Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows

Today we celebreate the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. This devotion has been practised since at least the middle of the 14th century and commemorates the following sorrowful events in the life of Our Lady and Christ:

1. The prophecy of Simeon (Lk 2:34-35);

2. The Flight into Egypt (Mt 2:13-21);

3. The Loss of Jesus for Three Days (Lk 2:41-50);

4. The Ascent to Calvary (Jn 19:17);

5. The Crucifixion and Death of Jesus (Jn 19:18-30);

6. Jesus Taken Down from the Cross (Jn 19:39-40);

7. Jesus Laid in the Tomb (Jn 19:39-42).

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"In the first rank is the Virgin Mary, full of grace, the Mother of the Savior. She, accepting the announcement from on high, the Servant of the Lord, Spouse of the Spirit and Mother of the Eternal Son, manifests her joy before her cousin Elizabeth who celebrates her faith: "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior...henceforth all generations will call me blessed." She has grasped, better than all other creatures, that God accomplishes wonderful things: His name is holy, He shows His mercy, He raises up the humble, He is faithful to His promises. Not that the apparent course of her life in any way departs from the ordinary, but she meditates on the least signs of God, pondering them in her heart. Not that she is in any way spared sufferings: she stands, the mother of sorrows, at the foot of the cross, associated in an eminent way with the sacrifice of the innocent Servant. But she is also open in an unlimited degree to the joy of the resurrection; and she is also taken up, body and soul, into the glory of heaven. The first of the redeemed, immaculate from the moment of her conception, the incomparable dwelling-place of the Spirit, the pure abode of the Redeemer of mankind, she is at the same time the beloved Daughter of God and, in Christ, the Mother of all. She is the perfect model of the Church both on earth and in glory. What a marvelous echo the prophetic words about the new Jerusalem find in her wonderful existence as the Virgin of Israel: "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garment of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels."(48) With Christ, she sums up in herself all joys; she lives the perfect joy promised to the Church: Mater plena sanctae laetitiae. And it is with good reason that her children on earth, turning to her who is the mother of hope and of grace, invoke her as the cause of their joy: Causa nostrae laetitiae."

-- Gaudete in Domino by Pope Paul VI

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"[On] the feast of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows, I thought it was a little like your own feast, my dear little Mama, so I prayed for you with fervor! You did feel that, didn't you? I placed your soul in that of Our Lady of Sorrows and asked her to console you. At the back of the cloister we have a statue of the Mater Dolorosa, to whom I have a great devotion. Every night I go to speak to her of you; tonight I said my little word to her before coming up to write you. I love those tears of the Virgin so much, I unite them to those my poor Mama sheds when thinking of her Elisabeth. Oh, you see, if you could read my soul, if you saw all the happiness I enjoy in Carmel, happiness so profound that I understand better each day, happiness that God alone knows! Ah! what a beautiful part He has given to His poor little one! If for one instant you could see all that, oh! my little Mama, you would have to rejoice. Since I had to have your 'fiat' to enter this corner of Heaven, thank you again for having pronounced it so courageously. If you knew how God loves you! and how your daughter cherishes you more than ever!"

-- I Have Found God: Complete Works [of] Elizabeth of the Trinity, vol 2

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"Truly, O blessed Mother, a sword has pierced your heart. For only by passing through your heart could the sword enter the flesh of your Son. Indeed, after your Jesus - who belongs to everyone, but is especially yours - gave up his life, the cruel spear, which was not withheld from his lifeless body, tore open his side. Clearly it did not touch his soul and could not harm him, but it did pierce your heart. For surely his soul was no longer there, but yours could not be torn away. Thus the violence of sorrow has cut through your heart, and we rightly call you more than martyr, since the effect of compassion in you has gone beyond the endurance of physical suffering.

Or were those words, Woman, behold your Son, not more than a word to you, truly piercing your heart, cutting through to the division between soul and spirit? What an exchange! John is given to you in place of Jesus, the servant in place of the Lord, the disciple in place of the master; the son of Zebedee replaces the Son of God, a mere man replaces God himself. How could these words not pierce your most loving heart, when the mere remembrance of them breaks ours, hearts of iron and stone though they are!

