#novena — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #novena, aggregated by home.social.
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https://www.europesays.com/es/558897/ De la sexta plaza a la novena: las posibilidades del Surne Bilbao a dos jornadas del final #Baloncesto #Basketball #bilbao #Deportes #Endesa #ES #España #liga #novena #sexta #Spain #Sports #surne
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https://www.europesays.com/es/481151/ Bruno Lemes gana la novena etapa de la Vuelta del Uruguay y Pablo Bonilla es nuevo líder – Esciclismo #argentino #bonilla #brasileno #Ciclismo #ciclista #competicion #Cycling #Deportes #desde #domingo #el #ES #España #etapa #gaday #gano #importante #la #lemes #lider #lideraba #lucas #martin #mas #novena #nuevo #pablo #país #pasado #prueba #ruta #Spain #Sports #sudamericano #superar #uruguay #uruguayo #viernes #vuelta
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I am thinking in particular of projects like from Andrew Huang [1] like #Novena
https://www.crowdsupply.com/sutajio-kosagi/novena -
I am thinking in particular of projects like from Andrew Huang [1] like #Novena
https://www.crowdsupply.com/sutajio-kosagi/novena -
I am thinking in particular of projects like from Andrew Huang [1] like #Novena
https://www.crowdsupply.com/sutajio-kosagi/novena -
I am thinking in particular of projects like from Andrew Huang [1] like #Novena
https://www.crowdsupply.com/sutajio-kosagi/novena -
I am thinking in particular of projects like from Andrew Huang [1] like #Novena
https://www.crowdsupply.com/sutajio-kosagi/novena -
https://www.europesays.com/es/469117/ Carys Lloyd sorprende al esprint y se adjudica la Vuelta a Brujas Femenina – Esciclismo #adjudico #anos #belga #britanica #brugge #brujas #carys #Ciclismo #ciclista #ciudad #corredora #Cycling #Deportes #disputada #edicion #ES #España #joven #jueves #kilómetros #la #llegada #lloyd #movistar #novena #prueba #ronde #Salida #sobre #Spain #Sports #uci #van #vuelta #womens #WorldTour
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https://www.europesays.com/es/399265/ Tizona Burgos – Caja Rural CB Zamora: Asalto a «El Plantío» y novena victoria para los zamoranos (93-101) #asalto #Baloncesto #Basketball #Burgos #caja #CajaRural #cb #CBZamora #Deportes #ES #España #novena #plantio #PrimeraFEB #rural #Spain #Sports #tizona #victoria
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https://www.europesays.com/es/389267/ Natalia Fischer y David Valero confirman su dominio en la Scott Mediterranean Epic – Esciclismo #certificando #Ciclismo #clasificacion #confirmado #Cycling #david #Deportes #edicion #epic #ES #España #etapa #exigente #febrero #final #fischer #General #jornad #la #largo #mar #mediterranean #montana #natalia #novena #Oropesa #prueba #puesto #punto #respectivas #sabado #scott #Spain #Sports #superioridad #valero #victorias
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https://www.europesays.com/es/383270/ La novena EPIC Gran Canaria dispara su participación y alcanza los 680 ciclistas de 28 nacionalidades #680 #alcanza #canaria #Ciclismo #Ciclistas #Cycling #Deportes #dispara #epic #ES #España #gran #nacionalidades #novena #participacion #Spain #Sports
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‘Masama ito’: Las Piñas parish warns vs superstitious St. Jude novena
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‘Masama ito’: Las Piñas parish warns vs superstitious St. Jude novena
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https://www.europesays.com/es/344198/ El Burgos-Burpellet-BH presenta su nueva equipación con el regreso del blanco como protagonista – Ciclismo #afronta #ano #asturiana #bh #blanco #burgales #Burgos #burpellet #categoria #Ciclismo #ciclista #color #Conjunto #consecutivo #Cycling #Deportes #desvelado #Diseño #el #elaborado #equipacion #equipo #ES #España #mantiene #marca #marcada #novena #nueva #proteam #regreso #segundo #siroko #Spain #Sports #temporada #uci
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https://www.europesays.com/es/322697/ Mathieu van der Poel saca músculo en Zonhoven y asalta el liderato de la Copa del Mundo de Ciclocross – EsCiclismo.com #alpecin #aplastante #belga #campeon #celebrada #Ciclismo #ciclista #ciclocross #circuito #cita #copa #Cycling #demostrar #Deportes #der #dio #dominador #domingo #el #ES #España #gran #mathieu #moderno #mundo #Neerlandés #novena #opcion #poel #premier #Qué #rivales #Spain #Sports #tech #van #victoria #vigente #vuelto #zonhoven
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https://www.europesays.com/es/298483/ Oses asegura la Vuelta a Costa Rica en Palmares con una victoria decisiva en la 9ª etapa #alejandro #ambición #c #campeon #Ciclismo #ciclista #colono #costa #Cycling #daniel #Deportes #disputada #donde #Economy #edicion #ES #España #etapa #exhibir #granados #Hyundai #imponerse #Internacional #la #luis #novena #osés #palmares #quedo #rica #sabado #sentenciada #solidez #Spain #Sports #sprint #temple #vibrante #vigente #volvio #vuelta
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St. John of the Cross Novena Compendium
“What profit is there in anything that is not the love of God, and what value has it in God’s sight?”
St. John of the Cross
Ascent of Mount Carmel, Book III, Chapter 30Seven Years With Saint John of the Cross (2018–2024)
This compendium brings together seven novenas to Saint John of the Cross, prayed over the years with varying themes, voices, and approaches, yet all rooted in the same desire to draw closer to God through the wisdom of the Mystical Doctor. Some novenas follow John’s classic texts in steady sequence; others explore particular dimensions of his teaching—humility, the dark night, the spousal love of the Bridegroom, or the daily work of conversion. Whether presented with simple questions, pastoral reflections, or the insights of guest authors, each novena offers a different doorway into John’s vision of the soul’s ascent to God. Taken together, they form a rich and varied path of prayer, inviting readers to encounter St. John anew and to walk with him toward the transforming union for which every heart is made.
2018 Novena: From Detachment to Peace
This 2018 novena brings together nine short texts from Saint John of the Cross—taken from the Ascent, the Sayings of Light and Love, his letters, the Spiritual Canticle, and the Living Flame. Presented with brief Scripture passages and a traditional novena prayer, these selections trace a simple but steady movement through John’s major themes: the call to walk the path of Christ, to live in peace, to embrace virtue and detachment, to receive instruction in the dark night, and to be drawn toward union with God.
2019 Novena: Humility and Inner Conversion
This 2019 novena on Humility and Inner Conversion invites the soul to stand in truth before God, following Saint John of the Cross along the path of self-emptying, contrition, and trust. Drawing especially from the Sayings of Light and Love, each day confronts the illusions of self-reliance and pride, calling the heart to descend into the “wholly loving trust” that alone opens us to God’s mercy. Through Scripture, John’s terse and luminous counsels, and the daily novena prayer, readers are led into a deeper formation of conscience and a more earnest desire for the transforming grace that restores humility and shapes a life of authentic discipleship.
2020 Novena: Journey to Union
This 2020 novena revisits the same readings from Saint John of the Cross that appeared in the 2018 series. Instead of introducing new material, it re-presents those earlier selections—drawn from the Ascent, the Sayings of Light and Love, his letters, the Spiritual Canticle, and the Living Flame of Love—with revised titles and a fresh presentation. This repetition was intentional: the same words of John can speak differently from year to year, offering another opportunity to pray more deeply with his teaching.
2021 Novena: Examining the Heart
The 2021 novena also draws on the familiar nine readings from Saint John of the Cross but approaches them in a new way. This time the familiar texts are framed by simple, searching questions—What do you want? What must I do? How can I understand?—inviting a more personal examen in light of John’s teaching. With the daily Scripture passage, John’s brief selection, and the novena prayer from Carmel in Nigeria, the focus is less on introducing new material and more on letting the saint’s words probe the heart again, offering fresh grace through repeated prayer and reflection.
2022 Novena: The Night That Gives Sight (with Fr. Quang D. Tran, S.J.)
In this 2022 novena, Father Quang D. Tran, S.J., reflects on Saint John of the Cross’s teaching on the “dark night,” the purifying work by which God strips away the artificial lights in our lives so that we may see the true Light more clearly. Drawing on John’s own suffering and the wisdom of other spiritual masters, he shows how faith—stripped of lesser consolations—guides us more surely toward God. In the spirit of Advent, with its call to watchfulness and discernment, this novena helps us distinguish between the lights that blind and the Light that strengthens faith, hope, and love even in our darkest moments.
