aeternus

I wanted to share one of the best novena’s I have been privileged to pray.  It is always sad when they come to a close but through the many graces received we have such a glow in our hearts to share with others.  I thought I might share it with you via this 3 minute multi-media… (note that you have to push the small little triangular “play button” near the bottom left of the image when you visit the page.)

On the feast of Elijah…

“And it came to pass (we are told) after many days that the word of Jehovah came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, show thyself unto Ahab ; and I will send rain upon the earth. Elijah’s long waiting-time is over. He on the one hand and Israel on the other have been prepared for the final crisis. The ravens have taught him faith; the poor widow has taught him love; at any rate, the wady of Cherith and the Sidonian city were the schools in which he practiced himself in those essential qualities. Israel too has been brought down by suffering, and has begun to distrust a god who cannot relieve it in its distress. Longing to help his people, and knowing that this cannot be till Israel of itself turns to its God, Elijah sets forth to meet the man who is the chief cause of its backsliding.

Let us see to it that, whether in the matter of ritual we sympathize with Elijah, or perhaps with both, we do not fall behind the first great Puritan in realizing his two special truths—that there is a living God and that our life, physical and spiritual, being derived from Him, is to be a priestly, consecrated life. The theology of the Church is but an expansion of these two great truths. Elijah would, I think, have called them, not truths, but facts. Can we say that they are becoming facts to us ?—facts which in the sight of God are transfiguring our lives ? Surely if this were the case as it might be, the existence of the supernatural would want no other argument ; and theoretic or practical atheism would be as impossible as to deny the power of the tides or the sun.”

The Hallowing of Criticism – Nine Sermons on Elijah preached in Rochester Cathedral – Rev. Thomas Kelly Cheyne, Oriel professor of the interpretation of Holy Scripture at Oxford, Canon of Rochester 1888

On this wonderful feast day of one of my very favorite Saints, Teresa of Jesus of the Andes, I thought I would share one of the many, many, many wonderful things she has written as a meditation for the day…

Letter # 141 to Amelia Montt Martinez

October, 1919

“May the grace of the Holy Spirit be with your soul.

There are only a few more days left before my taking the habit.  And the days seem so long while I wait to be clothes with it.

I am the happiest person with my vocation and never tire of thanking God for having brought me to this little corner of heaven.  I live for God alone.  My soul concern is to know Him that I may love Him more.  I have begun the life of heaven here on earth, a life invented and thought of by God through all eternity; a life of love alone and of ceaseless praise.  If you could see but for an instant what’s in the soul of this Carmelite postulant, you’d understand the happiness of living always near the tabernacle.  Alone with Him in His aloneness, I am there at the chapel grates or in my humble cell.  There is nothing between Him and His creature now.  I hear His divine voice always.  I gaze on always and contemplate His infinite beauty.  I feel always the beating of my God’s Heart, begging me for love because He knows that love contains everything; sacrifice and souls.

Sister dear, without doubt, as Jesus Himself said to Magdalene, He has chosen for me “the best part.”  A Carmelite is to be concerned with her God alone.  She’s to live no longer on earth, but in God.  She is to move and to work and to breathe far from people, far from earthly things.  We are to remember the world but only in order to pray for it and for people but without letting ourselves be influenced by them, without breathing in their impure atmosphere.  Jesus has imprisoned me here to unite Himself with me, nothing disturbing this gaze, this vision of this adorable Face of His which one day I shall possess in its fullness there in heaven.  I often imagine that I am like a queen; for while others serve the King in the apostolate of action, I, like a queen, am by His side, listening to Him, contemplating Him, praying together with Him, and joining Him in His own suffering.  He exchanged His own feelings with my own by divinizing them.  He surrounds me with His divine light, beautifying my soul with His teachings.”

Letters of St. Teresa of Jesus of the Andes Discalced Carmelite.  Translated by Michael D. Grifin, O.C.D  Teresian Charism Press Holy Hill  1525 Carmel Road  Hubertus, WI  53033.  All Rights are Reserved to the Discalced Carmelite Friars of the Washington Province.  Copyrighted 1994.

Novena third night – feast day of Blessed Louis and Zélie Martin

(parents of Saint Thérèse of Lisiuex)

A new feature to the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Novena this year has been the Crux Ave Ensemble Choir led by Mr. Jim Randazzo. Their voices have lifted up our souls with their most beautiful sacred music. The two rank Wick’s pipe organ makes such a unique sound in the chapel as Mr. Randazzo handles they keys so expertly. It is a blessing to have them at the Novena!

Carmelite Priest, Father Christopher LaRocca,  began his wonderful sermon today with the fine words: “We have set the goal of our pilgrimage the summit of Mount Carmel. Nothing short of the glory of God in Heaven. We were created to be with God forever in Heaven. We have seen His glory. We are glorified and transfigured now through our lives of prayer. And, we are called, as Saint Therese would say, to this face to face eternal embrace of merciful love.”

After his most wonderful Carmelite introductory statement, Father continued to speak about the parents of Saint Thérèse, Louis and Zélie Martin as today was the first time we may celebrate their feast day after their beatification last October at the Basilica of St. Thérèse in Lisieux France.  You may listen to Father LaRocca’s full homily here.

You may hear the Crux Ave Ensemble and pray the Rosary and Benediction with us here.

CAPTIONS:  Night sky over the outdoor altar.  Fr. LaRocca gives a blessing to a baby after mass.  Seminarian’s lead the prayerful recitation of the most holy rosary.  Ave Crux Ensemble choir.

Oh, I have been so very badly neglecting this blog and the guilt hangs over me like a big heavy dark cloud…  Nothing like being Catholic to welcome and embrace such a thing as guilt!  (insert laugh here!)

In an endeavor of casting off this nagging bad conscience, I thought I might make a new start of things by posting about the Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel which we are celebrating at the Carmel of St. Joseph here in St. Louis.  It is an annual event which includes praying the rosary and benediction in the nun’s beautiful chapel before heading outdoors to the green front lawns of the monastery to celebrate holy mass.  This year’s novena is especially wonderful as the homilist for the masses is Carmelite Friar Father Christopher LaRocca from Mount Angel in Oregon.

I could send you over to the Carmelite’s website for daily updates, but I think I will share them here.  I’ll begin by posting the past two evenings worth of prayerful wonderment…

Novena has begun!

The annual outdoor novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel began tonight and hundreds of St. Louis Catholics assembled on the front lawn of the monastery  declaring their devotion to the Mother of Christ.

Our Lady is our model, “she who pondered the word in her heart.  She treasured the word and she said be unto me according to thy word.  And so we will be pondering the word with the Blessed Virgin Mary,” said Carmelite Friar Christopher LaRocca.

Father LaRocca, homilist for this year’s novena, made reference to Elijah upon the Mountain of Mount Carmel and of Saint John of the Cross’ writings as he spoke of the pilgrimage of the ascent of Mount Carmel.  We are all invited to make this pilgrimage during the month of July under the guidance and protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  It is “she knows her way up the mountain” he said.

