Quote of the day, 21 March: St. Teresa of the Andes

Pray, Rev. Mother, for this poor exile that she may become a holy Carmelite soon.

Teresa of the Andes—Teresa of Jesus, a Discalced Carmelite and the first flowering of holiness from the Teresian Carmel in Latin America—is a light of Christ for the whole Church in Chile. Today she is inscribed among the saints of the universal Church.

As in the first reading we have heard from the book of Samuel, Teresa’s greatness does not lie in “her appearance or her stature.” “The Lord’s gaze,” Sacred Scripture tells us, “is not like that of man: man looks at appearances, but the Lord looks at the heart.” Thus, in her young life of just over nineteen years, and in her eleven months as a Carmelite, God caused the light of His Son Jesus Christ to shine forth in her in a remarkable way, so that she might serve as a beacon and guide for a world that seems to be blinded by what only appears to be divine.

To a secularized society that lives turned away from God, this Chilean Carmelite—whom I present with great joy as a model of the perennial youth of the Gospel—offers the clear witness of a life that proclaims to the men and women of today that in loving, adoring, and serving God are found the greatness and joy, the freedom and the full realization of the human person. From within the cloister, the life of the blessed Teresa cries out in silence: “God alone suffices!”

And she proclaims this especially to the young, who hunger for truth and seek a light that gives meaning to their lives. To a youth surrounded by the constant messages and stimuli of an eroticized culture, and to a society that confuses genuine love—which is self-gift—with the hedonistic use of others, this young virgin of the Andes proclaims today the beauty and blessedness that radiate from pure hearts.

In her tender love for Christ, Teresa discovers the very essence of the Christian message: to love, to suffer, to pray, to serve. Within her family she learned to love God above all things. And in recognizing herself as the exclusive possession of her Creator, her love for neighbor became all the more intense and definitive. As she writes in one of her letters: “When I love, it’s forever. Especially, a Carmelite never forgets. From her cell, she accompanies souls she loved in the world.”

Saint John Paul II

Homily, Canonization of Claudine Thévenet and Teresa of Jesus of the Andes
Sunday, 21 March 1993

Note: On 21 March 1993, St. John Paul II presided at the canonization of Teresa of the Andes in St. Peter’s Basilica

Griffin, M D & Teresa of the Andes, S 2023, The Letters of Saint Teresa of Jesus of the Andes, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

John Paul II, 1993. Canonizzazione di Claudine Thévenet e di Teresa de Jesús de los Andes. Omelia di Giovanni Paolo II, Domenica, 21 marzo 1993. Vatican.va. Available at: https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/it/homilies/1993/documents/hf_jp-ii_hom_19930321_thevenet.html (Accessed: 19 March 2026).

Translation from the Spanish text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.

Featured image: Detail from a photo of Saint Teresa that was taken a few months before she entered the Carmel of Los Andes. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites (by permission).

Quote of the day, 14 March: St. Raphael Kalinowski

[In 1874, Saint Raphael] Kalinowski was already living a quasi-Carmelite life before he had even decided to join the Carmelites.

“I long for a regulated life, because nothing disturbs interior harmony so much as the absence of exterior peace—and how destructive that is! I’m beginning to convince myself that the worst thing in this world is to spend your time being torn apart inside. I aspire after one thing: to maintain purity of heart, because a conscience free from all sin allows the soul to lift itself up to God and helps it sustain the burden of life with a good heart. Also I am very stressed and today I started to look for an occupation which could engage all the hours of my day. Unemployment, in effect, is most injurious to an interior life, because it opens the door of our soul to the devil.”

In March 1874, Kalinowski had begun a novena to his patron St. Joseph, and this reminded him to write to his parents and thank them, especially his mother, for inculcating in him a devotion to St. Joseph.

Kalinowski wrote to Father Fiszer, his spiritual director in Irkutsk, and included in it a letter for the exiled Bishop [Kaspar] Borowski. In replying to this letter, Fiszer remarked:

“I read your letter aloud to His Excellency. The good old man listened benevolently and in regard to your desire to consecrate yourself to the service of God, he gave me this message: ‘go to a warm country and put it into effect.’ His Excellency is quite sure that the sacrifice of your life will be of benefit to humanity and will redound to God’s glory and that you will find immense good.”

