Quote of the day, 2 June: Père Jacques de Jésus

Don’t forget to pray with the weight of your worries. Suffering is such a powerful prayer! Let your trial detach you from the earth, and, freed, rest in God without trouble or worry. Say over and over to God: “Fiat voluntas tua!”

Servant of God Père Jacques de Jésus

Letter to a friend, 29 September 1936

The Servant of God Jacques de Jésus, O.C.D., who was a professed friar of the Province of Paris-Avon, an ordained priest, and the headmaster of the Discalced Carmelite friars’ boys’ preparatory school at Avon, the Petit Collège Sainte-Thérèse de l’Enfant-Jésus, died on this date, 2 June 1945 in St. Elizabeth Hospital in Linz, Austria following 70 weeks in Nazi prison camps.

Père Jacques was weakened by a year of hard labor and harsh conditions at Mauthausen and Gusen concentration camps in Austria; when the Allied Forces liberated the camps on 5 May 1945, he summoned the strength to help restore order and organize relief efforts. But 15 days later the Allied camp commanders transferred him to St. Elizabeth Hospital so that he could be close to the community of the Discalced Carmelite friars at Linz. It was there that he succumbed to illness and exhaustion at 45 years of age.

The mortal remains of Père Jacques lie in state before his funeral in Linz, Austria

The diocesan process of his cause of beatification was opened in 1990. The English-language website for his cause includes the Prayer for Beatification and the address where you can send reports of favors received.

The World Holocaust Remembrance Center Yad Vashem has a featured story dedicated to Père Jacques. It includes a description of his heroic acts to shelter Jewish students at the preparatory school, for which he was arrested. It also quotes the testimony of witnesses to his arrest and imprisonment and provides links to read full accounts of witnesses’ testimonies. On 17 January 1985 Yad Vashem recognized Père Jacques as Righteous Among the Nations. You can find an entire page devoted to Père Jacques (Lucien Bunel), which includes his featured story, testimonies, and photos.

Listen to the Silence – A Retreat with Père Jacques, is available for purchase from the publisher, ICS Publications.

Province de Paris des Carmes Déchaux (2024) ‘Carême 2024 – Semaine 5 : Apprendre l’obéissance’, Retraites spirituelles en ligne du Carmel, 13 March. Available at: https://retraites.carmes-paris.org/careme-2024/careme-2024-semaine-5-apprendre-lobeissance/ (Accessed: 31 May 2026).

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

Featured image: A student at the Petit Collège in Avon visits Père Jacques de Jésus in the headmaster’s office. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites (by kind permission).

#fiat #LucienBunel #PèreJacquesDeJésus #ServantOfGod #suffering

When God Says No with Grace

The Bible in a Year

“Lord, thou art God, and hast promised this goodness unto thy servant.” — 1 Chronicles 17:26

One of the clearest marks of spiritual maturity is not how we respond when God says “yes,” but how we respond when He says “no.” David longed to build a Temple for the Lord. It was not a selfish ambition. It was a noble desire born from love and gratitude toward God. Yet the Lord told David that he would not be the one to complete that task. Instead, Solomon, his son, would build the Temple. What makes David remarkable is not merely his dream for God’s house, but his response when that dream was denied.

Many of us wrestle deeply with disappointment when our plans do not unfold as expected. We may become discouraged, resentful, or quietly frustrated with God. Yet David’s response was filled with reverence rather than resistance. He bowed before the Lord and declared, “Lord, thou art God.” In Hebrew, the covenant name for God here points to Yahweh—the self-existent, sovereign God of Israel. David acknowledged that God had every right to direct his life according to divine wisdom. Reverence begins when we stop trying to sit in God’s chair. It is easy to worship God when His plans align with ours. It is harder to worship Him when His answer redirects our desires.

Matthew Henry once wrote, “We must heartily acquiesce in God’s will, whether it agrees with ours or not.” That is an insightful observation because submission often reveals what we truly believe about God’s character. If God is truly wise, loving, and sovereign, then even His refusals carry purpose. David understood this. Instead of dwelling on what he could not do, he shifted his attention toward what God had promised. God assured David that his lineage would continue and that his kingdom would have lasting significance. David chose gratitude over grievance.

