aeternus

Today is the Carmelite memorial of Our Mother of Divine Grace. What a beautiful title for our Mother is this!

‘The Blessed Virgin Mary was eternally predestined, in the context of the incarnation of the divine Word, to be the Mother of God. As decreed by divine Providence, she served on earth as the loving Mother of the divine Redeemer, his associate, uniquely generous, and the Lord’s humble servant. She conceived, bore, and nourished Christ; presented him to the Father in the Temple; and was united with him in his suffering as he died on the cross. In a completely unparalleled way she cooperated, by her obedience, faith, hope and burning charity, with our Saviour’s work of restoring supernatural life to souls. For this reason she is Mother to us all in the order of grace’ (Lumen Gentium, the Constitution on the Church, 61).

This miraculous oil painting was rescued from a heap of rubbish and restored in 1610 by Ven. Dominic of Jesus and Mary, Prepositor General of the Order of Discalced Carmelites. According to the testimony of Ven. Dominic, our Lady spoke to him and promised, “‘All those who implore my protection, devoutly honoring this picture, will obtain their petitions, and will receive many graces. Moreover, I shall hearken in a special manner to the prayers that shall be addressed to me for the relief of the souls in purgatory‘”

PRAYER

Virgin most holy,
Mother of the Word Incarnate,
Treasurer of graces,
and Refuge of poor sinners:
we fly to thy motherly affection
with lively faith,
and we beg of thee the grace
ever to do the will of God.
Into thy most holy hands
we commit the keeping of our hearts,
asking thee for health of soul and body,
in the certain hope that thou,
our most loving Mother,
wilt hear our prayer.
Wherefore with lively faith we say:

Hail Mary three times

Prayers taken from a holy card distributed by the Monsatary of Discalced Carmelites, New Orleans, LA, with Nihil obstat and Imprimatur dated March 5, 1949.

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Well, the novena to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel is over. I pray that many graces were given to the participants who attended with hearts purposefully devoted and united in prayer to the needs and aspirations of our most Blessed Mother. And, as a friend said to me, “surely many graces also came because everyone endured such great heat!” You see, it seems the temperature reached 107 last night! Praise be to God those beautiful priests, seminarians, decons and altar boys did not melt into the ground wearing all those beautiful vestments!

Today’s saint gave me much to think about so far today. I thought I would pass along my favorite passages from this morning’s Office of Readings:

“There is a spiritual life that we share with the angels of heaven and with the divine spirits, for like them we have been formed in the image and likeness of God. The bread that is necessary for living this life is the grace of the Holy Spirit and the love of God. But grace and love are nothing without faith, since without faith it is impossible to please God. And faith is not conceived unless the word of God is preached. Faith comes through hearing, and what is heart is the word of Christ…

For the word of God is a light to the mind and a fire to the will. In enables man to know God and to love him. And for the interior man who lives by the Spirit of God through grace, it is bread and water, but a bread sweeter than honey and the honeycomb, a water better than wine and milk. For the soul it is a spiritual treasure of merits yielding an abundance of gold and precious stones. Against the hardness of a heart that persists in wrongdoing, it acts as a hammer. Against the word, the flesh and the devil it serves a sword that destroys all sin.”

– From a sermon by Saint Lawrence of Brindisi

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A wonderful woman, who is a true and loving Secular Carmelite sent me this beautiful poem which I would like to share today. I am sure Our Lady was watching over her in a special way yesterday on her feast day…

Soon I’ll hear that sweet harmony,
Soon I’ll go to beautiful heaven to see you.
You who came to smile at me in the morning of my life,
Come smile at me again, Mother …
It’s evening now! ….
I no longer fear the splendor of your supreme glory.
With you I’ve suffered, and now I want
To sing on your lap, Mary, why I love you,
And to go on saying that I am your child !…..

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Happy Feast Day!

I pray today many souls will be open to the invitation of protection and maternal love promised by Our Lady of Mt. Carmel to those who wear her garment of grace, the most holy scapular!

A quick note:

Last evening, at the novena, I was so fortunate and so completely blessed to receive a new scapular from some new friends. I have a special devotion to St. Terese of the Andes and met a wonderful married couple from Chile. We spoke at length about what a great feast happens in their county during the feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel (July 16) and St. Teresa of the Andes (July 13). They said it is a National Holiday! WOW! They brought me a special scapular from Chile and on it is a photograph of dear St. Teresa of the Andes. Oh, I will treasure this gift. THANK YOU!!! You can see a celebratory video of her life here. I think it is called “Vivo solo para dios” which I believe is “live for God alone!” and it is from the Carmelite Missionaries (Carmelitas Misioneras) in Chile.

