The chant should never be sung with musical notation but should be done in a monotone and with uniform voices. Ordinarily, everything should be recited, and also the Mass, for the Lord will be served if some time remains so that the Sisters may earn their livelihood.

— Saint Teresa of Avila

The Constitutions (1567), no. 3

The Carmelite nuns of Presteigne, Wales, sing the Salve Regina in monotone after finishing their work.

Note: Saint Teresa loved music, but she did not want elaborate singing (and choir practices) to consume the time her nuns needed for their work. Her monasteries were poor, and the sisters had to earn their livelihood. The liturgy was to be celebrated prayerfully but simply, with the community reciting or chanting together on a single tone.

This 1954 newsreel shows how naturally prayer and work belonged together in a Carmelite day. The nuns are building part of their monastery with their own hands. When the work ends, they sing the Salve Regina recto tono, just as Saint Teresa had instructed her daughters centuries earlier.

◇ Reflection Question ◇
Where could greater simplicity help you make room for both prayer and necessary work?
◇ Join the conversation in the comments and share how you balance prayer with the work of daily life.

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Sources

British Pathé. “Carmelite Sisters Are Doing It for Themselves.” 1954. Newsreel. YouTube video.

Teresa of Avila. The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila. Vol. 3. Translated by Kieran Kavanaugh and Otilio Rodriguez. Washington, DC: ICS Publications, 1985.

Featured image

Ángel Cantero, The Discalced Carmelite Nuns, 2016, photograph.
Image credit: Iglesia en Valladolid / Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0).

After our mother died, Thérèse regarded her older sisters—and me especially—as her mother. I don’t remember her disobeying me even once; she asked permission for everything. When my father invited her to go out with him, she always replied, “I’m going to ask Pauline’s permission” (Ms A 19r).

My father himself encouraged her to be obedient to me. If I refused, she sometimes cried because my father would have been happy to go out with her, but she obeyed without insisting.

After our mother died on August 28, 1877, my father came to settle in Lisieux. Our mother’s brother, Monsieur Guérin, lived there, and since Madame Guérin was especially kind and devout, my father thought that she would provide valuable support and assistance in raising his daughters.

Thérèse was brought up at home by my father and by Marie and me, her older sisters, until she was eight and a half. During the years before she entered the Abbey, I was particularly responsible for her education. She applied herself diligently and profited greatly from all my lessons. She took care to gain control over her actions, and from that time she acquired the habit of never complaining or making excuses.

— Mother Agnès of Jesus, OCD

Pauline Martin, older sister of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux
Testimony in the Ordinary Process

Note: Saint Zélie Martin died on August 28, 1877, when Thérèse was only four years old. After her death, Saint Louis Martin moved his five surviving daughters from Alençon to Lisieux so that relatives there could help him raise them.

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
Have you ever been called upon to care for other family members while carrying your own grief? How did God help you?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments and share how God sustained you as you cared for others.

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Source reference

Carmel de Lisieux. “Témoin 1: Agnès de Jésus.” In “Les témoignages du Procès ordinaire.” Archives du Carmel de Lisieux. Accessed September 1, 2026. https://archives.carmeldelisieux.fr/naissance-dune-sainte/les-proces-la-sainte-de-therese/le-proces-ordinaire/les-temoignages-du-proces-ordinaire/
Translation from the French by Carmelite Quotes.

Featured image

Elena Dijour, Church Cross Silhouette and Rose Bush, Dinan, Brittany, France, photograph.
Image credit: Elena Dijour / Adobe Stock (Asset ID 874223700).

Love can compass everything.
— Saint Teresa Margaret of the Sacred Heart

Teresa Margaret knew from experience that love made all things bearable.

If, in the middle of a life humanly impossible, she remained calm and smiling, it was because an interior flame was consuming her, a flame that obliterated all suffering in its presence, a flame that served as a remedy to her.

The Saint was heroic in the gift of herself simply because she was mystically consumed by love.

— Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene, O.C.D.

From the Sacred Heart to the Trinity, Part II

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
How has love helped you bear what seemed impossible in your life?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments, and your reply may inspire someone else.

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Source reference

Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D. From the Sacred Heart to the Trinity: The Spiritual Itinerary of St. Teresa Margaret (Redi) of the Sacred Heart, O.C.D. Translated by Sebastian Ramge, O.C.D. Washington, DC: ICS Publications, 2006.

Featured image

Luigi Guglielmino, Sacred Heart of Jesus, painting. Chiesa di Santa Maria della Consolazione, Turin, Italy.
Image credit: Renáta Sedmáková / Adobe Stock (Asset ID 158648749).

One Sunday, looking at a picture of Our Lord on the Cross, I was struck by the blood flowing from one of the divine hands…. The cry of Jesus on the Cross sounded continually in my heart: “I thirst!” [Jn 19:28]. These words ignited within me an unknown and very living fire. I wanted to give my Beloved to drink, and I felt myself consumed with a thirst for souls.

