#livingflameoflove — Public Fediverse posts

Christ possessed the beatific vision precisely because no human “I” separated him from God. Thus Christ directly beheld God’s very being, as seen in heaven. Christ lived and moved about, bearing heaven within himself.

Conversely, the Blessed Virgin Mary did have a human “I.” As a totally human creature, she was a human person. As such, she would say, “I wish, I love or I do,” on the basis of her human personhood, which informed all her human actions.

However, the Virgin Mary was so closely conformed to God’s will, that her human “I” dissolved and became bathed in the divine will. Thus, both Christ and Mary attained the pinnacle of prayer.

Such prayer is the goal of the entire teaching of Saint John of the Cross. It is the “Living Flame of Love,” which blazes at the summit of the road and crowns the conclusion of the canticle. It is Mount Carmel itself. That flame burns with infinite intensity in Christ and with brilliant brightness in the Virgin Mary.

Like all others who have come to Carmel, we have come with that same goal in mind. “A[d] quid venisti?” (“Why have you come here?”). In response to the question: what is our life’s work, we have said: to be persons of prayer.

If we are not persons of prayer, our lives are meaningless. Even God can do nothing with us, if we are not persons of prayer. In the words of the Gospel: “You are the salt of the earth. But, if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything, but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot” [Mt 5:13].

In both the Church on earth and the Kingdom of Heaven, we are useless, unless we are persons of prayer. We live our life only once, not twice. Therefore, each day, which slips slowly through our fingers, hour by hour, is irretrievable. A life misspent is lost forever. Our life is a failure, if it is not a life of contemplation, love, and prayer.

Servant of God Père Jacques de Jésus

Conference 7, “Our Three Vows: Total Death”
Retreat for the Carmel of Pontoise
Thursday morning, 9 September 1943

Jacques, P 2005, Listen to the silence: A retreat with Père Jacques, translated from the French and edited by Murphy F, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: A moment of contemplation on the beach at La Rochelle (Charentes-Maritime) France. Photo credit: nicolas_oddo / Flickr (Some rights reserved)

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/09/08/jdj-conf7/

#BlessedVirginMary #contemplation #JesusChrist #livingFlameOfLove #love #MountCarmel #PèreJacquesDeJésus #prayer #ServantOfGod #StJohnOfTheCross