#IDF Soldier CAUGHT #Desecrating Statue Of The #VirginMary #tyt #yt

https://youtu.be/lrqKfRa3Rhs

Quote of the day, 8 May: St. Elizabeth of the Trinity

“Virgo fidelis”: that is, Faithful Virgin, “who kept all these things in her heart.” [Lk. 2:19] She remained so little, so recollected in God’s presence, in the seclusion of the temple, that she drew down upon herself the delight of the Holy Trinity: “Because He has looked upon the lowliness of His servant, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed!” [Lk. 1:48]

The Father, bending down to this beautiful creature, who was so unaware of her own beauty, willed that she be the Mother in time of Him whose Father He is in eternity.

Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity

Heaven in Faith, 39

Elizabeth of the Trinity, S 2014, I Have Found God, The Complete Works of Elizabeth of the Trinity Volume 1: Major spiritual writings, translated from the French by Kane, A, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: The Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple (detail), Pierre Mignard (French, 1612–1695), oil on canvas, 1635. Image credit: Private collection / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain).

Quote of the day, 6 May: St. Edith Stein

Divine virginity has a characteristic aversion to sin as the contrary of divine holiness. However, this aversion to sin gives rise to an indomitable love for sinners.

Christ has come to tear sinners away from sin and to restore the divine image in defiled souls. He comes as the child of sin—his genealogy and the entire history of the Old Covenant show this—and he seeks the company of sinners so as to take all the sins of the world upon himself and carry them away to the infamous wood of the cross, which thereby precisely becomes the sign of his victory.

This is precisely why virginal souls do not repulse sinners. The strength of their supernatural purity knows no fear of being sullied. The love of Christ impels them to descend into the darkest night. And no earthly maternal joy resembles the bliss of a soul permitted to enkindle the light of grace in the night of sins.

The way to this is the cross. Beneath the cross, the Virgin of virgins becomes the Mother of Grace.

Saint Edith Stein

Exaltation of the Cross, 14 September 1941

Stein, E 2014, The Hidden Life: hagiographic essays, meditations, spiritual texts, Stein, W (trans.), ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: The Crucifixion with Saints and a Donor (detail), Joos van Cleve and a collaborator, oil on wood, ca. 1520. Image credit: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (public domain).

Anybody know of an image I can print—or a small painting or little figurine or other art, if affordable or for trade—of the Virgin/Mother Mary that might appeal to an animist pagan? I’d like one for one of my altars. No plastic unless it’s secondhand, and no AI.

EDIT: Also no Amazon or eBay or their ilk. Small (or at least ethical) businesses only.

#VirginMary #MotherMary

Quote of the day, 5 May: Père Jacques

Let us be aware that God is here, present among us. Let us gaze upon him in and around us.

Let us likewise place ourselves in the presence of the Virgin Mary, our model of contemplation, who listened faithfully to God throughout her life. Let us ask her to teach us how to listen to God, to grasp his words, and to live them out.

Servant of God Jacques de Jésus

Conference 1, Solitude, the Essence of Carmel

Jacques, P 2005, Listen to the silence: a retreat with Père Jacques, Murphy, F (trans. & ed.), ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: Vittore Carpaccio (Italian, c. 1465–1525), The Virgin Reading, oil on panel transferred to canvas, c. 1505 (detail). It comes from the collections of the National Gallery of Art (public domain).

Quote of the day, 4 May: St. John of the Cross

The Virgin, weighed
with the Word of God,
comes down the road:
if only you’ll shelter her.

Saint John of the Cross

Poetry, 13, “Christmas Refrain”

Original Spanish text:

Del Verbo divino
la Virgen preñada
viene de camino:
¡si le dais posada!

John of the Cross, St 1991, The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross, rev. edn, Kavanaugh, K & Rodriguez, O (trans.), ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: AI-generated artwork in the style of Gari Melchers, created using Midjourney.

Quote of the day, 3 May: St. Teresa of Avila

On the eve of the feast of St. Sebastian, the first year in which I was prioress at the Incarnation, at the beginning of the Salve Regina, I saw the Mother of God descend with a great multitude of angels and sit in the prioress’s choir stall where there was a statue of our Lady.