Do not be surprised, brothers, that Mary is said to be a martyr in spirit. Let him be surprised who does not remember the words of Paul, that one of the greatest crimes of the Gentiles was that they were without love. That was far from the heart of Mary; let it be far from her servants.

Perhaps someone will say: “Had she not known before that he would not die?” Undoubtedly. “Did she not expect him to rise again at once?” Surely. “And still she grieved over her crucified Son?” Intensely. Who are you and what is the source of your wisdom that you are more surprised at the compassion of Mary than at the passion of Mary’s Son? For if he could die in body, could she not die with him in spirit? He died in body through a love greater than anyone had known. She died in spirit through a love unlike any other since his."

-- From a sermon by St Bernard of Clairvaux

Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross

"Hail, Cross, our only hope!" this is what the holy church summoned us to exclaim during the time for contemplating the bitter suffering of our Lord Jesus Christ. The jubilant exclamation of the Easter Alleluia silenced the serious song of the cross. But the sign of our salvation greeted us amidst the time of Easter joy, since we were recalling the discovery of the one who had passed from sight. At the end of the cycle of ecclesiastical feasts, the cross greets us through the heart of the Savior. And now, as the church year draws toward an end, it is raised high before us and is to hold us spellbound, until the Easter Alleluia summons us anew to forget the earth for a while and to rejoice in the marriage of the Lamb.

Our holy Order has us begin our fast with the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. And it leads us to the foot of the cross to renew our holy vows. The Crucified One looks down on us and asks us whether we are still willing to honor what we promised in an hour of grace. And he certainly has reason to ask. More than ever the cross is a sign of contradiction. The followers of the Antichrist show it far more dishonor than did the Persians who stole it. They desecrate the images of the Cross, and they make every effort to tear the cross out of the hearts of Christians. All too often they have succeeded even with those who, like us, once vowed to bear Christ's cross after him. Therefore, the Savior today looks at us, solemnly probing us, and asks each one of us: Will you remain faithful to the Crucified? Consider carefully! The world is in flames, the battle between Christ and the Antichrist has broken into the open. If you decide for Christ, it could cost you your life. Carefully consider what you promise. Taking and renewing vows is a dreadfully serious business. You make a promise to the Lord of heaven and earth. If you are not deadly serious about your will to fulfill it, you fall into the hands of the living God.

Before you hangs the Savior on the cross, because he became obedient unto death on the cross. He came into the world not to do his will, but his Father's will. If you intend to be the bride of the Crucified, you too must completely renounce your own will and no longer have any desire except to fulfill God's will. He speaks to you in the holy rule and the constitutions of the Order. He speaks to you through the mouth of your superiors. He speaks to you by the gentle breath of the Holy Spirit in the depths of your heart. To remain true to your vow of obedience, you must listen to this voice day and night and follow its orders. However, this means daily and hourly crucifying your self-will and self-love.

The Savior hangs naked and destitute before you on the cross because he has chosen poverty. Those who want to follow him must renounce all earthly goods. It is not enough that you once left everything out there and came to the monastery. You must be serious about it now as well. Gratefully receive what God's providence sends you. Joyfully do without what he may let you to do without. Do not be concerned with your own body, with its trivial necessities and inclinations, but leave concern to those who are entrusted with it. Do not be concerned about the coming day and the coming meal.

The Savior hangs before you with a pierced heart. He has spilled his heart's blood to win your heart. If you want to follow him in holy purity, your heart must be free of every earthly desire. Jesus, the Crucified, is to be the only object of your longings, your wishes, your thoughts.

