#stpeterthomas — Public Fediverse posts

Quote of the day, 8 January: Peter-Thomas Rohrbach, OCD

Peter Thomas was born in a small town in the province of Périgord in Aquitaine about the year 1305. His father was a farm laborer, and the family was wretchedly poor.

Assigned to the monastery in Paris for the purpose of acquiring a higher degree in theology, he encountered a vexing and shameful problem—a growing abuse in the Order, which we will discuss in the following chapter, required that the university student obtain for himself the money to finance his education, either from his preaching, or his tutoring, or, most often, from his own relatives.

Therefore, Carmelites who came from affluent families were easily able to get the required money, while students from poorer backgrounds had to struggle. Peter’s family was impecunious, and with the pressure of his religious duties and his studies, he felt for a time that he would have to discontinue his studies.

He later recounted to Mezières an episode which happened as he paced the cloister corridor late one night, worrying about his problem. The Blessed Virgin appeared to him, saying:

“My son, do not worry about your lack of money, for I will not forsake you. Work hard at your studies and so you will serve my son and me.”

The next morning, he received a large and unexpected donation with which he was able to continue his studies. He obtained his doctorate in theology and was assigned to the important monastery at Avignon, where the papal court was located.

At Avignon, there also occurred the celebrated vision of the Blessed Virgin’s promise concerning the Carmelite Order. Peter had apparently been praying to her—late at night again—in behalf of the Order when he heard these words from her:

“Have confidence, Peter, for the Carmelite Order will last until the end of the world. Elijah, its founder, obtained it a long time ago from my Son.”

Peter-Thomas Rohrbach, O.C.D.

Journey to Carith, Chapter II

Note: Philip de Mezières, a layman and aide to Peter of Lusignan, king of Cyprus, became a close personal friend of Peter Thomas and wrote his biography based on firsthand experience and the saint’s own recollections. Unusual for its time, the work is candid and restrained, largely free of the embellishments typical of medieval hagiography, and is regarded as a notable achievement of medieval literature.

Rohrbach, P 1966, 2015, Journey to Carith: The Sources and Story of the Discalced Carmelites, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: Saint Peter Thomas, by Fray Juan del Santísimo Sacramento, 1666 oil on canvas. Image credit: Museo de Bellas Artes de Córdoba (Public Domain).

#anxiety #apparition #BlessedVirginMary #StPeterThomas #study