#discalced-carmelites — Public Fediverse posts

Quote of the day, 4 July: Mother Clare Joseph Dickinson, OCD

We arrived at New york friday Morning the 2d of July. Lodg’d at one Mrs white. Stay’d there till Sunday the 4th when we saild to norfolk in Capt Cary Sloop arrived there on the friday following[,] the 9th[.] Sat Saild th[a]t Same Evening for Maryland in Capt gibsons sloop. We landed in Charles County on Sunday the 11th and have had vanity of habitation Ever Since.

Mother Clare Joseph Dickinson, O.C.D.

Journal of A Trip to America

After a passage of two months, they arrived at New York on the 2nd of July, Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. They had left Europe under the auspices of Mary on the first day of the month consecrated to her honor, and arrived in America on one of her feast days. The Order of Carmel had thus begun its voyage to America with its glorious Queen, with her it continued it, and brought it happily to a close.

Charles W. Currier

Chapter VII, The Voyage (excerpts)

Currier, C 1890, Carmel in America: a centennial history of the Discalced Carmelites in the United States, J. Murphy, Baltimore.

Dickinson, CJ & FitzGerald, C 1990, The Carmelite adventure: Clare Joseph Dickinson’s journal of a trip to America, and other documents, Carmelite Sisters, Baltimore MD.

Featured image: Merchant ships carried freight and passengers in the golden age of sailing; here, we see a fine oil on canvas artwork from John Clinton Ogilvie (British, 1838–1900) that depicts the Ship ‘British Merchant’ Leaving Aberdeen. Ogilvie executed this painting in 1857 and it is a grand memorial to a ship that was totally destroyed by fire at Sydney, Australia. Image credit: Aberdeen Maritime Museum (Some rights reserved)

Quote of the day, 3 June: Mother Clare Joseph, OCD

wind Still very favourable make a deal of advancement. from yesterday 12 till to day 12 made 172 mile. all pretty well. th[i]s Evening the wind Seems to have fallen a little. but hope it will Soon rise again.

Mrs Ramsen call’d in our room to See us & after Looking about her for a while, seeing us at work Said, this Looks like a Sowing School. She brought her work basket, & ask’d us leave to come & Sit with us but we told her the Steward was coming to Sweep She took the hint & away She walk’d.

Mother Clare Joseph of the Sacred Heart, O.C.D.

(Frances Dickinson, 1755-1830)
Journal of a Trip to America, 2 June 1790

Note: Mother Clare Joseph of the Sacred Heart, O.C.D. was one of four foundresses of the Teresian Carmel in the United States of America in the summer of 1790. She was entrusted with keeping the daily journal of their ocean voyage aboard the Brothers, a three-masted, square-rigged merchant frigate sailing from Texel, Netherlands to New York. The nuns departed on 25 April and arrived in New York on “friday Morning the 2d of July.” Although Mother Clare Joseph makes no mention of it in her diary entry for 3 June, that day marked the anniversary of her profession in the Carmel of Antwerp on 3 June 1773.

Dickinson, CJ & FitzGerald, C 1990, The Carmelite adventure: Clare Joseph Dickinson’s journal of a trip to America, and other documents, Carmelite Sisters, Baltimore MD.

Featured image: Nicholas Pocock (British, 1740–1821), The Frigate “Triton” is an oil on canvas painted in 1797. It comes from the collections of the National Maritime Museum, London. Photo credit: National Maritime Museum / ArtUK.

19 November: Saint Raphael of St. Joseph Kalinowski

November 19
SAINT RAPHAEL OF ST. JOSEPH KALINOWSKI
Priest

Memorial

Raphael Kalinowski was born to Polish parents in the city of Vilnius in 1835. Following military service, he was condemned in 1864 to ten years of forced labor in Siberia. In 1877 he became a Carmelite and was ordained a priest in 1882. He contributed greatly to the restoration of the Discalced Carmelites in Poland. His life was distinguished by zeal for Church unity and by his unflagging devotion to his ministry as confessor and spiritual director. He died in Wadowice in 1907.

From the common of pastors or of holy men (religious)

Office of Readings

Second Reading

From the exhortations of Saint Raphael, Religious

(C. Gil, O. Rafał Kalinowski, pp. 109-110)

You must be holy

The Holy Scriptures praise nothing more than a perfect and holy life lived in the exact and perfect fulfillment of each one’s duties. In the Old Testament our Lord and God taught his people and told them: You must be holy because I am holy.

The Eternal Father gave us our Lord Jesus Christ as our teacher, master, and guide. He confirmed and ratified the Old Testament injunction where he taught us that we must emulate the holiness of the Father: You must be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect. How does one become perfect and holy? The Doctors of the Church, the leaders of souls, and the masters of the spiritual life answer: If you would be perfect and become holy, fulfill your duties faithfully.

Once a desert father was asked by a certain young hermit what books he ought to study in order to advance in holiness. The old man replied: My practice is to read two books only. In the morning hours I read the Gospel, and in the evening I read the Rule. The first teaches me the way I should walk as a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. The other teaches me what I should do to be a good religious. That is enough for me.

Let us, therefore, be students of the laws of God so that we may conduct ourselves according to them. When you walk, these will guide you; when you lie down, watch over you; when you wake, talk with you. Wherever we may be or go, may they go with us to direct our footsteps. May they be so near us when we sleep that they may fill our thoughts as soon as we awaken. His voice will speak to us in them. He will refresh us for the day ahead. Through his laws, we will gain the victory over our doubts. We will cast away every obstacle. We will free ourselves of that sluggishness of nature which is the enemy of strength, the foe of devotion, and the lover of ease. The law of life will help us to overcome our fears in the time of temptation and to follow eagerly in the way of obedience. May it always be at hand to counsel us, so that by it we may find the strength to follow God’s call with generous hearts and willing souls.

Responsory

℟ Free your minds, then, of encumbrances, since it is the Holy One who has called you * be holy in all you do.
℣ For it is I, the Lord, who am your God; you have been sanctified and have become holy because I am holy. * Be holy in all you do.

Prayer

Lord God, you made your priest Saint Raphael
strong in adversity and filled him with
a great love in promoting Church unity.
Through his prayers, make us strong in faith
and in love for one another,
that we too may generously work together
for the unity of all believers in Christ.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
God, forever and ever.

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.

#DiscalcedCarmelites #LiturgyOfTheHours #Memorial #priest #StRaphaelKalinowski

Advent Online Retreat: “Mariam, or the Way of the Lord’s Poor”

This year, Saint Mariam (Baouardy) of Jesus Crucified, the “little Arab” born in Palestine, will guide us on our Advent journey toward Christmas. Saint Mariam (1846-1878), a humble Carmelite who learned to read and write as an adult, founded Carmelite monasteries in India and the Holy Land. Her simple and radiant life, led by the Holy Spirit, invites us to let ourselves be loved and transformed by Jesus…

This online retreat was written by Fr. Didier Maury, OCD (from the convent in Avon, France), aided by a Carmelite working group. Carmelite Quotes provided the English translation. The English distribution is organized by Discalced Carmelite friars in the United States in collaboration with ICS Publications in Washington, DC.

Each Friday in your email inbox you’ll receive:
● A meditation on the Gospel and quotes from the Saint
● Practical suggestions to enrich your prayer
● A brief video from our Carmelite friars on the weekly theme
● An Advent calendar with prayer starters for each day

You can also follow the retreat on our Facebook page: Carmelite Retreat Online

Free registration open now! Visit us at:

retreat-online.karmel.at

Please share this with your friends, family, and parish. Together, let’s prepare our hearts to meet Saint Mariam at the crib in Bethlehem.

Copyright © 2025 Carmelo Teresiano, all rights reserved. A collaboration of the Teresian Carmel in Austria, the Edith Stein Society Austria, and the Sisters of Mary of Mount Carmel. The texts for the Carmelite Online Retreat for Advent 2025 were written by the Paris Province of the Carmelites and translated by Carmelite Quotes.

Our address is:
Carmelo Teresiano
Corso d’Italia, 38
Rome 00152
Italy

#AdventRetreat #Bethlehem #DiscalcedCarmelites #MariamOfBethlehem #StMaryOfJesusCrucified

Quote of the day, 26 October: Miguel Márquez, ocd

I would like to wake up and wake you up, if you allow me, dear brothers and sisters, not to the terror of the war that paralyzes, but to the humble courage of those who unite like the first Christians to pray with certain conviction that Jesus on the cross is the victor of history.

We are Discalced Carmelites. We come from hermits who were probably some crusaders and disarmed for another war, no less arduous and difficult.

We come from a woman who spent her life in an inner war to surrender to the Love of her life, and thus to conquer her own freedom as a child of God.

War often reveals that we are outraged but not awake, frightened but not on our feet, angry but not on our way, in solidarity with those far away but not so attentive to those close to us, generous but safe in our comfort zones.

To pray is to wake up to what we are not seeing and recognizing about ourselves, our family, community, and country in this crucial hour of the world, the Church, and Carmel.

Father Miguel Márquez Calle, o.c.d.

Praying in Times of War

Note: Father General Miguel Márquez wrote this letter on 4 April 2022, during Lent, as Russian forces besieged Ukraine. Ten days later, on Holy Week Wednesday, he crossed the Polish-Ukrainian border on foot to meet with Carmelite communities trapped by war. He wrote in his diary: “Before the border, we came across a multitude of NGOs from all over the world in order to give help and support to those who were coming from the Ukrainian side: food, clothing, etc. We found a group of young Spaniards who had come on their own from Cadiz, Malaga, Barcelona… They asked us if we were going to celebrate the ceremonies at the border, because they would like to share in these days of Holy Week.” His call to open convent spaces to refugees, deliver material aid, and stand in solidarity with the suffering was not theoretical — he was announcing what he was about to do himself.

Márquez Calle, M 2022, Praying in Times of War: Teresa’s Carmel Awakens, Order of Discalced Carmelites, viewed 24 October 2025, https://www.carmelitaniscalzi.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/2022-4-4-ING-ORAR-EN-TIEMPOS-DE-GUERRA.pdf.