Just as at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came upon those who were praying Father LaRocca reminds us that, “When we pray with Mary the Mother of Jesus, the Holy Spirit will come down upon us and enlighten our minds and instruct us and lead us into all truth.  If we ponder the word of truth – we will find the will of God.”

“We are called to be with God forever in heaven. This is our journey.  We do not have to cross the sea or the desert.  It is not just a temporal journey, although the Church journeys through time.  It is an interior journey to the Mount Carmel of the heart – the Kingdom within where we will find God,” said LaRocca.

Drawing enthusiasm from the faithful Father LaRocca adopted a modern metaphor while preaching saying, “The good news is the human soul is equipped with a GPS system.  The bad news is it’s broken!  It should point directly to heaven.  It should point directly the straight and narrow way to the summit of Mount Carmel.”

You may hear Father’s complete homily here:

HOMILY #1

You may listen and pray along to the Rosary and Benediction which is held in the chapel before each mass of the Novena here:

ROSARY #1

Novena night 2

After an afternoon of tornado watches in St. Louis the skies cleared and the novena mass was able to be held outside on the front lawns of the Carmel of St. Joseph.  And with the setting of the sun came a much welcomed cool breeze!

Carmelite Friar Christopher LaRocca, speaker for the novena, began his homily by encouraging the faithful to ask the question in prayer:  ”What must I do to gain heaven?”   He summed up the spiritual life in two most important words – humility and charity.  ”No humility, no charity,” he said.  ”Humility purifies and corrects the will, our disordered will, disordered appetites, disordered affections and attachments.  And so we need humility of heart.”

Speaking about the virtue of practicing humility Father explained that “the fruit of humility is always obedience.”  Father pointed to the Blessed Virgin Mary as a prime example of humility and obedience.  ”If we want to pray as the Blessed Virgin Mary prays,” he said, “be it done onto me according to thy word.”

The model of humility and charity comes from our Lord’s crucifixion on Calvary where he was obedient onto death on a cross.  ”The model of perfect charity of loving God and loving neighbor with all ones heart is also right there on Calvary where our salvation and our redemption was wrought – on the cross,” said LaRocca.  ”There on the cross we see humility and charity.  Our Lord’s meek, gentle and humble heart there pierced open the wellspring of sacramental life in the church, laying down his life in charity.”  The straight and narrow way to heaven is found “straight up in the vertical beam of the cross, this tree of life where the victim becomes the victor,” he said.

You may listen to Father’s full homily here.

“Besides these and other occasions of actual visits to the Blessed Sacrament, the pious soul can supply all defects of opportunity by visits in spirit. And this holy practice will draw down showers of grace upon our souls. The devout Christian in his humble home, whether by the bleak mountain’s side or far away in the bog, can enter the closet of his heart, and kneel in spirit before his Lord. With the eyes of faith he sees Jesus on the altar; he adores and loves Him; he begs His graces and blessings; he elicits the very same acts, and derives the very same advantages, as if he had been really in the church in the actual presence of the Blessed Sacrament. These spiritual visits can be made at all times and in all places, and are recommended to all, but especially to those living at a distance from the church. How the Sacred Heart of Jesus will dilate to diffuse His graces upon those who thus far away from the altar of His love still remember Him; who thus make their hearts living tabernacles of the Blessed Sacrament —tabernacles more precious than those of marble, silver, or gold; and who convert, so to speak, their modest dwellings into churches for the Holy of holies ! Sacred Heart of Jesus ! grant to us all the grace of this holy practice.

My soul, consider the infinite love of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist; His love in the Mass, in holy communion, in the Blessed Sacrament: for thy sake Jesus remains day and night on the altar, to hear thy petitions, to cure thy diseases, to bless thee, to make thee happy, ‘ to refresh thee.’ How often hast thou been irreverent ? How often hast thou forgotten thy God ? In love to Jesus, and in reparation,to His sacred heart, make and keep the following resolutions:

My Jesus ! ever present day and night on the altar, full of mercy and love, I resolve, first, never to pass by a church in which the Blessed Sacrament is kept without uncovering and bowing my head, and saluting and adoring in my heart the Holy Eucharist.

Secondly, when I enter such a church, to genuflect to the ground in profound adoration, saying: ‘ I adore and love Thee, Jesus Christ, in the Most Holy Sacrament.’

Thirdly, I resolve to pay a visit of at least a quarter of an hour every day to the Blessed Sacrament.

And, lastly, when from any cause I am deprived of this blessing of every day kneeling before Thy altar, I resolve to make amends by visiting Thee in spirit. Jesus in the tabernacle! grant me grace to keep these holy resolutions.

O Sacrament most holy!

O Sacrament divine!

All praise and all thanksgiving

be every moment thine.”

*** Hours and Half-Hours of Adoration Before the Blessed Sacrament. Rev. FRANCIS XAVIER LASANCE, 1897.

“If the mystery of this feast were accomplished in our hearts, we should be sure to celebrate its outward ceremonies well. Were our souls watered with but one drop from the mighty river which flows from the throne of God and the Lamb, it would quench in us all thirst for anything in this world, and remove the aridity and hardness which make us so dry, tepid, and miserable. How grateful should we feel to our Savior for having redeemed us, and blotted out our sins and given us perfect joy instead of sorrow! Suffering, exile, the absence from those we love, the want of things we now think necessary, or other trials would no longer afflict us. So powerful is the fire of the Holy Spirit, that it mounts upwards, and gives us a love and trust in God that no water of sorrow or affliction can extinguish: it remains ever alight; it fills and inflames our hearts, burning away all evil, so that not even death can conquer him whose evil passions it has destroyed.

This is the beloved Guest, Who cured the wound which our Lord’s departure made in the hearts of those who loved Him, and filled the place He had left empty. If the Paraclete could console them for the absence of Jesus, how much more can He comfort us in any grief caused by the loss of creatures! He is the Parent Who cares so tenderly for the orphaned that He clothes them with power from on high, and sheltering them beneath His mantle, teaches them that there is One in heaven Whom they may dare, without presumption, to call their Father. He raises the fallen, enlightens our darkness, warms what is frozen, brings back the erring, refreshes the weary, and each day gives souls new strength to fly upwards, even to the mount of God.

Surely such a wonderful gift should fill us with zeal, and make us give all our hearts’ affections’ to purchase this precious pearl, which is our true treasure, and which alone can make us happy. All around we hear the tidings of His coming to men, and of His longing to dwell in their hearts. Let us not allow Him to pass by, but constrain Him to visit and comfort us that we may serve Him the better. He will need little entreaty; ask Him in our Lord’s name, for the Father sends Him through Jesus Christ His Son. It is our Savior Who obtained for us poor mortal creatures, frail, impure and subject to many evils though we be, the gift of the Holy Spirit, Who is higher above us than the firmament is from the earth. Our vileness could never have attracted Him. Our Redeemer, the Only-Begotten of His Father in heaven, abased Himself to become Man on earth, and taking our weakness on Himself, suffered, toiled and gave His life, that the Paraclete, the Creator of all things, might deign to come to us, poor vessels of clay.

