Marie du jour, 3 May: St. Teresa of Avila

On the eve of the feast of St. Sebastian, the first year in which I was prioress at the Incarnation, at the beginning of the Salve Regina, I saw the Mother of God descend with a great multitude of angels and sit in the prioress’s choir stall where there was a statue of our Lady.

In my opinion, I didn’t then see the statue but our Lady herself. It seemed to me she looked something like she does in the painting the countess gave me;1 although the power to discern this was quickly taken away, for my faculties were soon held in great suspension.

It seemed to me there were angels above the canopies of the stalls in the back and above the front stalls; although they were not in corporeal form, for this was an intellectual vision.

She remained for the whole of the Salve, and she told me: “You were indeed right in placing me here;2 I shall be present in the praises they give my Son, and I shall offer these praises to Him.”

After this, I remained in the kind of prayer I now have, that of keeping my soul present with the Blessed Trinity. And it seemed to me that the Person of the Father drew me to Himself and spoke very pleasant words. Among them, while showing me what He wanted, He told me: “I gave you My Son, and the Holy Spirit, and this Blessed Virgin. What can you give Me?”

Saint Teresa of Avila

Spiritual Testimonies 21, Her vision of our Lady in the choir of the Incarnation

https://www.flickr.com/photos/avilas/7210946374/

1. She is speaking of a painting given her by the Countess of Osorno, Doña María de Velasco, a friend of hers who lived in Valladolid. The painting is still preserved at St. Joseph’s of Avila. ↩︎
2. When she took possession of her office as prioress of the Incarnation, October 14, 1571, she placed a statue of Our Lady of Clemency in the prioress’s stall with the keys to the monastery in its hands. ↩︎

Teresa of Avila, St. 1985, The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, translated from the Spanish by Kavanaugh, K; Rodriguez, O, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: Statue of Saint Teresa by Fernando Cruz Solís (20th c.), at the Monastery of the Incarnation, Ávila. Photo: Raquel / Adobe Stock.

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
How might I enter prayer more consciously aware that Mary and the saints are present with me?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments.

#angels #BlessedTrinity #choirStalls #MotherOfGod #OurLady #prioress #SalveRegina #StTeresaOfAvila #statue #vision

How did Our Lady pray?

We could say almost the same thing about her prayer as about Our Lord’s.

Prayer is a request, a lifting up of our soul to God. But in the Virgin’s case, this union with God is constant, and even her outward activity in no way detracts from this union. Could it be an expression of need? But she found everything in her union.

Yet the Virgin prayed.

She prayed, too, to pay God her homage of dependence, but above all she prayed because she was a mother: the mother of humankind.

The Virgin bore an immense grace that united her to the Word. She prayed for this grace of her Son to pass into souls and be realized, for his reign to come and for the Mystical Body to be constituted.

Under what conditions did Mary pray? Did she need and seek silence?

Yes, but she needed it so much less than we do! Her union with God removed her, almost as a matter of course, from the noise and bustle of external events. For the Annunciation, the Virgin was in the solitude of Nazareth, and later she returned there, far from the noise.

This is a lesson for us: we must seek solitude and silence to pray.

How did the Virgin pray?

Vocal prayer, most likely, with all the people, singing the psalms. It was an act of submission to God. But we need to go further to understand her prayer: we need to return to Our Lord.

Blessed Marie-Eugène of the Child Jesus

La prière de Marie (excerpt)

Marie-Eugène de l’Enfant-Jésus 2019, La Vierge Marie Toute Mère, edited by Institut Notre-Dame de Vie, 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: Henry Ossawa Tanner created this stunning painting of Christ and His Mother Studying the Scriptures, seen here in detail, around the year 1908. Executed in oil on canvas, it comes from the Dallas Museum of Art. Image credit: Dallas Museum of Art (Public domain)

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/08/13/grialou-virginpray/

#BlessedMarieEugeneOfTheChildJesus #grace #MysticalBody #OurLady #prayer #Psalms #silence #solitude #unionWithGod #VirginMary #vocalPrayer

Jesus Christ has redeemed us on the Cross. The Holy Cross is the sign of our Faith, the sign of hope and grace. We venerate it, and it gives us hope, but when it really comes close to us we are terrified.

Still, as we all know at the bottom of our hearts, we have to carry our own crosses in union with our Savior. The Cross is there, and we have to accept it in whatever form it comes to us.

Sometimes it takes time for us to recognize the loving and adorable face of the Crucified Lord in the horrible and tiresome sufferings that we encounter during our pilgrimage here on earth. Our Lady can help us to see Jesus in the cross of our own existence and in the cross of humanity.

She stood beside the Cross of Jesus, and she also stands beside us when we have to carry our own crosses. As a loving Mother taking care of her beloved child, she is always there.