To awaken my zeal, God showed me my desires were pleasing to Him. I heard talk of a great criminal just condemned to death for some horrible crimes; everything pointed to the fact that he would die impenitent. I wanted at all costs to prevent him from falling into hell, and to attain my purpose, I employed every means imaginable.

Feeling that of myself I could do nothing, I offered to God all the infinite merits of Our Lord, the treasures of the Church, and finally I begged Céline to have a Mass offered for my intentions.

I told God I was sure He would pardon the poor, unfortunate Pranzini; that I’d believe this even if he went to his death without any signs of repentance or without having gone to confession. I was absolutely confident in the mercy of Jesus. But I was begging Him for a “sign” of repentance only for my own simple consolation.

My prayer was answered to the letter! In spite of Papa’s prohibition that we read no papers, I didn’t think I was disobeying when reading the passages pertaining to Pranzini. The day after his execution, I found the newspaper “La Croix.” I opened it quickly, and what did I see? Ah! my tears betrayed my emotion, and I was obliged to hide.

Pranzini had not gone to confession. He had mounted the scaffold and was preparing to place his head in the formidable opening when suddenly, seized by an inspiration, he turned, took hold of the crucifix the priest was holding out to him, and kissed the sacred wounds three times!

— Saint Thérèse of Lisieux

Story of a Soul, Ms A, 45v–46r

Note: Henri Pranzini was executed in Paris on August 31, 1887.

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
How does Thérèse’s experience inspire you to pray for someone who seems far from God?
⬦ Join the conversation and share your thoughts in the comments.

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Source reference

Thérèse of Lisieux, Saint. Story of a Soul: The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. Study ed. Translated by John Clarke. Edited by Marc Foley. Washington, DC: ICS Publications, 2005.

Featured image

Police mugshot of Henri Pranzini, March 28, 1887, five months before his execution for triple murder.
Image credit: Préfecture de Police, Paris / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain).

94. Have great love for trials and think of them as but a small way of pleasing your Bridegroom, who did not hesitate to die for you.

95. Bear fortitude in your heart against all things that move you to that which is not God, and be a friend of the Passion of Christ.

101. We must adjust our trials to ourselves, and not ourselves to our trials.

102. He who seeks not the cross of Christ seeks not the glory of Christ.

— Saint John of the Cross

Sayings of Light and Love, nos. 94, 95, 101, 102

Note: In Sunday’s Gospel (Mt 16:21–27), Peter rebukes Jesus when he explains his messianic mission in plain terms: he must go to Jerusalem, suffer, die, and be raised on the third day. “God forbid, Lord! This shall never happen to you,” Peter protests. Jesus’ response is just as clear: “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

Saint John of the Cross states the obvious. Jesus did not hesitate to die for us; therefore, we please God when we become friends of the Passion of Christ. As an old hymn says, “If you can’t bear the Cross, you can’t wear the Crown.”

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
How can our trials bring us closer to Christ rather than driving us away from the Lord?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments and share what helps you remain close to Christ in times of trial.

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Source reference

John of the Cross, Saint. The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross. Revised ed. Translated by Kieran Kavanaugh and Otilio Rodriguez. Washington, DC: ICS Publications, 1991.

Featured image

Anonymous French artist, The Christian Soul Accepts the Cross, ca. 1630, oil on canvas, 72.7 × 58.7 cm (detail).
Image credit: Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, inventory no. P002365 / www.museodelprado.es (noncommercial use).

Saint Teresa wrote The Interior Castle under obedience in 1577. At the beginning of the Third Mansions, she introduces a chapter that treats “of what little security we can have while living in this exile, even though we may have reached a high state, and of how we should walk with fear.” She adds, with characteristic humility, that the chapter contains “some good points.”

Pray, my daughters, that His Majesty may live in me always. If He doesn't, what security can a life as badly spent as mine have? And do not become sad in knowing that this life has been badly spent, as I have sometimes observed you become when I tell this to you; you continue to desire that I might have lived a very holy life—and you are right. I too would want to have so lived, but what can I do if I have lost holiness through my own fault!

I will not complain about God, who gave me enough help to carry out your desires. I cannot say this without tears and being very ashamed that I am writing something for those who can teach me. Doing so has been a hard command to obey! May it please the Lord that since it is being done for Him it may be of some benefit to you, so that you may ask Him to pardon this miserable and bold creature.

But His Majesty well knows that I can boast only of His mercy, and since I cannot cease being what I have been, I have no other remedy than to approach His mercy and to trust in the merits of His Son and of the Virgin, His Mother, whose habit I wear so unworthily, and you wear.