2023 Novena: Our Bridegroom and Friend
In this 2023 novena, guest author Laura Ercolino reflects on Saint John of the Cross’s teaching on the soul’s spousal relationship with Christ, drawing deeply from the Song of Songs and John’s own Spiritual Canticle. She reminds us that John understood the Canticle as the scriptural key to the soul’s journey toward transforming union—the divine marriage for which every heart is made. As the novena pairs John’s writings with verses from the Song of Songs, Laura invites readers to notice how the Divine Bridegroom is already wooing and drawing them into intimacy, offering foretastes of union even as we continue our ascent toward the eternal wedding feast.
2024 Novena: Walking the Path of Love
The 2024 novena, Walking the Path of Love, presented the nine classic readings from Saint John of the Cross with added depth through daily “Thoughts to Ponder” and a podcast introduction. Each day unfolded one of John’s central themes—rejoicing in God alone, responding to divine love, cultivating peace, embracing suffering with Christ, detachment, guidance in the dark night, spiritual marriage, and union—while inviting readers to reflect personally on how these teachings speak to their own journey. With the traditional novena prayer from the Carmelite nuns of Little Rock, this year’s novena offered a more catechetical and reflective approach, encouraging a sincere engagement with John’s wisdom and a renewed openness to the transforming work of divine love.
How to Use This Collection
Each novena follows the same structure: a brief introduction followed by nine days of prayer and reflection. You can pray them:
- Around St. John of the Cross’s solemnity (14 December)
- During times of personal need for his intercession
- As part of your spiritual reading throughout the year
- With family or prayer groups seeking his guidance
If you’re new to Saint John of the Cross, the 2019 novena is an excellent place to begin. Drawing from the Sayings of Light and Love, it introduces John’s spirituality in short, accessible steps and provides a helpful foundation for the deeper themes explored in the other novenas.
Novena Prayer
O seraphic St. John of the Cross,
the ardent love which burned always in your heart
led you to see all things only in God
and to seek only His glory.
It was to increase this love
and thus unite yourself more closely to God
that you led such a penitential life.Mention your request
I beg you, inflame my heart with a love like yours,
so that I may have the courage to mortify myself
and give myself generously to the practice of virtue.
Thus may I truly love God
with all the fervor of which I am capable.
Amen.Our Father…
Hail Mary…
Glory be…
Saint John of the Cross, pray for us!
John of the Cross, St 1991, The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross, rev. edn, Kavanaugh, K & Rodriguez, O (trans.), ICS Publications, Washington DC.
All scripture references in this novena are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.
Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Joseph.
Featured image: The bronze figure of Saint John of the Cross is part of the public artwork Homenaje al primer encuentro de Santa Teresa de Jesús y San Juan de la Cruz en Medina del Campo en 1567. Photograph by Ángel Cantero, October 2015. Image source: Iglesia en Valladolid on Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0). Collage for the Novena Compendium created by Carmelite Quotes in Adobe Express.
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https://www.europesays.com/es/233734/ El Burgos-Burpellet-BH arranca la pretemporada 2026 con una concentración en Burgos – EsCiclismo.com #actividades #arranque #bh #burgalesa #Burgos #burpellet #campana #capital #Ciclismo #ciclista #concentracion #Conjunto #contacto #Cycling #Deportes #el #equipo #ES #España #FICHAJES #grupales #h #iniciado #marcada #medicas #novena #nuevos #preparacion #primera #proteam #pruebas #reuniones #Spain #spi #Sports #técnicas #temporada #toma #uci
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https://www.europesays.com/es/213857/ Vuelta a Guatemala: Carlos Gutiérrez conquista Antigua y Óscar Garzón asalta el liderato – Esciclismo #alberto #best #carlos #Ciclismo #colombiano #Cycling #Deportes #edicion #el #ES #España #etapa #gutierrez #impuso #movistar #novena #pc #penultima #sabado #Spain #Sports #vuelta
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St. Edith Stein Novena 2025, Day 9: Unbounded desert
SCRIPTURE READING
Hosea 2:14–17I am going to lure her
and lead her out into the wilderness
and speak to her heart.
I am going to give her back her vineyards,
and make the Valley of Achor a gateway of hope.
There she will respond to me as she did when she was young,
as she did when she came out of the land of Egypt.When that day comes – it is Yahweh who speaks –
she will call me “My husband,”
no longer will she call me “My Baal.”
I will take the names of the Baals off her lips,
their names shall never be uttered again.MEDITATION
The Science of the Cross, Chapter 12An immense, unbounded desert
Dark contemplation is the secret ladder: secret as is mystical theology that is communicated and infused into the soul through love.
The mystical wisdom is therefore also called secret because it has the characteristic of hiding the soul within itself. . . . Occasionally, it so engulfs the soul in its secret abyss that she has the keen awareness of being brought into a place far removed from every creature. She accordingly feels that she has been led into a remarkably deep and vast wilderness unattainable by any human being, into an immense, unbounded desert. And this, for her, is the more delightful, pleasant, and lovely, the deeper, vaster, and more solitary it is. She is conscious of being so much more hidden, the more she is raised above every created being. This abyss of wisdom elevates and enriches the soul to a high degree: it engulfs her in the veins of the science of love and lets her know in this way how base are creatures in comparison with the lofty, divine knowledge and feelings, and gives her an insight into how lowly, inadequate, and entirely incapable all images and words are with which one speaks of divine things in this life.
NOVENA PRAYER
Saint Edith Stein,
faith in the holy angels gives me confidence—
confidence to believe, in the midst of all suffering,
in the divine life-force we all share,
which flows through all creation
as the sap flows from the vine into its branches.We do not stand alone
in this fierce struggle between life and death.
“When my enemies press in on me…” (Ps 56:2),
“…then God fights for me.” (Josh 23:10)In this valley of tears,
I lift my eyes in trust to you,
you holy angels and saints:
your task is to pass on that Love
whose “beginning and end is the triune God.”
(Edith Stein, Complete Works)We are held and drawn into this radiant stream
of light and love, of life and truth.
The more we are united with you
through surrender to the divine will,
the more your love becomes our love,
your light our light.If we believe in this communion,
we already walk in the light.Intercede for us,
that we may take part in the restoration of all creation.Here mention your intentions
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be
℣. Saint Edith Stein,
℟. Pray for us.Stein, E 2002, The Science of the Cross, The Collected Works of Edith Stein, Book 6, translated from the German by Koeppel, J, ICS Publications, Washington D.C.
All scripture references are from The Jerusalem Bible Reader’s Edition, copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd and Doubleday & Company, Inc. as accessed from The Internet Archive website.
Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Joseph.
#desert #love #mysticalTheology #novena #prayer #StEdithStein
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St. Edith Stein Novena 2025, Day 8: Purgative dryness
SCRIPTURE READING
Wisdom 19:14–17God Guides and Protects His People
Every nation will be punished if it does not welcome foreigners, but these people, who had earlier welcomed the foreigners with happy celebrations and treated them as equals, later made them suffer cruelly. These people were also struck with blindness, like the men of Sodom who came to the door of that righteous man Lot. They found themselves in total darkness, as each one groped around to find his own door.
MEDITATION
The Science of the Cross, Chapter 1Purgative dryness
A case of purgative dryness of the dark night can be discerned by three signs:
1) that the soul finds no delight in creatures;
2) that “the soul turns to God solicitously and with painful care, and thinks it is not serving God but turning back because it is aware of this distaste for the things of God.”
3) one recognizes purgative dryness in that “the soul is powerless in spite of all its efforts to meditate and make use of the imagination, the interior sense, . . . God no longer communicates himself through the senses as he did before, by means of the discursive analysis and synthesis of ideas, but has now begun to communicate himself through pure spirit by an act of simple contemplation for which neither the exterior nor the interior senses of the sensory human being have any capacity.”
This dark and, for the senses, dry contemplation is “something secret and hidden and even for the one who possesses it, mysterious.” Ordinarily, it imparts to the soul an inclination and a demand to remain alone and at rest. She is unable to dwell on any particular thought, nor does she have any desire to do so. If those in whom this occurs knew how to remain quiet, “they would soon experience in that unconcern and idleness a precious interior nourishment. This refection is namely so delicate that the soul cannot usually feel it if it desires it excessively or tries to experience it specifically. . . . It is like air that escapes when one tries to grasp it in one’s hand . . . God deals with the soul in this state in such a manner and leads it along such a special way that, if it desires to work with its own faculties and strength, it would rather hinder than help the work of God.” The peace God produces in the spirit through the dryness of the sensory being is “spiritual and most precious” and its “fruit is quiet, delicate, solitary, satisfying, and peaceful, and far removed from all the earlier gratifications which were more palpable and sensory.” So one understands that only the dying of the sensory being is felt and nothing is experienced of the beginning of the new life that is concealed beneath it.