Let us then thank our Savior, and rejoice in the fruit of His labors. Since, through His merits, the Holy Spirit wills to dwell within us, let us not be so ungrateful as to lose both of these favors, nor so foolish as to reject the Holy Ghost, Who deigns to become our Father and our Guide. We should go forth with love, to meet Him Who comes with love; we should feel an ardent longing to receive Him, for where He is much longed for, He gladly stays. Let us cry, with Isaiah: “My soul hath desired Thee in the night: yea, and with my spirit within me in the morning early I will watch to Thee.” That soul “desires” the Holy Spirit by night, which in the time of sorrow puts no confidence in itself, but sighs to Him, as the. Comforter of the afflicted and the Solace of all in pain: it “watches for Him in the morning early,” when its first care is to provide a dwelling for this divine Guest, and to study how best to obtain this grace. If the Holy Ghost is thus eagerly desired and invoked, He will come, like our Lord, Who was the Desired of all nations, and will assuredly enter our hearts, for He loves those who long to possess Him.

Let us invite the Paraclete, then, by heart and voice, to dwell within us, and let us be sure we have some feast to offer Him when He comes. To please Him we must destroy our fleshly passions, for He detests them; we must mortify our own judgment, so that we can be taught by Him, for two people cannot govern a house well unless the wiser take control. We must also renounce our own will, which is the chief enemy of the Holy Spirit, Who teaches us to say ” Not my will, but Thine be done.” Let us too, cleanse our consciences by confession and penance from the slightest defilement, for this Heavenly Guest is a Lover of purity, and there must be nothing to offend Him in the place where He lodges : we must keep peace both with ourselves and with others, for even quarrelsome people hide their dissensions before a guest whom they wish to honor.

When this mighty King deigns to make our hearts His palace, we should close them to all else, and being recollected in His presence, not let our minds leave Him to wander elsewhere. We should worship Him with the deepest reverence, assuring Him that nothing shall ever make us desert Him, or be allowed to come between us. Then we shall enjoy Him as we ought, for He can give us a happiness of which nothing can deprive us. Then our sorrows shall be turned into joy, and we shall drink of the river of the delights of God until it inebriates us. It will be a great consolation to me to know that you are in the hands of Him Who know what is passing in your soul during this week, which is consecrated to the Holy Ghost. He gives light to the understanding, love to the will, and even strength to the body, which gift is symbolized by the parable of the three loaves the man offered his friend, on returning hungry and weary from his journey. The Holy Spirit takes away the hunger our heart feels when wandering amongst creatures, and fills it with the bread of fulness and satisfaction.

Woe to us if we feel not the nothingness of all that is visible and turn not to God, if only because we are wearied at discovering the defects and nothingness of all in which we hoped to find our rest. When, O God, will our souls be chaste and loyal to Christ our Spouse; when will our love, untainted by affection for any creature, be wholly given to Him? When shall we learn that He alone is the Master of our souls, that He created us for Himself, and that He alone can satisfy us? Can we not remember that we have often experienced how ill the world treats those who trust it, and that our souls have never known rest nor peace except, when, realizing their miseries and poverty, they have taken refuge in God and been received in His embrace? A short space of this joy is worth more than a life-time spent in the empty noise and vanities of this foolish world. There can be no better time than this to say to earthly things ” I know you not,” and to cleanse and empty our souls, so as to provide a dwelling-place for the God Who created us from nothingness.

The Paraclete Who will visit us is so holy that He would not come even to the disciples, until our Lord’s Body was taken from their sight, to show how utterly empty must be the temple in which He dwells. I am glad that, having prepared your heart by His grace, you have received Him into it, both to His joy and your own. Rejoice with the Holy Ghost, for He is joy itself; remember how St. Paul tells us not to grieve “the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption,” that is, the last Judgment. To be dull and sad, to serve Him slothfully and tepidly, and to perform actions displeasing to this most holy Guest, is “to grieve the Holy Spirit.”

He is ” flame,” and wishes His servant to be ardent and to glow with fervor, and to throw on to the fire kindled in his heart the fuel of good works, and light it up with holy thoughts. This will prevent this heavenly flame from dying out. Our spiritual vitality depends on its burning: if we keep it alive, it will maintain our life in God, although we are only returning to Him what He has first given us.

This week will have been a real feast to you, as you have kept not only its outward observances, with those who care for nothing but its ritual and festivities, but in your heart also, as God commands, Who wishes us “to adore Him in spirit.” Let us now consider how you are to prepare for the feast of Corpus Christi which is so near at hand. It would indeed be a disgrace for the Christian soul not to long and hunger after this holy Bread. Christ was waited for even by the three Kings in their far-off country, and desired by the prophets and patriarchs long before the Incarnation. What greater joy than to see our Lord, Whom heaven and earth cannot contain, veiled beneath the accidents of bread: sometimes borne by our hands, passing amongst us through our streets, and making Himself our companion, and again, sometimes deigning to enter into our poor sinful breasts.

Do not let my words pass from your mind, but rouse yourself to consider this great favor and work of God. Empty your heart of all else, that it may hunger keenly for this celestial Bread on which the Angels feed. Be watchful during these days lest your attention wander. This is the week consecrated to the Holy Ghost, therefore beg Him for grace to observe devoutly the feast or the Body of Christ. That Body was conceived by Him, and when we receive Holy Communion on that day, the Paraclete will come to us also, because it was through our Lord’s merits that He was sent to us. Christ’s merits are imparted to us in the Holy Eucharist in proportion to the worthiness of our dispositions.

Thus one festival prepares us for the next and should make us long for it. Unlike the banquets of the world, where those who have feasted at noon are not hungry at night, each festival of the Church increases our appetite for the next, fulfilling God’s promise in Leviticus “the threshing of your harvest shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and you shall eat your bread to the full.” Blessed be God, for so bountifully providing for us that He even bestows on us His very Self. The Son is given to us, and through Him the Holy Spirit, and with Them comes the Father. Thus the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit reside within us, and we already have a beginning here of that intercourse with God which will be perfect in the next life. Let us thank Him for all His mercies and prepare ourselves to receive the favors that still remain to be bestowed on. us. With hearts raised on high, let us celebrate the feasts of heaven, so that from temporal joys we may pass to those which are eternal, in which I pray that you, may have your share.

Amen.”

** Letter to a lady on the feast of Pentecost by Saint John of Avila

“Of the manner in which the soul should prepare herself to receive the light of the Holy Spirit, and the grace to be guided by Him.

There is a vast difference between the life of an ordinary good Christian and that of one who is aiming at perfection. Much greater preparation is required for the erection of a high tower than for the building of a small house. So also much more care must be taken by one who wishes to raise the edifice of perfection in his soul than what is necessary for another who is living an ordinary good life.