Timothy Tierney, o.c.d.

Chapter 9, Transition Period

Tierney, T  2016,  Saint Raphael Kalinowski: Apprenticed to Sainthood in Siberia,  Balboa Press  Australia.

Featured image: Saint Raphael of St. Joseph Kalinowski, edited from the photo taken 30 March 1897. Photo credit: Discalced Carmelites (Used by permission)

2 disparitions marquantes pour celles et ceux qui travaillent la question du sens et des conditions du #travail.

-> Edward L. Deci, co-fondateur avec Ryan de la théorie de l’autodétermination. La motivation durable ne se décrète pas, elle repose sur des conditions : #autonomie réelle, sentiment de compétence, appartenance => on ne “motivera” jamais durablement contre l’organisation du travail.

-> Fobazi Ettarh, autrice de la notion de vocational awe => mécanisme d’idéalisation des métiers “de #vocation” => effacement de soi au nom de la mission.

Deux pensées de l’engagement au travail, loin du bavardage #RH...

Vocation

From the Latin vocatio/vacare, meaning “to call,” “summons.” This is an occupation to which a person is especially drawn or for which they’re suited, trained, or qualified. In modern times, it’s used in non-religious contexts; the meaning(s) of the word came out of Christianity.

There was a period where “vocation” almost exclusively referred to the clergy or the cloistered religious. The Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), specifically the document Lumen Gentium, re-emphasized that every baptized person has a primary vocation: to become a saint. This was a spiritual game changer!

The idea of vocation is central to the Christian belief that God has made each person with gifts & talents towards a specific purpose & way of life. More specifically, in the Eastern Orthodox & Catholic Churches, this idea of vocation is especially associated with a divine call to service to the Church & humanity through particular vocational life commitments such as marriage to a particular person, consecration as a religious dedication, ordination to priestly ministry (in the Church, of course) & even a holy life as a single person.

The Church generally categorizes “secondary” vocations into 4 distinct states. Each is seen as a way of giving oneself away:

• The Priesthood:
  • This is a sacramental vocation. In the United States cultural context, there has been a massive historical shift. In the mid-20th century, “Irish-Catholic” culture often viewed having a son in the priesthood as the ultimate family honor.
• Consecrated Life:
  • This includes monks, nuns, brothers, & sisters. They live according to the Evangelical Councils:
    • Poverty: Owning nothing individually.
    • Chastity: Celibacy for the sake of the “Kingdom of Heaven.”
    • Obedience: Following the will of their superior.
• Married Life:
  • In Catholicism, marriage is a sacrament. The “call” here is for the sanctification of the spouse & the procreation/education of the kids. This was often seen as a “secondary” vocation to the priesthood. But modern theology (especially the “Theology of the Body” by Pope John Paul II) frames marriage as a primary icon of God’s love for the Church.
• The Committed Single Life:
  • While not a “canonical” state in the same way as the others, the Church increasingly recognizes those who remain single to serve others, the Church, or their professions with a level of flexibility & dedication that married people cannot maintain.

The American Catholic experience of vocation is unique. In the late 19th & early 20th century, Catholic vocations helped build the American infrastructure of healthcare & education. The Sisters of Mercy & Daughters of Charity built more hospitals & schools in the United States than almost any other group.

The Sisters of Mercy founded a hospital (St. Rita’s/Mercy Health) in our founder’s hometown. This particular hospital was built in 1918 to combat the Spanish flu pandemic.

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Quote of the day, 20 February: St. Edith Stein

He is the King of kings, the Lord of life and death. He speaks His “Follow me”, and if a man is not for Him, he is against Him. He speaks also to us and asks us to choose between light and darkness.

We know not, and we should not ask before the time, where our earthly way will lead us. We know only this, that to those that love the Lord all things will work together to the good, and further,  that the ways by which the Savior leads us point beyond this earth.