It is no exaggeration when we call the suffering of the souls in this state a crucifixion. In their inability to make use of their own faculties they are as though nailed fast. And to the dryness is added the torment of fear that they are on the wrong path.
PRAYER
Saint Edith Stein,
faith in the holy angels gives me confidence—
confidence to believe, in the midst of all suffering,
in the divine life-force we all share,
which flows through all creation
as the sap flows from the vine into its branches.We do not stand alone
in this fierce struggle between life and death.
“When my enemies press in on me…” (Ps 56:2),
“…then God fights for me.” (Josh 23:10)In this valley of tears,
I lift my eyes in trust to you,
you holy angels and saints:
your task is to pass on that Love
whose “beginning and end is the triune God.”
(Edith Stein, Complete Works)We are held and drawn into this radiant stream
of light and love, of life and truth.
The more we are united with you
through surrender to the divine will,
the more your love becomes our love,
your light our light.If we believe in this communion,
we already walk in the light.Intercede for us,
that we may take part in the restoration of all creation.Here mention your intentions
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be
℣. Saint Edith Stein,
℟. Pray for us.Stein, E 2002, The Science of the Cross, The Collected Works of Edith Stein, Book 6, translated from the German by Koeppel, J, ICS Publications, Washington D.C.
All scripture references are from The Jerusalem Bible Reader’s Edition, copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd and Doubleday & Company, Inc. as accessed from The Internet Archive website.
Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Joseph.
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St. Edith Stein Novena 2025, Day 7: Oppression and dryness
SCRIPTURE READING
Psalm 131O Lord, my heart is not proud
nor haughty my eyes.
I have not gone after things too great
nor marvels beyond me.Truly I have set my soul
in silence and peace.
A weaned child on its mother’s breast,
even so is my soul.O Israel, hope in the Lord
both now and forever.MEDITATION
The Science of the Cross, Chapter 1Oppression and dryness
It was mentioned earlier that the active entrance of the soul into the dark night is only possible for her because God’s grace anticipates her, draws her, and supports her along the entire way.
But for beginners this anticipatory and enabling grace does not as yet have the character of the dark night. Rather, God treats them the way a tender mother treats her tiny children—carrying them in her arms and feeding them with sweet milk: in all their spiritual exercises—in prayer, meditation, and mortifications—they receive abundant joy and consolation. This joy then motivates them to devote themselves to spiritual exercises. They are unaware of the imperfections that lie therein and how many faults they commit in their practice of virtue.
In order to be freed from all these defects we must be weaned from the milk of consolations and be fed with strengthening nourishment….
“After beginners have exercised themselves for a time in the way of virtue and have persevered in meditation and prayer and through the delight and satisfaction they experience in this have become detached from worldly things and have gained some spiritual strength in God, which helps them to restrain their appetites for creatures, and for God’s sake are able to suffer a little oppression and dryness without yearning to return to those better times when they experienced more pleasurable satisfaction and gratification… then… God darkens all this light and closes the door and the spring of sweet spiritual water they were tasting as often and as long as they desired…. Now he leaves them in such darkness that they do not know which way to turn in their discursive imaginings.”
PRAYER
Saint Edith Stein,
faith in the holy angels gives me confidence—
confidence to believe, in the midst of all suffering,
in the divine life-force we all share,
which flows through all creation
as the sap flows from the vine into its branches.We do not stand alone
in this fierce struggle between life and death.
“When my enemies press in on me…” (Ps 56:2),
“…then God fights for me.” (Josh 23:10)In this valley of tears,
I lift my eyes in trust to you,
you holy angels and saints:
your task is to pass on that Love
whose “beginning and end is the triune God.”
(Edith Stein, Complete Works)We are held and drawn into this radiant stream
of light and love, of life and truth.
The more we are united with you
through surrender to the divine will,
the more your love becomes our love,
your light our light.If we believe in this communion,
we already walk in the light.Intercede for us,
that we may take part in the restoration of all creation.Here mention your intentions
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be
℣. Saint Edith Stein,
℟. Pray for us.Stein, E 2002, The Science of the Cross, The Collected Works of Edith Stein, Book 6, translated from the German by Koeppel, J, ICS Publications, Washington D.C.
All scripture references are from The Jerusalem Bible Reader’s Edition, copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd and Doubleday & Company, Inc. as accessed from The Internet Archive website.
Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Joseph.
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St. Edith Stein Novena 2025, Day 6: Dryness, distaste, trial
SCRIPTURE READING
Mark 8:34–38Then Jesus called the crowd and his disciples to him. “If any of you want to come with me,” he told them, “you must forget yourself, carry your cross, and follow me. For if you want to save your own life, you will lose it; but if you lose your life for me and for the gospel, you will save it. Do you gain anything if you win the whole world but lose your life? Of course not! There is nothing you can give to regain your life. If you are ashamed of me and of my teaching in this godless and wicked day, then the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
MEDITATION
The Science of the Cross, Chapter 1Dryness, distaste, and trial
We have considered by what ways [St. John of the Cross] penetrated the message of the cross. The following sections wish to show how this message was incorporated into the doctrine and life of the saint. To do so, it is necessary to set the content of the message before our eyes—for the time being, in a brief outline. We set it down here exactly as we find it expressed by the master of the science of the cross:
“‘How narrow is the gate and constricting the way that leads to life! And few there are who find it’ (Mt 7:14). We should particularly note the exaggeration and hyperbole conveyed by the word how in this passage.
This is like saying: Indeed the gate is very narrow, narrower than you think. . . . This path on the high mount of perfection is narrow and steep, it can only be trodden by wanderers who carry no burden that could drag them downwards. . . . Since in this, God alone is the goal that one should seek and gain, then only God ought to be sought and gained. . . .
Our Lord, for our instruction and guidance along this road, imparted to us that wonderful teaching—I think it is possible to affirm that the more necessary the doctrine the less it is practiced by spiritual persons—. . . . ‘If anyone wishes to be my disciple let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life, will lose it but whoever loses it for my sake, will save it’ [Mk 8:34-35].
Oh, who can make this counsel of our Savior on self-denial understandable, practicable, and attractive! . . . Annihilation of all sweetness in God . . . dryness, distaste, and trial. . . . the pure spiritual cross and the nakedness of Christ’s poverty of spirit. . . .
A genuine spirit seeks rather the distasteful in God than the delectable, leans more toward suffering than toward consolation, more toward going without everything for God than toward possession, and toward dryness and affliction than toward sweet consolation, for it knows that in this consists the following of Christ and self-denial, while the other is nothing further than seeking oneself in God . . .
Seeking God in God [sic] means… for love of Christ, to choose all that is distasteful whether in God or in the world.”
PRAYER
Saint Edith Stein,
faith in the holy angels gives me confidence—
confidence to believe, in the midst of all suffering,
in the divine life-force we all share,
which flows through all creation
as the sap flows from the vine into its branches.We do not stand alone
in this fierce struggle between life and death.
“When my enemies press in on me…” (Ps 56:2),
“…then God fights for me.” (Josh 23:10)In this valley of tears,
I lift my eyes in trust to you,
you holy angels and saints:
your task is to pass on that Love
whose “beginning and end is the triune God.”
(Edith Stein, Complete Works)We are held and drawn into this radiant stream
of light and love, of life and truth.
The more we are united with you
through surrender to the divine will,
the more your love becomes our love,
your light our light.If we believe in this communion,
we already walk in the light.Intercede for us,
that we may take part in the restoration of all creation.Here mention your intentions
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be
℣. Saint Edith Stein,
℟. Pray for us.Stein, E 2002, The Science of the Cross, The Collected Works of Edith Stein, Book 6, translated from the German by Koeppel, J, ICS Publications, Washington D.C.
All scripture references are from The Jerusalem Bible Reader’s Edition, copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd and Doubleday & Company, Inc. as accessed from The Internet Archive website.
Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Joseph.
#ascesis #drynessInPrayer #novena #prayer #StEdithStein #trials
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St. Edith Stein Novena 2025, Day 5: We are not ruined
SCRIPTURE READING
Psalm 68:32–35Kingdoms of the earth, sing to God, praise the Lord
who rides on the heavens, the ancient heavens.
He thunders his voice, his mighty voice.
Come, acknowledge the power of God.His glory is on Israel; his might is in the skies.
God is to be feared in his holy place.
He is the Lord, Israel’s God.
He gives strength and power to his people.Blessed be God!