Praise Him, my daughters, for you truly belong to our Lady. Thus you have no reason to be ashamed of my misery since you have such a good Mother. Imitate her and reflect that the grandeur of our Lady and the good of having her for your patroness must be indeed great, since my sins and being what I am have not been enough to tarnish in any way this sacred order.

— Saint Teresa of Avila

The Interior Castle, III.1.3

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
When you feel unworthy of God’s mercy, what helps you remember that his love is a total gift that can't be earned?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments and praise God with Saint Teresa.

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Source reference

Teresa of Avila. The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila. Vol. 1, The Book of Her Life, Spiritual Testimonies, Soliloquies. Translated by Kieran Kavanaugh, OCD, and Otilio Rodriguez, OCD. 2nd ed. Washington, DC: ICS Publications, 1987.

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Carmelite Quotes, composite featuring Fray Juan de la Miseria, Vero retrato de Santa Teresa, ca. 1576, and Ángel Cantero, Visita al Convento de Santa Teresa en Valladolid_87, November 19, 2014, photograph.
Image credit: Carmelitas Descalzas de Alba de Tormes; Archivo Municipal de Valladolid / Flickr (underlying portrait: public domain; background photograph: CC BY-SA 2.0). Composite created by Carmelite Quotes in Adobe Express.

The Conversion of Saint Teresa

Well, my soul now was tired; and, in spite of its desire, my wretched habits would not allow it rest.

It happened to me that one day, entering the oratory, I saw an image they had borrowed for a certain feast to be celebrated in the house. It represented the much wounded Christ and was very devotional, so that beholding it I was utterly distressed in seeing Him that way, for it well represented what He suffered for us.

I felt so keenly aware of how poorly I thanked Him for those wounds that, it seems to me, my heart broke. Beseeching Him to strengthen me once and for all that I might not offend Him, I threw myself down before Him with the greatest outpouring of tears…

At this time, they gave me The Confessions of St. Augustine. It seems the Lord ordained this because I had not tried to procure a copy, nor had I ever seen one.

I am very fond of St. Augustine, because the convent where I stayed as a lay person belonged to his order; and also because he had been a sinner, for I found great consolation in sinners whom, after having been sinners, the Lord brought back to Himself. It seemed to me I could find help in them and that since the Lord had pardoned them, He could also pardon me.

But there was one thing that left me inconsolable, as I have mentioned, and that was that the Lord called them only once, and they did not turn back and fall again; whereas in my case I had turned back so often that I was worn out from it.

But by considering the love He bore me, I regained my courage, for I never lost confidence in His mercy; in myself, I lost it many times.

— Saint Teresa of Avila

The Book of Her Life, ch. 9

Note: For the feast of Saint Augustine, we are sharing Saint Teresa’s account of why his conversion gave her hope during a decisive turning point in her own life. The curators of the 2015 Biblioteca Nacional de España exhibition Teresa de Jesús: La prueba de mi verdad identified the devotional imagen in this passage as Albert Bouts’s Ecce Homo, an oil painting rather than the statue found in many English translations. Teresa later gave the painting to her daughters at the Carmel of Toledo.

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
When repeated failures leave you discouraged, how do you recover your confidence in God’s mercy?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments and share what helps you begin again after failure.

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Source reference

Teresa of Avila. The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila. Vol. 1, The Book of Her Life, Spiritual Testimonies, Soliloquies. Translated by Kieran Kavanaugh, OCD, and Otilio Rodriguez, OCD. 2nd ed. Washington, DC: ICS Publications, 1987.

Teresa, de la rueca a la pluma. “Guía breve de la exposición en la BNE: ‘La prueba de mi verdad’.” March 27, 2015.

Featured image

Albert Bouts, Ecce Homo, ca. 1510, oil on panel. Carmel of Toledo.
Background: Juan Pablo Fuentes S, murallas de Avila por la noche. Adobe Stock asset 1942840384.
Image credit: Carmel of Toledo / Teresa, de la rueca a la pluma; background by Juan Pablo Fuentes S / Adobe Stock (licensed). Composite by Carmelite Quotes.

Last Remission (August 27 to September 13, 1897)

On the afternoon of August 27, these great sufferings came to an end (the tuberculosis had reached its final stage, August 15–27, 1897). There remained the fever (her temperature was never taken), the thirst, and above all the difficult respiration. She had only half the left lung with which to breathe.

So that she might see the garden in flower, her bed was moved to the middle of the infirmary with the window on her left. In front, framed by the curtains, she could see the Virgin of the Smile.

Look! She’s watching for me!

She was surprised that, having loved Mary so much, she had had such difficulty all her life saying her rosary.

In these days of remission, Mother Agnès [Pauline Martin] wrote down many of the sick nun’s words. They are short sentences, skipping from one subject to another. Thérèse remained mistress of life, as much through her gestures as her words. She still joked to cheer up her sisters. At the stage when ‘the outer man is wasting away and the inner man is being renewed day by day’ (2 Cor 4:16), Sister Thérèse appeared at peace, free, happy. Those around her were astonished. ‘What did you do to reach such unshakable peace?’

