Fearing Love

[Parents of St Therese]

St Therese describes her young self, as someone 'who gets into frightful tantrums; when things don't go just right and according to her way of thinking' 

(from Chapter 1 of 'Story of a Soul')

However in the presence of her loving family and with the grace of God, her strong willed, self-love is gradually transformed into a selfless consideration of others. 'My nature was such that fear made me recoil; with love not only did I advance, I actually flew.' 

(from Chapter 8 of 'Story of a Soul)

Perhaps, we can easily identify with her strong willed nature or know someone who resembles thus. But is it not amazing, how such a great transformation, can be brought about by love & charity, instead of fear & violence?

 #carmelite #contemplation #prayer #presence #love #grace #charity #self #personality #strong-willed #stubborn #fear #violence

In Serving Humanity

[Edith Stein serving as a nurse in a lazaretto; a hospital for infectious disease]

As the country of my birth celebrates it's Golden Jubilee, I am heartened to read, the following excerpts :

'We are in the world to serve humanity ..... This is best accomplished when doing that for which one has the requisite talents ......'

'My love for history was no mere romantic absorption in the past. Closely associated with it was a passionate participation in current political events as history in the making. Both of these interests probably sprang from an extraordinarily strong social conscience, a feeling for the solidarity .... of all mankind .....'

'I have no private life anymore,' I told myself,' 'All my energy must be devoted to this great happening. Only when the war is over, if I'm alive then, will I be permitted to think of my private affairs once more.'

[From 'Life in a Jewish Family-An Autobiography' by Edith Stein]

Clearly, she exhibits that ability to serve humanity, brought about by a clarity of one's purpose and direction in life.

St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, help us in our quest for the truth. As a nation & society, guide us when we are encountering insurmountable challenges.

St Teresa Benedicta, Pray For Us.

#edith stein #saint teresa benedicta of the cross #saint teresa benedicta #teresa benedicta #carmelite #spirituality #history #social #solidarity #energy

Keys of Humility

'One can imagine the vehement indignation of the nuns who were to have a prioress sent to them - one not elected by them .............. The storm broke as the provincial led her into the house. ............. Teresa's goodness and humility finally brought about enough quiet for the sisters to go to their cells and to tolerate her presence in the house. '

'They were saving the decisive declarations for the first chapter meeting. But how amazed they were when they entered the chapter room at the sound of the bell to see in the prioress' seat the statue of our dear Lady, the Queen of Carmel, with the keys to the monastery in her hands and the new prioress at her feet. Their hearts were conquered even before Teresa began to speak and in her indisputably loving manner presented to them how she conceived and intended to conduct her office. In a short time, under her wise and temperate direction, above all by the influence of her character and conduct, the spirit of the house was renewed. Her greatest support in this was Fr John of the Cross.'

[Love for Love : Life and Works of St Teresa of Jesus from The Collected Works of Edith Stein - The Hidden Life] #humility #carmelite #spirituality

Being Free

The genius of these saints never fails to amaze me. Even when they are younger than 21 years old, they are already #aware that one can focus one's #energy, at will. Today, it is termed as, 'achieving one's goal'. But for St Therese, it is simply to ensure that Christ, her Beloved, is contented.

"When I am preparing for Holy Communion, I picture my soul as a piece of land and I beg the Blessed Virgin to remove from it any rubbish that would prevent it from being #free; then I ask her to set up a huge tent worthy of heaven, adorning it with her own jewelry; finally, I invite all the angels and saints to come and conduct a magnificent #concert there. It seems to me that when Jesus descends into my Heart he is content to find Himself so well received and I too, am content."

(Story of the Soul, Manuscript A, Chapter 8)
#communion #carmelite #spirituality

Christmas Refrain by St John of the Cross

The Virgin, weighed

with the Word of God,

comes down the road:

if only you'll shelter her.

We pass Year after Year and #Christmas after Christmas, knowing that the essence of the season, is to accept Christ into our hearts.

But like the poem 'Cloud of Carmel' (in my first post) states :

'and the Divine Indweller sets His throne

deep in a cloud in me .....'

O wonder of wonder, the creator of the heavens and stars, the one who made this earth, our habitat, has chosen to 

' ..... set His throne

deep in a cloud in me, His sanctuary'

Even when no human eye can behold this

'.....house of a Presence ....

and frightened acre of a Deity ...'

Softly, we murmur

'O hut of God, deepen your faith anew.'

#contemplative #carmelite #spirituality #carmel #faith

Loving Our Weakness

It is always easier to bring to mind our strengths, than our weaknesses. We can certainly live with our strengths, but as for our weakness, we have a tendency to brush them aside, although unconsciously.

What a sweet joy it is to think that God …. takes into account our weakness, that he is perfectly aware of our fragile nature. [Story of a Soul ; Chapter 8]

St Therese knows that God is aware of the frailty and weakness of the human condition, and inspires us to embrace and 'love our littleness'. So that we can embrace and love the littleness of our neighbours, eventually.

Ah! …. what pleases Him is that He sees me loving my littleness and …. the hope that I have in His mercy …….. That is my only treasure [Letters of St Therese, LT 197]

And at the same time, cultivate that child-like dependance on God, for every aspect of our daily needs.

I am no longer disturbed at being a little soul, on the contrary, I take delight in this ….. The remembrance of my faults humbles me, draws me never to depend on my own strength which is only weakness, but this remembrance speaks to me of mercy & love even more. When we cast our faults with entire filial confidence into the devouring fire of love, how would these not be consumed beyond return? [Letters of St Therese , LT 224, 247]

#contemplative #carmelite #spirituality #mercy #love #st therese #little flower #therese of lisieux #therese

Gift of Being Unique

In one of her lectures, Edith Stein states that :

Education is not an external possession of learning but rather the gestalt which the human personality assumes under the influence of manifold external forces.

In other words, she implies, the process of formation of the individual / ourselves. And we are being integrated constantly, as our body draws from the physical world and the psyche from the intellectual environment; which is the world of people and from the values which nourish it.

“Just as an inner form resides in the seed of plants, an invisible force making a fir tree shoot up here and a beech there, there is in this way an inner mold set in human beings which urges the evolution into a certain direction and works towards a certain gestalt in blind singleness of purpose,” creating an intrinsically, unique individual.

We stand in awe beholding this mysterious process of Creation, in everyone of us.

#education #pedagogy #contemplative #carmelite #spirituality