MEDITATION
Three Dialogues: I Am Always in Your MidstGod is
How foolish now this doubt appears to me!
If God’s call sounds within a soul,
When he leads it to our house’s door
And to knock hard—why should we not open
The door wide, our arms and our heart?
If he shows the way, then he also knows
That it is not a wrong track where people suddenly get lost;
No spurious way that ends in desert sands.
That step by step the road will be revealed, I firmly believe.
And in fact what is certain?
Where is “certain fate”? Yes, we see—
And it’s good that we are so confronted—
How around us structures are becoming ruins
That seemed to us to have been raised for eternity.
One thing alone is certain: that God is
And that his hand holds us in being.
Then even if around us the whole world falls to wrack and ruin,
We are not ruined if we hold ourselves to him.PRAYER
Saint Edith Stein,
faith in the holy angels gives me confidence—
confidence to believe, in the midst of all suffering,
in the divine life-force we all share,
which flows through all creation
as the sap flows from the vine into its branches.We do not stand alone
in this fierce struggle between life and death.
“When my enemies press in on me…” (Ps 56:2),
“…then God fights for me.” (Josh 23:10)In this valley of tears,
I lift my eyes in trust to you,
you holy angels and saints:
your task is to pass on that Love
whose “beginning and end is the triune God.”
(Edith Stein, Complete Works)We are held and drawn into this radiant stream
of light and love, of life and truth.
The more we are united with you
through surrender to the divine will,
the more your love becomes our love,
your light our light.If we believe in this communion,
we already walk in the light.Intercede for us,
that we may take part in the restoration of all creation.Here mention your intentions
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be
℣. Saint Edith Stein,
℟. Pray for us.Stein, E. 2014, The Hidden Life: hagiographic essays, meditations, spiritual texts, translated from the German by Stein, W, ICS Publications, Washington DC.
All scripture references are from The Jerusalem Bible Reader’s Edition, copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd and Doubleday & Company, Inc. as accessed from The Internet Archive website.
Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Joseph.
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St. Edith Stein Novena 2025, Day 4: The desert of Carmel
SCRIPTURE READING
John 2:7–10Jesus said to the servants, ‘Fill the jars with water,’ and they filled them to the brim. ‘Draw some out now,’ he told them, ‘and take it to the steward.’ They did this; the steward tasted the water, and it had turned into wine. Having no idea where it came from – only the servants who had drawn the water knew – the steward called the bridegroom and said, ‘People generally serve the best wine first, and keep the cheaper sort till the guests have had plenty to drink, but you have kept the best wine till now.’
MEDITATION
A Chosen Vessel of Divine WisdomHer aim was the ‘desert’ of Carmel
“A page from the great book of God’s mercy” is what Sister Marie-Aimée called her life. This life is very simple in its external course, but has an inner richness that can only be hinted at in a short biography. Those who would like to know more about it must refer to her own writings.
A delicate face of angelic purity and spirituality, big, soft, and deeply penetrating eyes that have knowledge of the supernatural world as well as of their natural home—this is Dorothea Quoniam, who in Carmel received the name of Marie-Aimée de Jésus. This name tells the secret of her life: “loved by Jesus” with an overwhelming, jealous love that laid total claim to her from her very first day.
Occasionally, [Jesus] revealed himself to her in human form and each time corresponding to her age, so that he seemed to grow up with her. When she was nineteen, her relatives wanted to arrange her future. One day they introduced a young man to her, and, after an opening conversation, let her know that he came as a suitor. Dorothea said not a word. She only smiled, but this smile was of a kind that made the poor fellow lower his eyes, blush, and wish that he had never come. The Lord had revealed himself beside this young man “in the full radiance of his virginal beauty” and said, “Compare!” At the same time, a smile of divine irony played about his lips and evoked its reflection in the face of his bride. The first attempt of this kind was rejected, and she knew how to refuse all thereafter with calm firmness.
She had already known when she moved to her ‘Nazareth’ that her aim was the ‘desert’ of Carmel. But she had to await the Lord’s hour.
PRAYER
Saint Edith Stein,
faith in the holy angels gives me confidence—
confidence to believe, in the midst of all suffering,
in the divine life-force we all share,
which flows through all creation
as the sap flows from the vine into its branches.We do not stand alone
in this fierce struggle between life and death.
“When my enemies press in on me…” (Ps 56:2),
“…then God fights for me.” (Josh 23:10)In this valley of tears,
I lift my eyes in trust to you,
you holy angels and saints:
your task is to pass on that Love
whose “beginning and end is the triune God.”
(Edith Stein, Complete Works)We are held and drawn into this radiant stream
of light and love, of life and truth.
The more we are united with you
through surrender to the divine will,
the more your love becomes our love,
your light our light.If we believe in this communion,
we already walk in the light.Intercede for us,
that we may take part in the restoration of all creation.Here mention your intentions
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be
℣. Saint Edith Stein,
℟. Pray for us.Stein, E. 2014, The Hidden Life: hagiographic essays, meditations, spiritual texts, translated from the German by Stein, W, ICS Publications, Washington DC.
All scripture references are from The Jerusalem Bible Reader’s Edition, copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd and Doubleday & Company, Inc. as accessed from The Internet Archive website.
Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Joseph.
#Carmelite #desert #discernment #novena #prayer #StEdithStein #vocation
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St. Edith Stein Novena 2025: Introduction
That is why I am going to lure her and lead her out into the wilderness and speak to her heart.
Hosea 2:16
“It always seemed to me that our Lord was keeping something for me in Carmel that I could find only there.”
These words come from Saint Edith Stein’s own account, “How I came to Carmel,” preserved for us by her novice mistress and prioress, Mother Teresia Renata Posselt, in her biography, Edith Stein: The Life of a Philosopher and Carmelite.
What could this brilliant philosopher and renowned lecturer have been seeking? What mystery did she perceive in Carmel that even her extensive knowledge of Carmelite spirituality through reading could not satisfy? Mother Teresia Renata offers us insight:
In these words this outstanding philosopher and famous lecturer, already revered as a saint by many people, acknowledged that something was lacking before she could be completely happy and fulfilled. We ask ourselves: What could this be? And what is this Carmel from which she expected this final fulfillment that the Lord had saved up for her as the best?
Carmel presents a mystery that cannot be taken in at a glance. Even those intimately acquainted, like Edith, with Carmelite spirituality through reading the works of its great exponents can scarcely avoid shrinking when for the first time they begin to breathe the dry air of Carmel. They soon have a sense that they have been set in a trackless desert, a waterless land that only slowly surrenders its secrets.
This is the mystery we will explore together in this novena—that “trackless desert” of Carmel revealed through Saint Edith Stein’s own writings and experience. Like the holy prophet Elijah, who waited upon God’s word in the Wadi Cherith, we will follow Edith as the Lord lures her into the spiritual desert where He speaks most intimately to the heart.
Let us attune our spiritual ears to the words of sacred Scripture and to the wisdom of Saint Edith’s writings as she draws us deeper into that “waterless land that only slowly surrenders its secrets.” May God bless us all as we journey together through these nine days.
Pray each day with St. Edith Stein
Join us every day as our novena unfoldsDay One
Into the desert (The Science of the Cross)Day Two
The darkest path (The Science of the Cross)Day Three
Dryness and emptiness (The Science of the Cross)Day Four
The desert of Carmel (A Chosen Vessel of Divine Wisdom)Day Five
We are not ruined (I Am Always in Your Midst)Day Six
Dryness, distaste, trial (The Science of the Cross)Day Seven
Oppression and dryness (The Science of the Cross)Day Eight
Purgative dryness (The Science of the Cross)Day Nine
Unbounded desert (The Science of the Cross)NOVENA PRAYER
Saint Edith Stein,
faith in the holy angels gives me confidence—
confidence to believe, in the midst of all suffering,
in the divine life-force we all share,
which flows through all creation
as the sap flows from the vine into its branches.We do not stand alone
in this fierce struggle between life and death.
“When my enemies press in on me…” (Ps 56:2),
“…then God fights for me.” (Josh 23:10)In this valley of tears,
I lift my eyes in trust to you,
you holy angels and saints:
your task is to pass on that Love
whose “beginning and end is the triune God.”
(Edith Stein, Complete Works)We are held and drawn into this radiant stream
of light and love, of life and truth.
The more we are united with you
through surrender to the divine will,
the more your love becomes our love,
your light our light.If we believe in this communion,
we already walk in the light.Intercede for us,
that we may take part in the restoration of all creation.Here mention your intentions
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be
℣. Saint Edith Stein,
℟. Pray for us.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.
