Quote of the day, 28 October: Jessica Powers

The saints and mystics
had a name
for that deep
inwardness of flame,
the height or depth
or ground or goal
Which is God’s dwelling
in the soul.

Not capax Dei
do you say;
nor yet
scintilla animae
nor synderesis—
all are fair—
but heaven,
because God is there.

All day and when
you wake at night
think of that place
of living light,
yours and within you
and aglow
where only God
and you can go.

None can assail you
in that place
save your own evil,
routing grace.
Not even angels
see or hear,
nor the dark spirits
prowling near.

But there are days
when watching eyes
could guess that you
hold Paradise.
Sometimes the shining
overflows
and everyone
around you knows.

Sister Miriam of the Holy Spirit, OCD (Jessica Powers)

For a Child of God (1953)

Powers, J 1999, The Selected Poetry of Jessica Powers, Siegfried, R & Morneau, RF (eds.), ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: Jude Beck / Unsplash (Stock photo)

#ChildOfGod #indwelling #interiorLife #JessicaPowers #poetry

Quote of the day, 15 October: St. Teresa

Soul, thou must seek thyself in Me
And thou must seek for Me to thee.

Such is the power of love’s impress,
O soul, to grave thee on My heart,
That any craftsman must confess
He ne’er could have the like success,
Howe’er superlative his art.

It was by love that thou wert made
Lovely and beautiful to be;
So, if perchance thou shouldst have stray’d,
Upon My heart thou art portray’d.
Soul, thou must seek thyself in Me.

For well I know that thou wilt see
Thyself engraven on My breast —
An image vividly impressed —
And then thou wilt rejoice to be
So safely lodg’d, so highly blest.

And if perchance thou knowest not
Whither to go in quest of Me,
Go not abroad My face to see,
Roaming about from spot to spot,
For thou must seek for Me in thee.

For, soul, in thee I am confin’d,
Thou art My dwelling and My home;
And if one day I chance to find
Fast-clos’d the portals of thy mind
I ask for entrance when I come.

Oh, seek not for Me far away,
For, if thou wilt attain to Me,
Thou needest but My name to say
And I am there without delay,
For thou must seek for Me in thee.

Saint Teresa of Avila

Poetry, VIII: Alma, buscarte has en Mí

Teresa of Avila, St. 1963, The Complete Works of St. Teresa of Jesus, Vol. III, Peers, E (trans.), E, Sheed and Ward, New York.

Featured image: Photo by Alex Smith on Pexels.com. Image credit: © Alex Smith (Pexels License)

#indwelling #love #poetry #seekGod #StTeresaOfAvila

Quote of the day, 27 June: St. Elizabeth of the Trinity

Yes, the future is very dark, and don’t you feel the need to love much in order to make reparation . . . in order to console this adored Master. . . . Let us make a solitary place for Him in the innermost part of our soul and remain there with Him; let us never leave Him, for it is His commandment: “Remain in me, and I in you” (Jn 15:4).

Nothing will be able to rob us of this interior cell, no matter what trials we undergo: I carry my One Treasure “inside me,” and all the rest is nothing! [cf. the todo y nada of St. John of the Cross].

Oh! if you knew what happiness invades my soul when I think that it is really true that I am His, and I am persecuted like Him; thank Him, won’t you, for your little sister, it is too good to be a Carmelite! . . . And then let us be united in loving Him.

I would so like to live only by love, very high above this earth, where everything leaves a void in the soul. Saint Paul says that we belong to “the City of the saints and the House of God” (Eph 2:19). Oh, then, why not live there now, since in the depths of our soul we possess Him who will one day make our beatitude!

Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity

Letter 160 to Antoinette de Bobet
27 April 1903

Note: On this day, 27 June 1902, the French government—under the leadership of Émile Combes, a former seminarian turned staunch secularist—issued a decree closing 135 private religious schools. As President of the Council of Ministers, Combes spearheaded a militant anti-clerical policy, aiming to dismantle the influence of religious congregations in education and public life. His campaign soon escalated to the mass closure of thousands of religious houses and schools. Although the Carmel of Dijon remained intact during this initial wave, the atmosphere of persecution profoundly shaped Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity’s final months.

