#christ-crucified — Public Fediverse posts on home.social

2026-03-29

Quote of the day, 30 March: St. Thérèse

“Look at Jesus in His Face … There you will see how He loves us.”

Thérèse is among that great crowd of witnesses—not eyewitnesses, but believers—who look upon Jesus as He dies on the Cross. She deeply understands that only Love can make sense of this event.

In a letter to her sister Céline on 4 April 1889 (LT 87), Thérèse writes:

“Your letter gave great sadness to my soul! … Poor little Papa! … No, the thoughts of Jesus are not our thoughts, and His ways are not our ways … He is offering us a chalice as bitter as our feeble nature can bear! … Let us not withdraw our lips from this chalice prepared by the hand of Jesus … Let us see life as it really is … […] To suffer in peace it is enough to will all that Jesus wills … To be the spouse of Jesus we must resemble Jesus, and Jesus is all bloody, He is crowned with thorns! … […] The canticle of suffering united to His sufferings is what delights His Heart the most! … Jesus is on fire with love for us … Look at His adorable Face! … Look at His eyes lifeless and lowered! … Look at His wounds … Look at Jesus in His Face … There you will see how He loves us.”

To better understand certain expressions in this letter, it is important to know that on that day, Thursday, 4 April, the liturgy celebrated the First Vespers of the Feast of the Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, which at the time was observed on the Friday of the fourth week of Lent.

Thérèse experienced this liturgy in Carmel, where she had been for nearly a year. Her father, Louis Martin—the Poor little Papa—had been unwell for months, showing alarming signs of decline. It had begun with his disappearance on 23 June 1888, followed by a relapse on 12 August. From that point on, his condition only worsened. On 12 February 1889, he suffered another episode, this time with hallucinations, and was admitted to the Bon Sauveur Hospital in Caen, where he would remain for three years.

For all the Martin sisters, the shock was devastating. Thérèse was deeply affected but did not give way to depression. She faced the trial with astonishing courage, drawing strength and light from her faith.

This letter, like many others, bears witness to this. For several years, her correspondence frequently returned to the themes of suffering and the cross. The devotion to the Holy Face, which was deeply present both in her family and in the Lisieux Carmel, was something she lived fully; the face of the Crucified was ever present in her life.

Father Robert Arcas, o.c.d.

Carmelite Online Retreat, Lent 2025 — Holy Week meditation

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

Featured image: The crucifixion of Christ is the central window in the Corona Chapel or Beckett’s Crown in Canterbury Cathedral. The window dates from 1200; the center panel was fully recreated in 1853 and the typological scenes are the original stained glass from the medieval period. Image credit: Fr. Lawrence Lew, O.P. / Flickr (Some rights reserved)

#ChristCrucified #gaze #StLouisMartin #StThérèseOfLisieux #suffering

#suffering #stthereseoflisieux #stlouismartin #gaze #christcrucified

Carmelite Quotes @[email protected]

2026-03-08

Quote of the day, 9 March: Hermann Cohen

Let us serve Jesus for His own sake. Let us say that it is good for us to be deprived of joy here below—to be humiliated and tested—and that Jesus always grants us far more than we deserve. We must love Jesus crucified; we must love His Cross. The glory of Tabor awaits us in heaven.

As for your husband’s wish to go to places of worldly amusement, I repeat that so long as you go only out of obedience and contrary to your own inclination, you need fear nothing. I would also advise that, whenever you can do so prudently, you allow some obstacle to arise—some legitimate pretext that prevents you from going. I believe it will be pleasing to our Lord if He sees you wisely arranging matters so that an outing of this sort comes to nothing.

Servant of God Augustine Mary of the Blessed Sacrament (Hermann Cohen)

Avis spirituels

Note: Join us as we pray the official Prayer for the Beatification of the Servant of God Father Augustine Mary of the Blessed Sacrament, Hermann Cohen.

Augustin-Marie du Très-Saint Sacrement 2020, Qui nous fera voir le bonheur? : sermons et autres textes, ed. S-M Morgain, 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 drawing of Father Augustine-Mary (Hermann) Cohen, O.C.D. is based on a portrait of the Servant of God that appeared in Dr. Boissarie’s medical documentation, Les grandes guérisons de Lourdes (The Great Healings of Lourdes). Father Cohen’s story appears in the section devoted to “Diseases of the Eyes.” Image credit: Discalced Carmelites (By permission)

#AugustineMaryOfTheBlessedSacrament #ChristCrucified #gloryOfGod #HermannCohen #service

#service #hermanncohen #gloryofgod #christcrucified #augustinemaryoftheblessedsacrament

Carmelite Quotes @[email protected]

2025-10-09

Quote of the day, 10 October: St. Elizabeth of the Trinity

Oh, how good Carmel is; I can’t find words to say this enough!