All scripture references are from The Jerusalem Bible Reader’s Edition, copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd and Doubleday & Company, Inc. as accessed from The Internet Archive website.
Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, St. Edith Stein and St. Joseph.
LET US UNITE IN PRAYER
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Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel 2025: Day 9
Day 9
Glory of CarmelScripture Reading
John 20:30–31Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.
Pray with St. Edith Stein
ESGA 20, “Sint Michael,” 13 June 1942“Glory of Carmel, teach us to love Christ alone,
to follow Christ and to love his cross,
to listen to the Word who took flesh from your flesh…”What About My Own Life?
The Word of God that the Gospel has left us is the treasure to which we can constantly return—to see, in Jesus, our God at work in the lives of people. Learning from Mary, today I can choose to open the Bible and softly repeat the word that seems most important to me in the passage I’ve just read. Perhaps an inspiration may flow from meditating on this passage: to act, or speak, or make a connection between that reading and my life.
May you all have a beautiful journey with Mary under the guidance of the Holy Spirit!
NOVENA PRAYER
O Most beautiful Flower of Mount Carmel,
Fruitful Vine, Splendor of heaven,
Blessed Mother of the Son of God,
Immaculate Virgin, assist me in this my necessity.
O Star of the Sea, help me
and show me herein that you are my Mother.O Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of heaven and earth,
I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart
to succor me in this necessity.
There are none that can withstand your power!
O help me and show me herein that you are my Mother.Our Lady, Queen and Beauty of Carmel,
pray for me and obtain my requests!
Sweet Mother, I place this cause in your hands!Our gratitude to the Discalced Carmelite Friars of the Paris Province and the Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Le Havre for their gracious permission to translate and publish their 2025 Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
All scripture references in this novena are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.
Translation from the French text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.
Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Joseph, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Edith Stein.
#GloryOfCarmel #novena #OurLadyOfMountCarmel #prayer #StEdithStein #StTeresaBenedicta
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Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel 2025: Day 8
Day 8
With You TodayScripture Reading
John 19:25–27Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.
Pray with St. Edith Stein
ESGA 20, “Sint Michael,” 13 June 1942“At the foot of the Cross I stood with you today
and I felt clearly as never before
that at the foot of the Cross you became our Mother!”What About My Own Life?
Everything is a gift… And even when the Son dies, He still gives Mary another son: not to replace him, but so she might become the mother of all humanity. Today, I can look at whether I truly receive my life as a gift: whether I understand that I am first and foremost a son or daughter who has received everything, or whether I seek primarily to be in control of my own life.
NOVENA PRAYER
O Most beautiful Flower of Mount Carmel,
Fruitful Vine, Splendor of heaven,
Blessed Mother of the Son of God,
Immaculate Virgin, assist me in this my necessity.
O Star of the Sea, help me
and show me herein that you are my Mother.O Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of heaven and earth,
I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart
to succor me in this necessity.
There are none that can withstand your power!
O help me and show me herein that you are my Mother.Our Lady, Queen and Beauty of Carmel,
pray for me and obtain my requests!
Sweet Mother, I place this cause in your hands!Our gratitude to the Discalced Carmelite Friars of the Paris Province and the Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Le Havre for their gracious permission to translate and publish their 2025 Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
All scripture references in this novena are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.
Translation from the French text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.
Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Joseph, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Edith Stein.
#CrossOfChrist #Mother #novena #OurLadyOfMountCarmel #prayer #StEdithStein #StTeresaBenedicta
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Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel 2025: Day 7
Day 7
Your Most Pure HeartScripture Reading
Acts 1:13–14When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.
Pray with St. Edith Stein
ESGA 20, Tagzeiten von der Allerseligsten Jungfrau Maria, Königin des Friedens“All-powerful Queen, Queen of peace,
by your prayers protect from all evil
those who are consecrated to you.
Engrave them faithfully in your most pure heart!”What About My Own Life?
Even if Jesus was deeply active, traveling the roads of Galilee to proclaim and heal, he was also deeply contemplative: from those moments of solitude with his Father, Jesus found the right words to preach and the strength to act. Do we truly believe in the concrete efficacy of prayer that first transforms our own hearts? Today, I can decide to take fifteen minutes, doing nothing else, just to talk with God and open myself to the action of the Holy Spirit…
NOVENA PRAYER
O Most beautiful Flower of Mount Carmel,
Fruitful Vine, Splendor of heaven,
Blessed Mother of the Son of God,
Immaculate Virgin, assist me in this my necessity.
O Star of the Sea, help me
and show me herein that you are my Mother.O Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of heaven and earth,
I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart
to succor me in this necessity.
There are none that can withstand your power!
O help me and show me herein that you are my Mother.Our Lady, Queen and Beauty of Carmel,
pray for me and obtain my requests!
Sweet Mother, I place this cause in your hands!Our gratitude to the Discalced Carmelite Friars of the Paris Province and the Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Le Havre for their gracious permission to translate and publish their 2025 Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
All scripture references in this novena are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.
Translation from the French text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.
Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Joseph, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Edith Stein.
#novena #OurLadyOfMountCarmel #prayer #QueenOfPeace #StEdithStein #StTeresaBenedicta
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Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel 2025: Day 6
Day 6
A Heart That Loves MuchScripture Reading
Luke 1:45–49And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord. And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.”
Pray with St. Edith Stein
ESGA 20, “Sub tutela Matris”O Mary…
Yes, give me a heart that loves so much
that it wants only Jesus’s greater glory and honor,
a heart that can find no rest except in heaven.What About My Own Life?
Sometimes, the work ahead of us can seem overwhelming… Yet ever since Genesis, God has established us as guardians of his creation (Gen 2:15), entrusting us to continue his work with him, so that his plans for humanity made in his image might be fulfilled. Today, I can see how God’s plans become mine: as concrete, active, and joyful participation in the Father’s work…
NOVENA PRAYER
O Most beautiful Flower of Mount Carmel,
Fruitful Vine, Splendor of heaven,
Blessed Mother of the Son of God,
Immaculate Virgin, assist me in this my necessity.
O Star of the Sea, help me
and show me herein that you are my Mother.O Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of heaven and earth,
I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart
to succor me in this necessity.
There are none that can withstand your power!
O help me and show me herein that you are my Mother.Our Lady, Queen and Beauty of Carmel,
pray for me and obtain my requests!
Sweet Mother, I place this cause in your hands!Our gratitude to the Discalced Carmelite Friars of the Paris Province and the Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Le Havre for their gracious permission to translate and publish their 2025 Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
All scripture references in this novena are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.
Translation from the French text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.
Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Joseph, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Edith Stein.
#heart #love #novena #OurLadyOfMountCarmel #prayer #StEdithStein #StTeresaBenedicta
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Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel 2025: Day 5
Day 5
A Noble and Resilient HeartScripture Reading
Luke 2:41–48Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, they went a day’s journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.”
Pray with St. Edith Stein
ESGA 20, “Sub tutela Matris”O Mary, give me…
A noble and resilient heart
that isn’t cast down by disappointments;
that isn’t resentful, isn’t easily angered;
that isn’t paralyzed by trials;
that doesn’t take offense when overlooked,
that doesn’t lose courage in the face of indifference.What About My Own Life?
Humiliation often discourages us, or makes us defensive… How can we endure it with Christ? He was misunderstood by his parents and his people, even unto death on the cross; how can we endure it with Mary, who was helpless before this surprising son who would end up condemned? Today, I can believe that God always leads us to victory in our struggles: the Resurrection has revealed it…
NOVENA PRAYER
O Most beautiful Flower of Mount Carmel,
Fruitful Vine, Splendor of heaven,
Blessed Mother of the Son of God,
Immaculate Virgin, assist me in this my necessity.
O Star of the Sea, help me
and show me herein that you are my Mother.O Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of heaven and earth,
I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart
to succor me in this necessity.
There are none that can withstand your power!
O help me and show me herein that you are my Mother.Our Lady, Queen and Beauty of Carmel,
pray for me and obtain my requests!
Sweet Mother, I place this cause in your hands!Our gratitude to the Discalced Carmelite Friars of the Paris Province and the Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Le Havre for their gracious permission to translate and publish their 2025 Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
All scripture references in this novena are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.
Translation from the French text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.
Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Joseph, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Edith Stein.
#heart #novena #OurLadyOfMountCarmel #prayer #StEdithStein #StTeresaBenedicta #struggle
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Sts. Louis & Zélie Novena 2025, Day 9: Hope Beyond Death
READING
Above all, courage and confidence! Pray faithfully to our merciful Mother, who’ll come to our aid with the kindness and gentleness of the most loving mother.