Featured image: Refugees. Image credit: © jaci XIII / Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0). Image has been cropped and resized.

#awakening #DiscalcedCarmelites #Justice #MiguelMárquezCalle #war

Quote of the day, 9 September: St. Raphael Kalinowski

The Visitation for 1901 was held on September 9 and was repeated every year at about the same time whenever [St. Raphael Kalinowski] was strong enough to undertake the journey. He wrote:

“They sent me to you in spite of my unworthiness. In order to carry out this visit well, I would have to have the spirit of our Father Elijah, our Mother Teresa and our Father John of the Cross, which I don’t have. So if anything good is to happen, it will be the work of God, but I will boast of my weaknesses.”

In the opinion of Kalinowski, the purpose of a canonical visit is found in the Lord’s Prayer: “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” and he used this as a motto for the nuns.

“We are in Carmel,” he would say, “to submit to God in giving up the things of this world, and in that way drawing down on ourselves and others the help we need to attain eternal happiness. The best part of this sacrifice, which is also the most pleasing to God, is that we surrender our will to Him by the vow of obedience. Obedience is the death of one’s own will, but that’s not enough. We need to persevere until death…. Our obedience offers us the perfect opportunity for our will to disappear completely and the will of God to be the guide of our actions. So when is our obedience perfect? We can see it in the mirror which the canonical visitation holds up to us. This is a mirror of our sacred obligations. If you do not obey them perfectly, the visitor will point it out to you, and you should take that as if it came from the lips of God – with respect and joy.”

Timothy Tierney, O.C.D.

Chapter 8, “Vicar Provincial for the Carmelite Nuns”

Note: Saint Raphael Kalinowski was appointed Vicar Provincial for the Discalced Carmelite nuns in Galicia in 1901.

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

Featured image: Ruins of the Discalced Carmelite Monastery in Zagórz, Poland. Image credit: uranos1980 / Adobe Stock.

#DiscalcedCarmelites #nuns #obedience #religiousLife #StRaphaelKalinowski

Quote of the day, 27 August: St. John Paul II

Once again, during my service to the universal Church in the See of Saint Peter, I come to my native town of Wadowice.

With great emotion I gaze upon this city of my childhood years, which witnessed my first steps, my first words and those “first bows” which, as Norwid puts it, are “like the eternal profession of Christ: ‘Be praised!’” (cf. Moja piosenka [My Song]).

The city of my childhood, my family home, the church of my Baptism… I wish to cross these hospitable thresholds, bow before my native soil and its inhabitants, and utter the words of greeting given to family members upon on their return from a long journey: “Praised be Jesus Christ!”

In a particular way, I wish to greet the Discalced Carmelite Fathers of Górka in Wadowice. We are meeting on an exceptional occasion: 27 August this year marks the centenary of the consecration of the Church of Saint Joseph, at the Convent founded by Saint Raphael Kalinowski.

As I did as a young man, I now return in spirit to that place of particular devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, which had such a great influence on the spirituality of the Wadowice area. I myself received many graces there, and today I wish to thank the Lord for them.

I am pleased that I was able to beatify, together with one hundred and eight martyrs, Blessed Father Alfonsus Mary Mazurek, a pupil and later a worthy teacher in the minor seminary attached to the Convent.

I had the opportunity to meet personally this witness of Christ who in 1944, as prior of the convent of Czerna, confirmed his fidelity to God by a martyr’s death.

I kneel in veneration before his relics, which rest in the Church of Saint Joseph, and I give thanks to God for the gift of the life, martyrdom, and holiness of this great Religious.

Saint John Paul II

Homily, Eucharistic celebration in Wadowice, Poland
Wednesday, 16 June 1999

Featured image: Opening of the John Paul II Museum in Wadowice, 9 April 2014. Image credit: M. Śmiarowski / KPRM (Polish Foreign Ministry) / Flickr

#BlessedAlphonsusMaryMazurek #Czerna #DiscalcedCarmelites #friars #homily #martyrs #StJohnPaulII #StRaphaelKalinowski #Wadowice

Quote of the day, 25 August: St. Mary of Jesus Crucified

But I saw His Beatitude the Patriarch long ago. Our Lord showed him to me years ago, even during the lifetime of his predecessor. He told me then: “One day he will be your Father.” I recognized him as soon as I saw him.

Saint Mary of Jesus Crucified

On the 8th of September 1875, feast of the Nativity of Mary, the group participated at Mass and received Communion at the church of Saint Anne, which according to Byzantine tradition, was built by the Crusaders on the birth home of the Virgin. Afterwards the Carmelites were warmly received by the Patriarch of Jerusalem. In the evening they made a moving visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and participated in the Stations of the Cross to the sound of hymns and litanies.

They returned there the next day for the celebration of Mass. As can be imagined, there was great emotion during the visits to holy places: the Cenacle, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Pater Noster cave, and the place of the Ascension on the Mount of Olives.

From the latter the Carmelites were able to see the wonderful panorama before their eyes: to the East the desert of Judah and the Dead Sea, to the West the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock with its golden and purple reflexes.

Father Francesco Zampini
Life and thoughts of Mariam Baouardy the ‘little nothing’, Chapter 18

Zampini, F 2022, Life and Thoughts of Mariam Baouardy: ‘The Little Nothing’, Leontini, C (trans.), Little Red Apple Publishing, Haymarket, NSW.

Featured image: Outer cloister walkway at the Carmel du Pater Noster, Jerusalem. The walls of the monastery church are covered with panels carrying the Lord’s Prayer in different languages. The Swedish and Georgian versions are seen in the foreground. The Carmel is built on the spot where Jerusalem tradition says Jesus taught the Lord’s Prayer to his disciples. Image credit: Alex-David Baldi / Flickr (Some rights reserved).

#CarmelOfBethlehem #Carmelites #DiscalcedCarmelites #foundress #FrFrancescoZampini #FrancescoZampini #GardenOfGethsemane #Jerusalem #LifeAndThoughtsOfMariamBaouardy #mariamBaouardy #MariamOfBethlehem #PatriarchOfJerusalem #StMariam

Quote of the day, 24 April: Pope Francis & St. Teresa

Saint Teresa is above all a teacher of prayer.

The discovery of the humanity of Christ was central to her experience. Moved by the desire to share this personal experience with others, she describes it in a lively and simple manner, within the reach of all, for it consists simply in “being on terms of friendship … with Him who, we know, loves us” (Life, 8:5). 1

Often the narrative itself transforms into a prayer, as if she wished to introduce the reader to her inner dialogue with Christ.

Teresa’s prayer was not reserved to only one space or one moment of the day; it arose spontaneously on many different occasions: “It would be hard if our prayers could only be made in corners” (The Book of the Foundations, 5:16).2

She was certain of the value of constant, albeit not always perfect prayer. The Saint asks us to be persevering, faithful, even in the midst of aridity, of personal difficulties or of the pressing needs that call to us.

Starting with her encounter with Jesus, St. Teresa lived “another life”; she became a tireless communicator of the Gospel (cf. Life, 23:1).3 With the desire to serve the Church, and confronted by the serious problems of her time, she did not limit herself to being a spectator of the reality that surrounded her. As a woman with health problems, she decided — she says — “to do the little which lay in my power, viz. to follow the evangelical counsels with all the perfection I could, and to induce the few nuns who are here to do the same” (The Way of Perfection, 1:2).4

Thus began the Teresian reform, in which she asked her sisters not to waste time praying to God about “things of little importance” while “the world is on fire” (Way, 1:5).5

This missionary and ecclesial dimension has always distinguished the Discalced Carmelite men and women.

Today, as then, the Saint opens new horizons for us, she convokes us to a great undertaking, in order to look at the world through Christ’s eyes, to seek what He seeks, and to love what He loves.

Pope Francis

Letter for the Fifth Centenary of the Birth of Saint Teresa of Jesus (2015)

Note: The English quotations in this excerpt are drawn from Pope Francis’s 2015 letter for the Fifth Centenary of the Birth of Saint Teresa, translated from the original Spanish. For reference, the corresponding passages in The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, translated by Kavanaugh and Rodriguez (ICS Publications), read as follows:

1. Life 8:5: “Mental prayer in my opinion is nothing else than an intimate sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with Him who we know loves us.” ↩︎
2. Foundations 5:16: “It would be a thing hard to bear if we were able to pray only when off in some corner.” ↩︎
3. Life 23:1: “This is another, new book from here on — I mean another, new life.” ↩︎
4. Way 1:2: “I resolved to do the little that was in my power; that is, to follow the evangelical counsels as perfectly as I could and strive that these few persons who live here do the same.” ↩︎
5. Way 1:5: “This is not the time to be discussing with God matters that have little importance… The world is all in flames.” ↩︎

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: Our featured image is a detail from Diego Velasquez’s portrait of Saint Teresa, created in 1630. It is currently held in a private collection. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites (Public domain).

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
Do I keep prayer in a corner, or let it accompany my whole day?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments.

#Centenary #DiscalcedCarmelites #mission #PopeFrancis #prayer #StTeresaOfAvila

Quote of the day, 23 April: Sr. María José, ocd

Francis, a Pope Close to Carmel

Published 21 April 2025 by Sister María José, o.c.d.
Teresa, de la rueca a la pluma blog, Carmel of Puzol

This Easter Monday, Pope Francis has departed for the Father’s house. His death saddens us, yet it also fills us with hope—the hope that comes from knowing that someone who spent his life serving the Church has now encountered the merciful face of God.

From this corner of Carmel, we wish to remember him with special gratitude. Throughout his pontificate, Pope Francis showed heartfelt affection toward our family. He accompanied us with profound words, with simple gestures, and with a closeness we will not forget.

In 2015, on the occasion of the Fifth Centenary of the Birth of Saint Teresa of Jesus, he wrote two letters: one to the Order and another to the bishop of Ávila. In them, he recalled how the Saint, after her encounter with Christ, began to live “another life” and became a tireless communicator of the Gospel. He said that she did not want to be a “spectator” in a world that was burning, but gave herself—out of her littleness—to follow and live the Gospel radically. “This missionary and ecclesial dimension,” he wrote, “has always distinguished the Discalced Carmelite men and women.”