Elizabeth of the Trinity, S 2003, The Complete Works of Elizabeth of the Trinity volume 2: Letters from Carmel, translated from the French by Nash, A, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: This is a detail from the final photograph of Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity, taken in October 1906 on the terrace outside the infirmary at the Carmel of Dijon. Beside her is the statue of Our Lady of Lourdes—whom she called Janua Coeli (Gate of Heaven)—and in her hand is the rosary, given to her by her friend Antoinette de Bobet. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites (used by permission).

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
When the world feels heavy or uncertain, how does it shape your prayer?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments.

#indwelling #prayer #reparation #repression #StElizabethOfTheTrinity

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

Dear Madame, through everything, let us constantly live in communion with this Incarnate Word, with Jesus who dwells in us and who wishes to tell us the whole Mystery.

On the eve of His Passion, He said to His Father in speaking of those who were His own: “The words which you gave me, I have given to them; the brightness that I had in you before the world began, I have given to them” (Cf. Jn 17:8, 22-24).

He is always living, always at work in our souls; let us allow ourselves to be formed by Him; may He be the Soul of our soul, the Life of our life, so that we may say with Saint Paul: “For me, to live is Christ” (Phil 1:21).

Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity

Letter 145 to Madame Angles (excerpt)
9 November 1902

Elizabeth of the Trinity, S 2003, The Complete Works of Elizabeth of the Trinity volume 2: Letters from Carmel, translated from the French by Nash, A, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: The Last Supper (1799), tempera on canvas by William Blake (British, 1757–1827). Collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Image source: National Gallery of Art (Public domain).

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
What might I need to surrender so Christ can be more fully the Soul of my soul?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments.

#communion #IncarnateWord #indwelling #love #soul #StElizabethOfTheTrinity

Quote of the day, 25 May: St. Teresa of Avila

In this seventh dwelling place, the union comes about in a different way: our good God now desires to remove the scales from the soul’s eyes and let it see and understand, although in a strange way, something of the favor He grants it.

When the soul is brought into that dwelling place, the Most Blessed Trinity, all three Persons, through an intellectual vision, is revealed to it through a certain representation of the truth.

First, there comes an enkindling in the spirit in the manner of a cloud of magnificent splendor; and these Persons are distinct, and through an admirable knowledge, the soul understands as a most profound truth that all three Persons are one substance and one power and one knowledge and one God alone.

It knows in such a way that what we hold by faith, it understands, we can say, through sight—although the sight is not with the bodily eyes nor with the eyes of the soul, because we are not dealing with an imaginative vision.

Here all three Persons communicate themselves to it, speak to it, and explain those words of the Lord in the Gospel: that He and the Father and the Holy Spirit will come to dwell with the soul that loves Him and keeps His commandments [cf. Jn 14:23].

Saint Teresa of Avila

The Interior Castle, VII, chap. 1, no. 6

Teresa of Avila, St. 1985, The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, translated from the Spanish by Kavanaugh, K; Rodriguez, O, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: Our featured image is an early portrait of St. Teresa of Avila by an unknown artist that prominently features the traditional banner bearing these words from Psalm 89:1, “Misericordias Domini in aeternum cantabo” (I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever). Image credit: Discalced Carmelites (Public domain)

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
Do I live as someone in whom God truly dwells—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments.