Saint Zélie Martin
Letter CF 210 to Pauline, 25 June 1877REFLECTION
In one of her last letters to Pauline, Zélie returns to the deep trust that has emerged throughout this novena. After warning against expecting too much from earthly joys, she closes her letter with “courage et confiance”—not confidence in outcomes, but trust that abandons everything to the Virgin Mary’s maternal care.
Her appeal to the “Mère des Miséricordes” echoes the Salve Regina’s ancient cry: “Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope.” Just two months before her death, Zélie anchors her hope not in earthly healing but in the Blessed Virgin’s merciful motherhood. This is hope beyond death itself—trust that when all earthly expectations fail, we can still turn to the one whom the Church has always known as Mater misericordiae. True hope finds its ultimate rest not in this world’s gifts, but in the Mother of Mercy’s unfailing tenderness.
PRAYER
Saints Louis and Zélie,
you who in your life as a couple and as parents
have borne witness to an exemplary Christian life,
by putting God first,
by fulfilling the duties of your state in life
and practicing the evangelical virtues,
we turn to you:Help us to have unshakable trust in God
and to abandon ourselves to His Will,
as you did through the joys,
as well as the trials, grief, and suffering
that marked your lives.Help us to love God with all our hearts,
to persevere through our daily difficulties,
and to abide in the joy and hope
that a living faith in Christ gives us.Intercede for us
(Mention your intentions here)
that we may obtain the graces we need
today and every day of our lives.Our Father…
Glory be…
Saints Louis and Zélie, pray for us.
Martin, Z & Martin, L 2011, A Call to a Deeper Love: The Family Correspondence of the Parents of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, 1863-1885, trans. Hess, AC, ed. Renda, F, Society of St. Paul, New York.
All scripture references are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.
Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Joseph, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Edith Stein.
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Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel 2025: Day 4
Day 4
A Meek and Humble HeartScripture Reading
Luke 8:19–21Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.” But he said to them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”
Pray with St. Edith Stein
ESGA 20, “Sub tutela Matris”O Mary…
Give me a meek and humble heart
that loves without expecting anything in return;
that joyfully makes space in another’s heart
for your Son.What About My Own Life?
God’s folly is wiser than human wisdom (1 Cor 1:25): to gain your life, you must dare to lose it… Today, I can choose to freely give of myself—my time, my love, my effort—for those who have been given to me as brothers and sisters…
NOVENA PRAYER
O Most beautiful Flower of Mount Carmel,
Fruitful Vine, Splendor of heaven,
Blessed Mother of the Son of God,
Immaculate Virgin, assist me in this my necessity.
O Star of the Sea, help me
and show me herein that you are my Mother.O Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of heaven and earth,
I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart
to succor me in this necessity.
There are none that can withstand your power!
O help me and show me herein that you are my Mother.Our Lady, Queen and Beauty of Carmel,
pray for me and obtain my requests!
Sweet Mother, I place this cause in your hands!Our gratitude to the Discalced Carmelite Friars of the Paris Province and the Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Le Havre for their gracious permission to translate and publish their 2025 Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
All scripture references in this novena are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.
Translation from the French text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.
Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Joseph, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Edith Stein.
#heart #novena #OurLadyOfMountCarmel #prayer #selfGiving #StEdithStein #StTeresaBenedicta
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Sts. Louis & Zélie Novena 2025, Day 8: Hope in God’s Timing
READING
I still have a very strong hope of being cured, which only increases. I see a look of disbelief on the face of certain people who come to ask about the results of my pilgrimage [to Lourdes], but that doesn’t trouble me. First of all, I can’t help having the feeling of confidence that invigorates me. I’m saying my novenas again, and every night I put Lourdes water on my wound, and after that, I live in hope and peace, expecting that God’s time has come…. So don’t hope for much joy in this world; you’ll have too many disappointments. As for me, I know from experience how much to count on the joys of this world, and if I wasn’t hoping for those of heaven, I would be very unhappy.
Saint Zélie Martin
Letter CF 210 to her daughter Pauline, 25 June 1877REFLECTION
Writing just two months before her death, Saint Zélie embodies the paradox of Christian hope. She maintains “very strong hope” for healing while simultaneously warning against expecting too much from earthly joys. This isn’t a contradiction—it’s mature faith that can hope for earthly blessings while anchoring our ultimate hope in heaven.
Her hope persists despite others’ skepticism and the seeming failure of her pilgrimage to Lourdes. She continues her novenas and applies Lourdes water, not out of naive optimism but from trust in “God’s time.” True hope can petition earnestly for earthly blessings while knowing that earthly joys inevitably disappoint. Only those whose deepest hope rests in heaven can hope freely for those blessings without being crushed when they don’t come.
PRAYER
Saints Louis and Zélie,
you who in your life as a couple and as parents
have borne witness to an exemplary Christian life,
by putting God first,
by fulfilling the duties of your state in life
and practicing the evangelical virtues,
we turn to you:Help us to have unshakable trust in God
and to abandon ourselves to His Will,
as you did through the joys,
as well as the trials, grief, and suffering
that marked your lives.Help us to love God with all our hearts,
to persevere through our daily difficulties,
and to abide in the joy and hope
that a living faith in Christ gives us.Intercede for us
(Mention your intentions here)
that we may obtain the graces we need
today and every day of our lives.Our Father…
Glory be…
Saints Louis and Zélie, pray for us.
Martin, Z & Martin, L 2011, A Call to a Deeper Love: The Family Correspondence of the Parents of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, 1863-1885, trans. Hess, AC, ed. Renda, F, Society of St. Paul, New York.
All scripture references are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.
Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Joseph, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Edith Stein.
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Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel 2025: Day 3
Day 3
A Deep and Grateful HeartScripture Reading
John 2:1–5On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
Pray with St. Edith Stein
ESGA 20, “Sub tutela Matris”O Mary, give me…
A heart that knows what weakness is
and can truly sympathize with it;
a deep and grateful heart
that doesn’t neglect the little things.What About My Own Life?
If the Word, the Logos, became flesh, he wanted to be fully within us–in our beautiful achievements as well as in our humble daily routines and problems. Today, I can choose to be attentive to people and events, welcoming them as signs that God gives me so as not to leave me alone, even in the time of trial…
NOVENA PRAYER
O Most beautiful Flower of Mount Carmel,
Fruitful Vine, Splendor of heaven,
Blessed Mother of the Son of God,
Immaculate Virgin, assist me in this my necessity.
O Star of the Sea, help me
and show me herein that you are my Mother.O Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of heaven and earth,
I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart
to succor me in this necessity.
There are none that can withstand your power!
O help me and show me herein that you are my Mother.Our Lady, Queen and Beauty of Carmel,
pray for me and obtain my requests!
Sweet Mother, I place this cause in your hands!Our gratitude to the Discalced Carmelite Friars of the Paris Province and the Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Le Havre for their gracious permission to translate and publish their 2025 Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
All scripture references in this novena are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.
Translation from the French text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.
Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Joseph, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Edith Stein.
#gratitude #novena #OurLadyOfMountCarmel #prayer #StEdithStein #StTeresaBenedicta #trials
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Sts. Louis & Zélie Novena 2025, Day 7: Hope in the Cross
READING
I had said to God, “You know well that I don’t have time to be sick.” I was answered beyond all hope, and I gloried in it a little. Then God seemed to say to me, “Since you don’t have time to be sick, perhaps you’ll have time to suffer a lot of pain?” And I haven’t been spared, I assure you! You see, in this world, that’s what it’s like. We have to carry our cross in one way or another. We say to God, “I don’t want that one.” Often our prayer is answered, but often also to our misfortune. It’s better to patiently accept what happens to us. There’s always joy alongside the pain. That’s what will happen to you, my dear sister.
Saint Zélie Martin
Letter CF 70 to Céline Guérin, 1 October 1871REFLECTION
Zélie’s disarming honesty makes her wisdom trustworthy. She admits her very human fault—that little moment of self-satisfaction when her prayer seemed to work: “I gloried in it a little.” She’s refreshingly human and admits it. But God’s gentle correction taught her that trying to negotiate our crosses often backfires.
Her mature hope comes not from spiritual perfection but from hard-won experience. She learned that we’ll carry crosses “one way or another,” and our attempts to avoid certain sufferings can lead us into worse ones. The hope that emerges from this formation is profound: patient acceptance that trusts there is “always joy alongside the pain.” This isn’t cheap consolation—it’s wisdom speaking from the other side of trying to bargain with God.
This letter from 1871 may seem chronologically out of place, but Zélie’s wisdom about accepting crosses prepares us to face what follows in her final months. Her insight that “it’s better to patiently accept what happens to us” would be tested to its limits as she faced her own approaching death.
