#pere-jacques-de-jesus — Public Fediverse posts on home.social

Today’s quote comes from Père Jacques de Jésus, O.C.D., the Discalced Carmelite friar who served as the headmaster of a boarding school in Avon, France. During the Nazi occupation, he courageously sheltered Jewish students, risking his own life to protect others. His selfless acts of heroism exemplify the virtues of compassion, courage, and infinite charity.

Silence was a hallmark of Père Jacques’ life, so deeply devoted to Our Lady. One of his fellow prisoners in the concentration camp testified to his contemplative spirit:

I can still see Père Jacques kneeling on the floor of that poor barrack, without a kneeler, without any support—his whole soul concentrated and united with God. This vision of Père Jacques alone was a great comfort to me. I see his eyes fixed on the altar, his eyes where a gentle flame shone, like the flame in a shrine.

Now, let’s hear Père Jacques’ inspiring words.

God is eternal silence; God dwells in silence. He is eternal silence because he is the One who has totally realized his own being because he says all and possesses all. He is infinite happiness and infinite life. All God’s works are marked by this characteristic. Contemplate the Incarnation; it was accomplished in the silence of the Virgin Mary’s chamber at a time when she was in prolonged silence, her door closed. Our Lord’s birth came during the night, while all things were enveloped in silence. That is how the Word of God appeared on earth, and only Mary and Joseph were silently with him. They did not overwhelm him with their questions, for they were accustomed to guarding their innermost thoughts.

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

Featured image: Mary at the Loom is an oil on canvas painting executed in 1895 by British artist William Henry Margetson (1861–1940). It comes from the collections of Victoria Art Gallery in Bath, England. Image credit: Victoria Art Gallery / ArtUK (Public domain)

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/05/01/mdj2024-ep001/

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