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

Quote of the day, 13 February: Venerable Maria Lúcia

It was with affection that the Sisters [of the Carmel of Coimbra] traveled alongside Sister Lucia on the long journey of her life, which was illuminated by a profound love for Our Lady. This love always filled Sister Lucia’s soul and she was captured irresistibly in the Heart of God. There she found her treasure, the Precious Pearl in exchange for everything that was abandoned.

She felt the seductions of the world, the temptation of the devil, and the complaints of her nature. But she won everything with heroic fidelity to her ‘Yes’ on May 13, 1917.

The world was her only path to God, and although surrounded by many obstacles, she always took the path as a ray of light, as her intimate desire, purpose, and generous offering in favor of her brothers and sisters in Christ:

“I want my life to be a trail of light that shines on the path of my brothers and sisters showing them faith, hope, and charity.”

Venerable Maria Lúcia of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart

Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Coimbra

Conclusion

Sister Maria Lúcia of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart, O.C.D.
22 March 1907 – 13 February 2005

of St. Teresa Coimbra Portugal, C 2015, A pathway under the gaze of Mary : biography of Sister Maria Lucia of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart O.C.D., translated from the Portuguese by Colson, J, World Apostolate of Fatima USA, Washington NJ.

Featured image: Lucia dos Santos in 1917. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

#anniversary #CarmelOfCoimbra #death #Fatima #LuciaOfFatima #OurLadyOfFatima #ServantOfGod #SrMariaLuciaOfTheImmaculateHeart

Quote of the day, 17 January: Père Jacques

And the Incarnate Word humbles himself by bending beneath God’s eternal desires. He becomes obedient.

Oh, world, stop and look! You are but ashes and dust, you are only a being of one day, and you dare to cry out in your excessive pride, ‘Neither God nor Master!’

See this man, Jesus of Nazareth, he is a visible man, but he is the invisible God, his human nature subsists, borne by a divine personality, he is the Son of God, he is the one who created you, and nothing that was made was made without him—and behold this all-powerful being, this God-man annihilates himself before his Father, lets himself be insulted, lets himself be mocked, lets himself be crucified, and all out of obedience. Christus factus est obediens usque ad mortem, mortem autem crucis (Christ became obedient unto death, and death on the cross, Phil 2:8)….

Ah, world, will you still say that obedience degrades and diminishes you, when Christ has sanctified this admirable virtue to such an extent? Will you be afraid to follow such a Master?

Servant of God Père Jacques de Jésus

Homily, Triduum of Perpetual Adoration
16 November 1928

Note: On 17 January 1985, the Israeli Holocaust museum Yad Vashem recognized Père Jacques de Jésus, under his baptismal name Lucien Bunel, as Righteous Among the Nations. You can learn more about the Servant of God from the official website dedicated to his cause; you can also pray for his beatification.

As the years pass and more Holocaust survivors die, it is important to remember that the mass extermination of Jews by the Germans is not fiction. It is not a myth. Carmelites such as Titus Brandsma, Edith Stein, Georg Häfner, and Père Jacques were all victims of Hitler’s “final solution.” Learn more of the facts about the Holocaust.

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

Featured image: From 1934 until his arrest in January 1944, Père Jacques de Jésus, OCD was the headmaster of the Petit Collège Sainte Thérèse de l’Enfant-Jésus, the Carmelite boarding school in Avon, France. Père Jacques is seen here at his desk, speaking with one of the students. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites

#IncarnateWord #JesusChrist #LucienBunel #obedience #PèreJacquesDeJésus #RighteousAmongTheNations #ServantOfGod #spirituality #YadVashem