That response speaks powerfully into our own lives. There are prayers we have prayed that remain unanswered. There are doors we hoped would open that stayed firmly shut. Some relationships changed. Some opportunities disappeared. Some dreams never materialized. Yet Scripture continually calls us to anchor ourselves in the promises of God rather than in the disappointment of denied desires. The Apostle Paul reminds believers in 2 Corinthians 1:20 that all the promises of God find their “Yes” in Christ. When earthly plans fail, God’s eternal promises still stand firm.

David also understood his position before God. He referred to himself as “thy servant.” That phrase carries humility. The Hebrew word ebed means servant, bondman, or one under authority. David was king over Israel, yet before God he remained a servant. That perspective guards the heart against pride. Modern culture teaches people to pursue self-rule and personal autonomy above all else, but Scripture teaches that every person serves something. Paul writes in Romans 6:22 that believers are freed from sin and become servants of God. We either serve the chaos of sin or the wisdom of the Sovereign.

Serving God is not humiliation; it is honor. David understood that God’s will was greater than his own ambitions. Though he would never lay a single Temple stone, he still prepared materials, encouraged Solomon, and worshiped faithfully. His reverence allowed him to participate joyfully in a work he would never personally complete. There is a quiet beauty in that kind of faithfulness.

Charles Spurgeon once said, “God is too good to be unkind, and too wise to be mistaken.” Those words help steady the soul when God’s direction feels confusing. Reverence means trusting that God sees what we cannot. It means bowing before Him not only in victory but also in disappointment. It means believing His promises even when our plans are altered.

As we continue through Scripture this year, David reminds us that faith is not measured merely by great accomplishments but by humble surrender. Sometimes the holiest response is not building the Temple, but trusting God when someone else is called to do it.

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#1Chronicles1726 #reverenceForGod #servantOfGod #trustingGodSWill

Quote of the day, 20 January: Hermann Cohen

Holy Communion! That is my safeguard, and I ask only one thing of this great God, so full of love: that He grant me, at the hour of death, that inestimable grace of being able to receive Communion—the holy viaticum of the poor traveler!

Oh! it already seems to me that I see it, that delightful and ardently desired hour, when the chains that hold me captive far from my God will finally fall into dust.

Ah! it seems to me that I see it, that final hour, that hour of love! Yes—there, in my poor little cell, lying on the hard floor, surrounded by my Carmelite brothers, who will exhort me to weep for my faults and to lift up my heart to God, and who will sing the hymns of our homeland!…

And then I hear footsteps in the distance, and as it were plaintive voices chanting in cadence; it is a procession… it advances, it draws near to my narrow retreat. Oh my brothers, quickly, I beg you, scatter flowers along my path; it is my Beloved—it is Jesus, my Spouse, who is coming to fetch me!… He Himself!

Great God! You deign to descend into the hovel of this wretched and unworthy sinner! From where does this favor come to me? Unde hoc mihi? (Why has this happened to me? Lk 1:43). What! My God, You enter under my humble roof to visit me and to give me the kiss of peace—and I would fear Your justice?

But do You not Yourself come to reassure me by Your gentle embraces, and does not the priest, in showing You to me, say: “Behold the Lamb of God, behold Him who takes away the sins of the world… Lord, I am not worthy that You should enter under my wretched dwelling; but say only the word, and my soul shall be saved.”

Servant of God Augustine Mary of the Blessed Sacrament (Hermann Cohen)

Death Before the Eucharist (1860)

Note: On January 9, 1871, Hermann Cohen contracted smallpox while anointing two prisoners of war in Spandau—likely through a small scratch on his finger—and his condition steadily worsened. By January 13, he was confined to bed, already entrusting the work he had begun to others and expressing a calm readiness to be taken by God. On January 15, after a seizure, he received the last rites with visible joy and peace, renewed his Carmelite vows, and joined in the Te Deum, Salve Regina, and De Profundis, before bidding farewell to his brothers and requesting burial at St. Hedwig’s Cathedral in Berlin. As his strength failed further, he told the sister caring for him, “So I am going to die. May God’s holy will be done; besides, if I were cured, I would have to witness distressful things.” He gave his final blessing to those around him and died quietly on the morning of January 20, 1871, at the age of forty-nine—a true martyr of charity, having laid down his life in loving service, and yielding his generous soul into the arms of eternal love.

Augustin-Marie du Très-Saint Sacrement 2020, Qui nous fera voir le bonheur? : sermons et autres textes, ed. S-M Morgain, Éditions du Carmel, Toulouse.

