioress-for-life by Pope Pius XI in 1923, she had gained a level of influence, unlike no other prioress, due to her tireless efforts to make Thérèse known, loved, and canonized. She set forth to use that influence to seek the imposition of the friars’ constitutions in France.

Castelnuovo describes the conflict between Mother Agnès and the Carmel of Clamart as degenerating from a struggle for influence into an all-out fratricidal war. Letters to the apostolic nuncio, the Sacred Congregation for Religious, and even to the pope were flying fast and furious.

Mother Agnès wrote in 1925 to the nuncio, Archbishop Cerretti, that she was confident that 12 to 15 monasteries would pass to the Teresian observance with Lisieux; she said the “Bérullien Carmels” who would stick with Clamart were blind.

In 1927, Mother Agnès sent a confidential report to the new nuncio, Archbishop Maglione, outlining why this or that Carmel—although desirous to adopt the friars’ constitutions—could not do so. In every case, although the nuns were in favor of the change, the superior (either the bishop or his delegate) prevented such a transition. Nevertheless, a handful of monasteries joined Lisieux and adopted the friars’ constitutions of 1926.

Sadly, Mother Agnès learned in 1931 that the prioress of the Carmel of Agen circulated a letter among her fellow prioresses in the circle of Bérullien Carmels, accusing those who followed the 1926 Constitutions like Lisieux of being “lax” and “mitigated”.

In her historical study, Castelnuovo draws a distinct correlation at this point between the Lisieux-Clamart conflict in the 1920s and the constitutional crisis between the followers of Saint Maria Maravillas (1990 Constitutions) and the majority of the nuns who were committed to the direction of the Discalced Carmelite friars (1991 Constitutions). The similarities are striking.

To resolve the conflict in France, the Sacred Congregation for Religious issued a decree on 20 September 1936 to impose the adoption worldwide of the 1926 Constitutions revised by the Discalced Carmelite friars’ general curia in Rome.

This was an unprecedented action that proved unsuccessful; the Bérullien Carmelites refused to accept the decree of the Sacred Congregation and continued to follow their French Observance.

Divine intervention finally came with the nomination of an apostolic visitator in 1948: the vicar general of the Discalced Carmelite friars who was himself a native of France, Blessed Marie-Eugène of the Child Jesus. It was a stroke of genius. Castelnuovo notes that  Bérulle in his day had placed great importance in the role of a visitator. St. Teresa, for her part, had great recourse to the visitators to save her reform.

Marie-Eugène was known and respected by all, thanks to his preaching during the canonization of Thérèse. Now, he had 130 Carmels to visit; he began in September 1948 and completed his visits in March 1951, delivering his report at the end of the month. In the meantime, Pope Pius XII published Sponsa Christi and an Instruction concerning the cloister.

No longer was there simply a matter of constitutional conformity in France to deal with; Blessed Marie-Eugène also realized that the Carmelites needed guidance in the implementation of Sponsa Christi, as well. He set to work as an invaluable courier between the Holy See and the nuns, helping the pope to safeguard the contemplative vocation and helping the nuns to broaden their horizons.

In a final, grand effort to assure that his hard work would not be wasted and that the new-found unity of the Discalced Carmelite nuns in France might be preserved, Blessed Marie-Eugène of the Child Jesus took the bold step of assisting the nuns to organize themselves into four federations according to geographic location. Two federations in the north, conforming to the friars’ Paris Province, and two federations in the south under the care of the Province of Avignon-Aquitaine were established, and Marie-Eugène himself was the assistant to all four federations.

Anne of St. Bartholomew, M; Bouix, M 1917,  Autobiography of the Blessed Mother Anne of Saint Bartholomew, inseparable companion of Saint Teresa, and foundress of the Carmels of Pontoise, Tours and Antwerp, translated from the French by Michael, M A, H. S. Collins Printing Co., Saint Louis.

Guise Castelnuovo, A 2015, ”Femmes en réseau et centralisation romaine : le gouvernement des
carmélites de France au XXe siècle,’ Les Carnets du LARHRA, 2015, Gouverner l’Eglise au XXe
siècle, no. 28, pp.109-131, halshs-01404512, viewed 17 April 2024, <https://shs.hal.science/halshs-01404512/document>

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: This is a detailed image from a stained glass window in the 1946 series by French stained glass artist Raphaël Lardeur in the Church of Notre-Dame des Blancs-Manteaux (Our Lady of the White Mantles, the French Order of the Servants of the Blessed Virgin, founded in 1257 and suppressed in 1274). It shows Cardinal Pierre de Bérulle blessing the Discalced Carmelite nuns who were brought to Paris from Spain through the resourceful efforts of Madame Acarie. A curiosity: the artist did not depict the nuns in their white mantles, which they most certainly would have worn to receive the Cardinal’s blessing. Image credit: GFreihalter / Wikimedia Commons (Some rights reserved)

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/04/17/acarie-customs/

#BlessedAnneOfStBartholomew #BlessedMarieEugeneOfTheChildJesus #BlessedMaryOfTheIncarnation #CarmelOfLisieux #conflict #Constitutions #DiscalcedCarmelite #federations #FrançoisMarieLéthel #France #friars #history #MadameAcarie #nuns #PaulineMartin #PierreDeBérulle #Spain #VenerableAnneOfJesus

🙏🏾Pray with the Carmelites!
🙏🏾 Visit https://carmelitequotes.blog for the feastday prayers

#blessedmarieeugeneofthechildjesus #blessedmarieeugene #feastday #saintoftheday #catholic #carmelite #founder #notredamedevie

🙏🏾Pray with the Carmelites!
🙏🏾 Visit https://carmelitequotes.blog for the feastday prayers

#blessedmarieeugeneofthechildjesus #blessedmarieeugene #feastday #saintoftheday #catholic #carmelite #founder #notredamedevie

🙏🏾Pray with the Carmelites!
🙏🏾 Visit https://carmelitequotes.blog for the feastday prayers

#blessedmarieeugeneofthechildjesus #blessedmarieeugene #feastday #saintoftheday #catholic #carmelite #founder #notredamedevie