Are you now alarmed by the immensity of what the holy vows require of you? You need not be alarmed. What you have promised is indeed beyond your own weak, human power. But it is not beyond the power of the Almighty this power will become yours if you entrust yourself to him, if he accepts your pledge of troth. He does so on the day of your holy profession and will do it anew today. It is the loving heart of your Savior that invites you to follow. It demands your obedience because the human will is blind and weak. It cannot find the way until it surrenders itself entirely to the divine will. He demands poverty because hands must be empty of earth's goods to receive the goods of heaven. He demands chastity because only the heart detached from all earthly love is free for the love of God. The arms of the Crucified are spread out to draw you to his heart. He wants your life in order to give you his.

Ave Crux, Spes unica!

The world is in flames. The conflagration can also reach our house. But high above all flames towers the cross. They cannot consume it. It is the path from earth to heaven. It will lift one who embraces it in faith, love, and hope into the bosom of the Trinity.

The world is in flames. Are you impelled to put them out? Look at the cross. From the open heart gushes the blood of the Savior. This extinguishes the flames of hell. Make your heart free by the faithful fulfillment of your vows; then the flood of divine love will be poured into your heart until it overflows and becomes fruitful to all the ends of the earth. Do you hear the groans of the wounded on the battlefields in the west and the east? You are not a physician and not a nurse and cannot bind up the wounds. You are enclosed in a cell and cannot get to them. Do you hear the anguish of the dying? You would like to be a priest and comfort them. Does the lament of the widows and orphans distress you? You would like to be an angel of mercy and help them. Look at the Crucified. If you are nuptially bound to him by the faithful observance of your holy vows, your being is precious blood. Bound to him, you are omnipresent as he is. You cannot help here or there like the physician, the nurse, the priest. You can be at all fronts, wherever there is grief, in the power of the cross. Your compassionate love takes you everywhere, this love from the divine heart. Its precious blood is poured everywhere soothing, healing, saving.

The eyes of the Crucified look down on you asking, probing. Will you make your covenant with the Crucified anew in all seriousness? What will you answer him? " Lord, where shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."

Ave Crux, Spes unica!

-- Collected Works of Edith Stein (ICS Publications) by St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross

Beginning of a new life

Dear Readers,

Rarely ever do I write personal notes. It is with great difficulty that I need to disclose to you that on 16 September I will be leaving my community. I am not solemnly professed so no dispensation is required from the Holy Father. I'm simply a "white veil" sister. I have been dealing with a series of medical problems for a couple of months, and it was recently discovered that I have a very serious medical condition. My community is very small and elderly. They simply cannot afford to charitably take care of me, the way it was done with St Teresa of the Andes, Bl Elisabeth of the Trinity and St Thérèse. (Their communities were at least three times the size of mine; and I'm no saint, either!) So I will be going to my parents' home. They are waiting for me to arrive to try to get an extension on insurance, medical treatment, etc. In case you're wondering, I cannot come back. My understanding is that only the Rule of St Benedict allows that, and I'm a hard core carmelite. Plus, my condition makes me an expensive liability even though I'm still young. But I am in peace. When things are from God, one experiments peace in the midst of turmoil and sorrow.

The blog will continue indefinitely, though. Since I normally schedule the posts a couple of weeks in advance, you shouldn't notice a difference, Lord willing, even when I'm not feeling well. There just may be a delay in responding to comments, just like here in the monastery. Because I had not taken a solemn vow of poverty yet, I am allowed to take all my books with me. Thus, the blog will not "suffer" and you will continue to read reading excerpts, particularly from often-times hard-to-get or out-of-print books.

I will no longer be a discalced carmelite nun, though I still "feel" and would like to remain so; but this is not possible. I go back to being a "lay carmel lover" or "a lay person with a carmelite heart." I do not wish to deceive anyone into thinking that the blog is kept by a religious past the 16th. I will change my profile description, but, unless I get many comments to the contrary, I may keep the pseudonym ocdsister. This is something I need to think about. I'm still the same person; I'll just be wearing different clothes and be in a different place. The purpose of the blog remains the same: to provide spiritual reading excerpts, mostly from Carmelite sources, to, hopefully, help others come closer to God. I do not wish my health to be a distraction in the blog, so, please, with the exception of this particular post, keep your comments to the usual topics: spirituality, life of prayer, etc. I wish this blog to remain a place for "spiritual food".