The photo above was taken last evening at the Novena. Here is a wonderful poem I found to celebrate the day…

BY this blest badge we wear, O holy Mother!
This token of thy love,
Look down on us with eyes of tenderest pity
From thy bright home above —

Thou who didst tread the Via Dolorosa
Through sorrow’s bitterest gloom,
Thou who didst stand beside the Cross in anguish,
Didst mourn beside the tomb;

Thou whose pure heart wast torn with grief whose
tortures
No mortal tongue may tell,
When died thy Son, our merciful Redeemer,
For those he loved so well.

Then, when our sins thy loving heart were breaking,
He gave us unto thee,
That thou our Mother and our Mediatrix
For evermore should be.

And thou hast proved a loving Mother to us,
Blessed Queen of love and light,
Who hast bestowed upon us this most glorious
Badge of the Carmelite —

Gift of thy love unto that chosen servant
Whose heart, wiih love aflame,
Sought daily with undying zeal to honor
Thy pure and holy name.

A boon he craved, a gift from thee, dear Mother
A token from thy hand,
Whose power would fan the flame of praise and
worship
To splendor clear and grand.

And thou didst hear his prayer — this badge thy
answer.
What rapturous surprise
Flooded his soul when from the opened heavens,
To glad his loving eyes,

Thou earnest to earth, the Infant Saviour bearing
Upon thy spotless breast,
And to thy sainted servant gave this armor
And shield for souls oppressed.

Mount Carmel’s caves, within whose shadows lonely
God’s priests and prophets prayed,
Thrilled to the music which uncounted angels
Singing around thee made.

And thence for evermore sweet strains of comfort,
Thy words of promise, flow —
Words which have fallen with a balm of healing
On many a wound of woe.

O dear, dear Mother ! through each passing moment
Look from thy home above,
And shield from tempting wiles the thousands
wearing
This livery of thy love.

Pray for thy children found in every station,
Peasant or prince or peer,
Merchant or soldier, or the rugged sailor
Whose stout heart knows no fear.

But oh ! all blessings choicest still and rarest
Flow round their hearts to-day
Who for Christ’s sake leave home and friends and
kindred,
To tread the ” narrow way ” ;

Whose every aim in life is consecrated
To God, and God alone ;
Whose prayers, a grand, perpetual adoration,
Like incense seek his throne.

Win them, sweet Mother, faith’s celestial guerdon,
To each give strengthening grace,
And let the influence of their lives heroic
Be felt in every place.

–By Marcella Agnes Fitzgerald
Poems, Published 1886 by The Catholic Publication Society, New York

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I was a little worried, only a little mind you, when that first big thunderstorm hit at around 5p.m. or so. I decided quickly not to think too much about it and that rain or shine, the first night of the Annual Outdoor Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel would be wonderful. So, despite a second quick shower at about 7:45 when everyone was filing out of the chapel and onto the monastery grounds for Holy Mass, the night was splendid. In fact, you can see from the glorious image above that the Lord was present in all His beauty. For when the shower passed, His light was upon us.

Bishop Robert Herman, who is now our Archdiocese Administrator now that Archbishop Burke is going to Rome, came to celebrate the Eucharist for us. As is per usual, his homily was just wonderful. He is a charismatic speaker and you can here is homily from the OCDS website here. You will enjoy listening him speak about the importance of the Contemplative Life in today’s world. His passion and humor are to be thoroughly enjoyed!

I will try to post more later…

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Tonight we begin a most wonderful event… the Annual Outdoor novena to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel at the Carmelite monastery here in St. Louis. I am excited because many of the nights will be spent listening to some of our Nine newly ordained Priests in the Archdiocese. I am so happy they will celebrate mass for us and for them to meet the Sister’s who have been praying so hard for all their vocations.

To prepare for the Novena I found this wonderful passage from a very old book. I love the way it describes Mt. Carmel and gives a quick synopsis of the Order’s history on the Holy Mountain and their love for Our Lady.

I will be posting photos and reflections from the novena… stay tuned.

