Dusting off the soul...

... I was sick and you looked after me ... Matthew 25:36c

"St Camillus de Lellis never celebrated Holy Mass without first going to Confession, because he wanted at least "to dust off" his soul.  Once at sundown in a public square in Livorno, before taking leave of a priest of the same religious order, foreseeing that he would not have a priest to confess to on the following morning before his Mass, the Saint paused, took off his hat, made the sign of the Cross and went to Confession right there in the square to his confrere."

From Jesus Our Eucharistic Love (pg 32)

by Fr Stefano M Manelli, FFI

    

St Camillus de Lellis

Italy ~ 1550-1614

Encouraged to priesthood by St Phillip Neri

Founder of Order: Fathers of Good Death

Click here: Order of St. Camillus

Patron of hospitals, nurses and the sick

FEAST DAY - July 18

The Camellians took the vow to "devote themselves to material and spiritual care of the sick and needy". St. Camillus honored the poor and sick as living images of Christ. His reverence in their presence was as great as if he were really and truly in the presence of his Lord.

 “The poor and the sick are the heart of God. In serving them,

we serve Jesus the Christ. ...We want to assist the sick

with the same love that a mother has for her only sick child."

 -  Saint Camillus de Lellis

Click here: History | Camillo de Lellis

 Click here: PRAYER TO ST CAMILLUS - YouTube (1:45 mins)

Click here: St. Camillus de Lellis, Rash Vows, and Sanctity’s Daily Grind |

From Miraculous Images of Our Lord, by Joan Carroll Cruz, 

published by TAN Books and Publishers (1993). Used with permission.

The figure on this crucifix, which is venerated in the Church of Mary Magdalene in Rome, is the one which in 1582 detached its arm and comforted St.Camillus de Lellis with these words "Take Courage, faint-hearted one. Continue the work you have begun. I will be with you because it is my work." Camillus was very discouraged at the time because of opposition to his health care reforms. Our Lord's words were instrumental in the Saint pushing ahead and founding the Order of the Ministers of the Sick.

St Camillus, pray for us!

Chalice of life and light!

Oh, Blood and Water which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus

as a fount of mercy for us, I trust in You. - St Maria Faustina

 

 

 

"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 

"The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church." - Tertullian

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

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

Click here: The Mantle of Elijah: The Martyrs of Compiegne as Prophets of Modern Age

"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)

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

Contact my blog friend, Barbara, for very BEAUTIFUL scapulars/rosaries

~ made-to-order.  Click here: Praying for Grace

 Our Lady of Mt Carmel, pray for us

and lead us to your Son!

Blessed Feast Day to all Carmelites and scapular wearers!

Hungering, thirsting... satisfied!

 "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

  (Detail) The Infant Jesus Distributing Bread to Pilgrims ~ Esteban Murillo
 

“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
Franciscan
"Second Founder" of the Franciscans
Brilliant teacher, powerful preacher
Bishop, Cardinal
Doctor of the Church
University of Paris co-ed/close friend of Thomas Aquinas

FEAST DAY - July 15

"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..."

To the upright I will show
the saving power of God. - Psalm 50: 23b

"... 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

"Lily of the Mohawks"

Patroness of ecology and the environment

FEAST DAY - July 14

Click here: St Kateri Tekakwitha,  Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB - YouTube (16 mins)
Click here: Biography of St. Kateri Tekakwitha - YouTube (2 mins)

"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!