#discalcedcarmelites — Public Fediverse posts

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In giving thanks to God—together with all of you, beginning with the Most Eminent and Venerable Brother Archbishop Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe—for the great gift to the Church of Naples, the new Blessed Maria Giuseppina of Jesus Crucified, Thomas Merton’s reflection comes to mind. He stated: “There is no member of the Church who does not owe something to Carmel,” which finds further confirmation in this Solemn Rite [Merton, 1951].

Indeed, today the Church of Naples owes to Carmel, as a place and school of holiness, not only the precious gift of one of its daughters elevated to the honor of the altars, but also the most authoritative reminder of the universal vocation to holiness, its irreplaceable value, and its perennial relevance.

As the Representative of the Supreme Pontiff Benedict XVI in presiding over today’s beatification, I feel honored and delighted to witness the marvelous works of God, and even more so to admire His masterpieces, which are always the saints and the blessed. This venerable archdiocese, with its considerable and growing number of Blesseds and Saints, offers them to the admiration of the entire Church.

The great, biblical words of the Servant of God Pope Paul VI, addressed precisely to the Discalced Carmelite friars [during a general audience on July 11, 1973], fit like a glove: “You are ‘sons of saints,’ look carefully at the immense spiritual inheritance that is handed down to you…” [Original text: Vos estis «filii sanctorum» (Tob 2:18): immensam intuemini hereditatem spiritualem] Words that I like to apply to the men and women brought forth in the faith in this Neapolitan Church.

Yes, dear people of Naples, you too are children of saints: from them we learn to elevate the horizons of hope to heavenly realities, without setting aside our commitment to building up the earthly city, despite all its urgent and disturbing problems. The more we contemplate the Lord among His Saints, entering into living communion with Him, the stronger the hope within us grows for an active and effective commitment to improving and changing the world around us.

Looking particularly at the story and message of Blessed Giuseppina, we better understand the inescapable need for the contemplative dimension in the life of every Christian. Her example also shows us the concrete way to cultivate it. Her existence was a true school of charity, both toward her fellow sisters and toward the vast field of the apostolate, which she, though a cloistered nun, cultivated solely to make people love the Lord more. She, too, like St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, did not want “to be a saint by halves” [cf. LT 247 to Abbé Bellière], albeit with her peculiarities and mystical gifts, and various extraordinary spiritual experiences.

Everything is summed up in a phrase that constituted the unifying program of the Blessed’s entire life: “I want to live by feeding on God’s will… I want my will to be united with God’s will as one.” And again in her Diary: “I ardently desire to live in the will of God; I know that saints are made in this way, and I want to make myself saintly to give glory to God.”

Such a program must be the great aspiration of every Christian, in full conformity with the word of Christ, the One, Supreme Model: “My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work” (Jn 4:34), because “The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever” (1 Jn 2:17).

I end with the great honor of sharing with you the special apostolic blessing and greeting of Benedict XVI, who, as he has shown, carries Naples, this Church, its Venerable Pastor, and all the members of the People of God in his heart. I entrust you to the powerful intercession of the new Blessed, that she may protect you all and lead you on the path of holiness.

José Cardinal Saraiva Martins

Prefect, Congregation of the Causes of the Saints
Homily, Mass of Beatification of Blessed Maria Giuseppina
1 June 2008, Cathedral of St. Januarius, Naples

Note: Cardinal Saraiva Martins opens his homily with a quote from Thomas Merton. This quote is from the Author’s Note before the Prologue of Merton’s book, The Ascent to Truth. In context, Merton wrote: “There is no member of the Church who does not owe something to Carmel. But there are few who owe more to the saints of Carmel and to its Queen than does the author. Above all, this book was written, so to speak, under her direction and tutelage.”
Later in the homily, Cardinal Saraiva Martins quotes Blessed Maria Giuseppina, who said: “I want my will to be united with God’s will as one.” The Blessed uses the Italian word impasto, which literally translates to “dough” or “paste.” In the context of Blessed Giuseppina’s writings, impasto metaphorically conveys a deep, active blending and molding of one’s will with God’s will, much like the process of kneading dough until it becomes a cohesive, unified substance. This vivid imagery emphasizes the dynamic and transformative nature of aligning oneself completely with the divine will.

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

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

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/05/31/giuseppina-1jun08homily/

#beatification #BlessedMariaGiuseppinaOfJesusCrucified #CardinalJoséSaraivaMartins #DiscalcedCarmelites #GiuseppinaCatanea #homily #Naples #sanctity #StThérèseOfLisieux #ThomasMerton #unionWithGod #willOfGod

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

🌹 http://carmelitequotes.blog

#StThereseOfLisieux #vocation #investiture #clothing #Carmelite #habit #novice #novitiate #monastery #Lisieux #Catholic #quotes #ConradDeMeester #DiscalcedCarmelites

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

🌹 http://carmelitequotes.blog

#StThereseOfLisieux #vocation #investiture #clothing #Carmelite #habit #novice #novitiate #monastery #Lisieux #Catholic #quotes #ConradDeMeester #DiscalcedCarmelites

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

🌹 http://carmelitequotes.blog

#StThereseOfLisieux #vocation #investiture #clothing #Carmelite #habit #novice #novitiate #monastery #Lisieux #Catholic #quotes #ConradDeMeester #DiscalcedCarmelites