I forgot self and was careful not to seek myself in anything.

She thought about Sister Geneviève [Céline Martin], who was having sleepless nights because of her. She was not at a loss for lively repartee. Mother Agnès, still anxious, said: ‘Oh, how unfortunate it is when one is sick!’

No, we are not unfortunate when we are dying. Alas, how silly it is to be afraid of death! When one is married and has a husband and children, that’s understandable, but I have nothing!

— Bishop Guy Gaucher, O.C.D.

The Story of a Life, ch. 11

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
How do Saint Thérèse’s words help you face your own fears about death?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments.

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Source reference

Gaucher, Guy. The Story of a Life: St. Thérèse of Lisieux. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1993.

Featured image

The bed where Saint Thérèse of Lisieux died in the Holy Face Infirmary at the Carmel of Lisieux.
Image credit: Discalced Carmelites (by permission).

O sweet cautery, 
O delightful wound! 
O gentle hand! O delicate touch 
that tastes of eternal life 
and pays every debt! 
In killing you changed death to life.

Moses declares in Deuteronomy, Our Lord God is a consuming fire [Dt 4:24], that is, a fire of love, which, being of infinite power, can inestimably consume and transform into itself the soul it touches. Yet he burns each soul according to its preparation: he will burn one more, another less, and this he does insofar as he desires, and how and when he desires. When he wills to touch somewhat vehemently, the soul’s burning reaches such a high degree of love that it seems to surpass that of all the fires of the world, for he is an infinite fire of love. Because the soul in this case is entirely transformed by the divine flame, it not only feels a cautery, but has become a cautery of blazing fire.

It is a wonderful thing and worth relating that, since this fire of God is so mighty it would consume a thousand worlds more easily than the fire of this earth would burn up a straw, it does not consume and destroy the soul in which it so burns. And it does not afflict it; rather, commensurate with the strength of the love, it divinizes and delights it, burning gently. Since God’s purpose in granting these communications is to exalt the soul, he does not weary and restrict it, but enlarges and delights it, brightens and enriches it. The happy soul that by great fortune reaches this cautery knows all things, tastes all things, does all it wishes, and prospers; no one prevails before it, and nothing touches it. This is the soul of which the Apostle speaks: The spiritual one judges all things and is judged by no one [1 Cor 2:15]. And again: The spirit searches out all things, unto the deep things of God [1 Cor 2:10].

It will happen that while the soul is inflamed with the love of God, it will feel that a seraphim is assailing it by means of an arrow or dart which is all afire with love. And the seraphim pierces and cauterizes this soul which, like a red-hot coal, or better, a flame, is already enkindled, for the soul is converted into the immense fire of love.

Few persons have reached these heights. Some have, however, especially those whose virtue and spirit were to be diffused among their children. For God accords to founders, with respect to the first fruits of the spirit, wealth and value commensurate with the greater or lesser following they will have in their doctrine and spirituality.

O happy wound, wrought by one who knows only how to heal! O fortunate and choicest wound; you were made only for delight, and the quality of your affliction is delight and gratification for the wounded soul! You are great, O delightful wound, because he who caused you is great!

And your delight is great, because the fire of love is infinite and makes you delightful according to your capacity and greatness. O, then, delightful wound, so much more sublimely delightful the more the cautery touched the intimate center of the substance of the soul, burning all that was burnable in order to give delight to all that could be delighted!

— Saint John of the Cross

Living Flame of Love, st. 2

Note: Each August 26, Discalced Carmelites observe the liturgical memorial of the Transverberation of Saint Teresa of Jesus. The memorial recalls the moment when an angel pierced Teresa’s heart with a flaming dart, leaving her “all on fire with great love of God” (The Book of Her Life, ch. 29). This passage from Saint John of the Cross is appointed for the Office of Readings and helps us contemplate the transforming love at work in this moment of unspeakable grace.

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
God burns each soul according to its preparation. Saint Thérèse recalled that both a tumbler and a thimble can be filled to the brim. How are you preparing to receive all the love God desires to give you?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments.

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Source reference

John of the Cross, Saint. The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross. Revised ed. Translated by Kieran Kavanaugh and Otilio Rodriguez. Washington, DC: ICS Publications, 1991.

Featured image

Giovanni Battista Piazzetta, St. Teresa in Ecstasy, oil on canvas.
Image credit: Nationalmuseum, Stockholm / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain).

My God, grant me
a heart humble and contrite
to love Thee;
a spirit upright and steadfast
to keep Thee always in mind;
a body strong and generous
and patience to serve Thee.