A profound exterior and interior silence is the first preparation demanded by the Holy Ghost of one who is earnestly seeking for His light and guidance. Exterior silence consists of three things.

1. Silence at all times when it is not lawful to speak.
2. To converse only of praiseworthy things when it is allowable to speak.
3. To keep silence sometimes even when it is not enjoined.

Interior silence requires that we never wilfully entertain a suspicion or rash judgment about our neighbour.

This double silence is necessary for a threefold reason, for as long as it is not observed sin is committed, the virtues of charity, meekness, and humility are wounded, and union with God is impossible. A house with a defective roof, through which the rain can penetrate, is a type of those souls who are careless in maintaining this silence.

The second preparation necessary to obtain the guidance of the Holy Spirit is perfect submission of judgment and of self-will.

It is the will of God that man should be governed by man. The Divine Guide never accepts the direction of a soul until she has entirely renounced her own will and judgment. She must be wholly submissive. It would seem that obedience to man is even more pleasing to God than obedience to Himself, for we read in the life of S. Teresa that our Lord in a vision commanded her to found a convent in a certain town. Her provincial, Father Gratian, forbade her to do this. She obeyed him. Our Lord made known to her that she had acted rightly, and He further told her that the foundation should be carried out without her presence being needful.

The third preparation is constant and fervent prayer.

The soul that perseveres in these holy dispositions will most surely be purified in time by the Divine Sanctifier, and will be sweetly inebriated with His holy love.”

** Meditations on the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost | Rev. Father j. Pergmayer, S.J. 1882

“Who are you, sweet light, that fills me

And illumines the darkness of my heart?

You lead me like a mother’s hand,

And should you let go of me,

I would not know how to take another step.

You are the space

That embraces my being and buries it in yourself.

Away from you it sinks into the abyss

Of nothingness, from which you raised it to the light.

You, nearer to me than I to myself

And more interior than my most interior

And still impalpable and intangible

And beyond any name:

Holy Spirit eternal love!

Are you not the sweet manna

That from the Son’s heart

Overflows into my heart,

The food of angels and the blessed?

He who raised himself from death to life,

He has also awakened me to new life

From the sleep of death.

And he gives me new life from day to day,

And at some time his fullness is to stream through me,

Life of your life indeed, you yourself:

Holy Spirit eternal life!

Are you the ray

That flashes down from the eternal Judge’s throne

And breaks into the night of the soul

That had never known itself?

Mercifully relentlessly

It penetrates hidden folds.

Alarmed at seeing itself,

The self makes space for holy fear,

The beginning of that wisdom

That comes from on high

And anchors us firmly in the heights,

Your action,

That creates us anew:

Holy Spirit ray that penetrates everything!

Are you the spirit’s fullness and the power

By which the Lamb releases the seal

Of God’s eternal decree?

Driven by you

The messengers of judgement ride through the world

And separate with a sharp sword

The kingdom of light from the kingdom of night.

Then heaven becomes new and new the earth,

And all finds its proper place

Through your breath:

Holy Spirit victorious power!

Are you the master who builds the eternal cathedral,

Which towers from the earth through the heavens?

Animated by you, the columns are raised high

And stand immovably firm.

Marked with the eternal name of God,

They stretch up to the light,

Bearing the dome,

Which crowns the holy cathedral,

Your work that encircles the world:

Holy Spirit God’s molding hand!

Are you the one who created the unclouded mirror

Next to the Almighty’s throne,

Like a crystal sea,

In which Divinity lovingly looks at itself?

You bend over the fairest work of your creation,

And radiantly your own gaze

Is illumined in return.

And of all creatures the pure beauty

Is joined in one in the dear form

Of the Virgin, your immaculate bride:

Holy Spirit Creator of all!

Are you the sweet song of love

And of holy awe

That eternally resounds around the triune throne,

That weds in itself the clear chimes of each and every being?

The harmony,

That joins together the members to the Head,

In which each one

Finds the mysterious meaning of his being blessed

And joyously surges forth,

Freely dissolved in your surging:

Holy Spirit eternal jubilation!”

**  From a Pentecost Novena – Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross Discalced Carmelite

(Copyright Washington Province of Discalced Carmelites, ICS Publications)

As one who came with ointments sweet,

Abettors to her fleshly guilt,

And brake and poured them at Thy Feet,

And worshipped Thee with spikenard spilt:

So from a body full of blame,

And tongue too deeply versed in shame,

Do I pour speech upon Thy Name.

O Thou, if tongue may yet beseech,

Near to Thine awful Feet let reach

This broken spikenard of my speech!

** Spikenard | A book of Devotional Love Poems, Laurence Houseman 1898

“God loves us with an eternal love; there was not a moment in that long, never-beginning course of eternity when God did not love us, and love us singly and individually. Before the world was, when He was all alone, when there was not even an angel before His throne, when there was no light and no darkness, nothing but Himself,— ever since then He has been caressing us with love. There was not an instant in that long eternity when He was not thinking of us. Holy Scripture, as well as Reason, tells us this: In charitate perpetua dilexi te. “With a love eternal have I loved thee.” We know it is true, yet we cannot realize what eternal love means. But what a revelation it is! what a light and what a treasure! Each one of us can say to himself: Before the world was created, before there was such a thing as time, when nothing existed but God, when He saw His own beauty and was ravished with it, and was infinitely and absolutely happy, when the Triune God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost were all alone, without relation to any created being whatever, even then He thought of me and loved me, though as yet I had no existence. In seeing His Word, the Son, the Father saw me, and in that very mutual love, which exists between Father and Son, and which is the Holy Ghost, He loved me. He has thus always loved me ever since He began to love Himself, that is, from all eternity! The very thought of it overwhelms us!

But this is not all: since God is eternal, He cannot change; what is eternal is immutable. “Thou art the Lord and Thou dost not change.” God’s love for us in being eternal is also unchangeable. Here is another mystery! Yet it is a truth as undeniable as God Himself. God’s love for us can never change. We change in many ways, even in love. One day we love God more than another, one day we are lukewarm, then fervent, then again our hearts seem void of love. It appears to us that God changes; that at times He gives more freely, loves more tenderly, draws more intensely; but the change is in us, not in God. The earth revolves around the sun, and we make the circle with it, yet all the time we imagine that the sun is moving around us; the seasons come and go, the atmosphere varies, the clouds rise and descend; we imagine that the sun shines less warmly in winter than in summer, more brightly in spring than in autumn, yet the sun itself is, as it were, immovable; day and night throughout the year it sends forth the same amount of light and heat.—So too with God. His love is unchangeable and immovable. If we love Him, He loves us; if we hate Him, He loves us: if we betray Him, He loves us still. His love for us will continue even to the consummation of its work—even to death on the cross, even though it be denied, forsaken, betrayed; for it is eternal, and therefore, independent of time. This, His eternal love, is all beautifully and magnificently typified by the human Heart of Jesus.”

