#servantofgod — Public Fediverse posts

Surrender

woe are we
birthed into adversity
blind to the realm of eternal possibility

the prophet spake
the servant did a double take
suddenly saw the surrounding angelic host awake

these battles are not your own
for you strive not against flesh and bone
sit back and watch as your deliverance is sown

July 2, 2015

Surrender

woe are we
birthed into adversity
blind to the realm of eternal possibility

the prophet spake
the servant did a double take
suddenly saw the surrounding angelic host awake

these battles are not your own
for you strive not against flesh and bone
sit back and watch as your deliverance is sown

July 2, 2015

Surrender

woe are we
birthed into adversity
blind to the realm of eternal possibility

the prophet spake
the servant did a double take
suddenly saw the surrounding angelic host awake

these battles are not your own
for you strive not against flesh and bone
sit back and watch as your deliverance is sown

July 2, 2015

Surrender

woe are we
birthed into adversity
blind to the realm of eternal possibility

the prophet spake
the servant did a double take
suddenly saw the surrounding angelic host awake

these battles are not your own
for you strive not against flesh and bone
sit back and watch as your deliverance is sown

July 2, 2015

Surrender

woe are we
birthed into adversity
blind to the realm of eternal possibility

the prophet spake
the servant did a double take
suddenly saw the surrounding angelic host awake

these battles are not your own
for you strive not against flesh and bone
sit back and watch as your deliverance is sown

July 2, 2015

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Servant of God Père Jacques de Jésus

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

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

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

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

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

Mary was a silent prayer; and it was in the silence of this silent, withdrawn prayer that Mary heard the Angel’s voice. She would not have heard it had she not been in silence.

Retreat for the Third Order (OCDS) of the Carmel of Chaville, 1936

And Mary? Her whole life slips into silence. Her soul is saturated with silence. The fullness of grace within her draws her soul into astonishing depths of silence.

Retreat for the Carmel of Gravigny, 1936

Servant of God Père Jacques de Jésus

Note: These two quotes were translated into English for the first time for the Carmelite Online Lenten Retreat in 2024.

Prayer for the Beatification of Père Jacques de Jésus

Father of Infinite Goodness,
You gave Père Jacques de Jésus
from childhood on the desire to love You
and to love all people
with an undivided heart.

You lavished him with talent
for the education of young people,
You chose him to become a priest,
You called him to enter the Order of Carmel.

Among the inhuman horrors of the concentration camps
You made him a fervent witness of faith and love,
until the perfect offering of his life.

Grant us the graces which we ask of You
by his intercession and,
if it is Your will,
glorify him in Your Church,
through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior.

Reports of favors received can be sent to:

Vice-Postulation de la cause du Père Jacques
1, rue Père Jacques – 77215 AVON Cedex
FRANCE

Learn about Père Jacques de Jésus

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

Featured image: This is a detailed view of The Annunciation, an oil on copper painting by Flemish artist Frans Francken II (1581–1642). The painting dates to 1615–1625 and comes from the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago. Image credit: Art Institute of Chicago (Public domain)

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/05/05/mdj2024-ep05/

#archangelGabriel #God #listening #PèreJacquesDeJésus #prayer #presence #recollection #ServantOfGod #VirginMary

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.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the Carmelite Quotes podcast for more inspiring quotes and reflections. We’re available on Spotify and will be appearing soon on other platforms.

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/

#God #incarnation #JesusChrist #nativity #night #PèreJacquesDeJésus #ServantOfGod #silence #StJoseph #VirginMary

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.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the Carmelite Quotes podcast for more inspiring quotes and reflections. We’re available on Spotify and will be appearing soon on other platforms.

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/

#God #incarnation #JesusChrist #nativity #night #PèreJacquesDeJésus #ServantOfGod #silence #StJoseph #VirginMary

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.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the Carmelite Quotes podcast for more inspiring quotes and reflections. We’re available on Spotify and will be appearing soon on other platforms.

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/

#God #incarnation #JesusChrist #nativity #night #PèreJacquesDeJésus #ServantOfGod #silence #StJoseph #VirginMary