— Saint Mary of Jesus Crucified (Mariam Baouardy)

Cahiers Réservés, 2

Note: As a Carmelite lay sister, Mariam was particularly entrusted with manual labor, which gives special weight to her prayer for “a body strong and generous.” In his biography of Mariam, Vie de sœur Marie de Jésus Crucifié, her spiritual director, Father Pierre Estrate, SCI di Béth., states that whenever the devil tried to convince her that Jesus had abandoned her, she replied, “I place my hope in God’s mercy.” She assured those who were discouraged or burdened by guilt, “God forgives everything when the heart is upright, contrite, and humble.”

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
How can Mariam’s prayer help you grow in humility, steadfastness, strength and generosity, or patience?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments and tell us how you’re praying today.

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Source reference

Mary of Jesus Crucified. Cahiers réservés. Vol. 2. Unpublished manuscript, Archives of the Carmels of Bethlehem (Palestine) and Haifa (Israel).
Translation by Carmelite Quotes.

Featured image

Carmelite Convent on the Hill of David, Bethlehem, January 28, 2020, photograph.
Image credit: rparys / Adobe Stock, asset ID 325026055 (Licensed).

While she was at the palace of Doña Luisa [de la Cerda], she met the Andalusian María de Jesús and the two exchanged thoughts about their projects and ideals. The little houses prepared somehow by Ovalle [St. Teresa’s sister Juana and her husband, Juan de Ovalle] under a personal title were ready.

“The very night I reached this city our patent and our brief for the monastery arrived from Rome” (The Book of Her Life, chap. 36).

Fray Pedro de Alcántara accompanied by [Francisco de] Salcedo traveled to El Tiemblo to present it to the bishop Don Alvaro [de Mendoza].

“Everything was done in deep secrecy” (Life, chap. 36).

The bishop resisted, but finally gave his assent and he came to Avila to get to know Teresa personally, who had gathered there for the purpose of the foundation the four young pioneers (“four poor orphans”) and also a couple of nuns from the Incarnation.

At the sound of the bell the inaugural Mass was celebrated by Teresa’s cleric friend Gaspar Daza. He gave the habit to the four candidates in the presence of both Teresa and the future chaplain Julián de Avila.

The cloister was established “behind some makeshift boards and matting, which at the time did not speak so much of cloister but that the house was very small and poor” (Processes of Beatification and Canonization, Biblioteca Mistica Carmelitana, vol. 18, p. 384). All of this was on the morning of [Friday] August 24, 1562.

“Well with me it was like being in glory to see the Blessed Sacrament reserved … I was so intensely happy that I was as though outside myself, in deep prayer” (Life, chap. 36).

But that same evening, Teresa suffered a profound interior crisis (cf. Life, chap. 36).

There first arose an uproar in that section of the city. And the prioress of the Incarnation, Doña María Cimbrón, called for the immediate presence of Teresa to render an account. She abandoned the little convent and went down to the Incarnation.

Accompanied by Julián de Avila, she left the four novices alone and sad, yet determined, although totally inexperienced and hardly initiated into the new way of life.

— Father Tomás Álvarez, O.C.D.

Chapter 33, “The First Foundation: St. Joseph in Avila”

Note: Father Tomás Álvarez explains why the city reacted so strongly. The monastery had opened before the Spanish Crown approved the pope’s authorization for use in Spain. The houses purchased by Teresa’s brother-in-law, Juan de Ovalle, carried a city tax he knew nothing about, and the construction work ran along the boundary of the aqueducts that supplied Avila with water. The dispute went to court in Madrid, dragged on until April 1564, and cost the poor new Carmelites a fortune.

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
Have you ever faced opposition to a choice you believed was God’s will? What helped you persevere?
⬦ Join the conversation and tell us what helped you remain faithful.

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Source reference

Álvarez, Tomás. “The First Foundation: St. Joseph in Avila.” In St. Teresa of Avila: 100 Themes on Her Life and Work. Translated by Kieran Kavanaugh. Washington, DC: ICS Publications, 2011.

Featured image

Statue of Saint Teresa by Fernando Cruz Solís (20th c.), at the Monastery of the Incarnation, Ávila.
Image credit: Raquel / Adobe Stock.

In the Church, Jesus himself is present in the Blessed Sacrament. She is governed by his vicar, the Holy Father, that is to say, the pope. To him Jesus gave the keys of the kingdom of heaven and conferred on him the power to forgive or not to forgive sins (cf. Mt 16:19)...

To the Church Jesus entrusted the sacraments and all the other spiritual helps for the faithful; he gave us the Blessed Virgin as mediatrix, the holy angels as guardians and companions, so that we might be able to free ourselves from sin and rise to new life...

