CARMEL'S OWN

Saturday, June 4, 2011

JUNE 20011

Mary Has a Role in Jesus’ Saving Mission

“Now, Master, you are letting your servant go in peace as you promised; for my eyes have seen the salvation which you have made ready in the sight of the nations; a light of revelation for the Gentiles and glory for your people Israel.” (Lk 2:32) Mary and Joseph are astounded when Simeon proclaims Jesus as a “light of revelation for the Gentiles”. Mary, instead, with reference to the prophecy of the sword that would pierce her heart, says nothing. Together with Joseph, she accepts in silence those mysterious words which predict a deeply sorrowful trial and give the Presentation of Jesus its deepest meaning. Indeed, according to the divine plan the sacrifice offered then “in accordance with what is prescribed in the Law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons” (Lk 2:24), prefigured the sacrifice of Jesus, “for I am meek and humble of heart” (Mt 11:29); in it the true “presentation” would be made (cf. Lk 2:22), which would see the Mother associated with her Son in the work of Redemption.

Simeon’s prophecy is followed by the meeting with the prophetess Anna: “She began to praise God, and spoke of the child to all who were looking forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem” (Lk 2:38). The faith and prophetic wisdom of the old woman who nurtures the expectation of the Messiah by “serving God night and day with fasting and prayer” (Lk 2:37), offer the Holy Family a further incentive to put their hope in the God of Israel. At this particular moment, Anna’s behavior would have appeared to Mary and Joseph as a sign from the Lord, a message of enlightened faith and persevering service. Beginning with Simeon’s prophecy, Mary intensely and mysteriously unites her life with Christ’s sorrowful mission: she is to become her Son's faithful coworker for the salvation of the human race.
Pope John Paul II

General Audience, December 18, 1996

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death. Amen.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

One Hand Pulled the Trigger, Another Guided the Bullet
On May 13, the Holy Father had lunched with Professor Jerome Lejeune, his wife and another guest, then he peacefully made his way to Saint Peter’s Square for the General Audience. While he made a tour of the square and approached the bronze door, the Turk Mehmet Ali Agça fired a shot at him, wounding him in abdomen, the right elbow and his left hand index finger. The bullet hit his index finger before entering the abdomen. I was sitting behind the Holy Father as usual, and the bullet, in spite of its force, fell between us, in the car, at my feet. The other wounded his right elbow, burning his skin and went on to wound other people. What did I think? Nobody believed that such a thing was possible. As I was so upset, I did not understand what was happening immediately. The noise had been deafening. All the pigeons flew away. Somebody had fired a shot. Who could it be? Then I saw that the Holy Father was hit. He looked unsteady, but nobody saw any blood or wounds on him. So I asked, “Where?” He answered me, “In the abdomen.” And I asked, “Is it painful?” He answered, “Yes”. The Holy Father was with half sitting, half leaning on me in the car, and this is how the ambulance found him. The Holy Father did not look at us. His eyes were closed, he was in great pain and kept repeating short prayers. If I remember correctly, he said: “Mary, my mother! Mary, my mother!” Dr. Buzzonetti, a male nurse and Brother Camillus were with me in the ambulance. It drove very fast, without a police escort. The siren broke down after a few hundred meters. The journey that would usually have taken at least half an hour took us eight minutes, and in Roman traffic! Later, the Holy Father told me that he had remained conscious all the way to the hospital, and that he had lost consciousness only there. He said that he had been convinced all the while that his wounds were not fatal.
Two hundred Poles had brought an image of Our Lady of Czestochowa with them from Poland, and they had set it on the ground in front of the Pope’s chair while they prayed for him with all their might. The operation lasted five hours and twenty minutes. The pope’s condition was considered very serious. His tension was extremely low. Bishop Dziwisz gave him extreme unction. “But hope gradually returned during the operation. At the beginning, we were all very nervous. Then we realized little by little that no vital organ had been touched, and that the pope could survive”. The pope had lost the three quarters of his blood, and a blood transfusion could transmit a virus to him. He remained in reanimation for a long time, but five days after the attack, adopting a Polish proverb, he declared, “One hand pulled the trigger, another guided the bullet.” He asked the bishop of Fatima who was in Rome to come to speak to him in the hospital about the Virgin’s message and as the bells rang the Angelus the following Sunday, in a message recorded in the pope’s hospital room, he entrusted humanity to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. One year later, on May 13, 1982, he went to give thanks to the Virgin in Fatima and one of the bullets was inserted in the crown of the statue of the Virgin. Finally, on March 25, 1984, he consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in union with all the bishops of the world, as requested by the Virgin. Russia was freed without bloodshed from Communism right afterwards. In Fatima on May 13, 2000, at the time of the beatification of the two little Portuguese shepherds from Fatima, Jacinta and Francisco, he revealed the contents of the “third secret” of Fatima, concerning the sufferings of the Church and “the bishop dressed in white”, struck by the “blasts of a fire arm” - indicating that he believed the message alludes to the attempt on is life of May 13, 1981. Again, in the presence of the original statue of the Virgin of Fatima on October 8, 2000, at the time of the Bishops’ Jubilee, the Pope proclaimed at Saint Peter’s Square in the Vatican the “Act of Entrustment” to Mary, during which he entrusted the Third Millennium to the protection of the Mother of Christ.
According to the testimony of Bishop Stanislas Dziwisz, told by André Frossard in “Do not Be Afraid. Conversations with John Paul II” (N'ayez pas peur. Dialogue avec Jean-Paul II), Robert Laffont, Paris, 1982
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death. Amen.

