Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Mother Dearest Queen of Carmel
Who so appeared to Simon Stock
Sixth General, After the Carmelites had moved
From Mount Carmel, Palestine, to Europe
And has spread over the centuries to much of the world
While the order was being persecuted
You came to England with your baby, or savior in your arms
Wearing brown, the color of the desert where the order had begun
And You gave Simon the first Brown Scapular
The year was 1251 the date July the 16th
And now it is 2020 and we still celebrate this date
That you have given out many more brown scapulars
To your various Children over the centuries.
Thank you Blessed Mother of Carmel
For passing out the Sweetness of God’s Grace.
“I too have worn the Scapular of Carmel over my heart for a long
time !…The most genuine form of devotion to the Blessed Virgin,
expressed by the humble sign of the Scapular, is consecration to
her Immaculate Heart.”- Pope John Paul II
Some of Carmel’s Children
Saint Simon Stock lived 1165 -May 16, 1265
The Discalced Carmelite Saints
You will notice that most of the Discalced Carmelites were canonized or elevated during the 20th and 21st centuries and Popes St. John Paul II and Francis declared them Saints and Doctors.
John of the Cross (1542 –December 14, 1591) He was canonized and declared a saint of the Church by Pope Benedict XIII in 1726. He was elvated to a Doctor of the church in 1926. He is regarded as the “Mystical Doctor” by the Church.
“At the evening of life, we shall be judged on our love” (CCC 1022)”
Saint Teresa of Ávila (1515–1582), or Teresa of Jesus, Spaniard, founder of the Discalced Carmelites. She was canonized on March 12, 1622, by Pope Gregory XV and made the first female Doctor of the Church in 1970 by Pope Paul XI.
“Let nothing disturb you,
Let nothing frighten you,
All things are passing away:
God never changes.
Patience obtains all things.
Whoever has God lacks nothing;
God alone suffices.”
Teresa Margaret of the Sacred Heart, O.C.D. (15 July 1747 – 7 March 1770) was canonized March 19, 1934 by Pope Pius XI. She was known for her mystical gifts.
“Knowing that a bride cannot be pleasing to her spouse unless she endeavors to become what he wishes her to be … I will always think of my neighbors as beings made in your likeness, produced by your divine love, redeemed at the price of your precious Blood, looking upon them with true Christian charity, which you command. I will sympathize with their troubles, excuse their faults, always speak well of them, and never willingly fail in charity towards them in thought, word, or deed.”
God is Love (1964 edition)
Saint Thérèse of Lisieux (1873–1897), or Teresa of the Child Jesus or the Little Flower. She was a young and French. She was canonized on May 17, 1925 by Pope Pius XI and made the third female Doctor of the Church in 1997 by Pope John Paul II.
“I understood how all the flowers He has created are beautiful, how the splendor of the rose and the whiteness of the Lily do not take away from the perfume of the little violet or the simplicity of the daisy. I understood that if all flowers wanted to be roses, nature would lose her springtime beauty, and the fields would no longer be decked out with little wild flowers. And so it is in the world of souls, Jesus’ garden. He willed to create great souls comparable to Lilies and roses, but He has created smaller ones and these must be content to be daisies or violets destined to give joy to God’s glances when He looks down at His feet. Perfection consists in doing His will, in being what He wills us to be” (S,”
Story of a Soul The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux
October 18, 2015- St. Doctor Therese of Lisieux’s parents Louis Martin (22 August 1823 – 29 July 1894) and Marie-Azélie “Zélie” Guérin Martin (23 December 1831 – 28 August 1877) become saints by Pope Francis.
Saint Teresa of Los Andes (1900–1920), Discalced Carmelite nun, born Juana Fernández del Solar
March 21, 1993- Teresa of Jesus of Los Andes (July 13, 1900 – 12 April 12, 1920) is canonized by Pope John Paul II.
“What is the life of a Carmelite if not one of contemplating, adoring and loving God incessantly?”
Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (1891–1942), Discalced Carmelite Nun, born Edith Stein. She died in the Nazi’s Concentration Camp.