** Rev. Henry Brinkmeyer  – The LOVER of SOULS  Short Conferences on the  Sacred Heart of Jesus

“To those who are deputed by the Church to recite the canonical hours, two very great and important offices are entrusted that of praising and glorifying God, and that of imploring the divine mercies upon all Christian people.

In the first place, then, the supreme majesty of God is to be honored by the reciting of the Office. The sacrifice of praise shall glorify Me: and there is the way by which I will show him the salvation of God.

I declare myself honored, saith the Lord, by him who offers me a sacrifice of praise; and thereby he shall find the way of obtaining eternal salvation. St. Mary Magdalene of Pazzi, when she heard the bell for Office, was filled with consolation/ and hastened immediately to the choir, de lighted with the thought that she was going to be en gaged in the employment of the angels, whose constant occupation it is to praise God. And it is for this end that the Church has appointed her ministers to sing the divine Office, that men on earth may join with the blessed in heaven in honoring their common Creator.

St. Gregory Nazianzen says that the chanting of the psalms is a prelude of the praises with which the saints honor God in heaven.

Thus, according to Tertullian, when we recite the canonical hours, we as it were take possession of heaven, inasmuch as we discharge the same duty as the inhabitants of that blessed country. Hence, St. Catharine of Bologna took so much delight in reciting the divine Office, that she wished her death might take place while she was so engaged.

By the Office God is to be thanked for all the graces and favors that he is continually bestowing on mankind, and his divine mercy is to be obtained for poor sinners. It is the duty of the faithful in general to thank God for all his benefits; and as all stand in need here below of the divine assistance, in order to resist their spiritual enemies, and to obtain eternal salvation, so all are likewise bound to implore by prayer the succor of his mercies. But, as seculars are constantly distracted with the affairs of the world, the holy Church has appointed her ministers to implore for themselves and for all the people of Christ the assistance of his divine majesty through the different hours of the day. For this end is the Office divided into seven canonical hours, that there may be always some praying for all, and in the best form of prayer; inasmuch as the divine Office is nothing less than a memorial drawn up for us by God himself, through which he may more readily hear our prayers and succor us in our necessities, as he declares to us by the prophet Isaias: My spirit that is in thee, and My words that I have put in thy month, shall not depart out of thy month. In this our good God acts as a prince, who, wishing to relieve the miseries of his vassals, draws up for them himself a form of supplication suitable to his dignity and their own wants, that he may be the better able to console them. Many private prayers do not equal in value only one prayer of the divine Office, as being offered to God in the name of the whole Church and in his own appointed words. Hence St. Mary Magdalene of Pazzi says that, in comparison with the divine Office, all other prayers and devotions are but of little merit and efficacy with God. Let us be convinced, then, that after the holy Sacrifice of the Mass the Church possesses no source, no treasure, so abundant as the Office, from which we may draw such daily streams of grace.”

** Saint Alphonsus de Liguori

“When the soul has passed through the doctrine of Christ crucified, with true love of virtue and hatred of vice, and has arrived at the house of self.knowledge and entered therein, she remains, with her door barred, in watching and constant prayer, separated entirely from the consolations of the world. Why does she thus shut herself in? She does so from fear, knowing her own imperfections, and also from the desire, which she has, of arriving at pure and generous love. And because she sees and knows well that in no other way can she arrive thereat, she waits, with a lively faith for My arrival, through increase of grace in her. How is a lively faith to be recognized? By perseverance in virtue, and by the fact that the soul never turns back for anything, whatever it be, nor rises from holy prayer, for any reason except (note well) for obedience or charity’s sake. For no other reason ought she to leave off prayer, for, during the time ordained for prayer, the Devil is wont to arrive in the soul, causing much more conflict and trouble than when the soul is not occupied in prayer. This he does in order that holy prayer may become tedious to the soul, tempting her often with these words: ‘ This prayer avails thee nothing, for thou needest attend to nothing except thy vocal prayers. ‘ He acts thus in order that, becoming wearied and confused in mind, she may abandon the exercise of prayer, which is a weapon with which the soul can defend herself from every adversary, if grasped with the hand of love, by the arm of free choice in the light of the Holy Faith. Here, touching something concerning the Sacrament of the Body of Christ, the complete doctrine is given; and how the soul proceeds from vocal to mental prayer, and a vision is related which this devout soul once received.

“Know, dearest daughter, how, by humble, continual, and faithful prayer, the soul acquires, with time and perseverance, every virtue. Wherefore should she persevere and never abandon prayer, either through the illusion of the Devil or her own fragility, that is to say, either on account of any thought or movement coming from her own body, or of the words of any creature. The Devil often places himself upon the tongues of creatures, causing them to chatter nonsensically, with the purpose of preventing the prayer of the soul. All of this she should pass by, by means of the virtue of perseverance. Oh, how sweet and pleasant to that soul and to Me is holy prayer, made in the house of knowledge of self and of Me, opening the eye of the intellect – to the light of faith, and the affections to the abundance of My charity, which was made visible to you, through My visible only-begotten Son, who showed it to you with His blood!  Which Blood inebriates the soul and clothes her with the fire of divine charity, giving her the food of the Sacrament (which is placed in the tavern of the mystical body of the Holy Church) that is to say, the food of the Body and Blood of My Son, wholly God and wholly man, administered to you by the hand of My vicar, who holds the key of the Blood. This is that tavern, which I mentioned to thee, standing on the Bridge, to provide food and comfort for the travelers and the pilgrims, who pass by the way of the doctrine of My Truth, lest they should faint through weakness. This food strengthens little or much, according to the desire of the recipient, whether he receives sacramentally or virtually. He receives sacramentally when he actually communicates with the Blessed Sacrament. He receives virtually when he communicates, both by desire of communion, and by contemplation of the Blood of Christ crucified, communicating, as it were, sacramentally, with the affection of love, which is to be tasted in the Blood which, as the soul sees, was shed through love. On seeing this the soul becomes inebriated, and blazes with holy desire and satisfies herself, becoming full of love for Me and for her neighbour. Where can this be acquired? In the house of self knowledge with holy prayer, where imperfections are lost, even as Peter and the disciples, while they remained in watching and prayer, lost their imperfection and acquired perfection. By what means is this acquired ? By perseverance seasoned with the most holy faith.”

** Saint Catherine of Siena — A TREATISE OF PRAYER

“For, the Supreme and Eternal Father, in manifesting the way of perfection, showed her anew her own guilt, and the loss of souls, as has been said more fully above. Also because in the knowledge which the soul obtains of herself, she knows more of God, and knowing the goodness of God in herself, the sweet mirror of God, she knows her own dignity and indignity. Her dignity is that of her creation, seeing that she is the image of God, and this has been given her by grace, and not as her due. In that same mirror of the goodness of God, the soul knows her own indignity, which is the consequence of her own fault. Wherefore, as a man more readily sees spots on his face when he looks in a mirror, so, the soul who, with true knowledge of self, rises with desire, and gazes with the eye of the intellect at herself in the sweet mirror of God, knows better the stains of her own face, by the purity which she sees in Him.”