He also affirmed—beautifully and truthfully—that it would be wonderful to have Teresa before us and ask her so many things. But, he added, her witness continues to encourage us to enter into God, in order to go out and serve our brothers and sisters.

Years later, on the 50th anniversary of Teresa’s being declared a Doctor of the Church, he wrote about her again. He called her “an exceptional woman” and recalled that her flame still shines in this world, so in need of courageous witnesses.

Little Thérèse was also very present in his pontificate. He had a deep devotion to her. In 2023, he published an apostolic exhortation on her “little way” of confidence in God’s merciful love. “It is trust,” he wrote, that “enables us to put into God’s hands what he alone can accomplish.”

Exactly one year ago, in April 2024, he met with a group of Discalced Carmelite nuns who were preparing to draft new Constitutions. He spoke to them with tenderness and clarity: “The contemplative vocation is not about tending embers, but rather about fanning into flame a fire that can continue to burn.”

His final great gesture toward the Order was the beatification of Mother Anne of Jesus in Brussels on 29 September. There, he recalled how, in the midst of difficult times, her simple life—marked by prayer and charity—drew many to the faith.

Throughout these years, Pope Francis carried the saints of Carmel in his heart. And he taught us, as they did, to trust, to serve, and to walk with simplicity.

Today, we bid him farewell with deep gratitude. And we pray that he now hears the words he longed to hear:

“Well done, good and faithful servant; enter into the joy of your Lord” (Mt 25:21).

http://delaruecaalapluma.com/2025/04/21/francisco-un-papa-cercano-al-carmelo/

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

Featured image: Screenshot from Vatican Media livestream of Pope Francis’s visit to the Discalced Carmelite nuns in Madagascar on Saturday, 7 September 2019. One of the sisters is shown kissing the Holy Father’s hand. Used for editorial and educational purposes only. © Vatican Media. All rights reserved.

#BlessedAnneOfJesus #death #DiscalcedCarmelites #nuns #PopeFrancis #StTeresaOfAvila #StThérèseOfLisieux

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, 24 November: Blessed Anne of Jesus

To the Reverend Father Fray Diego de Guevara, of the Order of St. Augustine, in Salamanca:

May the Holy Spirit, through His grace, strengthen Your Reverence, my lord and Father.

If Your Reverence could see how poorly they treat our good God in these lands, what is suffered there would seem like nothing. We do not consider what pertains to His Majesty, for if we truly felt it, we would forget ourselves and cease to notice whether people approve or disapprove of us.

I would desire that they would treat me with all the contempt and scorn they reserved for the One whom they neither knew nor wanted to know, and that we pay no attention to anything except what brings us closer to His Majesty, who was considered worse than Barabbas—and still is.

These days I no longer have the strength to remain where such public offenses are committed, and I long for the hour of my return there [to Salamanca]. My only desire is to first leave the governance of our Order to these convents, for through divine mercy God is greatly served in them.

I have given much thanks to His Majesty for placing my Father Fray Basilio de León in the Chair of Theology [Cátedra de Prima]. May Your Reverence remind him of his intention to print the book of our Holy Mother in Latin.

Oh, how it would console me if Your Reverence could see her heart [the relic of St. Teresa’s heart preserved in the conventual church in Alba de Tormes], which endured such great afflictions to please our Lord! With that, she persevered, for there is no balm like suffering for the love of God.

May Your Reverence always commend me to His Majesty, for I am much in need of it. I ask the same of our Father Maestro Antolínez, who now enjoys his peace. The same will be true, I hope, of the Señor Maestro Curiel, though I do not know if he will let him rest. I am not writing to him until I have a resolution on what Father Fray Íñigo de Brizuela is negotiating.

I ask Your Reverence to pass along my regards to him and to accept those of the Mother Subprioress, along with her prayers and those of all. Without Your Reverence, I cannot forget to offer my own prayers for all, both living and deceased, whom I hold in particular affection.

May God enkindle His love in our souls, and with it, may Your Reverence remain, as I humbly pray.

In Brussels, July 4, 1609
Ana de Jesús

P.S. Since I am commanded to send something of mine, I send this baby Jesus.

Blessed Anne of Jesus

Letter 25 to Father Diego de Guevara, O.S.A.

Note: Fray Diego de Guevara (1567–1633), a Spanish Augustinian friar and spiritual writer, maintained a significant connection with the Carmelites, particularly through his relationship with Blessed Anne of Jesus. His extensive correspondence with her reflects a deep spiritual and intellectual engagement, offering guidance and theological discourse. Notably, Guevara authored the Deposición original acerca de la vida, virtudes y milagros de Santa Teresa de Jesús, providing key insights into St. Teresa of Avila’s sanctity. As prior of several prominent convents, including Salamanca, Guevara played an influential role in the spiritual life of his era and engaged closely with Carmelite reformers.

de Jesús, A & Torres Sánchez, C 1995, Ana de Jesús Cartas (1590–1621): Religiosidad y vida cotidiana en la clausura femenina del Siglo de Oro, 1st edn, Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca. Available at: https://archive.org/details/anadejesuscartas0000anad [Accessed 23 November 2024].

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

Featured image: The Infant Jesus of Beaune, “the Little King of Grace”, is one of the four main miraculous “Infant Jesus” statues. This is a painted, articulated wooden statuette, 58 cm. in height, dressed in sumptuous garments. It was presented to Venerable Margaret of the Blessed Sacrament for Christmas 1643 by Baron de Renty, Normand Gaston, in gratitude for their spiritual friendship. Image credit: melina1965 / Flickr (Some rights reserved)

#BlessedAnneOfJesus #Brussels #ChristTheKing #DiscalcedCarmelites #love #nuns #relic #Salamanca #StTeresaOfAvila

St. Raphael Kalinowski: From Siberia to Carmel

The time for [Kalinowski’s departure for Siberia] duly arrived. He took with him into exile a copy of the New Testament together with the book of Job and the Psalms, the Imitation of Christ, and his crucifix. Having in mind the biblical command (‘pack your bag for exile’ – Jer 46:19), Kalinowski relates: “On June 29, 1864, the long terrible march began.”

Father Timothy Tierney, O.C.D.

Saint Raphael Kalinowski’s journey from forced exile in Siberia to the cloisters of Carmel is a testament to the transformative power of faith. His life exemplifies perseverance, trust in God, and the ability to find meaning even in the harshest trials. As we celebrate his feast day, we reflect on his remarkable story and the spiritual depth that carried him through this journey.

On the solemn feast of Saints Peter and Paul, June 29, 1864, Józef Kalinowski began his ten-month journey into exile. Crowded into train cars with fellow prisoners, he described the scene as resembling a funeral procession. Flowers were thrown onto the train by onlookers—a gesture of farewell that symbolized both sorrow and hope.

Despite the harrowing conditions, Józef carried with him a spiritual arsenal: the Scriptures, The Imitation of Christ, and a crucifix. These companions sustained him, shaping his faith and preparing him for his future mission as a Carmelite friar and reformer.

Saint Raphael’s time in Siberia planted the seeds of his spiritual renewal, which later bore fruit in his Carmelite vocation and his restoration of the Teresian Carmel in Poland. His story of endurance and trust in God continues to inspire Carmelites today.

There’s so much more to explore about Saint Raphael Kalinowski’s remarkable life. For an in-depth look at his journey and his impact on the Teresian Carmel and the Church, click the YouTube link below to discover his inspiring story.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xMNJRvTYVg

Tierney, T  2016,  Saint Raphael Kalinowski: Apprenticed to Sainthood in Siberia,  Balboa Press,  Bloomington, IN

Featured image: Dall-e creates a dreamlike image of Russian prisoners like St. Raphael Kalinowski bound for the salt mines in Siberia. AI-generated art using the prompt “Russian train from 1864, used to transport prisoners to Siberia.” Image credit: ChatGPT / Carmelite Quotes (Some rights reserved)

#DiscalcedCarmelites #exile #imitationOfChrist #Poland #politicalPrisoner #restoration #Siberia #StRaphaelKalinowski

19 November: Saint Raphael of St. Joseph Kalinowski

November 19
SAINT RAPHAEL OF ST. JOSEPH KALINOWSKI
Priest

Memorial

Raphael Kalinowski was born to Polish parents in the city of Vilnius in 1835. Following military service, he was condemned in 1864 to ten years of forced labor in Siberia. In 1877 he became a Carmelite and was ordained a priest in 1882. He contributed greatly to the restoration of the Discalced Carmelites in Poland. His life was distinguished by zeal for Church unity and by his unflagging devotion to his ministry as confessor and spiritual director. He died in Wadowice in 1907.

From the common of pastors or of holy men (religious)

Office of Readings

Second Reading

From the exhortations of Saint Raphael, Religious

(C. Gil, O. Rafał Kalinowski, pp. 109-110)

You must be holy

The Holy Scriptures praise nothing more than a perfect and holy life lived in the exact and perfect fulfillment of each one’s duties. In the Old Testament our Lord and God taught his people and told them: You must be holy because I am holy.

The Eternal Father gave us our Lord Jesus Christ as our teacher, master, and guide. He confirmed and ratified the Old Testament injunction where he taught us that we must emulate the holiness of the Father: You must be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect. How does one become perfect and holy? The Doctors of the Church, the leaders of souls, and the masters of the spiritual life answer: If you would be perfect and become holy, fulfill your duties faithfully.

Once a desert father was asked by a certain young hermit what books he ought to study in order to advance in holiness. The old man replied: My practice is to read two books only. In the morning hours I read the Gospel, and in the evening I read the Rule. The first teaches me the way I should walk as a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. The other teaches me what I should do to be a good religious. That is enough for me.