Tuesday [15 October] we’re going to celebrate the feast of Saint Teresa, and I’m already delighted about it. We’ll have the Blessed Sacrament in choir, and on that day I think I can stay there as much as I want; so you can imagine how I’m going to indulge myself!

Oh! if you knew what heavenly days your friend is spending in Carmel! I am growing weaker day by day, and I feel the Master will not delay much longer in coming to seek me. I am tasting, experiencing unknown joys.

The joy of pain, oh! little Germaine, how pleasant and sweet it is!… Before I die, I dream of being transformed into Jesus Crucified, and that gives me so much strength in suffering….

Little sister, we should have no other ideal but to be conformed to that divine Model; then what eagerness we would have in sacrifice, in contempt of ourselves, if the eyes of our heart [cf. Eph 1:18] were always focused on Him.

Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity

Letter 97 to her sister Guite (excerpt)
10 October 1901

Letter 324 to her friend Germaine de Gemeaux (excerpt)
Around 10 October 1906

Elizabeth of the Trinity, S 2003, The Complete Works of Elizabeth of the Trinity volume 2: Letters from Carmel, Nash, A (trans.), ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: Left: Photograph of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, October 1906. Image via Discalced Carmelites (by permission). Right: Artist unknown, Ecce Homo Cristo Pobre, oil on canvas, 109 x 81 cm, Pinacoteca Universidad de Concepción, Chile. Image via Chile Patrimonios/SURDOC (used for non-commercial educational purposes).

#ChristCrucified #deathAndDying #StElizabethOfTheTrinity #suffering #transformation

#transformation #suffering #stelizabethofthetrinity #deathanddying #christcrucified

Scott LaPierre @[email protected]

2025-07-29

Jesus Sends Pilgrims into Battle: Gospel in Hostile Territory (Luke 22:35-37)

https://www.scottlapierre.org/jesus-sends-pilgrims-into-battle/

Unpack some of Jesus’ final instructions to His disciples to live as pilgrims in hostile environments.

#pilgrimsinhostileenvironments #lukegospel #scottlapierre #christiansermon #biblicalworldview #kingdomofgod #jesusiscoming #discipleship #persecution #heavenlycitizenship #christcrucified #biblestudy #expositorypreachingsermons #christianliving #faithnotfear

#pilgrimsinhostileenvironments #lukegospel #scottlapierre #christiansermon #biblicalworldview #kingdomofgod

Carmelite Quotes @[email protected]

2025-06-24

26 June: Blessed Mary Josephine of Jesus Crucified Catanea

June 26
BLESSED MARY JOSEPHINE OF JESUS CRUCIFIED CATANEA
Virgin

Josephine Catanea was born in Naples on February 18, 1894. She entered the Carmelite community of Santa Maria Ponti Rossi and made her solemn profession on August 6, 1933. In 1945, she was elected prioress, an office she held until her death. She endured the painful trials of illness and persecution by abandoning herself to the will of God. All who sought her help were inspired by her deep spirituality, humility, and simplicity, as she inspired hope and faith in God and in the Blessed Virgin Mary. She died in Naples on March 14, 1948.

From the Common of virgins, with the psalms of the day

Office of the Readings

Second Reading

From the writings of Blessed Mary Josephine of Jesus Crucified
(Autobiography, pp.159, 296, 202; Diary, pp. 2-3, 109, 121, 126)

I offered myself to Jesus Crucified to be crucified with Him

It has always been my heart’s burning desire to fulfill the will of God; I have never wanted anything else. I have lived and am living the divine will. It is something I need more than the food I eat and the air I breathe. I would not know how not to do His will even for a moment! I have always wanted to live and to die conforming to the will of God. I wanted God’s will to always be in my thoughts, in my words, in everything I do and in every step I make. It was only through following God’s will that I was able to transform my pains into joy, transforming my life from Mount Calvary to Mount Tabor.

God’s will is a kiss of His love, it is an embrace of His goodness which lifts the soul out of its own misery in order to be comforted in His arms. The will of God is an act of tenderness which should make the soul want to abandon itself in love.

