Laudem Gloriae

Whenever I find myself being angry, negative or wanting to put in the last word to justify oneself. I pray that St Elizabeth, will remind me of her words :

"I shall keep my strength for you." My Rule tells me: "In silence will your strength be." It seems to me, therefore, that to keep one's strength for the Lord is to unify one's whole being by means of interior silence, to collect all one's powers in order to "employ" them in the "one work of love," to have this "single eye" which allows the light of God to enlighten us.

A soul that debates with itself, that is taken up with its feelings, and pursues useless thoughts and desires, scatters its forces, for it is not wholly directed towards God. Its lyre does not vibrate in unison and when the Master plays it, He cannot draw from it divine harmonies, for it is still too human and discordant.

[Excerpt taken from Elizabeth of the Trinity; The Complete Works; Volume One; "Last Retreat : Second Day" ]

#Carmelite #Contemplative #ElizabethoftheTrinity #HolyTrinity #Interior #Prayer #Silence #Spirituality 
 

Body vs Spirit

One of the great #trails and miseries of life, I think, is this helplessness experienced when there is no #strong #spirit to bring the body into submission. For if the soul is alert, I don't consider the #suffering of illness and #pain a problem.

[Excerpt taken from 'The Book of Foundations; Chapter 29; 3rd Point ]

To Forget Self

'I felt charity enter into my soul, and the need to forget myself and     .......    My mortifications consisted in breaking my will, always so ready to impose itself on others; in holding back a reply, in rendering little services without any recognition ....... '

[Excerpt taken from Story of a Soul; Chapter 5 & 6]

Looking Towards Heaven

'While outside in carnival's frantic tumult people get drunk and delirious, while political battles separate them, and great need depresses them so much that many forget to look to heaven, at such still places of prayer, hearts are opened to the Lord   .......   By their steadfast supplications, they draw down God's grace and mercy on a humanity, submerged in sin and need. 
In our time, when the powerlessness of our battling and overwhelming misery, has been demonstrated so obviously, an entirely new understanding of the power of prayer, of expiation, and of vicarious atonement has again awakened. This is why people of faith crowd the places of prayer .......

[Excerpt taken from 'Love for Love : The Life and Works of St Teresa of Jesus (The Collected Works of Edith Stein - The Hidden Life) ]

Withdraw to the Mountains

St Therese as a young teenager, wrote in her autobiography - Story of a Soul; "the sweetness which the world offers is mixed with bitterness."
And she also realizes that "The Blessed Virgin, too, watched over her little flower and, not wanting her to be tarnished by contact with worldly things, drew her to her mountain before she blossomed."

Joyous Feast Day, to All Carmelite-At-Heart.

A Different Shade of Light

In our current city life, that is always aglow with fluorescent and neon light, everywhere we turn. When was the last time we lift our heads above, to behold the night skies, dimly lighting the remaining hours of the day, as we prepare for the day's rest? The passage of the moon throughout the night, and the light that it cast on this earth?

In his captivity, St John of the Cross, would have been very familiar with this natural light, that falls on the pages of his prayer book ... which leads him to pen the Poem 'The Dark Night' or 'Noche Oscura'

One Dark Night,
fired with love's urgent longings
- ah, the sheer grace!-
I went out unseen,
my house being all stilled.

And in Spanish, his native language

En una noche oscura,
con ansias, en amores inflamada,
oh dichosa ventura
sali sin ser notada
estando ya mi casa sosegada

[First Stanza of his Poem, 'The Dark Night' or 'Noche Oscura' taken from page 50, of 'The Collected Works of Saint John of the Cross', Revised Edition]

And when the light in our lives becomes less bright, let us bear in mind that the stars shine brighter, in the deepest darkness of the night, if we have the eyes of faith, to remain hopeful.

#Contemplative #Carmelite # Spirituality #Prayer #Advent #Light #Detachment #Life #God

Abyss of Poverty

In celebration of the canonization of Elizabeth of the Trinity, in this 'Year of Mercy', we are reminded of this wisdom :


'I "remain" very little "in the depths of my poverty." I see "my nothingness, my misery, my weakness; I perceive that I am incapable of progress, of perseverance; I see the multitude of my shortcomings, my defects; I appear in my indigence." "I fall down in my misery, confessing my distress, and I display it before the mercy" of my Master. "Quotidie morior." "I die daily." I decrease, I renounce self more each day so that Christ may increase in me.
[Heaven in Faith, Third Day, Second Prayer]


Here is the web-link to view the Canonization Mass :

http://www.catholictv.org/shows/papal-programming/canonization-mass-seven-new-saints

#YearofMercy #Contemplative #Carmelite # Spirituality #Prayer #Humility #Life #God