In moments of doubt let us cry out, “I believe in everything the Church proposes to us for our belief.” In a word, in the difficulties of life and in the moments when we are tempted to go after false goods, let us hold fast to the bark of Peter, which is for us like Noah’s ark at the time of the deluge, since we feel good everywhere but better in the House of God, where everything is done according to his will. In this house Jesus is with us until the end of the world.

The visible head of this house, of this (if you will) bark of Peter, ark of the covenant, is the pope; the invisible head is Jesus himself. To Holy Church all the peoples of the earth hasten, insofar as all the nations… will find a refuge in it. Our Redeemer, ever present in the Most Blessed Sacrament, extends his hands to everyone. He opens his heart and says, “Come to me, all of you” (Mt 11:28). Thus he calls and invites us, so that there might be one shepherd and one flock!

— Saint Raphael Kalinowski

The Church Is Our Home
Conference delivered to the Discalced Carmelite Seculars in Wadowice, March 29, 1893

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
When doubts or difficulties arise, what helps you hold fast to the Church as your refuge in Christ?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments.

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Source reference

Praśkiewicz, Szczepan T., and Rafał Kalinowski. Saint Raphael Kalinowski: An Introduction to His Life and Spirituality. Translated by Thomas Coonan, Michael Griffin, OCD, and Lawrence Sullivan, OCD. Washington, DC: ICS Publications, Institute of Carmelite Studies, 1998.

Featured image

Tu es Petrus, stained glass window, Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Paray-le-Monial, France
Image credit: Lawrence Lew, OP / Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

O Mary, if I were the Queen of Heaven and you were Thérèse, I would want to be Thérèse so that you could be the Queen of Heaven!

— Saint Thérèse of Lisieux

Prayer 21, September 8, 1897

Note: On September 8, 1897, the seventh anniversary of her profession, Thérèse asked to see the holy card of Our Lady of Victories once again. Years earlier, she had attached the little white flower her father had given her when he consented to her entrance into Carmel. With a trembling hand, Thérèse wrote this prayer on the back. These were the last words she ever wrote.

Only a few months earlier, she had written, “To love is to give everything. It’s to give oneself” (Poem 54). In this final prayer, Thérèse takes those words literally. Even if she were Queen of Heaven, she would give it all to the Blessed Virgin Mary, perfectly content just to be Thérèse.

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
What would you want your last written words to reveal about the one you love most?
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Source reference

Thérèse of Lisieux, Saint. The Prayers of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux. With a general introduction by Guy Gaucher, OCD. Translated by Aletheia Kane, OCD. Washington, DC: ICS Publications, 1997.

Featured image

Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, Prayer 21, “If I Were Queen of Heaven,” September 8, 1897, violet ink on cardboard.
Image credit: Discalced Carmelites (by permission).

Everything is possible for one who believes, still more for one who hopes, even more for one who loves, and most of all for one who practices and perseveres in these three virtues. All the baptized who are true believers have taken the first step along the way of perfection and will become perfect as long as they persevere in the practice of the following maxims.

We must keep our eyes fixed on God in everything we say, do or undertake. Our goal is to be the most perfect adorers of God in this life as we hope to be throughout all eternity. We must make a firm resolution to overcome, with God’s grace, all the difficulties inherent in the spiritual life.

A soul depends on grace in proportion to its desire for greater perfection. God’s help is necessary at every moment because without it the soul can do nothing. The world, nature, and the devil together wage war so fiercely and so relentlessly that, without this special help and this humble, necessary dependence, they would carry off the soul against its will. This seems contrary to nature, but grace finds pleasure and peace therein.

— Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, o.c.d.

Spiritual Maxims, nos. 1–2, 5

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
How can we help youth to recognize the spiritual battles they face and learn to depend humbly on God’s grace?
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Source reference

Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, OCD. The Practice of the Presence of God. Edited by Conrad De Meester, OCD. Translated by Salvatore Sciurba, OCD. Washington, DC: ICS Publications, 1994.

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Some people do not speak because they lack the ability to do so, as in the case of the fool described in the wisdom books: “Wisdom is too high for fools; in the gate they do not open their mouths” (Pr 24:7). Wisdom lies beyond their reach. They are unable to say anything sensible in public because of an inadequate education, an immature personality, or naïve judgment. Consequently, when public affairs are being discussed, the fool is unable to contribute a judicious and mature word and therefore remains silent. Such a person lacks the wisdom and intellectual ability needed to express a personal opinion worthy of being heard.

The Bible also describes the inability to speak of those who appear to possess a superior and mysterious wisdom. Unlike Joseph, the diviners of Egypt cannot explain Pharaoh’s dreams and are reduced to silence. They are unable to interpret them (Gen 41:24). We find a similar example in those who cannot solve the riddle Samson sets before them (Judg 14:13–14).

In the case of idols, the inability to speak becomes absolute: they “have mouths, but do not speak” (Ps 115:5). They are ’eben dūmam, “a silent stone” (Hab 2:19), incapable of uttering a single word. People cry out to an idol, “but it does not answer” (Isa 46:7).

