In this final session on Carmelite Spirituality, we discuss a number of other famous Carmelite Saints. Including Sr Lucia of Fatima, St Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St Simon Stock. We also discuss various Carmelite Devotions (the brown scapular and the Infant of Prague, etc), as well as some good modern resources for Carmelite Spirituality - especially "Divine Intimacy" by Fr Gabriel of St Mary Magdalen.
Listen online [here]!
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Carmelite
Spirituality
Adult
Faith Formation Series, October/November 2021
Session 6:
Carmelite Saints, Devotions, and Other Resources
Class Schedule, Tuesdays from 7
to 8pm
October 12th –
Introduction to Christian Prayer and Carmelite Spirituality
October 19th –
Historical Notes on the Carmelites; Introduction to the Three Ages of the
Interior Life
October 26th – St
Teresa’s Insights, The Seven Mansions of the Interior Castle
November 2nd – No
Class, Catholics For Life Meeting
November 9th – The
Dark Nights of St John of the Cross; Appreciating St John’s Poetry
November 16th – The
Little Way of St Therese of Lisieux
November 23rd –
Carmelite Saints and other Resources (Divine Intimacy)
November 30th –
Carmelite Devotions, especially those suited to Advent (The Infant of Prague)
*Note: We will be combining
session 6 into session 5, and watch a movie about the Carmelite Martyrs of the
French Revolution next week.
I. Review:
A. The Way of Spiritual
Childhood: The qualities and principal virtues of a
child compared to spiritual perfection. Simplicity, purity, humility, trust,
faith/hope/love.
B. Story of a Soul should
be read not simply as a sweet little book, but recognizing the profound
spiritual and theological insights St Therese makes. We have a description of
the unitive way of the perfect, as well as an extended meditation on
predestination and the way God leads each soul according to his own designs.
II. Other Carmelite
Saints and Stories
Sr Maria Lucia of Jesus
and of the Immaculate Heart (Lucia of
Fatima). After having first professed
with the Institute of the Sisters of St Dorothy in Spain (entering 1925 and
final vows 1928), she received special papal permission to join the Discalced
Carmelites of the convent of Santa Teresa in Coimbra, Portugal in 1949. She
died here in 2005.
St Teresa Benedicta of
the Cross (Edith Stein). Born in 1891 of
an observant Jewish family in Germany. Became an atheist/agnostic in teen
years. Doctorate in Philosophy from University of Freiburb – studied under
Edmund Husserl in the field of phenomenology. She is recognized as one of the
top philosophers in the contemporary era. Read the Life of St Teresa of Avila,
and converted to Catholicism in 1922. Entered Discalced Carmelites in 1933 (age
42, very old for strict Carmelite rule). During World War II, was arrested by
German military and killed in Auschwitz in 1942.
Martyrs of Compiegne. 11
Discalced Carmelite Nuns, 3 lay sisters, 2 tertiaries. Members of the Carmel of
Compiegne, France. In August 1792, the new radical revolutionary government
ordered all the convents and religious houses closed. The sisters were force to
leave Carmel and re-enter the world, but they continued to secretly practice
the Rule and the Carmelite life. Executed at the end of the Reign of Terror of
the French Revolution, July 1794 (Robespierre, the revolutionary who was behind
the Reign of Terror was himself executed only ten days later). As they were
taken to the place of execution and while they were individually executed, they
sang various hymns, the Vespers and Compline for the day’s Divine Office, the
Salve Regina and the Veni Creator Spiritus. They were the first martyrs of the
French Revolution officially recognized by the Church.
St Elizabeth of the
Trinity. Lived from 1880 to 1906 (aged 26) in France. Known for the spiritual
insight and depth of her writings. Her spirituality was very similar to that of
St Therese of Lisieux who lived at the same time as she. It seems that she was exposed to the Story of
a Soul when only 17 years old, right around the time when St Therese died. St
Therese’ writing was part of what inspired St Elizabeth to become a
Carmelite. St Elizabeth was also
influenced by St Therese’ poetry especially “Living by Love” (or “To Live of
Love”). Died of the rare Addison’s Disease, which causes fatigue, abdominal
pain was well as muscle and join pain, low blood pressure – it is when the
adrenal glands just above the kidneys do not produce enough hormones for proper
body functioning. Very painful, and incurable.
Movies:
Therese: The Story of St
Therese of Lisieux
Edith Stein: The Seventh Chamber
Dialogues des
Carmelites (Dialogues of the Carmelites)
– about the Martyrs of Compiegne.
Au Revoir Les Infantes
(Goodbye Children) -- story of the
Carmlite boarding school near Fontainebleau, France in World War II, which hid
Jewish boys and was raided by the Gestapo.
St Teresa of the
Andes (directed by Vicente Sabatini)
St Teresa of Avila (directed by Josefina Molina)
III. Carmelite Devotions
A. The Brown Scapular:
See Separate Handout.
B. The Infant of Prague
The Infant Jesus of Prague is a
wax-coated wooden 19-inch statue of the child Jesus holding an orb and cross
(representing the world under the reign of the Cross), located in the Discalced
Carmelite Church of Our Lady Victorious in Prague, Czech Republic.
Legend claims that this statue
was given by St Teresa of Avila to a Spanish noble woman (Dona Isabella). This
woman’s daughter, Maria Maximiliana Manriquez de Lara y Mendoza brought the
statue to Bohemia upon her marriage to a Czech nobleman (Vratislav of Pernstyn)
in 1556. Maria’s daughter, Princes
Polyxena von Lobkowicz donated the statue to the Discalced Carmelites –
“Venerable Fathers, I bring you my dearest possession. Honor this image and you shall never want.”
