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)

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