I know this is difficult for some people to understand, how can a religious community get rid of someone just because they're ill. It boils down to this: the Church allows it if solemn vows haven't been professed yet, and the community considers it the best course of action based on their resources (financial and in number of solemnly professed members), the person in question, and condition involved (contagious, chronic, crippling), etc. As the faithful Catholic I try to be, I must obey the Church in all its teachings, doctrines, and regulations, whether I understand them or not. I entreat you not to criticize my community or make negative judgments on the blog. God has an active and a permissive will. In this case, He has allowed this to happen, even though I would have preferred a different outcome, so I need to try and graciously accept it.

Please pray for me during this very difficult period of transition. This truly is an invitation from God for me to practice complete abandonment to Divine Providence in a spirit of trustful surrender. If He's allowing this to happen, it's because He has a better plan for me in mind, and this is for my own good in spite of appearances.

"Followers", whether public or anonymous: thank you for choosing this blog out of the millions of choices available. Those sending me prayer requests, I will be happy to pray for your intentions. If you wish me to forward your request to a religious community of discalced nuns so they pray for you, just mention it. I have many friends that are solemnly professed nuns in several countries, and they will be happy to take your intentions to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

I thank you in advanced for your prayers.

Transform me so that through me all may know Christ

"As the consecration of the Mass draws near our Lord is equivalently saying to us: "You, Mary; you, John; you, Peter; and you, Andrew-you, all of you-give Me your body; give Me your blood. Give Me your whole self! I can suffer no more. I have passed through My cross, I have filled up the sufferings of My physical body, but I have not filled up the sufferings wanting to My Mystical Body, in which you are. The Mass is the moment when each one of you may literally fulfill My injunction: 'Take up your cross and follow Me.'"

On the cross our Blessed Lord was looking forward to you, hoping that one day you would be giving yourself to Him at the moment of consecration. Today, in the Mass, that hope our Blessed Lord entertained for you is fulfilled. When you assist at the Mass He expects you now actually to give Him yourself.

Then as the moment of consecration arrives, the priest in obedience to the words of our Lord, "Do this for a commemoration of me," takes bread in his hands and says "This is my body"; and then over the chalice of wine says, "This is the chalice of my blood of the new and eternal testament." He does not consecrate the bread and wine together, but separately.

The separate consecration of the bread and wine is a symbolic representation of the separation of body and blood, and since the Crucifixion entailed that very mystery, Calvary is thus renewed on our altar. But Christ, as has been said, is not alone on our altar; we are with Him. Hence the words of consecration have a double sense; the primary signification of the words is: "This is the Body of Christ; this is the Blood of Christ;" but the secondary signification is "This is my body; this is my blood."

Such is the purpose of life! To redeem ourselves in union with Christ; to apply His merits to our souls by being like Him in all things, even to His death on the Cross. He passed through His consecration on the Cross that we might now pass through ours in the Mass. There is nothing more tragic in all the world than wasted pain. Think of how much suffering there is in hospitals, among the poor, and the bereaved. Think also of how much of that suffering goes to waste! How many of those lonesome, suffering, abandoned, crucified souls are saying with our Lord at the moment of consecration, "This is my body. Take it"? And yet that is what we all should be saying at that second: I give myself to God. Here is my body – take it. Here is my blood – take it. Here is my soul, my will, my energy, my strength, my property, my wealth – all that I have: it is yours – take it! Consecrate it! Offer it! Offer it with thyself to the Heavenly Father in other that He, looking down on this great sacrifice, may see only, His beloved Son, in whom He is well pleased. Transmute the poor bread of my life into thy divine life, swirl the wine of my wasted life into thy divine spirit; unite my broken heart with thy heart; change my cross into a crucifix.

Let no my abandonment and my sorrow and my bereavement go to waste. Gather up the fragments, and as the drop of water is absorbed by the wine at the offertory of the Mass, let my life be absorbed in thine; let my little cross be entwined with the great cross so that I may purchase the joys of everlasting happiness in union with thee.