In my opinion, I didn’t then see the statue but our Lady herself. It seemed to me she looked something like she does in the painting the countess gave me, although the power to discern this was quickly taken away, for my faculties were soon held in great suspension. It seemed to me there were angels above the canopies of the stalls in the back and above the front stalls; although they were not in corporeal form, for this was an intellectual vision.

She remained for the whole of the Salve, and she told me: “You were indeed right in placing me here; I shall be present in the praises they give my Son, and I shall offer these praises to Him.”

After this, I remained in the kind of prayer I now have, that of keeping my soul present with the Blessed Trinity. And it seemed to me that the Person of the Father drew me to Himself and spoke very pleasant words. Among them, while showing me what He wanted, He told me: “I gave you My Son, and the Holy Spirit, and this Blessed Virgin. What can you give Me?”

Saint Teresa of Avila

Spiritual Testimonies, 21
Avila, Monastery of the Incarnation, 19 January 1572

Note: Saint Teresa refers to a painting given to her by the Countess of Osorno, Doña María de Velasco of Valladolid, which is still preserved at St. Joseph’s in Ávila. Upon taking office as prioress of the Monastery of the Incarnation on October 14, 1571, she placed a statue of Our Lady of Clemency in the prioress’s stall, entrusting it symbolically with the keys of the monastery.

Teresa of Avila, St 1985, The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, Kavanaugh, K & Rodriguez, O (trans.), ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Quote of the day, 2 May: St. Elizabeth of the Trinity

Monsieur l’Abbé,

I had asked our Reverend Mother for permission to write and tell you how completely one my soul was with yours during these last days before your ordination; but now that I draw near you, before the great mystery that is being prepared, I can only be silent . . . and adore the exceeding love of our God!

With the Virgin, you can sing your “Magnificat” and leap with joy in God your Savior, for the Almighty is doing great things in you, and His mercy is eternal. . . . Then, like Mary, “keep all that in your heart,” draw your heart very close to hers, for this priestly Virgin is also the “Mother of Divine Grace,” and in her love she wants to prepare you to become “that faithful priest who is entirely according to God’s heart” of whom He speaks in Holy Scripture….

Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity

Letter 232 to Abbé Chevignard (excerpt), ca. 25 June 1905

Elizabeth of the Trinity, S 2003, The Complete Works of Elizabeth of the Trinity volume 2: Letters from Carmel, Nash, A (trans.), ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: The Visitation, designed by Raphael (1483–1520) and executed with assistance from Giulio Romano and Giovanni Francesco Penni, is an oil on panel transferred to canvas, painted 1517–1519. It comes from the collections of the Museo Nacional del Prado (non-commercial use). Source: www.museodelprado.es.

Quote of the day, 1 May: Père Jacques

Mary spent delightful months of divine friendship while she was carrying Jesus. But we too, my brothers, carry God within us; we too are certain to possess within us the living God, so long as our souls remain in a state of grace.

Oh! my brothers, if this mystery could appear before your eyes. If your gaze were one day to grasp the presence of God in the most intimate depth of your hearts, how your life would be changed—what a transformation in your whole being!

Let us, then, resolve to develop within ourselves the habit of thinking of the presence of God. We are God-bearers; the good God lives in us.

Oh! from time to time, in the course of our days, may our souls recollect themselves for a moment—just a few seconds perhaps. Let us close our eyes. Let us descend within ourselves. And there, encountering God—the good God—let us look upon Him with a gentle smile. Then, in a kind of holy “madness,” let us lose ourselves in Him in an affectionate embrace.

Oh yes, may each hour of our life bring us a greater intimacy with the divine Guest who rests in our souls. This will be our joy, our consolation; Mary will help us in this and will be our example.

Servant of God Père Jacques de Jésus

Sermon, Marian devotions, 1927

 Carmes de Paris. 2014 Carmelite Advent Online Retreat: “Devenir lumière dans la nuit.” Accessed April 29, 2026. https://retraites.carmes-paris.org/meditation-chretienne-en-ligne/avent-2014-avec-le-pere-jacques-de-jesus-devenir-lumiere-dans-la-nuit/

Featured image: Giovanni Battista Salvi da Sassoferrato (Italian, 1609–1685), The Virgin in Prayer (Madonna in preghiera), oil on canvas, c. 1640–1650. This work is held in the collections of the National Gallery, London. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons (public domain).