PRAYER
Saints Louis and Zélie,
you who in your life as a couple and as parents
have borne witness to an exemplary Christian life,
by putting God first,
by fulfilling the duties of your state in life
and practicing the evangelical virtues,
we turn to you:Help us to have unshakable trust in God
and to abandon ourselves to His Will,
as you did through the joys,
as well as the trials, grief, and suffering
that marked your lives.Help us to love God with all our hearts,
to persevere through our daily difficulties,
and to abide in the joy and hope
that a living faith in Christ gives us.Intercede for us
(Mention your intentions here)
that we may obtain the graces we need
today and every day of our lives.Our Father…
Glory be…
Saints Louis and Zélie, pray for us.
Martin, Z & Martin, L 2011, A Call to a Deeper Love: The Family Correspondence of the Parents of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, 1863-1885, trans. Hess, AC, ed. Renda, F, Society of St. Paul, New York.
All scripture references are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.
Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Joseph, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Edith Stein.
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Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel 2025: Day 2
Day 2
A Noble HeartScripture Reading
Matthew 2:13–14Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt…” Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt.
Pray with St. Edith Stein
ESGA 20, “Sub tutela Matris”O Mary…
Give me a noble heart
that does not brood over troubles
or keep obsessing over them;
a heart that nothing can chill
and that gives itself joyfully.What About My Own Life?
God’s plans aren’t always ours, and his ways are far above our ways (cf. Is 55:9)… Each day, inevitably, life contradicts my plans in one way or another: I can try not to get irritated, not to be stubborn, but to open my heart to discover the specific ways God’s presence appears in my life today…
NOVENA PRAYER
O Most beautiful Flower of Mount Carmel,
Fruitful Vine, Splendor of heaven,
Blessed Mother of the Son of God,
Immaculate Virgin, assist me in this my necessity.
O Star of the Sea, help me
and show me herein that you are my Mother.O Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of heaven and earth,
I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart
to succor me in this necessity.
There are none that can withstand your power!
O help me and show me herein that you are my Mother.Our Lady, Queen and Beauty of Carmel,
pray for me and obtain my requests!
Sweet Mother, I place this cause in your hands!Our gratitude to the Discalced Carmelite Friars of the Paris Province and the Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Le Havre for their gracious permission to translate and publish their 2025 Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
All scripture references in this novena are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.
Translation from the French text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.
Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Joseph, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Edith Stein.
#heart #novena #OurLadyOfMountCarmel #prayer #selfGiving #StEdithStein #StTeresaBenedicta
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Sts. Louis & Zélie Novena 2025, Day 6: Hope in the Darkest Trial
READING
Since I wrote to you, I’ve had so much trouble. My little girl became worse and worse. Last Monday I sent for another doctor… he said to me, “This child must be breastfed right away, that’s the only thing that can save her….”
So at daybreak I left to go to the wet nurse who lives in Semallé… I arrived at the wet nurse’s house and asked her if she would come with me right away… we arrived home at ten-thirty… the wet nurse looked at the child and shook her head with an expression that seemed to say, “I made this trip for nothing!”
I quickly went upstairs to my room. I knelt at the feet of Saint Joseph and asked him for mercy, that the little one be cured, resigning myself completely to the will of God if He wanted to take her. I don’t cry often, but I cried while I was praying.
I didn’t know if I should go downstairs… finally, I decided to go. And what did I see? The child was suckling with all her heart…. She didn’t let go of her hold until about one o’clock in the afternoon. She threw up a few mouthfuls and fell against her wet nurse as if she were dead. There were five of us around her…. As for me, my blood froze. The child had no visible breath….
Finally, a quarter of an hour passed. My little Thérèse opened her eyes and began to smile. From that moment on, she was completely cured.
Saint Zélie Martin
Letter CF 89 to Céline Guérin, March 1873REFLECTION
Zélie’s hope was never passive resignation. Faced with baby Thérèse’s near-death, she moved through Spirit-guided decisions: consulting the doctor, setting out at dawn despite her fears, negotiating with Rose Taillé the wet nurse, then that tearful prayer to Saint Joseph. Each step required enormous courage in the face of despair.
Her “resigning myself to the will of God” wasn’t emotional defeat but spiritual freedom—the kind that allows bold action precisely because we’re not clinging to outcomes. Even after her intense prayer, she had to decide whether to rejoin the others, a small choice requiring enormous courage. Even after witnessing the apparent answer to her prayer, Zélie faced one final test when little Thérèse seemed to die—yet hope persevered through that quarter-hour of frozen terror until her daughter opened her eyes and smiled, completely cured.
Zélie demonstrates how true hope combines passionate petition with complete surrender, decisive action with total abandonment. The Holy Spirit works through our practical decisions as much as through our prayers.
PRAYER
Saints Louis and Zélie,
you who in your life as a couple and as parents
have borne witness to an exemplary Christian life,
by putting God first,
by fulfilling the duties of your state in life
and practicing the evangelical virtues,
we turn to you:Help us to have unshakable trust in God
and to abandon ourselves to His Will,
as you did through the joys,
as well as the trials, grief, and suffering
that marked your lives.Help us to love God with all our hearts,
to persevere through our daily difficulties,
and to abide in the joy and hope
that a living faith in Christ gives us.Intercede for us
(Mention your intentions here)
that we may obtain the graces we need
today and every day of our lives.Our Father…
Glory be…
Saints Louis and Zélie, pray for us.
Martin, Z & Martin, L 2011, A Call to a Deeper Love: The Family Correspondence of the Parents of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, 1863-1885, trans. Hess, AC, ed. Renda, F, Society of St. Paul, New York.
All scripture references are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.
Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Joseph, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Edith Stein.
#hope #novena #prayer #StJoseph #StThérèseOfLisieux #StZélieMartin
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Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel 2025: Day 1
Day 1
The Heart of a ChildScripture Reading
Luke 1:30–38The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus…” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you…” Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”
Pray with St. Edith Stein
ESGA 20, “Sub tutela Matris”O sweet Mother Mary, give me a heart
candid and open like the heart of a child,
transparent like the water of a clear spring.What About My Own Life?
To give thanks and praise—this is the first movement of prayer. Today, I can thank God for his gifts: the gift of life, the joy of knowing him and being able to love him, and the unexpected gifts that will come through those I encounter throughout the day…
NOVENA PRAYER
O Most beautiful Flower of Mount Carmel,
Fruitful Vine, Splendor of heaven,
Blessed Mother of the Son of God,
Immaculate Virgin, assist me in this my necessity.
O Star of the Sea, help me
and show me herein that you are my Mother.O Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of heaven and earth,
I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart
to succor me in this necessity.
There are none that can withstand your power!
O help me and show me herein that you are my Mother.Our Lady, Queen and Beauty of Carmel,
pray for me and obtain my requests!
Sweet Mother, I place this cause in your hands!Our gratitude to the Discalced Carmelite Friars of the Paris Province and the Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Le Havre for their gracious permission to translate and publish their 2025 Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
All scripture references in this novena are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.
Translation from the French text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.
Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Joseph, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Edith Stein.
#gifts #Mother #novena #OurLadyOfMountCarmel #prayer #StEdithStein #StTeresaBenedicta #thanksgiving
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Sts. Louis & Zélie Novena 2025, Day 5: Hope When Life Feels Uncertain
READING
I must share with you an event that will probably take place at the end of the year, but which is of hardly any interest to anyone but me at the moment and still doesn’t delight anyone else. However, I would be happy over it if I knew I could raise this poor little person who is coming to live in our home, who will not leave it as long as he and I are alive…. I hope this child does well. Misfortune isn’t always at the same door. Oh well, may God’s will be done!
Saint Zélie Martin
Letter CF 80 to Isidore and his wife, 21 July 1872REFLECTION
Writing to announce her pregnancy with the future Saint Thérèse, Zélie offers a profound theology of hope in a single sentence: “Misfortune isn’t always at the same door.” This isn’t some quaint, optimistic axiom—Saint Zélie had already buried four children and would face more losses ahead. Rather, it’s the indicator of a mature hope that trusts in God’s goodness even when circumstances remain uncertain.
This hope doesn’t demand guarantees or explanations. It simply acknowledges that suffering, however real, is not the final word. Zélie’s “Oh well, may God’s will be done!” echoes Job’s radical trust: “Although he should kill me, I will trust in him” (Job 13:15). Sometimes hope’s greatest victory is simply refusing to let misfortune become our permanent address.
