Meditations on the woman that I love, Mary, the Blessed Virgin
Disciples of Jesus and Mary First Week - Act of Sorrow - Invoke the Holy Spirit - One Our Father - Three Hail Marys Mount Carmel - the name invokes such holy memories! The prophets themselves sang of the beauty of this mountain in Galilee perched on a promontory above the Mediterranean Sea. Mount Carmel, which means the Garden of God, is found in Palestine. It is in this beautiful Garden of God at Mount Carmel where the essence of the Immaculate Heart of Mary originated. Devotion to Mary dates back to the eighth century B.C. It was during this time period that the prophet Elias (Elijah) ascended the Holy Mountain of Carmel in Palestine, and began a long tradition of a contemplative life. It is amazing to realize that centuries before Christ was born, Holy Elias and his followers had mystically dedicated themselves to God=s Beloved Mother yet to come. They called themselves AThe Brothers of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.@ Nearly three thousand years later, that tradition of prayer, contemplation and devotion to Mary continues to live and prevail in the Catholic Church today. The Carmelite order, founded by Mary Herself, is comprised of men and women who live as hermits in contemplation to Mary. Second Week - Act of Sorrow - Invoke the Holy Spirit - One Our Father - Three Hail Marys For three years, Palestine had suffered a pitiless drought which was a punishment from Heaven visited upon the Hebrews for their lack of faithfulness to the one true God. While Elias was praying, he sent his servant up to the top of Mount Carmel saying, AGo up and look toward the sea!@ The servant went up to the top of the mountain and saw nothing. He came down and said, A There is nothing.@ The prophet sent him back seven times. He came down and said, ABehold a little cloud arose out of the sea!@ This cloud was so small and light , that it seemed as if the slightest puff of wind would blow it away. But, little by little, it grew larger and larger, spreading itself across the whole sky and the land with miraculous rain. Many expert commentators have seen this beneficent cloud as a symbol of the Blessed Virgin, by whose virtue held precious in the sight of God, showered a torrent of divine grace upon the world through her Son, Jesus Christ. Third Week - Act of Sorrow - Invoke the Holy Spirit - One Our Father - Three Hail Marys What does this tell you? Nothing is impossible for those who have faith. If you go to Jesus Christ, through Mary, she will obtain everything we need through her Son. Jesus will never refuse Mary anything that she asks for in our behalf. Admit to Mary that you are a miserable sinner and then ask her what you don=t have and she will respond, ADo whatever he tells you to do.@ (John 2:5) During the thirteenth century, St. Simon Stock was the general or provincial of the Carmelite Order. The very existence of the Carmelite Order was under threat by the Franciscans and the Dominicans. They wrote to the Pope at that time and wanted the Order of Mount Carmel removed. Perplexed by this situation, St. Simon Stock turned to Mary. Was it not she who wanted the Carmelite foundation, which was devoted to her in a special way, to her honor? Mary, the Mother of God, responded to St. Simon by appearing to him on July 16, 1251, and giving him the marvelous gift of the Scapular. On that day, Our Lady appeared to St. Simon surrounded by a host of angels. Mary held in her hand a Scapular and said to St. Simon, @Here is a sign to you and a privilege for all Carmelites. Whosoever shall die wearing this habit shall not suffer eternal fire.@ Fourth Week - Act of Sorrow - Invoke the Holy Spirit - One Our Father - Three Hail Marys Scapular indulgences have received frequent and solemn pontifical endorsements. Let us quote the Acts of Pope Clement II, which approved the Scapular on August 12, 1530. In addition, Apostolic Blessings from Pope Paul III in 1530, Pope Pius IV in 1549, St. Pius V on Feb. 18, 1566, and more recently, St. Pius X in 1910, Pope Benedict XV in 1916 and Pope Pius XII in 1950. These Apostolic Blessings constitute upon the Scapular what is know as plenary indulgences. The Sabbatine Privilege originated in the ASabbatine Bull@ which was given to Pope John XXII in 1317 after receiving a vision of the Blessed Virgin of Carmel. Our Lady promised the Holy Father that she would rescue a devotee of the Scapular from Purgatory, on the Saturday following their death. This promise was conditional upon two things: 1) to practice chastity of one=s state of life and 2) to recite the Little Office of Our Lady or another prayer, such as the Holy Rosary.