Oh will of God, infinite love, take away my will in the flame of your love! I want to unite myself to you, my God who are my all. I want only to do whatever pleases you. I want my life to be a continuous adoration, a continuous hymn of love for you, O God who are One and Three. Even if I were a seraphim of love, would I be worthy of the Lord? If I had consumed myself with sacrifices and penances for God and my life had been a holocaust, what would I have done for you, my God and my all?

I desire to love God with the same ardour as His divine Spirit, with fervent unction of his love, to the point of living only for Him and becoming one with Him; one will, one desire and one spirit.

There is only one thing necessary in life: to know God, our supreme Good, in order to be able to love Him with all one’s heart. This knowledge of God makes our spirit disappear like a drop of water in the ocean or like a spark in a fire.

Contemplate this infinite God, one in essence but three in Persons. Try to see in the Trinity the unique principle, the wisdom existing in infinite love, and in the Trinity see the activity of tiny creatures that live in God and love Him.

I think that one day my small voice will become like a giant’s, because it is a voice that glorifies God thanks to the means He has given me on earth: the pains, suffering, prayer and the sacrifices we encounter in life. Let us submerge ourselves in God, let us found ourselves in Him, let us lose ourselves in Him alone and try to live joyfully for He is calling us: ‘Come Bride of Christ.’

Suffering is a sweet and precious kiss from our crucified Lord. I desire only the cross, which is light and love.

Lord, you told me that I would have to suffer more each day, that you would place me on the cross and there you would give me a kiss of eternal union. I pine for this moment and pine for this happy meeting even if it means I have to live a life of agony.

Our holy mother, Teresa of Jesus, wants us to be crucified with Christ, this is the task of our lives. When I think that Jesus has placed me on the cross with Himself I feel in myself a spiritual motherhood, a tenderness for souls, a great and profound joy that I cannot explain.

How many tribulations on earth there are, how many lamentations, how many sighs and tears! I am far from all, but here I share the pain of every heart. I present to God all the sighs, the tears which water this place of exile. I am living with suffering humanity.

What consolation I felt today in my poor heart.

These words at Holy Communion gave me comfort: “Daughter, you are mine but you will be mine even more.” This is exactly what my soul ardently desires. Oh how great is the love of my Lord! Oh indescribable goodness! Oh loving Jesus I thank you and I love you!

I want to write with my blood a countless number of times: ‘I love you, Jesus, save souls!’

Responsory
Song 2: 3, 14

R. With great delight I sat in his shadow,* and his fruit was sweet to my taste.
V. Your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely. * and his fruit was sweet to my taste.

Prayer

Almighty and eternal God,
who willed to conform to Christ crucified
the virgin Blessed Mary Josephine,
as a victim for sinners,
grant that we, through her intercession and example,
may always embrace our own cross
and humbly fulfil your will.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.

Blessed Mary Josephine of Jesus Crucified with one of her nuns kneeling before her
Photo: Discalced Carmelites

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.

#BlessedMaryJosephineOfJesusCrucified #ChristCrucified #DiscalcedCarmelite #GiuseppinaCatanea #LiturgyOfTheHours #nun #optionalMemorial #virgin

#virgin #optionalmemorial #nun #liturgyofthehours #giuseppinacatanea #discalcedcarmelite

Carmelite Quotes @[email protected]

2025-04-17

Quote of the day, 18 April: St. Teresa of Avila

There is no lack of the cross in this life, however much we may do to escape it, if we belong to the party of the Crucified One.

Saint Teresa of Avila

Letter 194 to Padre Ambrosio Mariano (excerpt)
9 May 1577

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 crucifixion of Christ is the central window in the Corona Chapel or Beckett’s Crown in Canterbury Cathedral. The window dates from 1200; the center panel was fully recreated in 1853 and the typological scenes are the original stained glass from the medieval period. Image credit: Fr. Lawrence Lew, O.P. / Flickr (Some rights reserved)

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
What does it mean to you to “belong to the party of the Crucified One”?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments.

#ChristCrucified #cross #GoodFriday #inspiration #StTeresaOfAvila

#stteresaofavila #inspiration #goodfriday #cross #christcrucified

Carmelite Quotes @[email protected]

2025-01-01

Quote of the day, 2 January: St. John of the Cross

When something distasteful or unpleasant comes your way, remember Christ crucified and be silent.