Consecrate these trial of my life which would go unrewarded unless united with thee; transubstantiate me so that like bread which is now thy body, and wine which is now thy blood, I too my be wholly thine. I care not if the species remain, or that, like the bread and the wine I seem to all earthly eyes the same as before. My station in life, my routine duties, my work, my family — all these are but the species of my life which remain unchanged; but the substance of my life: my soul, my mind, my will, my heart – transubstantiate them, transform them wholly into thy service, so that through me all may know how sweet is the life of Christ."

-- Calvary and the Mass by Archbishop Fulton Sheen

Feast of Bl Maria of Jesus

"Blessed Maria of Jesus was born on August 18th, 1560. (...) When Maria was only four, her father died, and the young mother, being desirous of re-marrying, brought the child to live and be educated in the home of her paternal grandparents at Molina de Aragón, at that time the capital of the Spanish commercial world.

Here Maria lived until she was seventeen. Lively, intelligent, cheerful, she received an excellent upbringing from her exemplary grandparents and uncles. (...) Between the age of twelve and fourteen, she experienced a great struggle, both interior and exterior, with regard to her religious vocation. Finally convinced of the Divine call, she left her family and her wealth in order to give herself to God. In the summer of 1577, she paid a last visit to the beloved Shrine [Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Ravine], to say goodbye to Our Lady before leaving for Toledo, there to enter the Carmel founded nine years earlier by St Teresa herself. In a letter to the Community, the Saint gave this remarkable and well-known recommendation of Maria: 'Daughters, I am sending you a postulant with a dowry of five thousand ducats, but I assure you her character is such that I would willingly give fifty thousand ducats for her. Therefore do not hold her on par with the rest, for I hope in God that she will be a prodigy.'

María López de Rivas received the habit of the Discalced Carmelites in Toledo on August 12th, 1577, and was given the religious name of Maria of Jesus. When it came to the time for her Profession, the Community was undecided as to whether they would receive her on account of her ill-health. St Teresa, hearing of this, wrote to them: 'Think what you are doing, my daughters, for if you do not allow Maria of Jesus to be professed, I shall have her brought to Avila, for I am sure that the community that gets her will be more fortunate than any other. I want to have her in my house, even if she has to stay in bed all her life long.'

Our Lord rewarded her great generosity with the most exceptional grace of mystical stigmata in her hands, feet and side, making her feel at the same time the pain of the crown of thorns in her head.

Words spoken to her by Our Lord on the feast of the Epiphany, 1629, give a profound meaning to the last ten years of her life, which was a period of continual pain and suffering: 'Maria, you beg me to release you form the prison of your body. Know that the time has not yet arrived. If you have to go on living, it is because you have to live for others. As for taking rest, eternity awaits you.'

In truth, during those remaining years, she lived solely for the glory of God, the welfare of her Community and the conversion of sinners. Elected Counsellor for the fourth time, and still Mistress of Novices, she gave great edification as a model of observance and fervour.

She offered herself, in imitation of Christ, as a victim in body and soul for the conversion of sinners, especially for certain notorious ones. In imitation of Our Lord, too, she wanted to be obedient unto death; so, in her last agony, she said to her Prioress: 'Mother, may I have your permission to die?' Having received the last Sacraments with the utmost devotion, this most prudent virgin gave up her spirit to her Savior at 10 o'clock on the morning of the 12th of September, 1640. She was eighty years of age, sixty-three of which had been spent in Carmel."

Bl Maria of Jesus, pray for us!

