Chalice of life and light...

    "The blood of the martyrs 

is the seed of the Church." - Tertullian

"O Lord, we cannot go to the pool of Siloe

to which you sent the blind man.

But we have the chalice of Your Precious Blood,

filled with life and light.

The purer we are, the more we receive."

St Ephrem the Syrian

Quote in honor of...

Feast of the Blessed Carmelite Martyrs of Compiègne 

Feast - July 17 

Click here: CARMELITE MARTYRS OF COMPIEGNE - YouTube (7 mins)

Click here: Martyrs of Compiègne - Catholic Focus - YouTube (24 mins)
Martyrs of Compiegne

The Martyrs of Compiègne (1794) - 1000 reasons to believe

"On July 17, 1794, the sixteen Carmelite nuns of Compiègne were 

guillotined in Paris, convicted of crimes against the state by the tribunal of the French Revolution. On this day they were born to eternal life. 

Mother Henriette de Jesus, renowned for her great beauty and strong personality, stood up to represent the other Carmelite sisters before the revolutionary tribunal and was remarkable for her heroic resolution. Since the prosecutor accused the Carmelites of being fanatics and counter-revolutionaries, she asked him to explain the meaning of those words. The irritated judge vomited a torrent of offenses against her, and then said: “It is your attachment to your Religion and the King.” 

Hearing these words, she replied, “I thank you for the explanation.” Then, addressing her companion Carmelites, she said: “My dear Mother and my Sisters, we must rejoice and give thanks to God for we die for our Religion, our Faith, and for being members of the Holy Roman Catholic Church.” --- Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira

Blessed Martyrs of Compiègne, pray for us! 

Contemplating, listening, following...

Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel*

*Title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary,

in her role as patroness of the Carmelite Order
July 16

The Carmelites see in the Blessed Virgin Mary a perfect model of the interior life of prayer and contemplation to which Carmelites aspire, a model of virtue, as well as the person who was closest in life to Jesus Christ. She is seen as the one who points Christians most surely to Christ, saying to all what she says to the servants at the wedding at Cana, "Do whatever He [Jesus] tells you." Carmelites look to Mary as spiritually their mother and sister.

  

“Contemplating Mary, we will understand better

the transforming force that the Eucharist possesses.

Listening to her, we will find in the Eucharistic

mystery the courage and strength to follow Christ

the Good Shepherd and to serve Him in our brothers.”

Pope St John Paul II

June 10, 2004

Devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel is expressed through the scapular.

“The scapular is an external sign of the filial relationship established between the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother and Queen of Mount Carmel, and the faithful who entrust themselves totally to her protection, who have recourse to her maternal intercession, and who are mindful of the primacy of the spiritual life and the need for prayer” (Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy, 205).

Click here: Devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel - YouTube  (CNA - 2 mins)

Click here: Our Lady of Mt. Carmel - YouTube  (Apostleship of Prayer - 2 mins)

Click here: Spiritualdirection.com | Flos Carmeli - Flower of Carmel -

More info on scapulars and use, incl where to obtain one for yourself: http://www.fisheaters.com/scapulars.html 

 Our Lady of Mt Carmel, pray for us

and lead us to your Son!

Blessed Feast Day to all Carmelites
and all scapular wearers!

Our daily and ever-satisfiying Bread...

"Holy Mass is an achievement of God, wherein 

He places before our view all the love He has borne us.  

It is, in a certain way, a combination of all the benefits

 bestowed upon us." - St Bonaventure

“Grant that my soul may hunger for You, the 

Bread of Angels, the Refreshment of holy souls,

our daily and ever-satisfying Bread,

which contains all possible sweetness. 

Let my heart ever hunger after You and feed upon 

You, upon whom the angels desire to gaze, and may 

my whole soul be filled with Your sweetness.

May it ever thirst for You, the Fountain 

of eternal light, the Torrent of pleasure,

the Richness of the House of God.

May it ever yearn for You, seek You, find You,

stretch towards You, reach You, meditate upon You,

speak of You, and do all things for the praise 

and glory of Your holy Name, with humility 

and prudence, with love and delight, with 

willingness, affection and perseverance.”

St Bonaventure
Italy ~ 1221 - 1274
Met St Francis of Assisi and 

inspired to become a Franciscan

"Second Founder" of the Franciscans

Bishop, Cardinal
Doctor of the Church
Brilliant teacher, powerful preacher
U of Paris co-ed/close friend of Thomas Aquinas

Feast Day - July 15

Painting: Jan van Eyck

"If you learn everything except Christ, 
you learn nothing.
If you learn nothing except Christ, 
you learn everything." - St Bonaventure

Click here: St. Bonaventure - YouTube (2 mins)

St Bonaventure, pray for us!

"I am not my own"...

 "... Kateri Tekakwitha was devoted 

to the Eucharist and to Jesus Crucified.  
At 4 am she could be seen kneeling outside 
the chapel in the snow waiting for it to open. 

She attended three Masses daily and always managed 

two hours in preparation for Holy Communion 

and two hours in thanksgiving; and she made 

frequent visits to the Blessed Sacrament.  

Her motto: 'Who can teach me what is 

most agreeable to God so that I may do it?'" 

Louis Kaczmarek 

Excerpt from: Hidden Treasure, 
The Riches of the Eucharist

_______________________________________________

St Kateri Tekakwitha

1656-1680

Daughter of Christian Algonquin mother

and non-Christian Mohawk Chief

Consecrated Virgin

Greatly devoted to the Eucharist and Mary

"Lily of the Mohawks"

Patroness of ecology and the environment

Feast Day - July 14

St Kateri Tekakwitha - YouTube
Click here: Biography of St. Kateri Tekakwitha - YouTube (2 mins)
Click here: Spiritualdirection.com |  A Virgin's Courage - A Retreat Guide on St Kateri (summer 2017)

"I am not my own; I have given myself to Jesus.  He must be my only love. The state of helpless poverty that may befall me if I do not marry does not frighten me.  All I need is a little food and a few pieces of clothing. With the work of my hands I shall always earn what is necessary and what is left over I'll give to my relatives and to the poor.  If I should become sick and unable to work, then I shall be like the Lord on the cross.  He will have mercy on me and help me, I am sure."- St Kateri Tekakwitha

St Kateri Tekakwitha, pray for us!

Love: no intermediate agents...

     "For whom is Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament?

For me; because He loves me!" 

 St. Peter Julian Eymard

 

"When a friend desires to prove to his friend 

that he loves him, he tells him so, 

and he presses his hand affectionately. 

When Our Lord wants to show His love for us, 

He does so in person, discarding the intervention 

of any third person, whether angelic or human.

Love suffers no intermediate agents. 

He remains in the Holy Eucharist 

that He may repeat to us incessantly: 

I love you! 

You must see that I love you!'"

St. Peter Julian Eymard