Let us, therefore, be students of the laws of God so that we may conduct ourselves according to them. When you walk, these will guide you; when you lie down, watch over you; when you wake, talk with you. Wherever we may be or go, may they go with us to direct our footsteps. May they be so near us when we sleep that they may fill our thoughts as soon as we awaken. His voice will speak to us in them. He will refresh us for the day ahead. Through his laws, we will gain the victory over our doubts. We will cast away every obstacle. We will free ourselves of that sluggishness of nature which is the enemy of strength, the foe of devotion, and the lover of ease. The law of life will help us to overcome our fears in the time of temptation and to follow eagerly in the way of obedience. May it always be at hand to counsel us, so that by it we may find the strength to follow God’s call with generous hearts and willing souls.

Responsory

R./ Free your minds, then, of encumbrances, since it is the Holy One who has called you * be holy in all you do.
V./ For it is I, the Lord, who am your God; you have been sanctified and have become holy because I am holy. * Be holy in all you do.

Prayer

Lord God, you made your priest Saint Raphael
strong in adversity and filled him with
a great love in promoting Church unity.
Through his prayers, make us strong in faith
and in love for one another,
that we too may generously work together
for the unity of all believers in Christ.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
God, forever and ever.

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.

#DiscalcedCarmelites #LiturgyOfTheHours #Memorial #priest #StRaphaelKalinowski

In this podcast episode, we explore St. Teresa of Avila’s journey to reform the Carmelite Order. Faced with the challenges of her time, Teresa sought to establish a new community where her nuns could live in simplicity and devote themselves fully to prayer. Though she had initial concerns, especially regarding the level of poverty the community would embrace, Teresa moved forward with trust and determination.

As she reflected:

“When I began to take the first steps toward founding this monastery… it was not my intention that there be so much external austerity or that the house have no income… One day after Communion, His Majesty earnestly commanded me to strive for this new monastery with all my powers, and He made great promises that it would be founded and that He would be highly served in it. He said it should be called St. Joseph…”

This episode goes beyond simply retelling Teresa’s story. We’ll also explore the key points from her teachings that continue to inspire spiritual growth and renewal today.

Click the YouTube link below to listen to the full episode!

https://youtu.be/VwQCiXyv05w?si=JtxguO_2WDvKtX72

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: Monjas Carmelitas ante Ávila by the Italian painter Guido Caprotti was executed in oil on canvas in 1938. It forms part of the Caprotti Collection in the Palacio Superunda, Avila. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/10/15/stj-s2ep26/

#DiscalcedCarmelites #DoctorOfTheChurch #founder #heritage #nuns #Podcast #StJosephSAvila #StTeresaOfAvila

Mother Teresa,

I received your letter, and since the undertaking you are asking me to comment on is of such service to the Lord, I wanted to entrust it to my humble prayers and sacrifices. This has been the cause of my delay in responding to you.

Now I say, in the name of the Lord himself, be encouraged in such a great endeavor, for He will assist and favor you. On His behalf, I assure you that within 50 years, your order [the Discalced Carmelites] will be one of the most illustrious in the Church of God, which will preserve you, etc.

From Valencia,
Luis Beltrán

Saint Louis Bertrand

Note: In this 1561 letter to Saint Teresa, Saint Louis Bertrand offers his advice concerning the foundation of the first Carmelite monastery of the Discalced reform, the Carmel of St. Joseph in Avila. The following year, Louis Bertrand began a fruitful mission in the Americas and the Caribbean, while St. Teresa established her first reformed monastery in Avila. Louis Bertrand died at age 55 on 9 October 1581, one year before the passing of St. Teresa. The fulfillment of Louis’ prophecy concerning the growth of the Teresian Carmel within 50 years was submitted as proof of his sanctity during his cause for canonization. We are grateful to Father Ivan Mora Pernia, O.C.D. for providing the text of St. Louis Bertrand’s letter.

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

Featured image: Dominican photographer Father Lawrence Lew, O.P. captured this portrait of Saint Louis Bertrand, which is found in the Dominican Church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva in Rome. Image credit: Fr. Lawrence Lew O.P. / Flickr (Some rights reserved)

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/10/08/sanluisb-ltr2stj/

#DiscalcedCarmelites #Dominican #encouragement #foundation #letter #prayer #prophetic #StLouisBertrand #StTeresaOfAvila #TeresianReform

I saw three Carmelites dressed in their mantles and long veils. It appeared to me they were coming for our mother, but what I did understand clearly was that they came from heaven. In the depths of my heart, I cried out: “Oh! how happy I would be if I could see the face of one of these Carmelites!” Then, as though my prayer were heard by her, the tallest of the saints advanced toward me; immediately I fell to my knees. Oh! what happiness! The Carmelite raised her veil or rather she raised it and covered me with it. Without the least hesitation, I recognized Venerable Anne of Jesus, Foundress of Carmel in France.

Saint Thérèse of Lisieux

Manuscript B, folios 1v-2v
Letter to Sister Marie of the Sacred Heart (excerpt)
8 September 1896

As we celebrate St. Thérèse of Lisieux’s feast day, we also reflect on the recent beatification of Blessed Anne of Jesus, a key figure in expanding the Carmelite reform. Anne’s leadership established Carmels across France, including Dijon, where St. Elizabeth of the Trinity would later flourish.

In a dream in 1897, Anne appeared to Thérèse, offering reassurance about her Little Way—the simple, yet profound path of trust and love. This dream affirmed Thérèse’s spiritual path during a time of great physical and emotional suffering.

Anne of Jesus also had a lasting influence on other great Carmelites, including the Blessed Carmelite Martyrs of Compiègne and Blessed Mary of Jesus Crucified, who entered Carmel at Pau. Their spiritual lineage traces back to the foundational work of Anne, whose legacy continues to inspire today.

Meanwhile, Thérèse’s influence as a Doctor of the Church, recognized by St. John Paul II in 1997, affirms the depth of her teachings. As the Pope wrote in his Apostolic Letter Divini Amoris Scientia, Thérèse’s Little Way embodies a profound understanding of the Gospel, making her a guide for all those who seek God’s face.

Listen to the episode “Anne and Thérèse: A Living Legacy” embedded below to discover more about their intertwined lives and how their spiritual legacies continue to shape the Church today.

https://youtu.be/Ykk-xrQv5Lw?si=nC2ogsKc5A3KLEiA

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.

Featured image: On the left, this detail of a portrait of Venerable Anne of Jesus is a treasured 17th c. painting at the Carmel of Pontoise, France. Found in the online database of the French Ministry of Culture, this portrait of Venerable Anne is a reduced and simplified copy of a painting kept in the Carmel of the Incarnation in Clamart, France. It is based on an engraving by the famous Antwerp artist Hieronymus Wierix (1553–1619). [Photo credit: © Ministère de la Culture (France), Médiathèque du patrimoine et de la photographie, diffusion RMN-GP]. On the right, Austrian artist Emil Beischläger (1897–1977) created this oil on canvas portrait of St. Thérèse around 1925, which was the year of her canonization [Image credit: artnet.com].

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/10/01/s2ep24annetherese/

#BlessedAnneOfJesus #DiscalcedCarmelites #DoctorOfTheChurch #dream #founder #France #heritage #nuns #Podcast #StThérèseOfLisieux #StJohnPaulII

Gallipoli Carmelite monastery
25 February 1910

Most Reverend Mother Agnes of Jesus,

May the grace of the Holy Spirit always dwell in the soul of Your Reverence. Amen.

I’m sorry for the unintentional delay in replying to your two precious letters. Many things have come up that made me fail in this duty, but I’m sure you, with your great kindness, will understand and forgive me.

You can imagine how happy I was to receive your writings and how fortunate I feel to be able to ask for prayers from the blood sister of dear Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus, whom I consider such a close confidante! Even though she’s in Heaven, this beautiful soul continues to help us here on earth, especially poor sinners.

So, it won’t surprise you, my dear Mother, that our beloved Sister Thérèse, as an angel interceding before the Heart of Jesus, performed a miracle in our monastery, working through the least of this holy community.

I’m sending you the account in Italian as you requested, but please keep it private for now. There’s a large official document in Rome with the signatures of all the sisters, the bishop, and a commission of priests, including even a holy priest from the Society of Jesus!

On the night before January 16th this year, I was not feeling well. At 3:00 a.m., almost at the limit of my strength, I managed to sit up a bit in bed to catch my breath and then drifted off to sleep.

I had a dream where I felt a hand touching me, pulling up my blanket and covering me lovingly. I thought it was one of the sisters being kind to me, so without opening my eyes, I said: “Leave me alone, don’t fan me, I’m soaked. This isn’t helping. I feel like life is leaving me.”

Then a voice I didn’t recognize said: “No, my daughter, it is a good thing, and it will not take your life.”

As she continued covering me, she smiled and added: “See, the Lord uses both the inhabitants of Heaven and earth. Here are five hundred lire to pay your community’s debt.”

Taking the money, I told her that our debt was only three hundred lire, and she replied: “The rest is extra, but since you can’t keep money in your cell, come with me.”

Without answering, I thought to myself: “How can I get up, drenched in sweat like this?”

But reading my thoughts, she smiled again and said: “Bilocation will take care of that.”

Suddenly, I found myself outside my cell with a young Carmelite nun. Her habit and veil radiated a heavenly light that lit up our path. She led me to the turn room, where she opened a wooden box with the bill for our community’s debt inside and handed me the five hundred lire. I was overjoyed and amazed and bowed down to thank her, saying: “Oh, my Blessed Mother!”

But she lovingly lifted me up and said: “No, my daughter, I’m not Our Blessed Mother. I’m the servant of God, Sister Thérèse of Lisieux! Today is a feast in Heaven and on earth, for it is the feast of the Holy Name of Jesus.”

I was moved and amazed, and without knowing what to say, I exclaimed from the bottom of my heart: “My God!” but I couldn’t finish. Then this heavenly sister touched my veil, as if to adjust it, gave me a gentle, sisterly caress, and began to walk away.

“Wait,” I called out to her, “you might go the wrong way!”

She smiled angelically and replied: “No, no, my daughter, my way is safe and I was not mistaken.”