For many people, it seems easier to look upon Mary standing at the foot of the Cross of Jesus than to look directly upon Jesus hanging on the Cross. Being the Mother of Jesus and of us, she can unite us to Jesus and help us to recognize and adore His holy Cross in our own little cross….

When we really suffer, words cannot console us, however pious and loving they might be. We cannot be consoled in any way whatsoever, except by the simple presence of another person simply sitting down with us or holding our hand.

That is important for us to remember when someone we know suffers. To be present, to sit down at the sickbed or deathbed, to hold someone’s hand is always immensely helpful for those who suffer.

This is also the way of Mary—to be present in our dark night of the soul. She is there. It is all very simple and natural.

She is our Mother and Sister who wants to help us to carry our crosses. She helps us to see Jesus in our night. Just by being there, she points to her Son and makes us aware of His constant presence in our life.

So have confidence. In the dark night of the soul, in our suffering, Mary will be with us, silent but fruitful, because she is the Mother of Christ, the Mother of us.

Cardinal Anders Arborelius, O.C.D.

To Be Responsive Like Mary (excerpts)

Arborelius OCD, A. 2020, Carmelite Spirituality: The Way of Carmelite Prayer and Contemplation, EWTN Publishing, Irondale, Alabama.

Featured image: Crucifixion sculptures like this early 16th-century French Calvaire are found in towns and along byways all throughout Brittany. The ancient village of Rochefort-en-Terre in the department of Morbihan is no exception. This historic Calvaire still stands in the plaza next to the 12th-century collegiate church of Notre-Dame-de-la-Tronchaye in the center of town. It is so picturesque that it has been featured prominently in paintings, such as Le calvaire de Rochefort-en-Terre (or, L’Office du soir) by Ferdinand du Puigaudeau (French, 1864–1930). According to legend, the church was built on the spot where a statue of the Virgin Mary nursing the Infant Jesus was discovered in the 12th century. It is said that the statue was hidden in the trunk of a tree two centuries earlier when the Vikings were attacking the region. Another historic image in the parish is a polychrome statue of Blessed Françoise d’Amboise, the 15th-century Duchess of Brittany who established the Carmelite nuns in France. Image credit: David Matthew Lyons / Adobe Stock (Stock photo)

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/07/22/anders-momsis/

#CardinalAndersArborelius #darkNight #faith #grace #HolyCross #hope #inspiration #JesusChrist #MaryOurSister #Mother #OurLady #presence #suffering

SEQUENCE HYMN

Flos Carmeli,
vitis florigera,
splendor caeli,
virgo puerpera
singularis.

Flower of Carmel,
blossoming, bearing one,
light of heaven,
mother of God’s dear Son,
vine and virgin.

SCRIPTURE

Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. Seeing his mother and the disciple he loved standing near her, Jesus said to his mother, “Woman, this is your son.” Then to the disciple he said, “This is your mother.”

John 19:25–27

READING

I remember that when my mother died I was twelve years old or a little less. When I began to understand what I had lost, I went, afflicted, before an image of our Lady and besought her with many tears to be my mother. It seems to me that although I did this in simplicity it helped me. For I have found favor with this sovereign Virgin in everything I have asked of her, and in the end she has drawn me to herself. It wearies me now to see and think that I was not constant in the good desires I had in my childhood.

Saint Teresa of Avila

The Book of Her Life, chap. 1, no. 7

PRAYER

O Most beautiful Flower of Mount Carmel,
Fruitful Vine, Splendor of heaven,
Blessed Mother of the Son of God,
Immaculate Virgin, assist me in this my necessity.
O Star of the Sea, help me and show me herein
that you are my Mother.

O Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of heaven and earth,
I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart
to succor me in this necessity.
There are none that can withstand your power!
O help me and show me herein that you are my Mother.

(Here mention your requests)

Our Lady, Queen & Beauty of Carmel,
pray for me and obtain my requests!
Sweet Mother, I place this cause
in your hands!

Our Father…

Hail Mary…

Glory be…

Queen, Beauty of Carmel, pray for us.

Catholic Church 1993, Proper of the Liturgy of the Hours of the Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel and the Order of Discalced Carmelites (Rev. and augm.), Institutum Carmelitanum, Rome.

Teresa of Avila, St. 1985, The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, translated from the Spanish by Kavanaugh, K; Rodriguez, O, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

All scripture references are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.

Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Joseph, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Edith Stein.

Let us unite in prayer

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/07/14/olmcnovena24-9/

#consolation #death #FlosCarmeli #intercession #Mother #novena #OurLady #OurLadyOfMountCarmel #prayer #sorrow #StTeresaOfAvila

Basilica of Our Lady Guelph

https://makertube.net/videos/watch/6157a0af-6606-40f8-8a48-b6e2df923fae