October 11th, 1998- She is canonized by Pope John Paul II.
“To suffer and to be happy although suffering, to have one’s feet on the earth, to walk on the dirty and rough paths of this earth and yet to be enthroned with Christ at the Father’s right hand, to laugh and cry with the children of this world and ceaselessly sing the praises of God with the choirs of angels—this is the life of the Christian until the morning of eternity breaks forth.”
(The Hidden Life: Essays, Meditations, Spiritual Text (The Collected Works of Edith Stein)
May 17, 2015- Saint Mariam Baouardy (January 5, 1846 – August 26, 1878) a Discalced Carmelite nun of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church is canonized by Pope Francis.
“Always remember to love your neighbor; always prefer the one who tries your patience, who tests your virtue, because with her you can always merit: suffering is Love; the Law is Love.”
October 16, 2016- Elizabeth of the Trinity (18 July 1880 – 9 November 1906), a French Discalced Carmelite (just like St. Therese) was also canonized.
I have found heaven on earth, since heaven is God and God is in my soul. The day I understood that, everything became clear to me, and I would like to share this secret with all those I love so that they, too, might cling to God through everything, so that this prayer of Christ might be fulfilled: “Father, may they be made perfectly one!”
Letters to Madame de Sourdon, L 122, 15 June 1902; as quoted in Always Believe in Love: Selected Writings of Elizabeth of the Trinity by Marian Murphy, 2017, p. 109.
Other Saintly Carmelites
June 28, 2012-Mary Angeline Teresa, O.Carm. (January 21, 1893 – January 21, 1984) founder of the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm (where I work at St. Patrick’s Manor) is declared Venerable.
“If you have to fail, let it be on the side of kindness. Be kinder than kindness itself to the old people.”
2016-Kristin begins her journey as a Secular Discalced Carmelite in the Community of Mary and Joseph.
2017- Kristin receives her scapular as a Secular Discalced Carmelite in the Community of Mary and Joseph.
2019- Kristin makes her first promises as a Secular Discalced Carmelite in the Community of Mary and Joseph.
Other Carmelite Items of Interest.
Fourth Mansions (1969) by R. A. Lafferty (a devout Catholic Sci-Fi Writer) Nebula Award nominee, 1970.
Fourth Mansions was inspired by Teresa of Ávila’s Interior Castle, & contains quotations from the book, which quotations Lafferty uses as chapter headings. The Interior Castle is a metaphor for an individual’s soul; its different rooms, different states of the soul. In the middle of the Castle the soul is in the purest state, which equals Heaven. Lafferty uses more complex symbols to bring colorfully into life his many-sided tale of an individual’s reaching towards Heaven or Truth.
Take a trip thru a psychedelic reality, with seven very special people blending to create a higher form of humanity: A laughing man living alone on a mountaintop, guarding the world. The Returnees: men who live again & again, century after century. A dog-ape “Plappergeist,” who can only be seen out of the corner of one’s eye. A young man named Foley, very much like us, who begins to find out about the above people & things, & how they’re reshaping the world! (Goodreads Description) Sadly not on Kindle.
Drumwall (2008) by Lynden Rodriguez
The mining colony at Drumwall Fortress on the planet of Cumaro was the ideal assignment: pristine, wild, and beautiful; with but one deadly flaw; Lord Banyon, the local tribal chieftain of the Mautlaut. Two years prior to Father Andrew’s arrival, his predecessor, Father Menlo, disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Now, a Mautlaut runner brings a message from Lord Banyon – written in flawless English. Could Father Menlo still be alive? Based on the works of St. John of the Cross’ the Dark Night, and St. Teresa of Avila’s Interior Castle, Drumwall is a science-fiction free-fall into a barbaric world where a Carmelite priest’s faith is pitted against man, the elements, and his own psyche. Echoing the Book of Job and the Psalms, Drumwall is a mix of Carmelite Spirituality and the Old and New Testaments. Drumwall is not just a look into the future, but a monumental recall of the past. Drumwall is a step into the supernatural realm of Christian mysticism, and its ultimate outcome in the life of one man. (Amazon Description)
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