** The Dialog of Catherine of Siena

** photo at Our Lady of Guadalupe parish outdoor shrine.

“The joys of Heaven, and the joy of joys…

For there is no mourning there, no weeping, no sorrow, and no fear. There is no sadness there, no difference, no envy, no distress, no temptation, no changefulness and no unhealthiness of clime; no suspicion, no pretense, no flattery, no detraction, no sickness, no age, no death, no poverty, no night, no gloom; no need of eating, of drinking, or of sleeping; and no fatigue. What good, then, is there there?  For, surely, where there is neither mourning, nor weeping, nor sorrow, nor sadness, what can there be but perfect joy?  Where there is neither trial, nor distress, nor change of seasons, nor unhealthiness of clime; no summer too fierce, no winter too severe; what, what can there be but a certain perfect temperature of the elements, and true and uttermost tranquillity both of body and of mind? Where there is no cause for fear, what can there be but uttermost security? When neither envy nor estrangement, what but real and perfect love? Where no unsightliness, what but real and consummate beauty? Where no poverty, what but perfect fulness?  Where neither labour nor exhaustion, what but uttermost repose and fullest strength?  Where there is nothing to oppress or burden, what can there be but plenitude of happiness?  And where old age and disease are never expected, never feared, what but truest health?  Where no night is, and no darkness, what but perfect light? Where death and mortality are altogether swallowed up, what is there but eternal life?

And what more can we require?  Yes, indeed; we may ask for more, for something that transcends all this; I mean, the vision, the knowledge, and the love of the Creator. He shall be seen in Himself, and seen in all His creatures; ruling all things, but without solicitude; sustaining all things, but without exertion; communicating Himself in some strange way to each, according to his capacity, but without diminution of Himself, and without division of Himself. That Face shall be seen inviting all love and every longing, the Face that angels long to gaze into; and the meaning, the light, the sweetness of that Face, who, who shall tell them?  The Father shall be seen in the Son, and the Son in the Father, and in each of Them the Holy Ghost. For He shall be seen as He is, the promise fulfilled in which He says,  ‘He that loveth Me shall be loved by My Father; and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him’ (St. John xiv. 21).

And from this vision proceeds the knowledge of God, of which He Himself says, ‘This is life everlasting, that they may know Thee, the only true God’

And from these two, the vision and the knowledge of God, there springs a love so great, an affection so ardent, a charity so sweet, a fruition so abundant, a longing so vehement, that neither satisfaction can pall desire, nor desire weary satisfaction.  And what is this?  What is it all?  Ay, ‘the eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love Him’”

** Saint Anselm |  SEVENTEENTH MEDITATION – OF FUTURE BENEFITS FROM GOD

** photo of an empty cross after a living stations of the cross on Good Friday.

We had an extraordinary pleasure last week.  It came in the form of beautiful song as brought forth from the angelic voices of the Choir of New College, Oxford.

This most revered all boys choir came to the Cathedral Basilica to give a performance featuring a small portion of their most wonderful repertoire of sacred music.  Dressed in their red robes with high white Elizabethan collars the boys were led by their most extraordinary director, Edward Higginbottom.  My daughter was quite amazed at how powerful those young voices could be though what amazed her the most was how high they could sing!  (Admittedly she is always amazed at the Descant voices she sings with.)

The final choral of the performance was a Miserere entitled “Miserere mei, Deus” by Gregoria Allegri which was so absolutely stunning that I don’t know how one was supposed to breathe while listening!  It was based upon the great Psalm 51 which pleads for God’s mercy as the soul cries: “Turn away they face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities, Create a clean heart in me, O God: and renew a right spirit within me.” Thank goodness it was the final piece of music for recovery was definitely necessary after it was over!  Really, it was truly extraordinary.

The night’s performance began with the most glorious hymn which I could not stop thinking about since I heard it and wanted to share the poetic lyrics which I hope may inspire your heart.

“Behold the blessed light!

Benign power and majesty are seen everywhere

The dazzling splendour of the sun

is matched by you, the moon,

and by the stars shining brightly in their great glory;

how magnificent is all creation.

O how such eternal nourishment feeds holy minds!

O honey and sweet nectar.

O blessed place!

This delight,

This peace,

The goal,

draws us from here straight to Paradise.”

** Jonathan Dover 1959

** photo of the bronze statue of Saint Louis in front of the St. Louis Art Museum in Forrest Park.

“God alone is he, who, by his infinite wisdom, sees, knows and penetrates all the turnings and windings of our hearts: he understands our thoughts from afar, he finds out our traces, doubles and turnings; his knowledge therein is admirable, surpassing our capacity and reach. Certainly if our spirits would turn back upon themselves by reflections, and by reconsiderations of their acts, we should enter into labyrinths from which we should find no outgate; and it would require an attention quite beyond our power, to think what our thoughts are, to consider our considerations, to observe all our spiritual observations, to discern that we discern, to remember that we remember,—these acts would be mazes from which we could not deliver ourselves. This treatise, then, is difficult, especially to one who is not a man of great prayer…

[Prayer is mystical] Now it is called mystical, because its conversation is altogether secret, and there is nothing said in it between God and the soul save only from heart to heart, by a communication incommunicable to all but those who make it…

Where love reigns, the sound of exterior words is not necessary, nor the help of sense to entertain and to hear one another. In fine, prayer and mystical theology is nothing else but a conversation in which the soul amorously entertains herself with God concerning his most amiable goodness, to unite and join herself thereto.

Prayer is a manna, for the infinity of delicious tastes and precious sweetnesses which it gives to such as use it, but it is hidden because it falls before the light of any science, in the mental solitude where the soul alone treats with her God alone. Who is she, might one say of her, that goeth up by the desert, as a pillar of smoke of aromatical spices, of myrrh, and frankincense, and of all the powders of the perfumer. And it was the desire of secrecy that moved her to make this petition to her love: Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field, let us abide in the villages.

For this reason the heavenly spouse is styled a turtle, a bird which is delighted in shady and solitary places, where she makes no other use of her song but for her only mate, either in life wooing him or after his death plaining him. For this reason, in the Canticles, the divine lover and the heavenly spouse describe their loves by a continual conversing together; and if their friends sometimes speak during their conference, it is but casually, and without interrupting their colloquy. Hence the Blessed Mother Saint Teresa of Jesus found at first more profit in the mysteries where our Savior was most alone; as in the Garden of Olives, and where he was awaiting the Samaritan woman, for she fancied that he being alone would more readily admit her into his company…

Truly the chief exercise in mystical theology is to speak to God and to hear God speak in the bottom of the heart; and because this discourse passes in most secret aspirations and inspirations, we term it a silent conversing. Eyes speak to eyes, and heart to heart, and none understand what passes save the sacred lovers who speak.”