St. Teresa of Avila of the 16th century was quoted as saying of the Blessed Mother, A This Order is here. She is our Queen and our Patroness. Pope Pius XII says, AHow many souls, while living in a life of desperation, have owed their final conversion and ultimately, their eternal salvation to the scapular which they wore?@ Many Popes have warned that those who abuse the Scapular will not die with their Scapular and they will be lost.
The Secret Which Will Lead to the Interior LifeAct of Sorrow - Invoke the Holy Spirit - One Our Father - Three Hail Marys This quarter, we will continue to meditate on the first stanza as well as the second to further explore St. John’s pathway to contemplation. First Stanza One dark night kindled with yearning – oh happy chance! I went out forth without being observed. My house being now at rest. (In the Scripture she is used instead of he as we are the bride of Christ.) St. John is using a physical example to relate a spiritual journey. In this verse, the house is the body and she has gone out secretly in the confines of her heart to meet her lover Jesus Christ. To enter into this contemplation with Christ, our senses which are encompassed in our house (the body) must be mastered. A love of pleasure and attachment to it usually fires the will toward enjoyment of things. The Lord uses consolation to stir the souls yearning toward love of Him. This helps one get rid of the appetites of the flesh and leads to denial of earthly things. By finding satisfaction and strength in this love for God, one will build the courage and fortitude to faithfully deny evil desires. In the following stanza this process will be further explained. Second Stanza One dark night fired with love’s urgent longings – oh sheer grace! – I went out unseen, my house being now stilled. Your love is for God. You thirst for God’s love. Oh what grace to have God’s arms around you. You went unseen from your appetites. Your body’s senses are being stilled. This is being done because you have exercised faithfully. What is this spiritual exercise? Prayer, and in this prayer you have gained strength in God. This time of initial growth nurtured by God’s consoling presence is referred to as the honeymoon. One needs to remember that the honeymoon is a fantasy stage. All honeymoons come to an end when reality sets in. Romance and honeymoon is a fantasy, marriage is an eye opener. In the beginning of this spiritual journey, one has much fervor for all the things of God, but their love has yet been tested. In marriage, as time goes on, the newlyweds begin to have disagreements with each other. Spiritually, they are still infants who operate on the pleasure principal for their motivation to their spiritual work and prayers. Their consolation is the satisfaction they experience in them. We can also relate this to the child and mother relationship. When the infant has grown and is ready to be weaned, the child suffers a loss. No longer do they experience satisfaction of the mother’s nourishment and comfort. God can see when we have grown a little and are ready to progress in our relationship. He weans us from the sweet milk of consolation so that we may be strengthened. Our swaddling clothes are removed so we can be put down from our mother’s arms and learn to walk on our own. The soul then experiences a suffering of the senses. The light is there but has been turned off. The pleasure we received in all of our prayers and work for God seems to be gone. His presence which gave us pleasure can no longer be felt. The practice of virtues becomes difficult and tiresome. Everything in the spiritual life becomes empty and dry. Religious life becomes boring. It feels as if Jesus, Mary, the angels, and saints have all abandoned you. What are you to do? The majority of souls who reach this stage slide backwards and return to sin. Many factors lead to this. The individual has physical sufferings and temptations. Many spiritual directors who do not understand St. John of the Cross become like the Tower of Babel. They say you should see a doctor or lead you to believe you are committing many sins. One feels like a failure. At this stage, have courage and fortitude, for you are not a failure. Your childish self is being purged so God can use you for the good of the Church and all humanity. Find a spiritual director that understands St. John of the Cross and pray for humility to see yourself as we are in God’s eyes. One must go through this purging either here on earth or in Purgatory, until, as the Blessed Virgin says, “My soul magnifies the Lord.” (Lk. 1:46) Then we can enter Heaven after all self love is gone. For it is no longer I who lives, but Christ who dwells in me.