— Bishop Silvio José Báez, OCD

Cuando todo calla: El silencio en la Biblia

Note: In Cuando todo calla, Bishop Silvio José Báez, OCD, explores the many forms of silence found in Scripture, drawing on both biblical scholarship and Carmelite tradition. The book is inspired especially by Saint John of the Cross’s teaching that the Father speaks his one Word, the Son, in eternal silence—a silence very different from the emptiness described in today’s passage.

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
How do you know when it’s time to speak and when it’s better to hold your tongue?
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Source reference

Báez Ortega, Silvio José. Cuando todo calla: El silencio en la Biblia. Madrid: Editorial de Espiritualidad, 2009.
English translation by Carmelite Quotes.

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Lucas van Leyden, Joseph Interpreting Pharaoh’s Dreams, 1512, engraving, first state.
Image credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Public domain).

On August 19, 1897, Saint Thérèse received Holy Communion for the last time. Her body was nearly spent, but she did not count on illness to carry her to heaven. She counted on love. As Father Conrad de Meester, OCD, explains, Thérèse was waiting to see God face to face—and to begin her mission of making him loved.

Three months before the final hour, she wrote:

“What attracts me to the homeland of heaven is the Lord’s call, the hope of loving him finally as I have so much desired to love him, and the thought that I shall be able to make him loved by a multitude of souls who will bless him eternally” (LT 254).

She was quite sure that she would continue to be an apostle on earth from her place in heaven:

“I feel that I’m about to enter into my rest. But I feel especially that my mission is about to begin, my mission of making God loved as I love him, of giving my ‘little way’ to souls. If God answers my desires, my heaven will be spent on earth till the end of the world. Yes, I want to spend my heaven in doing good on earth” (Last Conversations, July 17).

Her growing desire for heaven was now accompanied by an increasing expectation that she would die of love:

“I do not count on the illness [to go to Paradise], it is too slow a leader. I count only on love. Ask good Jesus that all the prayers being offered for me may serve to increase the Fire which must consume me” (LT 242, July 14 to Père Roulland).

From the outset of her religious life, Thérèse had been on fire with the words of St. John of the Cross in his Living Flame of Love:

“It is of utmost importance that the soul should exert itself in loving so that, rapidly consuming itself, it scarcely lingers here on earth, but swiftly comes to see its God face to face” (cf. I.28, Peers edition).

With him she had prayed: “Tear down the veil of this sweet encounter.”

— Conrad de Meester, OCD

With Empty Hands, ch. 8, “En Route to Life”

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
Thérèse believed that heaven would bring her closer to souls, not farther away. How has she helped you?
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Source reference

De Meester, Conrad. With Empty Hands: The Message of St Thérèse of Lisieux. Translated from the French by Mary Seymour. New rev. ed. ICS Publications, 2002.

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The Blessed Martyrs of Rochefort who were imprisoned on the former slave ship Deux-Associés drew up a series of resolutions to guide their conduct if they were released.

If there is question of receiving back their personal effects they will show no eagerness in asking for them; rather they will make the declaration that may be required of them with modesty and strict truth; they will receive without lament what is given to them, accustoming themselves, as is their duty, to despise the things of the earth and to be content with little, after the example of the apostles.

They are not to satisfy curious people they might come across; they will not reply to superficial questions about what happened to them; they will let people glimpse that they have patiently supported their sufferings, without descending into detail, and without showing any resentment against those who have authored and been instrumental in their suffering.

— The Blessed Martyrs of Rochefort

Excerpts from the Resolutions

Note: Saint John Paul II beatified sixty-four of the Rochefort martyrs on October 1, 1995. Three were Discalced Carmelites: Blesseds Leonard Duverneuil, Michael-Aloysius Brulard, and Hubert of Saint Claude Gagnot. They had refused the oath required by the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. For that, they were crowded aboard the Deux-Associés, a former slave ship anchored in Rochefort Bay, and marked for deportation. The ship never sailed. Father Leonard died aboard on July 1, 1794; Father Michael-Aloysius died on July 25. Both were buried on Île d’Aix. When sickness tore through the prison ships, the men still alive were taken to Île Madame. Father Hubert died there on September 10.

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
Do you think that you could talk about your suffering without any resentment?
⬦ Join the conversation and tell us which of these resolutions challenges you more.

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Source reference

Catholic Church. Proper of the Liturgy of the Hours of the Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel and the Order of Discalced Carmelites. Rev. and augm. Rome: Institutum Carmelitanum, 1993.

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Emmanuel Bethoux, Pèlerinage de l’île Madame, photograph of pilgrims crossing the Passe aux Bœufs at low tide, August 20, 2015.
Image credit: Emmanuel Bethoux / Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).