** Treatise on the Love of God – Saint Francis of Sales

Happy Feast day of Divine Mercy!

“The pure offering of my will will burn on the altar of love. That my sacrifice may be perfect, I unite myself closely with the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. When great sufferings will cause my nature to tremble, and my physical and spiritual strength will diminish, when will I hide myself deep in the open wound of the Heart of Jesus, silent as a dove, without complaint. Let all my desires, even the holiest, noblest and most beautiful, take always the last place and Your Holy will, the very first. The least of Your desires, O Lord, is more precious to me than heaven, with all its treasures. I know very well that people will not understand me; that is why my sacrifice will be purer in Your eyes.”

** The Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska | February 15, 1937

Blessed Easter Monday!!!

HYMN TO CHRIST ON EASTER DAY (AFTER LONG SILENCE),
Cristi anax, se prvton, epei logon heri dvka, dhnaion katecwn, fqegxom apo stomatwn, (Dactylic hexameter, and pentameter.)

“O Christ the King! since breath pent up so long
I have outpoured, Thou first shalt be my song;
May this my word, the current of my mind,
If lawful thus to speak, acceptance find,
And unto Thee as holy incense rise
Of holiest priest, a grateful sacrifice!
The Father’s Brightness, Word of the Great Mind,
Who cannot be by power of speech defined,
High Light of highest Light, the Only Son,
Image and Seal of the Immortal One,
Without beginning; from same Fount of Light
With the Great Spirit; infinite in might:

All-glorious Thou, and Author of all good:
From age to age Thy truth hath firmly stood.
Enthroned Thou reignest high in heaven above,
Almighty Breath of Mind and Lord of Love.
Throughout this framèd universe Divine
Whatever is, or shall be, all is Thine:
Thou madest all, to all Thou givest life,
And all Thou guidest: nowhere fault or strife,
Nor error in Thy workmanship is found:
The whole in willing chain to Thee is bound.
Thou laid’st the world’s foundation: and Thy nod
All things obey, and own their Sovereign God.
For Thee the lofty sun, the king of day,
Quenching the stars, holds on his fiery way.
For Thee, for so Thou bidst, the eye of night,
The moon, waxes and wanes, full orb of light.
For Thee the belt of heaven, all-dancing ring,
And seasons kindly mingling, laugh and sing.
For Thee the fixèd stars and planets shine
In course, and speak Thy wisdom all divine.
Thy light they are, the heavenly minds that be,
All sing on high the glorious Trinity.
Man is Thy glory too, angel below,
Here placed to sing, O Light, Thy beauteous glow.
Immortal, fleshless, glory’s highest ray,
Who mortal flesh yet took’st, man’s woes to stay,
For Thee I live, for Thee my songs arise,
For Thee I am a breathing sacrifice;
For this, of all things once possessed by me,
Alone remains, and this I give to Thee.

(more…)

“SOUNDS of strife are heard today,

Trumpets calling to the fray:

Thunder over Zion breaks,

As the strife of tongues awakes.

Desolation, woe and doom

Hasten on in awful gloom,

All is tumult, wild unrest,

Where the God of Peace hath blest.

Israel, art thou first to smite,—

First to do thy Lord despite ?

He shall speak, and stone by stone

Of the temple fall, o’erthrown.

Prophets came to thee in vain,

Proudly thou didst all disdain,

Vain the years of trial lent,

Now thy children stone the Sent

(more…)

“The return of Friday once more calls us to the thought of suffering, and we see that .the closest tie of friendship with our Blessed Lord is to ” know the fellowship of His sufferings.”

Nothing draws earthly friends together more nearly than suffering which they bear together, in and for each other. Even those who have been our enemies are sometimes drawn to us and made into friends by the softening touch of suffering and pain.

In a far higher degree does the fellowship of the sufferings of our Divine Master knit our hearts to His Loving Heart, and hold us close to Him. This holy fellowship teaches us what a blessed thing it is to suffer like the Lord. The cross, since He deigned to hang on it, shines with the glory of His Presence, and lights up the darkest day ; the crown of thorns, since it touched His Sacred Brow, has become a diadem of precious jewels which the Saints delight to wear; the nails, since His Blessed Hands and Feet were pierced with them, are now to His faithful children, but a welcome means by which they are more firmly united to the Passion of their Lord.

To know the fellowship of His sufferings is to find comfort in affliction, joy in grief, and peace in that death by which we are made conformable to Him. So did the Saints win their crown of glory, and triumph over the bitterest of torments, because in the midst of their cruelest sufferings they rejoiced in the sight of Him Who is invisible, Who bore all their griefs and carried all their sorrows.”

” Pierce through my feet, my hands, my heart,

It may some drop distil

Of Blood Divine into my soul,

And all its evils heal.

So shall my feet be slow to sin,

Harmless my hands shall be ;

So from my wounded heart shall each

Forbidden passion flee.”

**”Christe Eleison.”: a short office of meditation and prayer for every day in Lent. : with selections from the “Imitation of christ,” by Thomas a Kempis Skeffington & son, 1887

Deep in the dark I hear the feet of God:
He walks the world; He puts His holy hand
On every sleeper—only puts His hand—
Within it benedictions for each one—
Then passes on; but ah! whene’er He meets
A watcher waiting for Him, He is glad.
(Does God, like man, feel lonely in the dark?)
He rests His hand upon the watcher’s brow—
But more than that, He leaves His very breath
Upon the watcher’s soul; and more than this,
He stays for holy hours where watchers pray;
And more than that, He ofttimes lifts the veils
That hide the visions of the world unseen.
The brightest sanctities of highest souls
Have blossomed into beauty in the dark.
How extremes meet! the very darkest crimes
That blight the souls of men are strangely born
Beneath che shadows of the holy night.

Deep in the dark I hear His holy feet—
Around Him rustle archangelic wings;
He lingers by the temple where His Christ
Is watching in His Eucharistic sleep;
And where poor hearts in sorrow cannot rest,
He lingers there to soothe their weariness.
Where mothers weep above the dying child,
He stays to bless the mother’s bitter tears,
And consecrates the cradle of her child,
Which is to her her spirit’s awful cross.
He shudders past the haunts of sin—yet leaves
E’er there a mercy for the wayward hearts.
Still as a shadow through the night He moves,
With hands all full of blessings, and with heart
All full of everlasting love; ah! me,
How God does love this poor and sinful world!
The stars behold Him as He passes on,
And arch His path of mercy with their rays;
The stars are grateful—He gave them their light,
And now they give Him back the light He gave.
The shadows tremble in adoring awe;
They feel His presence, and they know His face.
The shadows, too, are grateful—could they pray,
How they would flower all His way with prayers!