Saint Edith Stein

The Mystery of Christmas: Following the Incarnate Son of God

Stein, E 1931, The mystery of Christmas: incarnation and humanity, translated from the German by Rucker, J, Darlington Carmel, Darlington UK.

Featured image: The Calling of Saint Matthew, Caravaggio (Italian 1571–1610), oil on canvas, ca. 1599–1600, Contarelli Chapel, Church of San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome

Cafh: Una vez descubierto cuál es el anhelo más profundo que albergamos en nuestro corazón, queda en nuestras manos decidir cuánto queremos comprometer para realizarlo.

Once we discover the most profound longing in our heart, it is up to us to decide how far we wish to commit ourselves to fulfill it.

#cafhglobal.com #cafh.org #meditation #introspection #vocation #spirituality #silence
#discernment

Image by Peggychoucair from Pixabay

Cafh: Once we discover the most profound longing in our heart, it is up to us to decide how far we wish to commit ourselves to fulfill it.

Una vez descubierto cuál es el anhelo más profundo que albergamos en nuestro corazón, queda en nuestras manos decidir cuánto queremos comprometer para realizarlo.

#cafhglobal.com #cafh.org #meditation #introspection #vocation #spirituality #silence
#discernment

Image by Peggychoucair from Pixabay

Cafh: Once we discover the most profound longing in our heart, it is up to us to decide how far we wish to commit ourselves to fulfill it.

Una vez descubierto cuál es el anhelo más profundo que albergamos en nuestro corazón, queda en nuestras manos decidir cuánto queremos comprometer para realizarlo.

#cafhglobal.com #cafh.org #meditation #introspection #vocation #spirituality #silence
#discernment

Image by Peggychoucair from Pixabay

Quote of the day, 30 January: St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi

On the Saturday previous to the First Sunday in Advent, in the year 1582, which was the first day of December, Catherine bade that long-wished-for adieu to the world and entered, rejoicing, the centre of her rest, her paradise on earth—the monastery of St. Maria degli Angeli, of the Sacred Order of the Carmel, in Borgo San Frediano, which was afterwards transferred, as it exists to-day, to the Borgo di Pinti.

Before leaving her father’s house, she knelt at her parents’ feet, asking forgiveness of them for anything displeasing to them she might have done during the whole of her tender life, and earnestly begged that they would impart to her their parental blessing. With tears of true love, she was blessed—not forgiven, though, for she had never been guilty of any fault.

She also took leave of her other relations and some persons who, on account of particular friendship, frequently visited the house, and, finally, of all the servants of the house, speaking to every one words of respect, of humility, of prayer.

In this last separation, the strength of grace and divine love became more manifest in her. Amidst the tears of her parents and the manifestations of sorrow from her relations and the servants, Catherine bore herself with such fortitude of spirit and firmness of countenance that she seemed not to feel it. This could not have been the case with that heart so gentle and loving, if the strength of divine charity had not wholly mastered her.

Thus, having secured victory over all earthly affections, she was received by the nuns at this second and final entrance with those sentiments with which they were inspired by the general opinion they entertained of her and the trial they had made of her singular virtues during the few days of her first stay with them. For some reason, not unusual in such cases, she did not take the religious habit until the following January.

Father Placido Fabrini

The Life of St. Mary Magdalen De Pazzi, chap. 8

Note: St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi entered the Carmel of St. Mary of the Angels, and on 30 January 1583, she received the Carmelite habit and the name of Sister Mary Magdalene.

Fabrini, P. & De’ Pazzi, M.M. 1900, The life of St. Mary Magdalen De-Pazzi: Florentine noble, sacred Carmelite virgin, translated from the Italian by Isoleri A., [publisher not identified] Philadelphia.

Featured image: The Ecstasy of St Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi is an oil on canvas painting attributed to the Italian painter Alessandro Rosi (1627–1697). Its creation date is ca. 1650–1660 and it is part of the collection of the Musée des Beaux Arts in Chambéry, France. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

#CarmeliteHabit #farewell #God #StMaryMagdaleneDePazzi #vocation