Quote of the day, 29 May: Blessed Elia of St. Clement Fracasso

On the night before her First Communion—7 May 1911—young Teodora Fracasso had a mysterious dream that she revealed only years later: the Servant of God Thérèse of the Child Jesus, not yet canonized at the time, appeared to her and said prophetically, “You will be a nun like me.”

The next day, 8 May, Teodora received the Eucharist for the first time. She would later describe it this way:

“Enveloped in a cloud of incense that seemed to hide me from the world, I drew near for the first time to the Banquet of the Angels… I believed I was in Heaven, enjoying the embrace of the good God… I felt the delicate and tender kiss of love from Jesus touch my forehead like a lily petal… my exiled heart seemed ready to break and fly into the arms of Eternal Love… I did not know whether it was the Heart of the good Jesus beating within me, or mine, lost in Him.”

From her earliest years, God spoke to Teodora’s soul in the language of love and dream, preparing that hidden garden which would one day blossom in the silence of Carmel.

Blessed Elia of Saint Clement

From a Triduum of Prayer in honor of Blessed Elia

Note: Blessed Elia of St. Clement received her First Communion on 8 May 1911 at age 10.

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

Featured image: Blessed Elia of St. Clement holds her profession cross in this photo from the Carmel of St. Joseph in Bari, Italy. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites

#BlessedEliaOfStClement #CarmelOfBari #FirstCommunion #love #spiritualChildhood #StThereseOfLisieux #TeodoraFracasso

Quote of the day, 30 April: St. Elizabeth of the Trinity

Would you please send me during the next few days the muslin that’s left from our first Communion dresses, and if there’s not very much of it, that dotted muslin that’s in a box in the attic (still to be delivered to Mother Sub-Prioress).

It’s for Saint Germaine, I’ll tell you about it (I’ll return it to you afterward).

Adieu, I only have time to kiss you before going to sleep.

In union, we have our Heaven within us, let’s live it.

I love you much, my Guite.

Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity

Letter 120 to her sister Marguerite Chevignard
Shortly before 15 June 1902

Note: In this letter, Elizabeth and her sister Guite plan a special gift for Mother Germaine, Prioress at the Carmel of Dijon. The gift would be presented on the feast day on her feast day. Elizabeth had made her First Holy Communion on 19 April 1891 at Saint Michael’s Parish in Dijon. Madame Catez later recalled“I will never forget the emotions of 19 April: I saw my child so recollected, so earnest, her tears did not cease to flow and I understood that God had taken possession of that heart so pure, so loving, which no longer would beat except for him” (De Meester, C 2017, Rien Moins Que Dieu).

de Meester, C 2017, Rien moins que Dieu: sainte Elisabeth de la Trinité, Presses de la Renaissance, Paris.

Elizabeth of the Trinity, S 2003, The Complete Works of Elizabeth of the Trinity volume 2: Letters from Carmel, translated from the French by Nash, A, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: Detailed portrait of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, taken on 8 June 1891 after her Confirmation. Although photographed on the day of her Confirmation, the portrait also commemorates her First Holy Communion, received earlier on 19 April 1891. The setting is the garden of the Catez family home in Dijon. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites (used by permission).

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
How can I live more consciously today in the “Heaven within me” that Elizabeth describes?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments.

#FeastDay #FirstCommunion #heaven #MadameCatez #MargueriteChevignard #MotherGermaine #StElizabethOfTheTrinity

Late 1970s for #ThrowbackThursday and this must have been my First Communion, raised Catholic like I was and attending a Catholic school like I did. Nice try, church, but you didn't sink your claws deep enough into me for it to stick.

#Photography #TBT #1970s #70s #Seventies #Communion #FirstCommunion #Catholic #RomanCatholic #Religion

It is impossible to describe what took place between my soul and Jesus. I asked Jesus a thousand times that He would take me, and I experienced His dear voice for the first time. “Oh Jesus I love You, I adore You!”

I prayed to Him for everybody. I felt the Virgin near me. Oh, how my heart expanded! For the first time, I experienced a delicious peace.