I woke up, and despite feeling exhausted, I forced myself to get up, go to the Choir, and receive Holy Communion.

The sisters noticed I wasn’t well and wanted to call the doctor. I went through the sacristy, and when the two sacristy nuns insisted I go back to bed and call the doctor, I told them that I’d had a dream that had shaken me a little, and I recounted it simply.

They then insisted that I check the wooden box, but I told them that we shouldn’t believe in dreams and that doing so was even a sin. Eventually, because of their persistence, I went with them to the turn, opened the box, and there… we found the miraculous five-hundred-lire note!

I leave the rest to your reflection!

My dear Mother, we are all so humbled by such kindness, and we eagerly await the day when our dear Sister Thérèse, our great protector, will be raised to the honors of the altar!

Could you send me the life of this Angel in Italian? It would bring me great joy, and I will be forever grateful. I also want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the lovely picture you sent me. May the good Lord reward you abundantly for your kindness.

Please accept the warmest regards from the whole community, who entrust themselves to your prayers.

And, dear Mother, may I ask for your prayers for my own soul? I know you will pray for me, and please consider me one of your sisters (even though I am so unworthy!), as I am the same age as your heavenly sister!

Sister Maria Carmela of the Heart of Jesus,
unworthy Carmelite religious

Note: We share the text of the letter sent by the prioress of the Carmel of Gallipoli, Mother Maria Carmela of the Heart of Jesus, to Lisieux, addressed to Mother Agnès, the sister of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus.

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

Featured image: This is a detail of a stained glass window created by artist Sr. Margaret Agnes Rope, O.C.D. for Holy Name parish in Oxton, Birkenhead (Cheshire) England, which is one of the best-loved stained glass images of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. You can learn more about Sr. Margaret from her sisters at the Quidenham Carmel in England. Image credit: Arthur Rope / Wikimedia Commons (For the common good)

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/09/24/gallipoli-ltr1910/

#CarmelOfGallipoli #CarmelOfLisieux #DiscalcedCarmelites #dream #miracles #money #MotherAgnèsOfJesus #StThérèseOfLisieux #theTurn

History of the Canonization of Saint Thérèse

On May 17, 1925, Pius XI, surrounded by 23 cardinals and 250 bishops, processed to the canonization [Mass] of Thérèse. Among the 50,000 faithful who came to Rome, only 5,000 were able to enter St. Peter’s Basilica and hear the pope pronounce the solemn formula declaring that the humble Carmelite of Lisieux could henceforth be called: “Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus.”

Two miracles were required at the time of Thérèse’s canonization process to move from beatification to canonization. Once these miracles were authenticated, the pope could proclaim the canonization and authorize and recommend the veneration of this new saint in the universal Church.

In Thérèse’s case, the two miracles chosen for her canonization were:

• The healing of Sister Gabriela Trimusi, from the Poor Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (Parma, Italy), from tuberculosis of the vertebrae (1923);
• The healing of Maria Pellemans (a Belgian who came on pilgrimage to the tomb of Blessed Thérèse) from intestinal tuberculosis. She had suffered from her illness since 1919.

Maria Pellemans sent her testimony to the Carmel of Lisieux:

It was in the parlor of the Carmel that I conceived the desire to ask for my healing, so that I could realize the dream of my life, to become a Carmelite. (…) Despite my extreme fatigue, I wanted to return to the tomb. As soon as I was there, a very sweet and supernatural feeling completely enveloped me… A heavenly sense of well-being penetrated my soul and body, I felt as if I were in another world, flooded with an ocean of peace. (…) Filled with such extraordinary emotion, I thought to myself: I am surely healed! (…)

On Tuesday, March 27, we returned home. My father, very moved, could not believe my healing. The doctor, having heard of the miracle, came to visit me. He examined me thoroughly, then, shaken as well, he concluded:

“I don’t understand, I find you completely changed, this cannot be explained naturally, as the stomach and intestines were incurable… Yes, if this transformation persists, it could be said that it is a great miracle.”

Guy Gaucher, O.C.D.

History of the Canonization of Saint Thérèse

Note: The Archives of the Carmel of Lisieux share this account from Antoinette Guise Castelnuovo concerning the “miracle of Gallipoli“:

Another miraculous event was the subject of a canonical investigation due to the stir it caused, both locally and among Sister Thérèse’s friends: it is the miracle of Gallipoli. Accounts tell that Thérèse appeared to the prioress of a poor Carmelite monastery in Apulia in 1910. She provided material assistance to her community and confirmed the validity of her spiritual path by telling Mother Carmela: ‘My way is sure, and I was not mistaken in following it.’ Gallipoli has since become a place of pilgrimage and an important center for spreading Thérèsian spirituality in Italy.

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. 

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

Featured image: Photographer Jason Shallcross captures an image of creamy white roses. Image credit: Jason Shallcross / Flickr (Some rights reserved)

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/09/23/guy-miracles/

#canonization #CarmelOfLisieux #DiscalcedCarmelites #GuyGaucherOCD_ #history #LittleWay #miracles #StThérèseOfLisieux #tuberculosis

Our Discalced Carmelite nuns in Puzol (Valencia), Spain have provided a summary of the initial conclusions of medical researchers during their on-site examination of Saint Teresa’s incorrupt remains. We present our translation and a link to the original article on their blog, “Teresa, de la rueca a la pluma.”

On August 30th, the first phase of the study of the remains of St. Teresa of Avila was completed in Alba de Tormes, which has already provided initial evidence about the saint’s health in the last years of her life.

“The medical team has concluded, after this initial on-site analysis, that Teresa had a very fragile physical constitution. For at least the last few years, her posture was severely affected by kyphosis, causing her to walk with a pronounced stoop,” reported Fr. Marco Chiesa, OCD, Postulator General of the Discalced Carmelite Order.

Fr. Marco pointed out that kyphosis resulted in an exaggerated forward curvature of St. Teresa’s upper back. Kyphosis is usually due to the weakness of the bones of the spine, which causes them to fracture and compress, although the medical team has indicated that St. Teresa did not suffer from osteoporosis.

“The deformation of the vertebrae of the spine forced Teresa to breathe with difficulty, at least in the last years of her life,” concluded Father Marco Chiesa. From a medical point of view, in this initial analysis, it was found that the Saint suffered from rheumatism and osteoarthritis in the left knee.

Similarly, the Discalced Carmelite Postulator General explained that Teresa of Avila suffered from plantar fasciitis in the last years of her life. “The doctors indicate that this injury must have caused her a lot of pain when walking,” said Father Chiesa.

For his part, Father Miguel Ángel González, OCD, the prior of Alba de Tormes, said that according to this initial examination, she used both her right and left hands with equal precision, which raises the possibility that she could have been ambidextrous. Until now, it was known (St. Teresa wrote about it) that on December 24, 1577, she broke her left arm in Saint Joseph’s monastery in Avila and that in May 1578, a healer from Medina del Campo reset it.

Father Miguel Ángel explained:

“This preliminary analysis indicates that there was no fracture in the left arm. There was a dislocation, especially in the wrist. When the healer from Medina del Campo was able to help her after several months, she and an assistant pulled the arm and dislocated the shoulder. In other words, the cure was worse than the disease. That arm remained quite useless for the last five years of her life.”

This issue of the arm is very well documented in the writings of St. Teresa herself and in the testimonies for her beatification.

“God was pleased that it wasn’t my right arm that suffered the damage, and so I can write this” (Letter 235, March 1578). She also wrote to Father Gracián about her visit to the healer in Medina del Campo: “I had lost the use of my wrist, for it has been a long time since I fell. So the pain and toil were terrible […]. I can move the hand well and lift the arm as far as my head” (Letter 244, 7 May 1578).

The medical team working in Alba de Tormes indicates that before the accident in 1577, the Saint used her left hand a lot and without difficulty. The reports presented by the doctors will help to clarify if she was ambidextrous.

Closure of the Sepulcher

After the conclusion of this first phase, the silver casket was closed with its four corresponding keys. Following the closure, the casket with the body of the saint was transferred to the upper chapel of the basilica from the cloister where it had remained for two days. The same people participated in the transfer two days ago.

“The silver casket with the saint’s body has been placed inside, and the marble slab has been put in place, closing it with its three corresponding keys. The grille was then locked with its three keys,” Father Miguel Ángel González, Prior of Alba de Tormes, said.

The arm, the heart, and the hand have been placed in their corresponding reliquaries, which have undergone a cleaning process. The heart and the arm have been put back in the chapel, where they remain as usual.

With the information collected, the second stage of this process will begin in Italian laboratories and research centers. The researchers announced that there is much work to be done and they will present their conclusions about the saintly remains at the appropriate time.

Father Marco Chiesa restated the previous information:

“The first stage of this on-site process in Alba de Tormes has concluded, and the second stage will now begin in Italian research laboratories. It will last several months. During 2025, the researchers will reach their conclusions, and the third stage will take place in Alba de Tormes.”

http://delaruecaalapluma.com/2024/08/30/fragilidades-fisicas-de-teresa-a-la-luz-de-la-investigacion-de-sus-restos/

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

Featured image: The Discalced Carmelite nuns of the Monastery of the Annunciation of Our Lady in Alba de Tormes, Spain, gathered with the Discalced Carmelite friars from the Iberian Province as they returned the silver casket of St. Teresa of Avila to its resting place in the marble sepulcher of the monastery. Father Miguel Ángel González, OCD, prior of the Discalced Carmelite friars in Alba de Tormes (fourth from the right, next to the sepulcher), and Discalced Carmelite Postulator General Father Marco Chiesa, OCD (fifth from the right), presided over the solemn rite. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites / delaruecaalapluma.com

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/08/31/stj-closecasket/

#AlbaDeTormes #DiscalcedCarmelites #illness #medicalTreatment #PostulatorGeneral #ProvinceOfIbérica #science #StTeresaOfAvila #study #suffering

The body of St. Teresa of Avila is still incorrupt almost five centuries after her death.

“Today the tomb of St. Teresa was opened and we found it to be in the same condition as at the last opening in 1914.”