-- Blessed Maria of Jesus by Editorial de Espiritualidad

Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Mary

"'And the Virgin's name was Mary.' Let us say a few things about this name which, when interpreted, is called 'star of the sea,' and is admirably suitable to the Virgin Mother. She is, in fact,  very appropriately compared to a star without any loss to itself shoots forth its ray, so the Virgin, too, without injury to her virginity gave birth to her Son. And as the ray from the star does not diminish its brilliance, neither did the Son lessen the integrity of His Mother.
  She is, then, that noble star sprung forth from Jacob, whose ray brightens the whole world, whose splendors both shine in heaven and penetrate into hell; spreading, likewise, over the earth and  warming both minds and bodies, it fosters virtue, and purifies from vice. She, I say, is a glorious and most wonderful star, of necessity raised above this great and broad sea, glittering with her merit, and giving light by her example.
  O you, who realize that in the rushing tide of this world you are bobbing about amid storms and tempests rather than walking on land, turn not your eyes away from the light of this star if you  do not wish to be lost in the storm. If the winds of temptations blow up, if you are running over mountains of tribulations, look up to this star; call on Mary! If you are being tossed about on the waves of pride, of ambition, of detraction, of envy, look up to this star; call on Mary! If wrath or avarice or the snare of the flesh shall strike against the ship of the mind, look up to Mary! If, when overwhelmed by the immensity of your crimes, when ashamed by the ugliness of your conscience, when frightened by horror for the Judgment, you begin to sink into the depths of sorrow, into the abyss of despair, think of Mary!
 In dangers, in trials, in matters of doubt, think of Mary; call on Mary! let her not depart from your mouth; let her not leave your heart, and, that you may gain the help of her prayer, do not forsake the example of her life. In following her, you will not stray; praying to her, you will not despair; when thinking of her, you will not be in error. If she holds you, you will not fall; in her protection, you will have no fear; with her as your leader, you will not faint in the way; through her kindness, you will arrive at port; and then you will realize yourself how deservedly it was declared: 'And the Virgin's name was Mary.'

-- From a sermon by St Bernard of Clairvaux

Participate actively in this supernatural life: cooperate with divine grace

"The Word is life. And this life He pours out and causes to circulate, through the mysterious movements of grace, in the souls that He has come to save. Each of us must cooperate, therefore, with these motions of divine grace; each of us must participate actively in this supernatural life that is the certain pledge of life eternal.

As St Mary Magdalene affirms, 'My Word is the Lord of all things, including the souls of His creatures. Furthermore, He has wished to become like man in order to make man like Himself in the sight of His Father - this by means of our good works done in the grace of God. For just as Jesus, clothed in our mortal spoil, willed to perform the actions that we perform, vile and low though they be, in order that our actions might become His through the fruits that we were to draw from His, so it pleases Him to have us imitate His actions in as far as this is possible, so that in the sight f His Father our actions may appear to be those of Jesus and thus, because they would seem to be the actions of His only-begotten Son, they would be dear to the Father and accepted by Him.'

Now, 'this Divine Man has sown in His field,' that is, in redeemed man, 'a good seed,' namely, the holy Gospel. This seed is similar to so many 'little grains of the finest gold (that fall) into the earth where my Beloved sows, scilicet, into the soul of each creature... And this divine seed of His holy words proceeds from the mouth of my Bridegroom.'

The Word sows His seed by means of the preachers who continually and abundantly scatter the seed of the Word in souls. 'And just as the material seed, after it has been sown, belongs more to the earth than to the farmer who sowed it, so the word of God, I mean His words, belongs more to the one who hears than to the one who preaches. For, the one who preaches has as his principal purpose the teaching of the word, while the one who hears ought to have as his immediate goal the following out and the putting into practice of what he hears.'

Still, this earth of the human soul will not produce fruit from the preaching save in the measure in which the soul has been previously 'moistened by Your most precious blood, O my Jesus, that flowed so abundantly from Your sacred wounds... The earth of Calvary was touched and inebriated by the blood of Christ, yes, to be sure. But much more has the earth of our heart been inebriated with divine love by the shedding of that same blood... Oh, what a sweet inebriation is this blood of my Word! Oh, that I were always thus inebriated, that I would always feel my heart within me overcome with what warmth of divine love and that I would not mind appearing foolish and mad with love! O love, O blood, O love!'"

-- Secrets of a Seraph: The Spiritual Doctrine of Saint Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi by Rev Salvator Thor-Salviat, AA, STD