TOWERING over the waves on the shore of the Holy
Land, Mount Carmel, together with the short range
of the same name, forms a connecting link to two
other chains, abounding with glorious memories,
namely : the mountains of Galilee on the north, and
those of Judea on the south.

“In the day of my love, I brought thee out of
Egypt into the land of Carmel,” said the Lord to
the daughter of Sion, taking the name of Carmel to
represent all the blessings of’ the Promised Land;
and when the crimes of the chosen people were
about to bring Judaea to ruin, the prophet cried out,
looked, and behold Carmel was a wilderness:
and all its cities were destroyed at the presence of
the Lord, and at the presence of the wrath of
his indignation.” But from the midst of the
Gentile world a new Sion arose, more loved than the
first; eight centuries beforehand Isaias recognised
her by the glory of Libanus, and the beauty of
Carmel and Saron which were given her. In the
sacred Canticle, also, the attendants of the Bride
sing to the Spouse concerning his well-beloved, that
her head is like Carmel, and her hair like the
precious threads of royal purple carefully woven and dyed.

There was, in fact, around Cape Carmel an abundant
fishery of the little shell-fish which furnished the
regal colour. Not far from there, smocthing away
the slopes of the noble mountain, flowed the torrent
of Cison, that dragged the carcasses of the Chanaan-
ites, when Deborah won her famous victory. Here
lies the plain where the Madianites were overthrown,
and Sisara felt the power of her that was called the
Mother in Israel. Here Gedeon, too, marched against
Madian in the name of the Woman terrible as an
army set in array? whose sign he had received in
the dew-covered fleece. Indeed, this glorious plain
of Esdrelon, which stretches away from the foot
of Carmel, seems to be surrounded with prophetic
indications of her who was destined from the
beginning to crush the serpent’s head : not far from
Esdrelon, a few defiles lead to Bethulia, the city of
Judith, type of Mary, who was the true joy of Israel
and the honour of her people ; while nestling among
the northern hills lies Nazareth, the white city, the
flower of Galilee.
(more…)

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As it was my husband’s birthday yesterday, I had to accommodate his birthday desire. This meant I had to get myself excited to do the exact opposite of what I wanted to do — spend the day at St. Joe’s State Park. Now, if you were from St. Louis and reading this you would already know what this means. But for the rest of the world, let me explain why spending the day at a Park has its down side…

St. Joe’s State Park was created on the site of an old lead strip mining site. It encompasses about 2000 acres of soft sand-like material called “tailings” which I imagine the sands of Tahiti to look and feel like. This material is created as some sort of mining by-product and is really quite lovely. So, if you don’t think too much about the possibility of lead contained in the sand then you are alright. There are many little lakes on the Park Property which are good for swimming and lots of little mountains (hills really but since we are in Missouri we shall call them mountains) and good amounts of natural beauty contained in the woods and fields. I imagined seeing hawks soaring, but I think they were actually Turkey Buzzards (YEACH!)

So, you may say, “Gee, despite the possible lead poisoning, it seems like a delicious place to spend the day with your family”. But, dear reader, that is only because I have not yet gotten to the good part…

The most important part of St. Joe’s State Park is that it has been transformed into one of the nations most exciting places to go and ride your motor-cross motorcycles and atvs. In a frenzy of motoring excitement you can ride around through the forests and over the sand dunes till your little heart can take no more excitement or your body gives out from pure exhaustion.

So, the answer is to your inquisitive stare, “Yes, my husband is a “motor-head” and NO, this anomaly did not present itself until we had been married many, many years! It started off with just a fancy for Formula One racing but when his father (who is 80 years old) gave him his old 1970s Yamaha motorcycle, well, - that was that… He was in full fledge-motor-bliss! Now, that same Father (mind you he is 80 years old as I said) is tooling around South Carolina in his latest fast back street bike and pal-ing around with a group of MUCH younger enthusiasts. Why did I not see this coming earlier in my life?  I don’t know.  What do I expect for my future?  I don’t know but please PRAY FOR ME!”

Anyway, back to the main story…

My husband gets this “fancy to ride” quite often and usually I can let him go off with our son and have fun alone. I jump at the opportunity to plead too much housework to go along on the adventure. This usually works though the boys seem greatly disappointed I do not wish to take part in their fun. What are they thinking? Alas, yesterday I could not get out of the birthday motoring, I just had to go along.