PRAYER
Saints Louis and Zélie,
you who in your life as a couple and as parents
have borne witness to an exemplary Christian life,
by putting God first,
by fulfilling the duties of your state in life
and practicing the evangelical virtues,
we turn to you:Help us to have unshakable trust in God
and to abandon ourselves to His Will,
as you did through the joys,
as well as the trials, grief, and suffering
that marked your lives.Help us to love God with all our hearts,
to persevere through our daily difficulties,
and to abide in the joy and hope
that a living faith in Christ gives us.Intercede for us
(Mention your intentions here)
that we may obtain the graces we need
today and every day of our lives.Our Father…
Glory be…
Saints Louis and Zélie, pray for us.
Martin, Z & Martin, L 2011, A Call to a Deeper Love: The Family Correspondence of the Parents of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, 1863-1885, trans. Hess, AC, ed. Renda, F, Society of St. Paul, New York.
All scripture references are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.
Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Joseph, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Edith Stein.
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Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel 2025: Introduction
On this day we give thanks that our dear Lady has clothed us with the “garment of salvation.”
Saint Edith Stein
“On the History and Spirit of Carmel”Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross
Edith Stein (1891-1942)
Poetry by St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross
Daily reflections by the Discalced Carmelite Friars, Paris ProvinceEdith was born on October 12, 1891, in Prussia to a Jewish family from Breslau (Wrocław). The youngest of seven children, she was less than two years old when her father died. As a teenager, Edith stopped believing and praying altogether.
In 1913, she studied philosophy at Göttingen under Edmund Husserl, who’d just started a new philosophical movement called phenomenology. This approach gave her an answer to her endless search for truth. She went on to complete her thesis and became the first woman in her country to earn a doctorate in philosophy.
In 1917, while visiting the widow of her friend Adolph Reinach, she experienced the strength that comes from the Risen Christ. Then in 1921, reading Saint Teresa of Avila’s autobiography, she realized that the truth she’d been seeking had a face—the face of Christ. Edith was baptized in the Catholic Church in 1922, even though her family couldn’t understand her decision. While teaching with the Dominican sisters in Speyer, she gave many talks throughout Germany and Europe on education, women’s roles, and religious calling.
In 1933, Nazi laws banned her from teaching entirely. She decided it was time to answer the call she’d felt at her baptism—she entered the Carmel of Cologne, taking the name Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. She was 42 years old. In 1939, to protect her community from danger, she moved to the Carmel in Echt, Holland. But the Nazis invaded there too, and in 1942, Edith was arrested with her sister, Rosa—also a Catholic convert—along with thousands of other converts, including Dominican and Trappist religious. On August 9, the train carrying her, Rosa, and hundreds of others arrived at Birkenau extermination camp (Auschwitz II). Edith and Rosa were killed immediately, along with most of the others.
Canonized in 1998, this great intellectual and spiritual figure was declared co-patron of Europe the following year. Her many writings—philosophical, theological, and spiritual works like Life in a Jewish Family and Science of the Cross—continue to guide those who, like her, are searching for the Truth. Her feast day is August 9.
Pray each day with St. Edith Stein
Join us every day as our novena unfoldsDay One
The Heart of a ChildDay Two
A Noble HeartDay Three
A Deep and Grateful HeartDay Four
A Meek and Humble HeartDay Five
A Noble and Resilient HeartDay Six
A Heart That Loves MuchDay Seven
Your Most Pure HeartDay Eight
With You TodayDay Nine
Glory of CarmelNovena Prayer
O Most beautiful Flower of Mount Carmel,
Fruitful Vine, Splendor of heaven,
Blessed Mother of the Son of God,
Immaculate Virgin, assist me in this my necessity.
O Star of the Sea, help me
and show me herein that you are my Mother.O Holy Mary, Mother of God,
Queen of heaven and earth,
I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart
to succor me in this necessity.
There are none that can withstand your power!
O help me and show me herein that you are my Mother.Our Lady, Queen and Beauty of Carmel,
pray for me and obtain my requests!
Sweet Mother, I place this cause in your hands!Our gratitude to the Discalced Carmelite Friars of the Paris Province and the Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Le Havre for their gracious permission to translate and publish their 2025 Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
All scripture references are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.
Translation from the French text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.
Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Joseph, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Edith Stein.
#novena #OurLadyOfMountCarmel #prayer #StEdithStein #StTeresaBenedicta
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Sts. Louis & Zélie Novena 2025, Day 4: Hope in Eternal Life
READING
I have the hope, and even the conviction, that our dear father was well received by God. I want my death to be like his. We’ve already had three Masses said for him. We intend to request a great number of them so that, if he has anything to atone for, he’ll quickly be delivered from Purgatory. His grave will be very near that of my two little Josephs.
Saint Zélie Martin
Letter CF 38 to her sister-in-law Céline, 3 September 1868REFLECTION
Zélie demonstrates the mature Catholic understanding of hope that navigates between presumption and despair. She can declare both her “conviction” that her father was well received by God and her intention to request many Masses “if he has anything to atone for.” This isn’t contradiction—it’s theological maturity.
What makes this spiritual balance even more remarkable is the timing: Zélie wrote this letter just ten days after burying little Joseph. In the depths of compounded grief—losing her infant son and her father within days of each other—she still maintains this delicate hope that avoids both presumption and despair.
Zélie’s hope holds both spiritual confidence and practical humility. She trusts in God’s mercy while honoring the Church’s teaching about purification. Her hope works through love, expressed in arranging Masses for the repose of her father’s soul—the same love that will soon lay him to rest near her “two little Josephs.”
PRAYER
Saints Louis and Zélie,
you who in your life as a couple and as parents
have borne witness to an exemplary Christian life,
by putting God first,
by fulfilling the duties of your state in life
and practicing the evangelical virtues,
we turn to you:Help us to have unshakable trust in God
and to abandon ourselves to His Will,
as you did through the joys,
as well as the trials, grief, and suffering
that marked your lives.Help us to love God with all our hearts,
to persevere through our daily difficulties,
and to abide in the joy and hope
that a living faith in Christ gives us.Intercede for us
(Mention your intentions here)
that we may obtain the graces we need
today and every day of our lives.Our Father…
Glory be…
Saints Louis and Zélie, pray for us.
Martin, Z & Martin, L 2011, A Call to a Deeper Love: The Family Correspondence of the Parents of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, 1863-1885, trans. Hess, AC, ed. Renda, F, Society of St. Paul, New York.
All scripture references are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.
Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Joseph, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Edith Stein.
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Sts. Louis & Zélie Novena 2025, Day 3: Hope in the Midst of Loss
READING
My dear little Joseph died this morning at 7 o’clock. I was alone with him. He had a night of cruel suffering, and tearfully I asked for his deliverance. My heart was relieved when I saw him utter his last sigh.
Saint Zélie Martin
Letter CF 36 to Isidore, 24 August 1868REFLECTION
Between Day 2’s “I can’t imagine that God will not leave my dear little boy with me” and this stark reality lies a profound shift. Zélie’s abandonment was threefold: she abandoned little Joseph to God’s arms, abandoned herself to tearful prayer, and abandoned herself even to relief when his suffering ended.
Yet this surrender was never cold resignation but love-filled release. According to her daughter Céline’s later recollections, Zélie placed “a crown of white roses on his head” and stayed “close to his tiny coffin up to the last moment.” Even as she sighed, “My God, how hard it is to put him into the grave, but since You will it so, may Your holy will be done,” her maternal tenderness remained intact. The same hands that crowned her child with roses also released him to God’s care.
From this complete surrender—both anguished and loving—purified hope could emerge. No longer hope based on her expectations, but hope grounded in God’s goodness beyond understanding. The confident hope of Day 2 may have died with little Joseph, but something deeper was born: hope that could endure when God’s answers looked nothing like her prayers.
PRAYER
Saints Louis and Zélie,
you who in your life as a couple and as parents
have borne witness to an exemplary Christian life,
by putting God first,
by fulfilling the duties of your state in life
and practicing the evangelical virtues,
we turn to you:Help us to have unshakable trust in God
and to abandon ourselves to His Will,
as you did through the joys,
as well as the trials, grief, and suffering
that marked your lives.Help us to love God with all our hearts,
to persevere through our daily difficulties,
and to abide in the joy and hope
that a living faith in Christ gives us.Intercede for us
(Mention your intentions here)
that we may obtain the graces we need
today and every day of our lives.Our Father…
Glory be…
Saints Louis and Zélie, pray for us.
Martin, Z & Martin, L 2011, A Call to a Deeper Love: The Family Correspondence of the Parents of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, 1863-1885, trans. Hess, AC, ed. Renda, F, Society of St. Paul, New York.
All scripture references are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.
Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Joseph, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Edith Stein.
#hope #JosephJeanBaptisteMartin #novena #prayer #StZélieMartin