From that time, the dear Jesus spoke to me, and I spent entire hours conversing with Him. That is the reason I enjoyed being alone. He went on teaching me how I should suffer and not complain and about intimate union with Him. Then He told me that He wanted me for Himself, that He would like me to become a Carmelite.

Ah! Mother, you cannot imagine what Jesus was doing in my soul. At that time, I did not live in myself. It was Jesus who was living in me.

Saint Teresa of the Andes

From her autobiographical writings at age 15

Note: St. Teresa of the Andes made her First Holy Communion on 11 September 1910 in the chapel of Sacred Heart private school in Santiago. Bishop Ramón Ángel Jara Ruz presided at Holy Mass.

of the Andes, T 2003, The Writings of Saint Teresa of Jesus of the Andes: An Abridgement, translated from the Spanish by Father Michael D. Griffin, OCD, New Life Publishing Company.

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/09/10/andes-1commun/

#alone #FirstCommunion #Jesus #love #mysticalExperience #peace #soul #StTeresaOfTheAndes #suffer #union #voice

Budapest, 1961. I have chosen this photo because it is first in the Fortepan collection. Since its establishment in 2010 here are now some 189,000 photos in the archive, all freely available. But this is number 1!

The young girl in this photo is dressed for her first communion - a reminder that communist countries, like Hungary and Poland, still had very strong religious observance from both Catholics and Protestants.

Source: Fortepan [1] / Fortepan

#fortepan #Budapest #FirstCommunion

#Bimbo autistico escluso dalla cerimonia della Prima Comunione: le scuse del parroco e l’invito a Roma

Silvi. Il bimbo autistico di dieci anni che era stato escluso dalla cerimonia collettiva per la sua Prima Comunione, riceve le scuse del parroco ed un invito speciale. Andare a Roma a trovare Papa Francesco. Finisce con le scuse del parrocchia e del vescovo di Teramo la vicenda del bambino che su ordine del prete
L'articolo #Bimbo autistico escluso dalla cerimonia della Prima Comunione: le scuse del parroco e l’invito a Roma sembra essere il primo su AbruzzoLive.

Autistic child excluded from #FirstCommunion ceremony: parish priest's apology and invitation to Rome

Silvi. The ten-year-old autistic child who was excluded from the collective ceremony for his #FirstCommunion receives an apology from the parish priest and a special invitation. To go to Rome to see Pope Francis. The story of the child who, on the order of the priest, was excluded from his #FirstCommunion ceremony ends with an apology from the parish priest and the bishop of Teramo.
The article Autistic child excluded from #FirstCommunion ceremony: parish priest's apology and invitation to Rome appeared first on AbruzzoLive.

16-5-2023 9:42 #AbruzzoLive https://abruzzolive.it https://abruzzolive.it/bimbo-autistico-escluso-dalla-cerimonia-della-prima-comunione-le-scuse-del-parroco-e-linvito-a-roma/

#Bambino autistico escluso dalla Prima Comunione perché disturbava: per lui cerimonia a parte

Silvi. Un bimbo autistico di 10 anni è stato escluso dalle Comunioni a Silvi. Nella giornata di domenica si sono tenute le Prime Comunioni di una quarantina di bambini. La maggior parte di loro ha ricevuto il sacramento nella chiesa dell’Assunta, mentre un bambino l’ha ricevuta da solo in quella del Santissimo Salvatore. Il bambino
L'articolo #Bambino autistico escluso dalla Prima Comunione perché disturbava: per lui cerimonia a parte sembra essere il primo su AbruzzoLive.

Autistic child excluded from #FirstCommunion because he was disruptive: separate ceremony for him

Silvi. A 10-year-old autistic boy was excluded from #FirstCommunion in Silvi. On Sunday, the #FirstCommunions of about forty children were held. Most of them received the sacrament in the Church of the Assumption, while one child received it alone in the Church of the Holy Saviour. The child
The article Autistic child excluded from #FirstCommunion because he was disturbing: for him, a separate ceremony seems to be the first on AbruzzoLive.

15-5-2023 12:56 #AbruzzoLive https://abruzzolive.it https://abruzzolive.it/bambino-autistico-escluso-dalla-prima-comunione-perche-disturbava-per-lui-cerimonia-a-parte/