My dear brother,

Yesterday I called out for you in a loud voice, believing that you alone could relieve my pain. For twenty-four hours I suffered more than I’d ever suffered in my entire life, so those hours were spent moaning and crying out. I begged all the saints in Heaven, one after the other, but no one answered me!

Finally, not being able to obtain anything else, I asked to be able to spend the night in my bed. I hadn’t been able to stay there in the afternoon. I was in a dreadful position; it was impossible to rest my head anywhere. We’d tried everything, but my poor head could touch nothing, nor could I make the slightest movement, even to swallow some liquid. My neck was stiff on all sides, and the gentlest move put me in atrocious pain.

Finally, I was able to stay in bed as long as I was sitting up. When I began to fall asleep, the imperceptible movement I made no doubt woke up all my sufferings. I had to moan all night. Louis, Marie and the maid stayed by my side. From time to time, poor Louis would hold me in his arms like a child....

— Saint Zélie Martin

Letter CF 216 to her brother Isidore, July 27, 1877

Note: In her footnotes to this letter, editor Dr. Frances Renda remarks that by July 1877, Saint Zélie’s breast cancer had spread to her bones. Renda cites Father Stéphane-Joseph Piat, OFM, who reported that when Zélie’s remains were exhumed and reinterred in the Basilica of Lisieux in 1958, physicians observed deep lesions that had corroded three vertebrae at the base of her neck and in her left shoulder.

Renda also cites medical researcher Therese Taylor, who explains that Zélie did not begin using sedatives until she was on her deathbed. Both patient and physician would have feared that beginning opiates too soon could produce dependence and reduce their effectiveness. Three days after Zélie wrote this letter, on Monday, July 30, 1877, her brother Isidore and his wife, Céline, came to her bedside. The brother for whom she had called out was now at her side.

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
When you cannot relieve a loved one’s suffering, how can staying beside them become an act of love?
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Source reference

Martin, Zélie, and Louis Martin. A Call to a Deeper Love: The Family Correspondence of the Parents of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, 1863–1885. Translated by Ann Connors Hess and edited by Frances Renda. Society of St. Paul, 2011.

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Remember, dear Madame, that beautiful passage of the Gospel where a woman pursued Our Lord in the ardor of her prayer. He who is so good seemed to become unfeeling and pushed her away, but in the end, in the face of her faith and trust, He could no longer resist her, and He says to her: “O woman, your faith is great!” [Cf. Mt 15:21–28].

That, dear Madame, is what we must give Him: to hope against all hope [Cf. Rom 4:18] and never doubt His goodness.

— Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity

Letter 262 to Madame de Sourdon, around January 13, 1906

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
What helps you to hope against all hope and never doubt, even when God seems silent?
⬦ Share what sustains your hope in the comments.

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Source reference

Elizabeth of the Trinity. The Complete Works of Elizabeth of the Trinity, vol. 2, Letters from Carmel. Translated by Anne Englund Nash. Washington, DC: ICS Publications, 2003.

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A Jack Russell terrier begs its owner for food at a street café.
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For the Virgin Mary, God’s preparation consisted of the fullness of grace that she received in her Immaculate Conception. In order for Mary to be completely free from sin, she had to be totally open to God’s will.

You are familiar with the writings of Saint Alphonsus of Liguori. In his explanation, by virtue of the Immaculate Conception, the Virgin Mary received not merely the negative privilege of freedom from sin, but more importantly the positive privilege of habitual grace. Her endowment exceeded the graces of all the other saints combined. Her graces multiplied and became torrents overflowing her soul.

Divine preparations are always and above all spiritual rather than material. Consider this woman, destined to bring into the world the One who surpasses all human expectations. Consider how God stripped this woman of all material riches. Although she is of royal ancestry, God wills the mother of his Son to be a simple worker from a worker’s family. He strips her of luxury and social standing. Paradoxically, the very poor woman who gives birth to the Son is the paragon of true wealth.

Again and again, we encounter the same lesson: in order to find the fullness of God, we must hold on to nothing, absolutely nothing. Our fingers and hands must be free. In order for God to penetrate our lives, we must separate ourselves from everything else.

So it was with the Virgin Mary. God alone dwelled in the depths of her soul. A stupendous surge of supernatural grace swelled within her and made her worthy to be the mother of the Word made flesh.

— Servant of God Père Jacques de Jésus

Listen to the Silence, Conference 5

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
What can help us to let go so that God can penetrate our lives?
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Source reference

Jacques, Père, and Francis J. Murphy. Listen to the Silence: A Retreat with Père Jacques. Washington, DC: ICS Publications, 2005.

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Attributed to Cosmè Tura, Manuscript Illumination with the Assumption of the Virgin in an Initial G, from a Gradual, 1450–60, tempera, ink, and gold on parchment.
Image credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art / The Met Collection (Public domain).