Featured image: A Discalced Carmelite nun in Valladolid receives Holy Communion on Saint Teresa’s feast day in 2016. Image credit: Angel Cantero, Iglesia en Valladolid / Flickr (Some rights reserved).

#AugustineMaryOfTheBlessedSacrament #death #Eucharist #HermannCohen #ServantOfGod

Quote of the day, 18 January: Père Jacques de Jésus

Mr. Zamansky, who was a prisoner with Père Jacques at the Royallieu camp, gave the following account of the moment when Père Jacques knew that he was leaving in one of the convoys heading east:

“We saw them off. Père Jacques was among them, his face imbued with the same peace we knew him for, but he was serious in his look and his walk. Surrendering oneself to God can only be done without any ulterior motive, and above all, without any hope of choice. And I think that’s what Père Jacques was saying the last minute I saw him: ‘Fiat voluntas tua.’ ”

In an interview given at the Carmelite convent in Avon, Mr. Michel de Bouard recounts how he was with Père Jacques in the quarantine block at the Mauthausen camp, when he told Père Jacques that he’d made a vow if he got out of that hellhole alive. Père Jacques thought about it for a moment, then said:

“No, you mustn’t tempt God; he’s the one who decides. Say ‘Fiat voluntas tua’ [Thy will be done (cf. Mt 26:42)].”

Fr. Didier-Marie Golay, ocd

Lent 2024 Carmelite Online Retreat, Week 5

Servant of God Père Jacques de Jésus—Discalced Carmelite priest and headmaster of the Carmelite boys school in Avon, France—endeavored to live the truth of his message, living a life of silence, obedience, and charity.

During the Nazi occupation of France, he enrolled three Jewish boys under false names and employed a fourth boy as a worker at the school and monastery of the friars. With the aid of a local villager, he was able to shelter the father of one of the students. Furthermore, he hired a noted Jewish botanist as a faculty member at the boarding school.

On 15 January 1944 between 10:00 and 10:30 in the morning, the German officers came for Père Jacques and the three students he had been sheltering at the boarding school; in a separate Gestapo raid in Fontainebleau, the botanist, his mother, and his sister were arrested at their home.

Although Père Jacques was sent to different concentration camps, the students, their botany teacher, and his family were incarcerated in the Melun detention center in Paris on 15 January. On 18 January they were transferred to the Drancy transit camp in the northeastern suburb of Paris.

On 3 February 1944 the students, their teacher, and his family were deported to Auschwitz in a transport of roughly 1200 persons. Upon their arrival in Auschwitz on 6 February, 985 persons were sent directly to the gas chambers. The Carmelite students from Avon, their botany teacher, his mother, and his sister all perished that day.

Only the fourth boy survived because he was working in the monastery on 15 January when the Gestapo arrived.

Prayer for the Beatification of Père Jacques de Jésus

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

Featured image: Père Jacques and some of the boys he cared for through the years. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites (by permission).

#Jews #obedience #PèreJacquesDeJésus #ServantOfGod #willOfGod

Quote of the day, 5 January: Brother Jean Thierry Ebogo

I know what you are thinking, Mama, but I can assure you that I am preserving my purity. I prayed to Jesus to give me the gift of chastity, and I have no doubt that I will be heard. I want to be a priest, and I want to remain pure until the priesthood.

Servant of God Brother Jean Thierry of the Child Jesus and of the Passion Ebogo

4 February 1982, Cameroon – 5 January 2006, Italy

Note: Born in Cameroon in 1982, Servant of God Brother Jean Thierry of the Child Jesus and of the Passion entered the Discalced Carmelites in Cameroon in 2003, but his formation was soon marked by severe illness. Diagnosed with a malignant bone tumor that led to the amputation of his right leg, he bore suffering with remarkable serenity and charity, encouraging others and abandoning himself wholly to the divine will. In 2005, he was brought to Italy for treatment, where a recurrence of cancer spread throughout his body. With special permission from Rome, he professed his solemn vows in his hospital room in Legnano on December 8, 2005, in the presence of his mother. Drawn to him were many—youth, religious, priests, and the sick—whom he consoled while quietly concealing his own pain. After receiving the Eucharist, he died peacefully on January 5, 2006; his final words, spoken while gazing at an image of divine mercy, were a simple exclamation of love: “How beautiful Jesus is.”