Over the years, the statue was
lost and damaged, but was rediscovered and restored in 1637 (note: the hands
had been broken off and needed to be replaced). The child Jesus said to the
priest, “Have pity on me, and I will have pity on you. Give me my hands, and I
will give you peace. The more you honor me, the more I will bless you.”
The vestments of the Child are
changed according to the liturgical season.
The principal feast is the feast
of the Holy Name of Jesus (traditionally, the Sunday after January 1st;
after Vatican II, January 3rd).
C. The Holy Face
Book: “The Golden Arrow” - The Life and Revelations
of Sister Mary of St. Peter (1816-1848) on Devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus.
At Tours, France, she received this devotion from Our Lord to fight Communism,
to make reparation and to be an unfailing tool of prayer. Approved worldwide.
IV. Carmelite Resources
A. Collected Works of St
Teresa of Avila
B. Collected Works of St
John of the Cross
C. Divine Intimacy and
other works by Fr Gabriel of St Mary Magdalen
1) Divine Intimacy:
Divine Intimacy is undoubtedly the classic Carmelite work on
meditation – a book that helps one arrive at intimate union with God by the
practice of considering holy truths. It is a book that shows how to join prayer
and action and put the Catholic doctrine on the spiritual life into practice
daily. Divine Intimacy has been translated into all principal languages and has
met with extraordinary success, bringing encouragement and spiritual profit to
lay people as well as priests and religious. For each day of the year, Fr.
Gabriel gives 1) a brief introduction, 2) a two-part meditation, followed by 3)
a colloquy – holy acts of love, thanksgiving, petition, resolution, etc.,
addressed to Our Lord and based on the truths just meditated upon. About three
pages are devoted to each day, so it reads quickly, and even the busiest person
can use it regularly. The meditations for Sundays are based on the Sunday
Gospel readings of the traditional liturgical calendar. Grounding his work on a
firm Thomistic basis, Fr. Gabriel (1893-1953) draws from Sacred Scripture and
the teachings of the great Carmelite Saints, including St. John of the Cross,
St. Teresa of Avila, St. Therese of the Child Jesus and Blessed Elizabeth of
the Trinity. His goal – marvelously achieved – is to cover the whole doctrine
of the spiritual life in the course of a year. This is a lifetime book – one
that is conceived to be used each day and to be read over and over. Divine
Intimacy imparts an absolutely Catholic view of life and prepares the reader
for the greatest possible union with God this side of Heaven.
2) Little Catechism of
the Life of Prayer: This little booklet
"contains the substance of teachings which, for about four centuries, the
Teresian Reform of the Carmelite Order has offered as guide for the life of
prayer. They are the teachings of St.
Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross, gathered together and devloped by
their followers, and enriched by long and continuous experience. These teachings that have remained until now
almost entirely hidden within the walls of the cloister are now put within the
reach of all by these pages. This
"little catechism" is, in fact, an exposition of the Teresian idea
and method of mental prayer, an idea and method too little known, and yet whose
beneficent influence has been verified so many times." (Taken from Fr.
Gabriel's preface)
This booklet is in
question and answer form, making it an easy guide to learning more about the
methods of prayer according to St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross.
3) Union with God
according to St John of the Cross: This excellent book is for all aspiring to a
deep union with God following the teachings of St. John of the Cross, a master
in the spiritual life. It is a guide on the journey of faith and on the way of
prayer and Christian perfection to total conformity to God’s will.
D. Writings of St Therese
of Lisieux, Edith Stein (St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross), St Elizabeth of the
Trinity, St Teresa Margaret.
E. Other authors:
Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, Thomas Dubay, Jaques Philippe.
Stanzas Concerning An
Ecstasy Experienced In High Contemplation
By St John of the Cross
|
I
entered into unknowing, and
there I remained unknowing transcending
all knowledge.
1. I
entered into unknowing, yet
when I saw myself there, without
knowing where I was, I
understood great things; I
will not say what I felt for I
remained in unknowing transcending
all knowledge.
2.
That perfect knowledge was
of peace and holiness held
at no remove in
profound solitude; it
was something so secret that
I was left stammering, transcending
all knowledge.
3. I
was so ‘whelmed, so
absorbed and withdrawn, that
my senses were left deprived
of all their sensing, and
my spirit was given an
understanding while not understanding, transcending
all knowledge.
4. He
who truly arrives there cuts
free from himself; all
that he knew before now
seems worthless, and
his knowledge so soars that
he is left in unknowing transcending
all knowledge. |
5.
The higher he ascends the less
he understands, because
the cloud is dark which
lit up the night; whoever
knows this remains
always in unknowing transcending
all knowledge.
6.
This knowledge in unknowing is so
overwhelming that
wise men disputing can
never overthrow it, for
their knowledge does not reach to
the understanding of not understanding, transcending
all knowledge.
7.
And this supreme knowledge is so
exalted that
no power of man or learning can
grasp it; he
who masters himself will,
with knowledge in unknowing, always
be transcending.
8.
And if you should want to hear: this
highest knowledge lies in
the loftiest sense of
the essence of God; this
is a work of his mercy, to
leave one without understanding, transcending
all knowledge.
|