Monday, May 2, 2011

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Sunday, May 1, 2011

Who Equals Her Greatness?

O noble Virgin, you are truly great above all greatness! Who equals you in greatness? What can equal you, O temple of God’s Word? O Virgin with whom shall I compare you among all creatures? You are so much greater than all creation put together. Shall I compare you to the earth and its fruit? You exceed them... If I say that God’s angels and archangels are great, you are greater than them all. Because angels and archangels are merely the trembling servants of the One who lived in your womb.

Saint Athanasius of Alexandria

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death. Amen.

Monday, April 4, 2011

I Love You with an Infinite Love

After describing Christ’s sufferings, Mary said to Saint Bridget, “This is what my Son endured for you.

” Then the saint heard Jesus’ voice from the cross say to her, “I love you with an infinite love. Rather than be deprived of your soul, I would endure My death and My Passion for you alone.”

From the Blessed Virgin according to Saint Bridget of Sweden,

Saint Bridget and Her Book: Birgitta of Sweden's Revelations Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death. Amen.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

APRIL 2011 Friday, April 1, 2011 Lectio: Mark 12,28b-34 Saturday, April 2, 2011 Lectio: Luke 18,9-14 Sunday, April 3, 2011 Lectio: 4th Sunday of Lent Monday, April 4, 2011 Lectio: John 4,43-54 Tuesday, April 5, 2011 Lectio: John 5,1-16 Wednesday, April 6, 2011 Lectio: John 5,17-30 Thursday, April 7, 2011 Lectio: John 5,31-47 Friday, April 8, 2011 Lectio: John 7, 1-2.10.25-30 Saturday, April 9, 2011 Lectio: John 7,40-53 Sunday, April 10, 2011 Lectio: 5th Sunday of Lent Monday, April 11, 2011 Lectio: John 8,1-11 Tuesday, April 12, 2011 Lectio: John 8,21-30 Wednesday, April 13, 2011 Lectio: John 8,31-42 Thursday, April 14, 2011 Lectio: John 8, 51-59 Friday, April 15, 2011 Lectio: John 10,31-42 Saturday, April 16, 2011 Lectio: John 11,45-56 Sunday, April 17, 2011 Lectio: Palm Sunday Monday, April 18, 2011 Lectio: John 12,1-11 Tuesday, April 19, 2011 Lectio: John 13,21-33.36-38 Wednesday, April 20, 2011 Lectio: Matthew 26,14-25 Thursday, April 21, 2011 Lectio: Holy Thursday Friday, April 22, 2011 Lectio: Good Friday Sunday, April 24, 2011 Lectio: Easter of the Resurrection of the Lord Sunday, April 24, 2011 Lectio: The Resurrection of the Lord Monday, April 25, 2011 Lectio: Matthew 28,8-15 Tuesday, April 26, 2011 Lectio: John 20,11-18 Wednesday, April 27, 2011 Lectio: Luke 24,13-35 Thursday, April 28, 2011 Lectio: Luke 24,35-48 Friday, April 29, 2011 Lectio: John 21,1-14 Saturday, April 30, 2011 Lectio: Mark 16,9-15

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

"Lectio divina is an authentic source of Christian spirituality recommended by our Rule. We therefore practice it every day, so that we may develop a deep and genuine love for it, and so that we may grow in the surpassing knowledge of Christ. In this way we shall put into practice the Apostle Paul’s commandment, which is mentioned in our Rule: “Let the sword of the spirit, the Word of God, live abundantly in your mouth and in your hearts; and whatever you must do, do it in the name of the Lord.”
Carmelite Constitutions (No. 82

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The Mother of God
I am astonished that there are people that actually raise this question: “Should one or should one not call the Blessed Virgin the Mother of God”? Because if Our Lord Jesus Christ is God, how could the Virgin who gave birth to Him not be the Mother of God? This is the belief that has been passed down to us by the Holy Apostles, even if they did not use this specific term. This is the teaching that we have received from the Holy Fathers... The Blessed Virgin is truly the Mother of God since she supernaturally gave birth to the Christ, the Savior, who has taken on our flesh and our blood, and who on the human level, comes from the same substance as His Mother and ourselves. At the same time, He is on the divine, consubstantial level of God the Father, i.e. His substance is that of the Father and not "like" that of the Father.
St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444)

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death. Amen