Featured image: Brother Jean Thierry is joined by his mother, Marie-Thérèse Ebogo at his bedside in Legnano on the day of his solemn profession in 2005. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites (By permission).

#chastity #FriarJeanThierryEbogo #prayerForTheBeatification #purity #ServantOfGod

Quote of the day, 10 November: Hermann Cohen

Yes, my God! Yes, my Jesus! I declare it: this life was mine, before I knew you; before I loved You. Yes, my brethren, I have experienced it; and may my bitter experience serve as a warning to you….

Never finding the happiness I sought, I was ever fleeing from that which pursued me, until, one day… I enter a church…

The priest at the altar raises in his hands a small white disc…

I gaze upon the Sacred Host, and I hear these words: Ego sum Via, Veritas et Vita—I am the Way, the Truth, the Life!

Great God, but can it be?…

Yes, Saul, on his way to Damascus, whither he was hastening as a rapacious wolf to ravage the Christian flock, fell to the ground on hearing this same voice: “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting!” [Acts 9:4]…

“Lord, what am I to do?”

Do you not see, my brethren? Order is restored. He stretches out his hands, his arms, his heart, his soul, his will, his whole being, towards this true and only end, the will of God. See how he’s converted! May we do likewise.

Servant of God Augustine Mary of the Blessed Sacrament (Hermann Cohen)

Homily on Repentance
From Life of the Reverend Father Hermann by Abbé Charles Sylvain

Note: Father Augustine Mary of the Blessed Sacrament, OCD (Hermann Cohen) was born in a wealthy Jewish family in Hamburg on 10 November 1820. His life’s journey took him from Hamburg to Paris as a student of Franz Liszt and his career as a successful, internationally recognized concert pianist. In May 1847, he experienced a dramatic conversion when he substituted for a musician friend as music director for the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.  Two years later, Cohen entered the Discalced Carmelite friars in Le Broussey, France, took the name Augustine Mary of the Blessed Sacrament, and went on to exercise a rich and fruitful priestly ministry.

The Association of Hebrew Catholics offers a brief biographical article written by another Jewish convert and Discalced Carmelite, Father Elias Friedman.

We also recommend the official Discalced Carmelite biography of the Servant of God, published in Italian by the Postulator General.

Finally, we provide the official Prayer for the Beatification of the Servant of God Father Augustine-Mary of the Blessed Sacrament, Hermann Cohen.

Tierney, T  2017,  A Life of Hermann Cohen: From Franz Liszt to John of the Cross,  Balboa Press,  Bloomington, IN

Featured image: This drawing of Father Augustine-Mary (Hermann) Cohen, O.C.D. is based on a portrait of the Servant of God that appeared in Dr. Boissarie’s medical documentation, Les grandes guérisons de Lourdes (The Great Healings of Lourdes). Father Cohen’s story appears in the section devoted to “Diseases of the Eyes.” Image credit: Discalced Carmelites (By permission)

#AugustineMaryOfTheBlessedSacrament #birthday #conversion #HermannCohen #Jewish #ServantOfGod

Marie du jour, 9 May: Père Jacques

Consider those closest to Christ. Saint John the Apostle grasped what was indispensable for a clear understanding of his master.

John never tired of probing and querying Christ. We can see how John thus gained richer insights and fuller explanations, precisely because he went to the bother of approaching and asking Christ to clarify each day’s lesson.

I picture John walking close behind Christ as he made his way about the Holy Land.

Thus, John came to gain a wealth of intimate knowledge, which the other apostles did not acquire. Herein lies the explanation for the special character of the fourth Gospel.

While the other apostles traveled across the then-known world on their missionary journeys, John’s unique apostolate was to remain close to the Virgin Mary, whom Christ had entrusted to him. Thus were these two great souls conjoined in love and prayer.

Servant of God Père Jacques de Jésus

Conference 2, Christ, the Object of our Prayer
Monday 6 September 1943

St. John Leading Home His Adopted Mother
William Dyce (Scottish, 1806-1864)
Oil paint on paper, 1842-60
Tate (not on display)
Presented anonymously 1894
Learn more about this artwork

Jacques, P 2005, Listen to the silence: A retreat with Père Jacques, translated from the French and edited by Murphy F, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
How might I deepen my intimacy with Christ by remaining close to the Virgin Mary?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments.