This was the most anticipated statement on the 28th of August, and it was pronounced by the Postulator General of the Discalced Carmelite Order, Father Marco Chiesa. And, it is the first conclusion the experts reached after opening the tomb of the Saint of Avila on August 28th, whose body has remained incorrupt since 1582.

The Carmelites detailed how the process took place, beginning with opening and transferring the casket to a scientific workroom in the cloistered area of the monastery.

Fr. Miguel Angel González, OCD explained that early in the morning, “the community of Discalced Carmelite nuns together with the Postulator General of the Order, the members of the ecclesiastical tribunal, and a small group of religious transferred the casket with austerity and solemnity to the place prepared for the study. We did it singing the Te Deum with our hearts full of emotion.”

The process of reaching the silver casket containing the body of St. Teresa is very complex.

First, they had to remove the marble slab covering the tomb. Then, in the room set up for the study of the major relics of the saint, the silver casket was opened in the presence of only the scientific team and members of the ecclesiastical tribunal: they indicated that the casket captured their attention for its “excellent” craftsmanship and its “magnificent” state of conservation.

The silver casket was a gift from King Ferdinand VI (1713–1759) and his wife Barbara of Portugal (1711–1758).

Beginning with the study of the relics of the heart, arm, and hand of St. Teresa, the friars and researchers have collaborated with Salamanca goldsmiths Ignacio Manzano Martin and Constantino Martin Jaen who will be present on the first and last day of work.

The famous ten keys to the tomb have been used: three kept in Alba de Tormes, three on loan from the Duke of Alba, and three kept in Rome by the Discalced Carmelite Father General, in addition to the king’s key. Three of these keys open the exterior grille, three open the marble sepulcher, and the other four are used to open the silver casket.

Before beginning the study of the body, those present prayed before the remains of the Doctor of the Church and then proceeded to an initial visual inspection, from which it was concluded that the body was still incorrupt, just as it was in 1914. This study’s spiritual aspect is to determine St. Teresa’s state at the time of her death.

“We know that in her final years, it was difficult for her to walk, judging from the pain that she herself describes. Sometimes, looking at a body, you discover more than the person had. Analyzing the foot in Rome, we saw the presence of bone spurs that made it almost impossible to walk. But she walked anyway. Then came Alba de Tormes, and then death, but her desire was to go on and on, despite her physical defects,” Father Chiesa explained.

Likewise, the Postulator of the Order recalled that the 1914 photos are in black and white, so “it is difficult to make a comparison.”

Nevertheless, he affirmed that “the uncovered parts, which are the face and foot, are the same as they were in 1914. There is no color, no skin color, because the skin is mummified, but you can see it, especially in the middle of the face. It looks good. The medical experts, they can almost see Teresa’s face clearly,” he stressed.

Regarding the outcome of the studies underway, the Postulator General has asserted that it is too early to give details.

”The Order sees fit to do this work and it will be the specialists who will give us their conclusions after their exhaustive work. We know from similar studies that we will be able to know data of great interest about Teresa and also recommendations for the conservation of the relics, but that will be at another stage,” said Father Marco Chiesa.

See photos from the Diócesis de Ávila

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wtzbKby6Bc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x17iroMJFk8

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

Featured image: The prior of the Discalced Carmelite friars of Salamanca kneels next to the silver casket of St. Teresa, surrounded by a delegation of nuns from the Carmel of Alba de Tormes and Discalced Carmelite friars from the Iberian Province. On the left is the General Postulator of the Discalced Carmelites, Father Marco Chiesa. The ecclesiastical tribunal for the aforementioned studies consists of the Episcopal Delegate, Francisco Sánchez Oreja, OCD, Provincial of the Iberian Province of St. Teresa of Jesus in Spain. The Promoter of Justice is Miguel Ángel González González, OCD, Prior of Alba de Tormes and Salamanca. The notary of the tribunal is Remigia Blázquez Martín, Superior of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul in Alba de Tormes. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites / Diocese of Avila

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/08/28/stj2024sepulcro/

#AlbaDeTormes #DiscalcedCarmelites #friars #news #nuns #science #StTeresaOfAvila #study #tomb

Discover how St. Teresa of Avila's reform began with divine inspiration and a desire for deeper prayer. Learn more about the founding of St. Joseph's monastery in Avila. #DiscalcedCarmelites

http://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/08/23/edith-24aug1562/

Let us go on to other things that are also quite important, although they may seem small. Everything seems to be a heavy burden, and rightly so, because it involves a war against ourselves. But once we begin to work, God does so much in the soul and grants it so many favors that all that one can do in this life seems little….

Why should we, then, delay in practicing interior mortification? For interior mortification makes everything else more meritorious and perfect, and afterward enables us to do the other things with greater ease and repose. This interior mortification is acquired, as I have said by proceeding gradually, not giving in to our own will and appetites, even in little things, until the body is completely surrendered to the spirit [cf. Way, chap. 11, no. 5: “this determination is more important than we realize”].

The least that any of us who has truly begun to serve the Lord can offer Him is our own life. Since we have given the Lord our will, what do we fear? It is clear that if someone is a true religious or a true person of prayer and aims to enjoy the delights of God, he must not turn his back upon the desire to die for God and suffer martyrdom.

For don’t you know yet, Sisters, that the life of a good religious who desires to be one of God’s close friends is a long martyrdom? A long martyrdom because in comparison with the martyrdom of those who are quickly beheaded, it can be called long; but all life is short, and the life of some extremely short.

And how do we know if ours won’t be so short that at the very hour or moment we determine to serve God completely it will come to an end? This is possible.

In sum, there is no reason to give importance to anything that will come to an end. And who will not work hard if he thinks that each hour is the last? Well, believe me, thinking this is the safest course.

Saint Teresa of Avila

The Way of Perfection, Chap.12, nos. 1–2

Note: St. Teresa encouraged her nuns to actively prepare and practice for martyrdom, according to the accounts of 16th-century historian Belchior de Santa Ana, O.C.D. He indicates that Mother Maria de San José Salazar, O.C.D. carried the tradition of these pious recreations to the Carmel of Lisbon.

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: These metal stolperstein (“stumbling stones”) bear Edith and Rosa Stein’s names, marking the site of their arrest in front of the Carmel of Echt, Bovenstestraat 48. Image credit: Qwertzu111111 / Wikimedia Commons (Some rights reserved)

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/08/08/stj-longmartyrdom/

#desire #determination #DiscalcedCarmelites #martyrdom #martyrs #monasticLife #mortification #offering #religiousLife #selfDenial #StTeresaOfAvila

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0b7FeRufFf01qTdx2RJhMh?si=89257291650249a3

ON THE VII CENTENARY OF THE DEATH OF
SAINT ALBERT OF TRAPANI, 2006–2007

Dearly beloved,

This coming August 7th marks the opening of the centenary of the death of Saint Albert of Trapani (+1307), patron saint of the Teresian Carmel of Sicily.

In the history of the Carmelite Order, veneration for this saint from our land has always been very much alive and widespread, so much so that since the 15th century he has been considered the patron and protector of the Order; in fact, in 1524 it was established that his image should be in the seal of the General Chapter and Father General, Nicholas Audet, ordered that an altar be dedicated to him in every Carmelite church.

From this, too, one can understand the reason for the rich iconography about him in which he often appears side by side with Saint Angelus of Licata. Although his biography, written as early as the 14th century, and later editions are enriched by many miraculous events and legends, nevertheless some historical data are sufficiently well-founded.

Generous in preaching the Word of God and famous for miracles, he was, for some years (around 1296), provincial superior of the Carmelites of Sicily; he died in Messina on 7 August 1307, with a reputation for holiness.

He was to be the first Carmelite saint declared such by the Church. Soon the Carmelite Province of Sicily was called “of Saint Albert,” which gave birth in 1472 to a second one, called “of Saint Angelus,” and then from these two arose two other Discalced Provinces, in 1645 the “Province of the First Institute of Monte Santo,” and in 1741 the “Province Santa Maria della Scala.”

As part of our Teresian Reform, the OCD General Chapter of the Congregation of Italy on 13 May 1632, established the new Province of Sicily and named it after Saint Albert of Trapani. And so, again recently, our General Definitory, on October 10, 1998, in the Decree of Erection re-proposed the title of Saint Albert for our Commissariat. The Province of Mexico also has this Saint as its patron.

But now what can it mean for us to celebrate the centenary of a saint from seven centuries ago, after Carmel has given us Saints of other importance, Founders of a new Family, and Doctors of the Church?

Already these brief, historical hints given should remind us of the Lord’s will regarding the Carmel of Sicily: for centuries, Saint Albert has been our patron, the guardian of our Carmel. We must therefore know him, know how to invoke his intercession, and honor him.

This came about for us not only because he is a Sicilian saint, but also because our Holy Mother Teresa had a special devotion for him; she invoked him as “Father,” recognized him several times in visions, attributed important inspirations to him, and even took care to publish his “Life,” to make him known and loved by her nuns and Discalced friars.

Then there is an aspect of his life that all Carmel, ancient and reformed, has always credited to him and for which it has invoked his intercession in commemorations: purity, chastity, and innocence of behavior.

We may recall the antiphon that until not long ago this antiphon was repeated: O Alberte, norma munditiae, puritatis et continentiae, ora Matrem misericordiae ut in hac valle miseriae nos defendat ab omni labe (“O Albert, model of cleanliness, purity, and continence, pray to the Mother of Mercy that in this valley of misery, she may defend us from every stain”).

Knowing in this regard the disaster that is happening in this world of ours, the most unscrupulous behaviors at all levels, what mentality is rampant, fostered by the intrusive arrogance of the media: We, religious and lay Carmelites, must not live in the presumption that we do not need much vigilance, and we should make clear, countercultural choices and prayers like this one if we do not want to risk losing the beatitude of the pure in heart, which is indispensable to the life of prayer and contemplation, as we await the sight of God.

Thus, the centenary might be a fitting occasion for each community, fraternity, and group to envision some initiative that may benefit a better understanding of our roots and sacred history, which owes so much to the saints who shaped it.

