Quote of the day, 1 September: St. Teresa Margaret

Love can compass everything.

St. Teresa Margaret of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

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.

The incorrupt body of St. Teresa Margaret
lies in a glass coffin in the
Discalced Carmelite Monastery of St. Teresa
via de’ Bruni 12, Florence, Italy
Image credit: Discalced Carmelites

di Santa Maria Maddalena O.C.D., G 2006, From the Sacred Heart to the Trinity the spiritual itinerary of Saint Teresa Margaret of the Sacred Heart, O.C.D., translated from the Italian by Ramge, S, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: This detail of the portrait of St. Teresa Margaret was painted by Florentine artist Anna Bacherini Piattoli. She captured the image of the incorrupt saint during the weeks between her death and burial. St. Teresa Margaret was not yet 23 years old at the time of her death. The painting is venerated at the Monastery of St. Teresa of the Discalced Carmelite nuns in Florence, Italy. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

#CarmeliteLife #Florence #heroicCharity #love #StTeresaMargaretRedi

Quote of the day, 24 July: Blessed Maria Pilar of Guadalajara

Memories of Blessed Maria Pilar of St. Francis Borgia
Father Fabián of St. Joseph’s Testimony

Let me first tell of the very good impression that Sister Pilar made on me in her brief greeting and conversation when she was the Turn Sister during my first visit to the monastery. It seemed to me, without seeing her because of the Turn, that I was speaking with an angel. There was such simplicity, candor, kindness and sweetness in her words! As she was at the Turn for many years, and I went to the Carmel frequently, I can confirm this. She was most attentive and obliging. She ran and literally flew to attend to the requests of those who came to the Turn; and she would do so with such a spirit of charity!

I remember one instance very well. I came to the Turn on a warm summer day. I was tired, perspiring, and thirsty. I asked her for a glass of water for the love of God. On the point of giving me the glass of water that she brought, she held back and said, “Wait, Father, I’m going to bring you some that is cooler.”In an instant, she returned, saying to me with great charity: “Drink this, Father: it’s very good and very cool!” I was very grateful, seeing in this act her goodness, her spirit of sacrifice, her sweetness of character, her immense charity. She was a nun who was good at everything.

José Vicente Rodríguez, o.c.d.

Chapter 1, Sister Maria Pilar of St. Francis Borgia

Blessed Maria Pilar of St. Francis Borgia
Image credit: Discalced Carmelites

Rodriguez, J 2016, The Dialogues of the Carmelites of Guadalajara: The Story of Three Martyred Carmelite Nuns of the Spanish Civil War, translated by the Carmel of St. Joseph, Carmelite International Publishing House, Trivandrum.

Featured image: The Blessed Martyrs of the Carmel of Guadalajara, Spain are depicted in this painting. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites

#BlessedMariaPilarOfStFrancisBorgia #BlessedMartyrsOfGuadalajara #heroicCharity #martyrdom #theTurn #VivaCristoRey