#BlessedVirginMary #Christ #discipleship #love #PèreJacquesDeJésus #prayer #ServantOfGod #StJohnTheApostle

Marie du jour, 5 May: Père Jacques

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 Père Jacques de Jésus

Retreat for the Carmel of Pontoise, Conference One 
Monday morning, 6 September 1943

The Annunciation
Arthur Hacker (1858–1919)
Oil on canvas, 1892
Tate Britain (Public domain)

Jacques, P 2005, Listen to the silence: A retreat with Père Jacques, translated from the French and edited by Murphy F, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
How can I listen more faithfully to God in the quiet moments of my day?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments.

#contemplation #faithfulness #God #listening #PèreJacquesDeJésus #prayer #presence #ServantOfGod #VirginMary

Marie du jour, 1 May: Père Jacques

God is eternal silence; God dwells in silence.

He is eternal silence because he is the One who has totally realized his own being because he says all and possesses all. He is infinite happiness and infinite life.

All God’s works are marked by this characteristic. Contemplate the Incarnation; it was accomplished in the silence of the Virgin Mary’s chamber at a time when she was in prolonged silence, her door closed.

Our Lord’s birth came during the night, while all things were enveloped in silence. That is how the Word of God appeared on earth, and only Mary and Joseph were silently with him. They did not overwhelm him with their questions, for they were accustomed to guarding their innermost thoughts.

Servant of God Père Jacques of Jesus

Retreat for the Carmel of Pontoise, Conference Eight 
Thursday evening, 9 September 1943

Jacques, P 2005, Listen to the silence: A retreat with Père Jacques, translated from the French and edited by Murphy F, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

 Featured image: Adoration of the Shepherds, unknown French active in Rome, ca. 1660. Pinacoteca Stuard, Parma. Image credit: mazanto / Flickr (Some rights reserved)

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
What habits of interior silence might help me become more receptive to God’s presence?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments.

#IncarnationOfChrist #MarieDuJour #nativity #PèreJacquesDeJésus #prayer #ServantOfGod #silence #StJoseph

Quote of the day, 1 April: Hermann Cohen

“Let anyone who is thirsty come to me” (John 7:37).

Yesterday, my brothers, I begged alms of you in the name of Jesus Christ. Today I come in the name of Mary to ask for the bread of charity for these little orphans, whom devout women have so graciously welcomed.

I trust that you will not regret the appeal I make to you in the name of the Mother of orphans and the protector of the poor…

In Savoy, there is a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of the Waters. There, Mary shows herself the protector of all who come to seek healing from the waters of our thermal springs.

Ah! how many have found both life of the soul and life of the body in that blessed sanctuary!

… Would that in every place where people go in search of healing, there might also be a place of pilgrimage and a safeguard—a refuge to preserve the virtue of young girls and to draw them away from pleasures as harmful to the soul as they are to the body…

Yes, all of you, my brothers, who send your dear ones to seek health at the healing springs of our mountains, commend them to Our Lady of the Waters, that she may pour out upon them not only the medicinal waters but also the spiritual waters of grace.

Mary, Queen of the waters of nature and the spiritual waters of grace—this is the theme of my appeal.

Servant of God Augustine Mary of the Blessed Sacrament (Hermann Cohen)

From his “Second appeal on behalf of an orphanage for young girls”

Note: The chapel of Notre-Dame-des-Eaux (Our Lady of the Waters), referenced by Father Cohen, was located approximately 20 km from Aix-les-Bains in Savoy. Founded in 1852 by Abbé Humbert Pillet, a canon of the cathedral of Chambéry, it became a sanctuary where many sought physical and spiritual healing. The shrine was officially inaugurated on 27 July 1856 by Bishop Étienne Marilley of Lausanne and Geneva.

Augustin-Marie du Très-Saint Sacrement 2020, Qui nous fera voir le bonheur? : sermons et autres textes, ed. S-M Morgain, Éditions du Carmel, Toulouse.

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

Featured image: Warm and serene spring waters by 박정원 (Park Jung Won) via Flickr (Some rights reserved)

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Where do you go to seek healing? Share your story or intentions in the comments.

#AugustineMaryOfTheBlessedSacrament #grace #healing #HermannCohen #ServantOfGod #VirginMary #water