#dwellingPlace #faith #HolyTrinity #indwelling #intellectualVision #mysticalExperience #StTeresaOfAvila #unionWithGod

Quote of the day, 21 December: Père Jacques

The Virgin Mary, especially in the mystery of her visitation to her cousin Elizabeth, is the model for baptized Christians who carry the presence of Christ within them. Mary opens for us the paths of interiority and mission, as [the Servant of God] Père Jacques expressed in this sermon from May 1927, delivered to the faithful during the month of Mary:

“Mary spent delightful months of divine friendship as she carried Jesus. But we too, my friends, carry God within us. We can be certain that we possess the Good God living within us, as long as our souls remain in grace. (…) Oh, my friends, if this mystery could be revealed to your eyes! If your gaze could one day perceive the presence of the Good God in the very depths of your hearts, how your life would change, what a transformation in your entire being! Let us therefore resolve to cultivate the habit of thinking about the presence of God within us. We are bearers of God; the Good God lives in us. Oh, let our souls, from time to time during our days, gather in recollection for a moment—perhaps only a few seconds—to close our eyes, to descend within ourselves, and there, encountering God, the Good God, let us look upon Him with a kind smile and lose ourselves in Him in an affectionate embrace. Oh yes, may each hour of our lives bring us into greater intimacy with the divine guest who dwells within our souls. This will be our joy, our consolation. Mary will help us and will be our example.”

This awareness, so deeply rooted in Père Jacques’ heart, that every faithful baptized person carries Christ within, was present even during his seminary years, before he delved deeply into the teachings of the saints of Carmel. He wrote:

“One always and everywhere carries the Good God within, the Holy Trinity, who dwells in us through grace… Ah, yes, to live thus, within oneself, with the Good God everywhere, always—at the hotel, on the train, on the road, in the countryside, on the street!” (Letter, 14 January 1924).

Jean-Alexandre de Garidel, o.c.d.

Meditation for the Fourth Sunday of Advent (excerpt)
Carmelite Online Advent Retreat, 21 December 2014

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

Featured image: The Visitation was designed by Raphael (Italian, 1483–1520), who charged 300 scudi. He delegated the execution (c. 1517) of the painting to his assistant Giulio Romano; the landscape was entrusted to Giovanni Francesco Penni. The painting was commissioned by Giovanni Branconio, apostolic protonotary, on behalf of his father, Marino Branconio, for the family chapel in the church of San Silvestro in Aquila. In Marino’s choice of subject, the name of his wife Isabella, and that of his son Giovanni, must have been decisive. It was acquired in 1655 by Philip IV (1605-1665), who deposited it in the Monastery of El Escorial. It entered the Prado Museum in 1837. Image credit: Copyright ©Museo Nacional del Prado (Used by permission)

#grace #HolyTrinity #indwelling #intimacy #PèreJacquesDeJésus #prayer #presenceOfGod #VirginMary #Visitation

O my Lord, since it seems You have determined to save me, I beseech Your Majesty that it may be so. And since You have granted me as many favors as You have, don’t You think it would be good (not for my gain but for Your honor) if the inn where You have so continually to dwell were not to get so dirty?

Saint Teresa of Avila

The Book of Her Life, ch. 1, no. 8

Teresa of Avila, St. 1985, The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, translated from the Spanish by Kavanaugh, K; Rodriguez, O, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: Photographer Jason Abdilla captures this image of a messy room. Image credit: Jason Abdilla / Unsplash (Stock photo)

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/11/11/stj-life1n8/

#favor #indwelling #salvation #sinner #StTeresaOfAvila

Rejoice, therefore, O my soul, that you can be the host of such a noble and excellent guest! Wash yourself, purify yourself, cleanse yourself, and banish far from your heart, through true contrition and repugnance, every stain of iniquity and sin, so as to prepare yourself to receive this Lord who dwells within you.

You have no need of anything from this guest, for He is Himself the author of all things. Tell me then, O my soul, will you not be blessed if you can find rest with your God and truly say: He who created me has taken rest in my tabernacle?

O my soul, tell me again, would you not consider yourself too miserly if the presence of such a noble Lord and guest were not enough to satisfy you, knowing that He is so generous that He will not fail to communicate His goods to you abundantly and will enrich you with an infinity of His gifts?