The day started with thunderstorms while I was at early mass. This did not deter our motor boys. We drove out of town and passed through several other short storms, but kept going nonetheless. As the boys unpacked their cycles it began to rain again. I stayed in the car thinking it would pass as they rode off into the sand dunes. When our little one wanted to go over to the lake and look for frogs and turtles I decided the rain had stopped enough to chance it. I took a copy of a new book on St. Therese and a couple of towels, my lawn chair and headed off. As I sat down in my chair, the rain started again.

“Oh Therese,” I said in sadness and woe at being trapped at this park of motorcycle madness, “only you can make this rain stop so your book will not get wet and I can try to enjoy this day!”

As I said this exclamatory prayer it INSTANTLY stopped raining. I’m not kiding. I mean - instantly stopped raining. And, it did not rain for the rest of the day! I was able to read with Therese and I was inspired by her words. As I read, my daughter caught little fish in her net and put them in her bucket. She fed them bits of her sandwich (what lucky fish) and I thought of dear Therese catching fish with her father and taking them to Carmel to give to the sister’s to eat. It was good, very good.

So, should I not be surprised that in giving up my day and my will to travel along with my husband’s crazy birthday wish that goodness and mercy would not be shown to me? What a great grace to know that God is so kind and merciful that He would help me in my struggle to be kind to my husband (even when I would rather scrub the kitchen floor with a toothbrush than sit in a park filled with the sound of two-stroke motors and un-muffled engines blaring in my ears!). God knows we are distracted by the world. He knows that we can not even spend even one day quietly in a bit of His glorious and naturally created beauty without hearing the interruptions of manmade noise and confusion. But, oh, if we just seek God, He will seek us.

So I found Him yesterday, with the help of dear Therese, and I love Him for showing Himself to me… Thank you Father.

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From the Cincarm newsgroup comes this prayer…

O God, Who has deigned to honor the Order of Carmel with the glorious title
of Your Virgin Mother grant the grace of Your protection to all who
celebrate this Solemn Novena so that, throught her, we may attain eternal
happiness. Amen.

(Our Father, Hail Mary, Gloria—3 times)

Let us pray. Under your protection we take our refuge, O holy Virgin Mary
of Mt. Carmel, despise not out petitions in our necessities but deliver us
from all dangers, O ever glorious and most blessed Virgin. Amen.

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the
promises of Christ.

Flower of Carmel,
Vine, blossom-laden,
Splendor of Heaven,
Child-bearing Maiden,
None is like you;

O Mother benign,
Whom no man did know,
On all Carmel’s children
Your favors bestow.
Star of the Sea!

Vouchsafe, O Sacred Virgin, to accept my praises. Give me strength against
your enemies.

Let us pray. Grant we bessech you O Lord, that we your servants, may enjoy
health of body and mind, and be delivered from all temporal afflictions, and
enjoy eternal bliss, through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen.

Queen, Beauty of Carmel, pray for us.

This is the novena used at the Carmel of the Trinity in San Diego. It is the same for each day of the novena. The picture above is from their website. One can only imagine the beauty of this Carmel!!!

Today is the anniversary of my dear PopPop’s eternity. May he continue to inspire me and helping me know prayer is the key to the entry of this most glorious Kingdom…

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As we are getting ready for Pentecost, I remembered to dig out one of my favorite poems from a dear Carmelite, St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. It was a poem that was never completed and one of her last writings before she was taken off to Auschwitz and killed during  August of 1942. The manuscript itself remains in the Carmel in Echt and was probably written in the Summertime of 1942.

By St. Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein)

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 judgment 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!

image above: Les Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry, Folio 79r - Pentecost the Musée Condé, Chantilly.

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And, now for the most beautiful (and perhaps most famous) of First Communion stories. I’ve been waiting all week to post this for it is my favorite. It is from Saint Therese of Lisieux…

“I shall always remember my First Communion Day as one of unclouded
happiness….

At last there dawned the most beautiful day of all the days of my
life. How perfectly I remember even the smallest details of those
sacred hours! the joyful awakening, the reverent and tender
embraces of my mistresses and older companions, the room filled
with snow-white frocks, where each child was dressed in turn, and,
above all, our entrance into the chapel and the melody of the
morning hymn: “O Altar of God, where the Angels are hovering.”