Live in faith and hope, even though you are in darkness, because it is in these darknesses that God protects the soul.

Cast your care on God, for he watches over you and will not forget you. Do not think that he leaves you alone; that would be an affront to him.

Read, pray, rejoice in God, both your good and your salvation. May he grant you this good and this salvation and conserve it all until the day of eternity. Amen. Amen.

Saint John of the Cross

Letter 20 to a Discalced Carmelite nun (excerpt)
Shortly before Pentecost, 1590

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.

Featured image: Photographer Christof Timmermann captures this image in absolute black and white photography, which he titles “Silent Moments.” You can view more of his street photography on Flickr. Image credit: christof_tim / Flickr (Some rights reserved)

#ChristCrucified #darkness #faith #God #good #hope #pray #read #salvation #silence #StJohnOfTheCross #trust

#trust #stjohnofthecross #silence #salvation #read #pray

Carmelite Quotes @[email protected]

2024-10-31

The Church established the use of images for two principal reasons: the reverence given to the saints through them; and both the motivation of the will and the awakening of devotion to the saints by their means. Insofar as they serve this purpose their use is profitable and necessary.

We should consequently choose those images that are more lifelike and move the will more to devotion. Our concentration should be centered on this devotion more than on the elaborateness of the workmanship and its ornamentation.

There are, as I say, some people who pay more attention to the workmanship and value of the statue than to the object represented. And the interior devotion, which they should direct spiritually toward the invisible saint in immediate forgetfulness of the statue—since the purpose of the statue is to give motivation—is so taken up with the exterior artistry and ornamentation that the senses receive satisfaction and delight; then both the love and joy of the will dwell on that satisfaction. This is a total obstacle to authentic spirituality, which demands annihilation of the affections in all particular things.

Such an attitude is obvious in the abominable custom some have in these times of ours.

Without any abhorrence of vain worldly fashions, they adorn statues with the jewelry conceited people in the course of time invent to satisfy themselves in their pastimes and vanities, and they clothe the statues in garments that would be reprehensible if worn by themselves—a practice that was and still is abhorrent to the saints represented by the statues.

In company with the devil they strive to canonize their vanities, not without serious offense to the saints. By this practice the authentic and sincere devotion of the soul, which in itself uproots and rejects every vanity and trace of it, is reduced to little more than doll-dressing.

Some use the statues for nothing more than idols upon which they center their joy.

You will see some who never tire of adding statue on statue to their collection, or insist that the statue be of this particular kind and craftsmanship and placed in a certain niche and in a special way—all so these statues will give delight to the senses.

As for devotion of heart, there is very little. They are as attached as Micah and Laban were to their idols, for Micah left his house shouting because they were stolen; and Laban, after a long journey and being enraged, turned over all of Jacob’s household furnishings in search for them [Judg 18:23-24; Gen 31:23-35].

People who are truly devout direct their devotion mainly to the invisible object represented, have little need for many images, and use those that conform more to divine traits than to human ones. They bring these images—and themselves through them—into conformity with the fashion and condition of the other world, not with this one.

They do this so worldly images will not stir their appetite and so they will not even be reminded of the world, as they would in having before their eyes any object apparently a part of this world. Their heart is not attached to these goods, and if these are taken away, their grief is slight.

They seek the living image of Christ crucified within themselves, and thereby they are pleased rather to have everything taken from them and to be left with nothing.

Saint John of the Cross

The Ascent of Mount Carmel, III, ch. 35, nos. 3–5

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.

Featured image: Photographer Marko Vombergar captured this image of a pilgrim to Argentina’s 2016 National Eucharistic Congress in Tucumán. Image credit: Marko Vombergar for aleteia.org / Flickr (Some rights reserved)

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/10/31/juan-subida-iii35/

#ChristCrucified #devotion #idolatry #image #interiorLife #motivation #prayer #StJohnOfTheCross #statue

#statue #stjohnofthecross #prayer #motivation #interiorlife #image

Carmelite Quotes @[email protected]

2024-09-17

I come to you by passing through the pierced Heart of the Mother of sorrows. Along with her, you have consummated your sacrifice, and I am begging her to pour out in your soul the calm, peace, and strength that always accompanied her during her cruel martyrdom.