The sleeping trees wake up from all their dreams—
Were their leaves lips, ah! me, how they would sing
A grand Magnificat, as His Mary sang.
The lowly grasses and the fair-faced flowers
Watch their Creator as He passes on,
And mourn they have no hearts to love their God,
And sigh they have no souls to be beloved.
Man—only man—the image of his God—
Let’s God pass by when He walks forth at night.

– poem by Father Abram Joseph Ryan

** photo of a “small postman” butterfly squinting out from beneath a thick tropical covering (from the butterfly house in st. louis)

“You say that you hunger more than usual after  Holy Communion. There are two kinds of hunger —  one which proceeds from a good digestion, the other  from a perverted appetite. Humble yourself, and  kindle your soul with the Holy Love of Jesus Christ  Crucified, in order that you may be able to digest this celestial food ; and, inasmuch as he who complains of hunger surely craves for bread, I would say, communicate this Lent on Wednesdays and Fridays, as  well as on Lady Day and Sundays.

Do you know what I mean by rightly digesting this spiritual food?  In the natural life a good digestion  assimilates the food we eat, so that it invigorates the  whole system. And even so those who spiritually  digest the Blessed Sacrament, will mid that it spreads  its sacred influence throughout body and soul.   Brain, heart, eyes, hands, tongue, ears, feet, all will be partakers of their Saviour.  He makes all that is crooked  straight, purifies all that is soiled, mortifies what is  redundant, animates everything. The heart lives  through Him, the brain thinks through Him, the eyes  see, the tongue speaks, through Him. He is All in  all, so that ” it is not I that live, but Christ liveth in me.” Oh, my daughter, when will that be ? My God,  when will it be?

Now I will tell you at what we must aim, though indeed we must be content to attain it by very  slow degrees.  Let us be very humble, and communicate boldly; little by little our spiritual digestion will learn to assimilate the celestial food. It is a great  matter to be well supplied with good food ; the digestion works better when such is the case. Let us desire our Lord only, and I trust it may be so with us.”

– On spiritual hunger, a letter written by St. Francis de Sales

Happy Feast day of Saint Joseph! I wanted to share a photo of my home’s Saint Joseph altar but I am too afraid to… it is quite humble sitting as it does on the improvised altar of my kitchen window sill. Perhaps it is not the most sacred space within the house however, I suppose it depends on how you look at it. For a mother’s life is in her kitchen as Joseph’s was in his workshop. I pray he would appreciate our simple gesture of love in his honor.

I will share a photo of the most beautiful altar for dear Joseph. It is the one which exists in the All Saints Chapel in the Cathedral Basilica. Joseph is honored on the high altar there as he lovingly holds little Jesus and never drops his beautiful white and pure lilly. After the noontime mass there was a procession to this altar as the Litany of Saint Joseph was prayed. In the chapel Father blessed bread and distributed to the faithful. I believe the bread was baked on “the Hill”. If you are from Saint Louis you will immediately know that this is the “Italian Neighborhood” of Saint Louis and we know how they wonderfully admire dear Joseph!

Here is a meditation for the day. It comes from a book entitled “Abandonment to Divine Providence” written by Jesuit Father Jean Pierre de Decaussade . Father died in 1791 and his works were published posthumously by the Nuns of the Visitation at Nancy as he was their spiritual director.

“Souls called by God to a life of perfect abandonment resemble in this respect our Lord, His holy Mother, and St. Joseph. The will of God was, to them, the fulness of life. Submitting entirely to this will as to precept and inspiration directly it was made manifest to them, they were always in complete dependence on, what we might call, the purely providential will of God; From this it follows that their lives, although extraordinary in perfection, showed outwardly nothing that is not common to all, and quite ordinary. They fulfilled the duties of religion, and of their state as others do, and in, apparently, the same way. For the rest, if one scrutinizes their conduct, nothing can be discovered either striking or peculiar; all follows the same course of ordinary events. That which might single them out is not discernible; it is that dependence on the supreme will which arranges all things for them, and in which they habitually live. The divine will confers on them a complete self-mastery on account of the habitual submission of their hearts.

Therefore the souls in question are, by their state, both solitary and free; detached from all things in order to belong to God, to love Him in peace, and to fullfil faithfully the present duty according to His expressed will. They do not allow themselves to reflect, to neglect, nor to think of consequences, causes or reasons; it is enough for them to go on simply, accomplishing their plain duties just as if there did not exist for them anything but their present obligation, and their duty to God. The present moment, then, is like a desert in which the soul sees only God whom it enjoys; and is only occupied about those things which He requires of it, leaving and forgetting all else, and abandoning it to Providence. This soul, like an instrument, neither receives interiorly more than the operation of God effects passively, nor gives exteriorly more than this same operation applies actively.

This interior application is accompanied by a free and active co-operation which is, at the same time, infused and mystical; that is to say that God, finding in this soul all the necessary qualifications for acting according to His laws, and satisfied with its goodwill, spares it the trouble of doing so, by bestowing all that would otherwise be the fruit of its efforts, or of its effectual goodwill. It is as though someone, seeing a friend preparing for a troublesome journey, would go in his stead, so that the friend would have the intention of going, but he spared the trouble of the journey; yet by this impersonation he would have gone himself, at least virtually. This journey would be free because it would be the result of a free determination taken beforehand to please the friend who then takes upon himself the trouble and expense; it would also be active because it will be a real advance; and it will be interior because effected without outward activity; and, finally, it will be mystical because of the hidden principle it contains. But to return to that kind of co-operation that we have explained by this imaginary journey; you will observe that it is entirely different from fidelity in the fulfillment of obligations. The work of fulfilling these is neither mystical nor infused, but free and active as commonly understood. Therefore abandonment to the good pleasure of God contains activity as well as passivity. In it there is nothing of self, but an habitual general goodwill, which like an instrument, has no action of itself, but responds to the touch of the master. While in his hands it fulfills all the purposes for which it was formed. Intentional and determined obedience to the will of God is, in the ordinary order of vigilance, care, attention, prudence, and discretion; although ordinary efforts are sensibly aided, or begun by grace. Leaving God, then, to act for all the rest, reserve for yourself at the present moment, only love and obedience, which virtues the soul will practice eternally. This love, infused into the soul in silence, is a real action of which it makes a perpetual obligation. It ought, in fact, to preserve it faithfully, and to maintain itself constantly in those dispositions resulting from it, all of which, it is evident, cannot be done without action. The action, however, is quite different to obedience to the present duty, by which the soul so disposes its faculties as to fulfill perfectly the will of God made manifest to it exteriorly, without expecting anything extraordinary.

This divine will is to the soul in all things its method, its rule, and its direct and safe way. It is an unalterable law which is of all times, of all places, and of all states. It is a straight line which the soul must follow with courage and fidelity, neither diverging to the right, nor to the left, nor overstepping the bounds. Whatever is over and above must be received passively, as it carries on its work in abandonment. In a word, the soul is active in all that the present duty requires, but passive and submissive in all the rest, about which there should be no self-will, but patient waiting for the divine motion.”