But I would not and I could not tell you all. Some things lose
their fragrance when exposed to the air, and so, too, one’s inmost
thoughts cannot be translated into earthly words without instantly
losing their deep and heavenly meaning. How sweet was the first
embrace of Jesus! It was indeed an embrace of love. I felt that I
was loved, and I said: “I love Thee, and I give myself to Thee for
ever.” Jesus asked nothing of me, and claimed no sacrifice; for a
long time He and little Therese had known and understood one
another. That day our meeting was more than simple recognition, it
was perfect union. We were no longer two. Therese had disappeared
like a drop of water lost in the immensity of the ocean; Jesus
alone remained–He was the Master, the King! Had not Therese asked
Him to take away her liberty which frightened her? She felt
herself so weak and frail, that she wished to be for ever united
to the Divine Strength.

And then my joy became so intense, so deep, that it could not be
restrained; tears of happiness welled up and overflowed. My
companions were astonished, and asked each other afterwards: “Why
did she cry? Had she anything on her conscience? No, it is because
neither her Mother nor her dearly loved Carmelite sister is here.”
And no one understood that all the joy of Heaven had come down
into one heart, and that this heart, exiled, weak, and mortal as
it was, could not contain it without tears.

How could my Mother’s absence grieve me on my First Communion Day?
As Heaven itself dwelt in my soul, in receiving a visit from Our
Divine Lord I received one from my dear Mother too. Nor was I
crying on account of Pauline’s absence, for we were even more
closely united than before. No, I repeat it–joy alone, a joy too
deep for words, overflowed within me.

During the afternoon I read the act of consecration to Our Lady,
for myself and my companions. I was chosen probably because I had
been deprived of my earthly Mother while still so young. With all
my heart I consecrated myself to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and
asked her to watch over me. She seemed to look lovingly on her
Little Flower and to smile at her again, and I thought of the
visible smile which had once cured me, and of all I owed her. Had
she not herself, on the morning of that 8th of May, placed in the
garden of my soul her Son Jesus–”the Flower of the field and the
Lily of the valleys”?

On the evening of this happy day Papa and I went to the Carmel,
and I saw Pauline, now become the Spouse of Christ. She wore a
white veil like mine and a crown of roses. My joy was unclouded,
for I hoped soon to join her, and at her side to wait for Heaven.

I was pleased with the feast prepared for me at home, and was
delighted with the beautiful watch given to me by Papa. My
happiness was perfect, and nothing troubled the inward peace of my
soul. Night came, and so ended that beautiful day. Even the
brightest days are followed by darkness; one alone will know no
setting, the day of the First and Eternal Communion in our true
Home. Somehow the next day seemed sorrowful. The pretty clothes
and the presents I had received could not satisfy me. Henceforth
Our Lord alone could fill my heart, and all I longed for was the
blissful moment when I should receive Him again.”

– St. Thérèse’s First Communion 8th May 1884 From a Story of a Soul [St. Thérèse’s autobiogrphy]

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I thought I would pass along my homework assignment today. After a beautiful holy mass at the monastery this morning, Father (who is a visiting Carmelite priest from Oregon) gave us a “homework assignment” (which after he translated this statement means only a “meditation for the day”). He gave us 4 words for those who don’t like homework and 5 words for those who don’t mind a little extra credit. The words of the meditation are:

I A M W I T H Y O U

and

I A M W I T H Y O U A L W A Y S

Father mentioned that if we understand this and come to learn that our Lord is with us at every moment, in every situation and in every person, then we can not but walk in trust and love and faith as a true disciple of His Majesty.

Pretty good food for thought…

This photo is from Mepkin Abbey Chapel, a Trappist monastery near Charleston, South Caronlina. It is their Easter Cross. It was taken on our family trip to visit my husband’s parents during the Easter break. I really should write more about this wonderful piece of earth because it was truly marvelous…

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Some thoughts from St. John of the Cross…

“‘I should like to persuade spiritual persons that the road leading to God does not entail a multiplicity of considerations, methods, manners, and experiences - though in their own way these may be a requirement for beginners - but demands only the one thing necessary: true self-denial, exterior and interior, through surrender of self both to suffering for Christ and to annihilation in all things

A person makes progress only by imitating Christ, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

First, during his life he certainly died spiritually to the sensitive part, and at his death he died naturally. He proclaimed during his life that he had no place whereon to lay his head [Matthew 8:20]. And at his death he had less.