“A soul who is hard and has self love grows harder.” (Doctor of the Church) In our previous issue, we discussed the seventh characteristic of the little way of Saint Therese, Abandonment to God. In this issue, we will describe the eighth characteristic, Simplicity. Simplicity does not consist in being common place and performing only actions that are ordinary. According to Therese, Simplicity is, above all, an attitude of mind. One who is inspired by the Theresian Spirit of Simplicity considers all things and all events as they are in relation to God. One knows and acknowledges that all things come from God and that, therefore, everything ought to be referred to him. Hence, one accepts equally the joys, the labors and the sufferings that come their way, and they order all things in their life towards God. They dislike what is complicated, devious, extraordinary, but are pleased with what is ordinary and in that way, ones life is wholly simplified. Ones spiritual life becomes simple, going straight to God as a child goes to his father. There is nothing artificial in prayer and nothing extravagant in penitential practices. Therese looked at everything as being simple and natural. Others had looked upon perfection as something complicated, a summit that could only be reached by means of a multiplicity of exercises, rigorous penances and high degrees of prayer. Therese’s concept was quite different. She wrote, “Perfection seems easy to me. It is that we acknowledge our nothingness and abandon ourselves like a child into the arms of our good Lord.” Therese believed that to be a Saint it is sufficient to be little, to love and to apply ourselves to giving pleasure to Jesus. Therese said, “Holiness does not consist in this or that practice; but is a certain disposition of the heart which makes us humble and small as we rest in God’s arms, which makes us realize our weakness but, at the same time, gives us confidence to the point of audacity in the goodness of God as our father.” Therese was simple in her prayer, which principally consisted in telling Jesus that she loved him and desired to do his will in all things. For Therese, prayer was simply a lifting up of her heart in a simple glance heavenwards with a cry of gratitude and love. She did not worry about distractions in prayer, acknowledging that we can not help having such distractions. She suggested one should not grieve over distractions but should reject them as soon as they are noticed. Therese values simplicity in her actions and in the practice of renunciation and penance. She considered herself a little soul who can only offer insignificant things to God. She understood that in order to obtain true glory, we do not have to accomplish brilliant works. She said that in order to prove our love for God we must use every opportunity to make little sacrifices, be they a look or a word. She said, “Let us not refuse Jesus even in the most insignificant sacrifice.” She taught that the value of our work comes from the intention and love with which we perform them. “Little things done out of love,” said Therese, “are those that charm the heart of Christ. The most brilliant deeds, when done without love, are but nothingness.” Therese taught that a good life consists principally in the acts of virtue and the sacrifices that belong to its daily routine. She said, “It is no small thing to remain faithful during a whole lifetime to the inconsequential actions that constitute our round of daily duty; to accept day in and day out, with unfailing generosity, the sacrifices that are so constantly demanded of us and yet, never lose the opportunities for good that are offered hourly.” In the matter of penance and mortification, Therese understood that to mortify or subdue our minds and heart was extremely difficult, but very pleasing to the Lord. She applied herself to the practice of self-forgetfulness and avoided seeking herself in anything. Therese said, “Love is fed by and develops from sacrifice and mortification. The more we deprive ourselves of natural satisfaction, the stronger our love for others becomes.” Therese also practiced simplicity in the way in which she acknowledged her defects and imperfections and endeavored to correct them. Having recognized our faults, she advises us to humbly regret them and prompted by love, to make reparation for them wherever necessary. We have every reason, therefore, to practice Simplicity in our daily activities and in our relations with God in order to achieve that holiness which is within the reach of all. Between now and the next issue, let us do our best to simplify our lives and practice the Saint Therese way of Simplicity in all that we say and do. This concludes our discussion of the eight fundamental characteristics of the Spiritual Childhood of Saint Therese, known as the “Little Way”.
THE CHILDREN OF GOD B MATTHEW 5:9 Mary is the most beautiful creature God has ever created. I have a very close relationship with Mary, my sweet Blessed Virgin. It is a deep trust between her and me, the woman that I love. The beauty in her is so remarkable. I know that she will never say no to me or the person that I am praying for as long as I follow the Gospel, practice love and forgiveness of enemies, and love Jesus and Mary with my whole heart and soul. St. Maximilian Kolbe says, AGod does not know how to say no to Mary.@ Mary does not know how to say no to her clients. Nothing is impossible for those who have faith. Try to understand those who have hurt you before you understand yourself. You must forgive before you judge those who have hurt you. You might very well be their only hope of salvation. If you have faith in the Lord, nothing is impossible. Send your petitions to the Little Flower Legion. They will be put under the image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. AFor he who finds life, finds favor from the Lord.@ Proverbs 8:35. Say ten times: Immaculate Heart of Mary, I place my trust in thee. Add three Hail Marys. Say it often until your prayer is answered. Mary, please answer this petition in Jesus name, through His infinite merits according to His will. Amen. Ste. Therese de l=enfant Jesu, priez pour nous. St. Therese of the infant Jesus, pray for us.
Rocco Colantuono, O.C.D.S. Spiritual Director Rev. Anthony Alvarez www.disciplesofjesusandmary.com
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Rocco Colontuono, O. C. D. S. Disciples of Jesus & Mary Box 183, Peapack, NJ 07977 908-234-0488
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