One saint, speaking of the Master, said: “Where then did He dwell but in suffering?”[cf. St. Angela Foligno]. Any soul immersed in suffering, then, lives beside Him; she dwells with Jesus Christ in that immensity of suffering sung by the prophet [cf. Lam 1:12]; the dwelling place of those predestined, those whom the “Father has known and wishes to be conformed to His divine Son, the Crucified” [cf. Rom 8:29]; Saint Paul says that.

Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity

Letter 312 to Baroness d’Anthès (excerpt)
18 September 1906

Note: The Carmelites had celebrated the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows only two days before, on 16th September 1906. The baroness was the mother of the deceased, Madame de Maizières. It was to the baroness’ grandniece Françoise de Sourdon that Elizabeth penned Letter 310, also known as the treatise on The Greatness of our Vocation.

Elizabeth of the Trinity, S 2003, The Complete Works of Elizabeth of the Trinity volume 2: Letters from Carmel, translated from the French by Nash, A, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: This is a detail from the painting Mater Dolorosa and Christ of Sorrows by Simon Marmion (French, 1420-1489). The artwork was executed in oil on wood panel, ca. 1460. It comes from the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Strasbourg. Image credit: jean louis mazieres / Flickr (Some rights reserved)

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/09/17/sabeth-ltr312/

#ChristCrucified #JesusChrist #MotherOfSorrows #sacrifice #StElizabethOfTheTrinity #suffering #sympathy

#sympathy #suffering #stelizabethofthetrinity #sacrifice #motherofsorrows #jesuschrist

Carmelite Quotes @[email protected]

2024-08-09

The cross is again raised before us. It is the sign of contradiction. The Crucified looks down on us: “are you also going to abandon me?”

In the last few months, one has often heard the complaint that the many prayers for peace are still without effect.

What right have we to be heard? Our desire for peace is undoubtedly genuine and sincere. But does it come from a completely purified heart? Have we truly prayed “in the name of Jesus,” i.e., not just with the name of Jesus on our lips, but with the spirit and in the mind of Jesus, for the glory of the Father alone, without any self-seeking?

The day on which God has unrestricted power over our hearts we shall also have unrestricted power over his.

Saint Edith Stein

The Marriage of the Lamb: For 14 September 1940 (excerpt)

St. Edith Stein, known as St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, embodies the “Sign of Contradiction” through her life, faith journey, and intellectual pursuits. Born into a devout Jewish family, her conversion to Catholicism created a profound tension between her heritage and newfound faith, symbolizing the personal and spiritual contradictions that marked her life. Her journey from a brilliant philosopher trained in phenomenology to a Discalced Carmelite nun highlights the harmony that can exist between rigorous intellectual pursuit and deep spiritual life.

Edith’s identity as a Catholic nun did not protect her from Nazi persecution; instead, her Jewish ancestry led to her arrest and eventual martyrdom. This tragic reality emphasizes the complex interplay between faith, ethnicity, and identity. Edith’s acceptance of suffering as a path to spiritual union with Christ is reflected in her religious name, Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. She saw the Cross as a symbol of both suffering and redemption, embodying the contradictions inherent in the human experience.

At her canonization on October 11, 1998, St. John Paul II described Edith Stein as “a martyr for love, who gave her life for her friends, [and] let no one surpass her in love.” Her legacy continues to challenge and inspire us to embrace the paradoxes and contradictions that arise in the pursuit of truth and spiritual growth, reminding us of the profound connection between love, suffering, and redemption.

https://youtu.be/Gu_rMiEUAFM?si=8EjZxTSbvySjF4wi

Stein, E. 2014, The Hidden Life: hagiographic essays, meditations, spiritual texts, translated from the German by Stein, W, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: Rosa Stein arrived at the Discalced Carmelite monastery in Echt in July 1939 to join her sister Edith in what was believed to be the safety of Holland. Already a Roman Catholic convert, Rosa had joined the Third Order of the Teresian Carmel (now known as the OCDS). She served as an extern sister and helped in the monastery garden, where the highlighted photo was taken. In the background, we see a photograph of the Stein family from 1894. Image credits: Discalced Carmelites

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/08/08/ep19edith/

#ChristCrucified #ExaltationOfTheHolyCross #intercession #JesusChrist #monasticLife #Podcast #prayers #StEdithStein #StTeresaBenedictaOfTheCross #vows

#christcrucified #exaltationoftheholycross #intercession #jesuschrist #monasticlife #podcast

Carmelite Quotes @[email protected]

2024-06-24