Second, at the moment of his death he was certainly annihilated in his soul, without any consolation or relief, since the Father had left him that way in innermost aridity in the lower part. He was thereby compelled to cry out: My God, My God, why have you forsaken me? [Matthew 27:46] . This was the most extreme abandonment, sensitively, that he had suffered in his life. And by it he accomplished the most marvelous work of his whole life, surpassing all the works and deeds and miracles that he had ever performed on earth or in heaven. That is, he brought about the reconciliation and union of the human race with God through grace. The Lord achieved this, as I say, at the moment in which he was most annihilated in all things: in his reputation before people, since in watching him die they mocked him instead of esteeming him; in his human nature, by dying; and in spiritual help and consolation from his Father, for he was forsaken by his Father at that time, annihilated and reduced to nothing, so as to pay the debt fully and bring people to union with God.

I will not enlarge on this, though I would like to continue discussing the matter because from my observations Christ is little known by those who consider themselves his friends. For we see them going about seeking in him their own consolations and satisfactions, loving themselves very much, but not loving him very much by seeking his bitter trials and deaths.”

– Saint John of the Cross, Ascent of Mt. Carmel, Book II chapter 7.

–Photo of the Cooper River at Mepkin Trappist Abbey, Moncks Corner, South Carolina.

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Today the Carmelites celebrate a feast day of an intriguing holy man, Blessed Nuno Alvarez Pereira. I confess that I did not know much about him until yesterday when I did a little searching, but I have found him to be just wonderful and an inspiring. In fact, I believe him to be a great holy man for young fellows because he has been called not only a Blessed by Holy Church, but also the “Last of the Medieval Knights”. — cool news for all young boys (not unlike my young son!)

Richard over at Unity Publishing starts off his short biography of him thus:

“Seven centuries ago Portugal trembled on the abyss of losing her national identity, of ceasing to be an independent nation. In that dread hour God raised up a knight of such great purity and valor who like his contemporary Saint Joan of Arc in France, was the tool that brought order to Portugal and the Master of Aviz to the throne as King John I. His name was Nuno Alvares Pereira and his code of honor based on the legendary Knights of the round table whom he truly believed to be a member. He was in fact the last great medieval knight!”

If this biography is to be further investigated, it seems Blessed Nuno is also related to Fatima. You can read more here.

In this morning’s office of readings in the Carmelite liturgy, and to help us understand Blessed Nuno better, there was a short exhortation by Blessed John Soreth which fits in so well with describing the honor of knighthood as Christians we are united in. (No doubt it reminds us of St. Paul) Blessed John says:

“On your head set the helmet of salvation, and so be sure of
deliverance by our only Savior, who sets his own free from their
sins. The helmet of salvation is hope, which looks forward to
eternal salvation; and it is called the helmet of salvation because,
just as the helmet is the uppermost piece of a soldier’s armor,
worn on the head, so hope is the uppermost of the virtues, always
facing upwards and sighing for the joys of heaven. Of salvation
means that hope obtains what it longs for: salvation; or rather, just
as the shield of faith is faith itself, the helmet of salvation is
salvation—Jesus Christ himself—for salvation is from the Lord,
and we are to hope for salvation from our only Savior. The
remembrance of, or longing for, his lasting salvation is the
headpiece of our minds, which makes us safe against any blows
the evil one can deal us.

But it is better to be armed for attack than for mere
defense. This is why the Rule adds: The sword of the spirit, the
word of God, must abound in your mouths and hearts; let
whatever you do have the Lord’s word for accompaniment. The
pieces of armor we have been considering, the breastplate of
holiness, the shield of faith and the helmet of salvation, will keep
you safe enough from ever giving into the devil or any of his
minions; but there is another weapon which will enable you to
subdue him completely with his whole horde and his works. This
is the sword of the spirit, that spiritual blade, the word of God.
There are four reasons why the word of God is called the sword
of the spirit: first, it is made by the Holy Spirit, for it is not you
who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
Second, it slays our spiritual foes as Isaiah says: With the breath
of his lips he shall slay the wicked. Third, it divides spirit from
flesh as we find in the Letter to the Hebrews: The word of God is
living and active, piercing to the division of soul and spirit.
Fourth, it wounds and penetrates our innermost spiritual parts,
which is why it is compared to sharp arrows in the Psalms: A
warrior’s sharp arrows.