Like devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, so deeply rooted among us, a devotion to the saints, especially of the Order, may help us to have a more penetrating understanding of the religious tradition in which we are called to live and bear witness to the charism of Carmel.

May Saint Albert, “servant of Christ, sustain our journey in safety, and teach us the true way of peace,” as we pray in the feast day liturgy and weekly commemoration.

Gaudentius Gianninoto, O.C.D.

Commissar, Commissariat of Sicily
Monte Carmelo, 4 July 2006

Letter from Father Gaudenzio Gianninoto, O.C.D., to the communities of Sicily announcing the opening of the VII Centenary of the death of Saint Albert of Trapani, patron saint of the Commissariat of Sicily. Father Gaudenzio is now a founding member of the community at the Monte Carmelo House of Prayer in Villasmundo, Sicily.

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

Featured image: This portrait of St. Albert of Trapani was executed by painter Antonio de Pereda (Spanish, 1611–1678) in oil on canvas, ca. 1670. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/08/06/ep18-trapani/

#Centenary #DiscalcedCarmelites #miracles #patron #Podcast #ProtectorOfCarmel #purity #Sicily #StAlbertOfTrapani #StTeresaOfAvila

J.M.

Pax Christi!

Sincere thanks for your kind note. R.I.P. for your dear brother. You will be grateful that he has found release.

Since you are informed about us, I need only tell you the latest: Switzerland wishes to open its doors to my sister Rosa and myself, since the only cloistered monastery of our Order in that country—Le Pâquier in the Canton Fribourg—will receive me, and a Convent of the Third Order Carmelites an hour away [from the Carmel], my sister. The two houses have certified, to the aliens’ office of the police, that they will provide for us for our lifetimes.

The big question remains: will we be given permission here [by the Nazi occupation forces] to leave [the country]. In any case, it will probably take a long time. I would not be sad if it did not come.

After all, it is no slight matter to leave a beloved monastic family the second time. But I will accept whatever God arranges.

Will you please tell them in Speyer and Kordel about this and ask for prayers? To you and all who continue to think of me, cordial greetings.

In Corde Jesu, your

Teresa Benedicta a Cruce

Saint Edith Stein

Letter 339 to Auguste Pérignon
From Echt, 29 July 1942

Note: Auguste Pérignon was a colleague of Edith’s at St. Magdalena’s Dominican College in Speyer, Germany.

Stein, E. 1993, Self-Portrait in Letters, 1916-1942, Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Discalced Carmelite, translated from the German by Koeppel, J, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: Photographer A. Pushkin captures this photo of a tourist on Switzerland’s Hornli Ridge, a hiking trail from the Schwarzsee cable car station to Hornli Hut. This panoramic view above the clouds on the surrounding mountains was taken on a snowy autumn day during a vacation in Zermatt. Image credit: A. Pushkin / Adobe Stock (Stock photo)

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/08/05/edith-ltr339/

#acceptance #CarmelDuPâquier #DiscalcedCarmelites #immigration #LePâquier #Nazi #nuns #refugees #RosaStein #StEdithStein #StMagdalenaSSchool #Switzerland #willOfGod

In 1931 to solemnly commemorate the third centenary of the re-acquisition of Mount Carmel, it was decided to hold the General Chapter of the Order in the monastery on the promontory. In preparation for the event the church was once more redecorated. The Maltese lay brother, Luigi Poggi, an accomplished artist, painted the ceiling and the interior of the dome, and the walls were covered with precious marble.

The bell tower was enriched by the addition of three new bells presented by the General Definitory, the nuns of Lisieux Carmel, and the nuns of Haifa respectively. Along the road leading towards the Bay of Haifa, fourteen small chapels were erected containing reproductions of the Stations of the Cross, the work of Rafael of the Infant Jesus of the province of Catalonia, whose work was financed by benefactors in his native country.

Participating at the solemn opening of the Chapter were representatives from all the countries in which the Order was established, including America, India, Mesopotamia, Persia, Poland, Ireland, England, Austria, Bavaria, Hungary, Italy, France, Spain, and Malta. Fr. William of St. Albert was elected as General of the Order for a second term of office. The Chapter decided to place votive lamps before Our Lady’s statue to represent every province of the Order.

Because it was felt that the statue’s garments were not in accord with its ornate surroundings, it was decided to have them carved in wood. Brother Luigi Poggi, conventual on Mount Carmel, carved a copy to be enthroned temporarily, while the head and hands were sent off to Rome [in 1932].

The body was carved in Lebanese cedar, with instructions to keep the same proportions and pose as the original. In Europe, the work of restoration was entrusted to Emanuele Rieda, who finished it in less than a year.

The statue’s return to Mount Carmel was accompanied by great celebrations. In July and August, the image was displayed in the Discalced Carmelites’ Roman churches and was blessed by Pius XI on the 25th of July, 1933.

[When the statue arrived on 8 September 1933, it] was escorted by a long procession made up of civic and religious leaders, all Catholic groups in Haifa, and a group of pilgrims who had come specially from Europe. In the evening it was solemnly enthroned above the high altar in the basilica.

Father Elias Friedman, O.C.D.

Excerpts from chapters 3 and 4

Giordano, S, Salvatico, G & Maccise, C 1996, Carmel in the Holy Land: From Its Beginnings to the Present Day, Il Messaggero di Gesù Bambino, Arenzano.

Featured image: Thousands of pilgrims accompanied the Pilgrim Virgin statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel on the slow, arduous procession from Saint Joseph Latin Catholic Parish in the City of Haifa up to the Stella Maris Church and Monastery of the Discalced Carmelite friars on the promontory of Mount Carmel on 5 May 2019. It was the 100th anniversary of the procession, which began as an act of gratitude for the liberation of the city from Turkish rule at the end of the First World War. Image credit: Discalced Carmelite General Curia / Facebook (used by permission)

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/07/24/friedman-25jul33-2/

#bells #blessing #CarmelOfHaifa #CarmelOfLisieux #DiscalcedCarmelites #friars #generalChapter #Haifa #HolyLand #OurLadyOfMountCarmel #PopePiusXI #Rome #statue #StellaMaris

It appears that in April 1849, Cohen made up his mind to enter the Carmelite Order.

In doing so, he was aware that his friend de Cuers would feel let down by this development; Hermann was leaving him to shoulder responsibility for the nocturnal adoration group on his own. He tried to reassure de Cuers on this point.

And it appears from letters Cohen wrote to his friends that he wished to become a priest precisely to support that movement. After all, Marie-Thérèse Dubouché’s group of adorers of the Blessed Sacrament was affiliated to Carmel, and Cohen had the same idea for a men’s group. From the beginning, he had the needs of the adoration group very much at heart and wanted to ensure its success.

Cohen arrived in Agen at 2:30 p.m. on July 19, the day on which Carmelites keep the vigil of a feast in honour of the prophet Elijah, who has special significance for the order. They were at that moment reciting vespers for the feast.

Dominic [Arbizu y Munarriz, O.C.D.], the superior, interviewed him, and Cohen asked to make an eight-day retreat. He wrote to his friend de Cuers, “St. Teresa will be my mother, the scapular my habit, a room eight feet square my universe. Yes I am so happy for I feel I’m doing God’s will.”

At the end of the retreat, rather than pack up and leave, he approached Dominic.

“I ask a great favour, Father.”

“What is it, my son?” asked Dominic.

“I wish to stay here in Carmel and be clothed in the holy habit.”

“Unfortunately, my son,” replied Dominic, “that is beyond my powers to grant. Our Constitutions and the apostolic decrees formally forbid admittance to the novitiate of someone recently converted from Judaism.”

Not to be put off, Cohen interjected, “Oh, Father, try to get that requirement dispensed; for I know well that God wishes me to be in Carmel.”

“Very well,” said Dominic. “Just go to Le Broussey, and I’ll do what I can.”

Servant of God Hermann Cohen
Father Augustine-Mary of the Blessed Sacrament, O.C.D.

Note: Count Raymond de Cuers and Marie-Thérèse Dubouché were Cohen’s colleagues and collaborators in the establishment and eventual expansion of perpetual adoration in Paris in the 1840s. Father Dominic, a friar from Navarre, restored the Discalced Carmelites in France beginning in Bordeaux in 1840, the first foundation since the French Revolution.

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

Featured image: At the Discalced Carmelite convent at Czerna, Poland, the friars gather with lighted candles to sing the Salve Regina before the image of the Mother of God. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/07/19/cohen-19jul49/

#AugustineMaryOfTheBlessedSacrament #DiscalcedCarmelites #Elijah #friends #HermannCohen #perpetualAdoration #persistance #vocations

6 July 1591 in Madrid

At this point in his life, St. John of the Cross is taken up with spiritual direction and governance of the Order. Translator and editor Kieran Kavanaugh, O.C.D. notes that “John continued his ministry of spiritual direction; the business matters of the order’s government were always claiming attention as well. In fact, these latter sparked another conflict, this time among the discalced themselves.”

Let’s listen to Father Kavanaugh explain further:

The clash began when Nicolás Doria called an extraordinary chapter in June 1590 for the purpose of undertaking two controversial moves. First, he wanted to abandon jurisdiction over the nuns, a reprisal against Madre Ana de Jesús who opposed his plans; Doria had hoped both to make changes in Teresa’s constitutions and to govern the nuns through a body of councillors rather than through one friar appointed to the task. Second, he proposed the expulsion of Teresa’s close collaborator, Father Jerónimo Gracián, from the discalced Carmelites. Fray John spoke in opposition to both moves.

The situation changed, though, with the election of a new council in the chapter of 1591. Father Kavanaugh provides the details:

In the chapter the following year, different councillors were elected to assist Doria, and John remained without an office, a fact that was more a problem for others than for himself. When the news got about, some began raising strong protests.