Blessed Mary of the Incarnation (Madame Acarie)

True Spiritual Exercises (excerpt)

Note: After assisting with the foundation of the Teresian Carmel in France and taking care of her husband Pierre until his death on 17 November 1613, then settling the inheritance, Madame Barbe Acarie, aged forty-eight, entered the Carmel of Amiens on 15 February 1614, taking the religious name of Sister Mary of the Incarnation. As a lay sister, she worked in the kitchen as much as her physical infirmities allowed her. With the agreement of the Prioress, she exercised a ministry of spiritual accompaniment to the Sisters, who asked for her help. Several months after the French Revolution’s Constituent Assembly suspended the profession of vows by religious men and women in France in October 1789, Pope Pius VI presided at the beatification of Madame Acarie on 5 June 1791 in Rome.

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

Featured image: Father Lawrence Lew, O.P. captured this image of the elevation of the Host at the requiem Mass of Dr. Mary Berry, CBE in 2008 at Dorchester Abbey. Image credit: Lawrence Lew, OP / Flickr (Some rights reserved)

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/06/04/acarie-tropavare/

#BlessedMaryOfTheIncarnation #cleanse #creator #generosity #gifts #indwelling #interiorLife #MadameAcarie #sin #soul

The Virgin Mary, with child, in the mystery of her Visitation to her cousin Elizabeth, is the model for all the baptized who carry the presence of Christ within them. Mary opens to us the paths of interiority as well as mission, as Father Jacques says in this sermon from May 1927 for the faithful during the month of Mary:

“Mary spent many delightful months in divine friendship when she was carrying Jesus. But brothers and sisters, we too carry God within us; we too are certain of possessing the Good God living within us, as long as our souls remain in a state of grace (…)

“Oh brothers and sisters, if only this mystery could be revealed to your eyes. If one day your eyes were to grasp the presence of the Good God in the most intimate part of your hearts, how your life would be changed, what a transformation in your whole being!

“So let us resolve to develop within ourselves the habit of thinking about God’s presence. We are God-bearers; the Good Lord lives in us. Oh, that from time to time, in the course of our days, our souls might recollect themselves for a moment, perhaps just a few seconds, to close our eyes, to descend into ourselves, and there encounter God, the Good Lord, that we might look at Him with a smile, and madly lose ourselves in Him in an affectionate embrace.

“Oh yes, may each hour of our lives bring us greater intimacy with the divine guest who rests in our souls. This will be our joy, our consolation; Mary will help us and be our example.”

This awareness, deeply rooted in Father Jacques’ heart, that every faithful baptized person carries Christ within them, was present even in his seminary days, before he had delved into the teachings of the Carmelite saints.

He wrote:

“We carry within us always and everywhere the Good God, the Holy Trinity, who dwells within us by grace… Ah yes, to live like that within oneself, with the Good God everywhere, always, in a hotel, on a train, on the road, in the countryside, on a street!” (L. 14/01/1924).

Jean-Alexandre de Garidel, o.c.d.

Meditation for the Fourth Sunday of Advent (excerpt)
Carmelite Online Advent Retreat, 21 December 2014

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

Featured image: This detail of a stained glass window featuring the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary is located in the historic Church of Saint-Laurent in Paris, specifically in the chapel of Notre-Dame-des-Malades (Our Lady of the Sick). The stained glass artists were Antoine Lusson (fils) and Léon Lefèvre. This window was crafted in 1874 by Lusson and Lefèvre. Image credit: Mbzt / Wikimedia Commons (Some rights reserved)

Interestingly, twenty years earlier, employees of Lusson’s studio in Le Mans, France, had collaborated with the Discalced Carmelite nuns of Le Mans, who operated their own stained glass studio at the monastery. For those interested in learning more about stained glass from the Carmel of Le Mans, the documentary “Vibrant Light” details the history of the Carmelite stained glass in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on the University of Notre Dame campus in South Bend, Indiana. The university’s founder, Father Edward Sorin, was once the chaplain of the Discalced Carmelite nuns in Le Mans.

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/05/30/jacques-visitation/

#BlessedVirginMary #grace #homily #indwelling #intimacy #Jesus #mystery #PèreJacquesDeJésus #presenceOfGod #transformation #Visitation