The temptations our enemy subjects us to may be cruel,
but far more cruel to him is a text from the word of God. And if
armor and weapons are not defense enough for us and we feel the
need of rations, we need not think we have been left without
supplies; God’s word is our provision. Though an army encamp
against me and temptation lays siege, I will trust in the word of
my God, the sword of the spirit, and it will bring me easy victory.
Then I can wash my hands, knowing that he has prepared a table
before me that I may not live by bread alone, but by every word
that proceeds from the mouth of God, and in the strength of that
food I shall run with our father Elijah to the mountain of God by
way of his commandments. That is why the Rule adds: The word
of God must abound in your mouths in preaching, and in your
hearts in meditation. Just as our Order’s patroness the Blessed
Virgin Mary kept all these words in her heart, so must they
abound in your hearts by meditation, and in your mouths by
instruction. It is by your Rule then brothers, and from the Order’s
first institution that you are bidden to preach the word of God like
our father Elijah whose word burned like a torch; after his
example let the word of God abound in your mouths and hearts,
and let all you do, whatever it may be, have the Lord’s word for
accompaniment.”

Blessed Nuno understood this Chivalric ideal and lived his life in devotion to our Lord in this way. May we all do our part to know that through virtue of our baptism we are all also called to live a life of holiness and purity. In this, we courageously serve our Lord too…

Lord God,
you called Blessed Nuno Alvarez Pereira
to put aside his sword and follow Christ
under the Patronage of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
Through his prayers may we too deny ourselves,
and devote ourselves to you with all our hearts.
We ask this through Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.

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Please forgive me if I have been posting an over-abundance of meditations from Saint John of the Cross lately. I am in the middle of studying his work, The Ascent of Mt. Carmel, and am coming across all his most famous quotes that I just have to share…

In this quotation, John is trying to relate how God is present in the soul of even the greatest sinner in this world. He says:

“It is true that God is ever present in the soul, as we said, and thereby bestows and preserves its natural being by his sustaining presence. Yet he does not always communicate supernatural being to it. He communicates supernatural being only through love and grace, which not all souls possess. And those who do, do not possess them in the same degree. Some have attained higher degrees of love, others remain in lower degrees. To the soul that is more advanced in love, more conformed to the divine will, God communicates himself more. A person who has reached complete conformity and likeness of will has attained total supernatural union and transformation in God.”

As John wants to educate us on how to prepare our own souls for a deeper union with God. He is wont for a good illustration and so next he gives his famous “smudgy window” explanation…

“A ray of sunlight shining on a smudgy window is unable to illumine that window completely and transform it into its own light. It could do this if the window were cleaned and polished. The less the film and stain are wiped away, the less the window will be illumined; and the cleaner the window is, the brighter will be its illumination. The extent of illumination is not dependent on the ray of sunlight but on the window. If the window is totally clean and pure, the sunlight will so transform and illumine it that to all appearances the window will be identical with the ray of sunlight and shine just as the sun’s ray. Although obviously the nature of the window is distinct from that of the sun’s ray (even if the two seem identical), we can assert that the window is the ray or light of the sun by participation. The soul on which the divine light of God’s being is ever shining, or better, in which it is ever dwelling by nature, is like this window, as we have affirmed.

A soul makes room for God by wiping away all the smudges and smears of creatures, by uniting its will perfectly to God’s; for to love is to labor to divest and deprive oneself for God of all that is not God. When this is done the soul will be illumined by and transformed in God. And God will so communicate his supernatural being to the soul that it will appear to be God himself and will possess what God himself possesses.

When God grants this supernatural favor to the soul, so great a union is caused that all the things of both God and the soul become one in participant transformation, and the soul appears to be God more than a soul. Indeed, it is God by participation. Yet truly, its being (even though transformed) is naturally as distinct from God’s as it was before, just as the window, although illumined by the ray, has being distinct from the ray’s.”

– St. John of the Cross, Ascent of Mt. Carmel Book II Chapter 5

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More on St. John of the Cross’s counsel…

To reach satisfaction in all
desire satisfaction in nothing.
To come to possess all
desire the possession of nothing.
To arrive at being all
desire to be nothing.
To come to the knowledge of all
desire the knowledge of nothing.

To come to enjoy what you have not
you must go by a way in which you enjoy not.
To come to the knowledge you have not
you must go by a way in which you know not.
To come to the possession you have not
you must go by a way in which you possess not.
To come to be what you are not
you must go by a way in which you are not.

-stained glass window and a shadow of St. Joseph at the Carmel of St. Joseph, Saint Louis, MO

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