Among those who were disturbed by the news were two nuns in Segovia: Madre Ana de Jesús (Jimena), a widow, who made her profession in Segovia in 1575, and her daughter, María de la Encarnación, who was the prioress. St. Teresa speaks of them in her Foundations, chapter 21, no. 3:

There was a lady there who had been the wife of the owner of an entailed estate. Her name was Doña Ana de Jimena. She had once come to see me in Avila. She was a good servant of God, and her calling had always been to be a nun. Thus after the founding of the monastery, she and one of her daughters, who was living a devout life, entered it. And the Lord took away the unhappiness she had experienced both while married and as a widow and gave her a double measure of happiness in the religious life. Both mother and daughter had always been very recollected and faithful servants of God.

On the same day that Saint John of the Cross wrote to Madre Ana de Jesús (Jimena) in Segovia, he also wrote to her daughter in the same monastery, Madre María de la Encarnación. Both were disturbed by the news coming to them through Carmelite sources.

But as Father Kavanaugh indicates, “John looked at things differently, as he so often did, and expressed his mind in a letter to the prioress in Segovia,” as we read here in his letter to the daughter, María de la Encarnación:

Do not let what is happening to me, daughter, cause you any grief, for it does not cause me any. What greatly grieves me is that the one who is not at fault is blamed. Men do not do these things, but God, who knows what is suitable for us and arranges things for our good.

Think nothing else but that God ordains all, and where there is no love, put love, and you will draw out love.

Letter 26 to Madre María de la Encarnación in Segovia (excerpt)
Written from Madrid 6 July 1591

And, Saint John was just as unflappable in this letter written the same day to her mother, Madre Ana:

But whether leaving or staying, wherever or however things may come to pass, I will neither forget nor neglect you, as you say, because truly I desire your good forever.

Now, until God gives us this good in heaven, pass the time in the virtues of mortification and patience, desiring to resemble somewhat in suffering this great God of ours, humbled and crucified. This life is not good if it is not an imitation of his life.

Saint John of the Cross

Letter 25 to Madre Ana de Jesús in Segovia (excerpt)
Written from Madrid 6 July 1591

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: This detail from an image of St. John of the Cross was engraved in 1788 by Gilles Antoine Demarteau. The technique used—of which Demarteau was a master—was crayon-manner in red and black, based on a drawing by Taillasson. The Art Institute of Chicago has a marvelous image of the tools used in crayon-manner engraving with detailed figures of the process. Image credit: Rijksmuseum, Antwerp (Public domain)

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/07/05/juan-6jul91/

#acceptance #biography #DiscalcedCarmelites #friars #history #inspiration #love #Segovia #StJohnOfTheCross

My dear Reverend Mother,

Today we received your good letter. I thank you with all my heart for being willing to accept me as a member of your dear family—yours and that of all my dear sisters. I am unable to tell you how touched I am by your goodness and even more that of the Good God. You will understand it even better after you have heard the history of our lives and that of our family. We will now see if it is possible to get permission to leave the Netherlands. But it will probably take much time—months I suppose. I shall have to be content with such a promise.

Our dear Reverend Mother and my sister Rosa will add a few lines. Again, a thousand thanks, my dear Reverend Mother, and the expression of my respectful love in Jesus Christ.

Your very little and humble, unworthy,
Sr. Teresa Benedicta a Cruce, OCD

Saint Edith Stein

Letter 338 to Mother Marie Agnès de Wolff, O.C.D.
24 July 1892

On Saturday, 4 July 1942, the Chapter nuns of Le Pâquier were assembled for a meeting at which the Reverend Mother Prioress proposed to them that Sister Teresia Benedicta of the Cross, in the world Edith Stein, a professed Sister of the Cologne Carmel who is at present in the Carmel of Echt in Holland, be received as a member of the community, either permanently or temporarily according to circumstances…. On the fifth of the same month, a Sunday, the nuns were assembled once again and the Reverend Mother Prioress made the same proposal, after which it was unanimously resolved by a secret vote to receive Sister Teresa Benedicta into the community for an unlimited time.

We, the undersigned, testify that the above account is exact,
Sr. Marie Agnès of the Immaculate Conception, Prioress;
Sr. Marie-Françoise of the Most Sacred Heart, 1st Key-Bearer

Executed on 5 July 1942, at Le Pâquier

This excerpt is from the official record of the 5 July 1942 vote by the Chapter nuns of the Carmel of Le Pâquier in Switzerland to receive Edith as a member of their community. Their prioress shared the news of the unanimous approval in a 17 July letter to Mother Antonia, the prioress of the Carmel of Echt, Holland. Explore more about the Carmel of Le Pâquier on their website (available in French and German) and their Facebook page (in French).

Tucked away in the mountains of Fribourg, the Carmel of Le Pâquier was the first community of Discalced Carmelite nuns in Switzerland, founded in Lully in 1921. In 1936, Mother Marie Agnès de Wolff oversaw the construction of a new monastery in Le Pâquier, to which the growing community transferred. | Photo credit: Discalced Carmelites

Posselt, T 2005, Edith Stein: The Life of a Philosopher and Carmelite, translated from the German by Batzdorff S, Koeppel J, and Sullivan J, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Stein, E. 1993, Self-Portrait in Letters, 1916-1942, Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Discalced Carmelite, translated from the German by Koeppel, J, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: In this detail from the final photo taken in the Carmel of Cologne-Linthenthal, St. Edith Stein is seated in the cloister doorway. Biographer Teresia Renata Posselt, O.C.D. comments on the scene: “As usual she wore her threadbare Carmelite habit. When the Prioress, who was present, noticed how heavily darned it was, she took off her own scapular and placed it over Sr. Benedicta, who acknowledged the action with an indescribable look of filial gratitude in her beautiful eyes. The result was that final photograph that is true to life.” Image credit: Discalced Carmelites

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/07/04/edith-ltr338/

#CarmelDuPâquier #CarmelOfEcht #DiscalcedCarmelites #history #LePâquier #monasticLife #nuns #StEdithStein #Switzerland #TeresiaRenataPosselt #transfer #vocations

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.

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

I ardently desire to live in God’s will, I know that this is this way saints are made, and I want to become a saint to give glory to God.

Blessed Mary Josephine of Jesus Crucified

Excerpts from her autobiography and diary

Note: With gratitude to God, the Discalced Carmelites celebrate the feast day of Blessed Mary Josephine of Jesus Crucified throughout the entire Order. The Holy See extended the observance of her optional memorial with the new liturgical calendar that took effect on the First Sunday of Advent, 2023.

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: Featured image: This is a detail from an artist’s rendering of a well-known photo of Blessed Mary Josephine, who was captured seated outdoors, smiling broadly. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/06/25/pina-kiss/

#abandonment #BlessedMaryJosephineOfJesusCrucified #CrossOfChrist #DiscalcedCarmelites #GiuseppinaCatanea #God #love #Saints #salvation #tenderness #willOfGod

Thank you, Holy Father, for your encouraging words to our Discalced Carmelite nuns!
#PopeFrancis #DiscalcedCarmelites #nuns #speech

On July 5, 1877, St. Raphael Kalinowski made a bold move! He left his job as a tutor for the heir to the Polish throne and embarked on a journey to the Discalced Carmelite friars' novitiate in Linz, Austria.

Check out our blog to learn more!
http://carmelitequotes.blog/2023/07/04/kalinowski-5jul77/

#StRaphaelKalinowski #DiscalcedCarmelites #vocation

Have you ever paused to ponder your value in the eyes of God? It doesn't depend on what or how much we do for God, it's all his free gift to us! Learn more in our Discalced Carmelite Online Lenten Retreat

http://carmelitequotes.blog/2023/03/04/leduc-wk2/

#prayer #Lent #Transfiguration #DiscalcedCarmelites #Catholic #meditation #reflection #quote

A Carmelite history lesson: The apostolic visitation of Discalced Carmelite religious caused many headaches for St. Teresa of Avila. Today is the anniversary of Pius V’s decision to entrust those visitations to the Dominican friars.

Visit or blog to read St Teresa's reaction to her Dominican visitator and learn why Pope Pius V made his choice
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#stteresaofavila #apostolic #visitation #dominicans #carmelites #discalcedcarmelites #history

St. Thérèse was clothed in the Discalced Carmelite habit in the Carmel of Lisieux #onthisday in 1889. Visit our blog and read her reflection on the Carmelite vocation and a brief commentary by Conrad de Meester, OCD

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🙏🏽 Join the Carmelites in prayer!
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#stjohnofthecross #priest #doctorofthechurch #reformer #poet #discalcedcarmelites #16thcentury #spain #feastday #catholic #prayers #onthisday

In the waning hours of 13 December 1591, St. John of the Cross predicted his death at midnight. Fr. Iain Matthew, OCD and St. Edith Stein provide us with the account of John's holy death.

Read all about it!
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#stjohnofthecross #death #dying #onthisday #stedithstein #historian #history #churchhistory #inspiration #quotes #ubeda #spain #carmelites #discalcedcarmelites

Blesseds Denis and Redemptus, Martyrs at Aceh, Indonesia
17th century Discalced Carmelites
Feast day: 29 November

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#DiscalcedCarmelites #missionaries #Muslims #SaintOfTheDay #prayers #onthisday #Catholic

On 28 November 1568, the Discalced Carmelite friars began their new life in Duruelo. St Teresa wrote: “the first Mass was said in that little stable of Bethlehem, for it doesn't seem to me the house was any better.” Read about the humble beginnings of St. John of the Cross and Fray Antonio de Jesús!

Visit our #blog for the details
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#StJohnOfTheCross #DiscalcedCarmelites #friars #Mass #beginnings #new #reform #StTeresaOfAvila #Spain #Carmelite #quote #catholic

St. Raphael Kalinowski received the Discalced Carmelite habit on 26 November 1877 and made his religious vows on the same date in 1878. Visit our #blog to read an excerpt from his conference for the Carmelite friars in Wadowice: “Mother of God, Hope of the World.”
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#StRaphaelKalinowski #OnThisDay #BrownScapular #DiscalcedCarmelites #friars #VirginMary #MotherOfGod #novice #religious #vocation #vows #Catholic #spirituality #Carmelite #Poland