May 01 2013 - Feast of Saint Joseph the Worker

The whole Church recognizes St Joseph as a patron and guardian. For centuries many different features of his life have caught the attention of believers. He was a man ever faithful to the mission God gave him. That is why, for many years now, I have liked to address him affectionately as "our father and lord."

St Joseph really is a father and lord. He protects those who revere him and accompanies them on their journey through this life — just as he protected and accompanied Jesus when he was growing up. As you get to know him, you discover that the holy patriarch is also a master of the interior life — for he teaches us to know Jesus and share our life with him, and to realize that we are part of God's family. St Joseph can teach us these lessons, because he is an ordinary man, a family man, a worker who earned his living by manual labour — all of which has great significance and is a source of happiness for us.

As we celebrate his feast day, I should like to remind you of him, and of what the Gospel says about him. This will help us find out what God is telling us through the simple life of Mary's husband.

Both St Matthew and St Luke tell us that Joseph came from a noble line — the house of David and Solomon, kings of Israel. The details of his ancestry are not quite clear. We don't know which of the Gospel's two genealogies refers to Joseph, Jesus' father according to Jewish law, and which to Mary, his Mother according to the flesh. Nor do we know if Joseph came from Bethlehem, where he went for the census, or Nazareth, where he lived and worked.

On the other hand, we do know that he was not well-to-do: he was just a worker, like so many millions of people throughout the world. He worked at the same demanding and humble job which God chose for himself when he took our flesh and came to live just like the rest of us for thirty years.

Scripture tells us St Joseph was a craftsman. Some Fathers of the Church add that he was a carpenter. When talking of the life of Jesus, St Justin says that he made ploughs and yokes. Perhaps that's why St Isidore of Seville concludes that St Joseph was a blacksmith. In any event, he was a workman who supplied the needs of his fellow citizens with a manual skill acquired through years of toil and sweat.

The Gospels give us a picture of Joseph as a remarkably sound man who was in no way frightened or shy of life. On the contrary, he faced up to problems, dealt with difficult situations and showed responsibility and initiative in whatever he was asked to do.(...) Joseph loved Jesus as a father loves his son and showed his love by giving him the best he had. Joseph, caring for the child as he had been commanded, made Jesus a craftsman, transmitting his own professional skill to him. So the neighbours of Nazareth will call Jesus both faber and fabri filius: the craftsman and the son of the craftsman. Jesus worked in Joseph's workshop and by Joseph's side. What must Joseph have been, how grace must have worked through him, that he should be able to fulfil this task of the human upbringing of the Son of God ! 

For Jesus must have resembled Joseph: in his way of working, in the features of his character, in his way of speaking. Jesus' realism, his eye for detail, the way he sat at table and broke bread, his preference for using everyday situations to give doctrine — all this reflects his childhood and the influence of Joseph.

It's not possible to ignore this sublime mystery: Jesus who is man, who speaks with the accent of a particular district of Israel, who resembles a carpenter called Joseph, is the Son of God. And who can teach God anything? But he is also truly man and lives a normal life: first, as a child, then as a boy helping in Joseph's workshop, finally as a grown man in the prime of life. "Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and grace before God and men."

In human life, Joseph was Jesus' master in their daily contact, full of refined affection, glad to deny himself to take better care of Jesus. Isn't that reason enough for us to consider this just man, this holy patriarch, in whom the faith of the old covenant bears fruit, as a master of interior life? Interior life is nothing but continual and direct conversation with Christ, so as to become one with him. And Joseph can tell us many things about Jesus. Therefore, never neglect devotion to him — Ite ad Ioseph: "Go to Joseph" — as christian tradition puts it in the words of the Old Testament.

A master of interior life, a worker deeply involved in his job, God's servant in continual contact with Jesus: that is Joseph. Ite ad Ioseph. With St Joseph, the Christian learns what it means to belong to God and fully to assume one's place among men, sanctifying the world. Get to know Joseph and you will find Jesus. Talk to Joseph and you will find Mary, who always sheds peace about her in that attractive workshop in Nazareth.

source:

http://www.escrivaworks.org/

Christ is Passing by, 39-56

 

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April 23 - Blessed Teresa Maria of the Cross

 

 
"Do what you want with me, it’s enough that I save souls for you.”

Teresa Maria Manetti (Bettina was her nickname.) was born at Campi Bisenzio, Florence, Italy. Daughter of Salvatore Manetti and Rosa Bigagli, Teresa had one brother, Adamo Raffaello. She lived her entire life in her small village.

Bettina had a cheerful, energetic disposition and a talent for organization and all the qualities which make for a good leader. At the age of 21, she rented a home with two other women who dedicated themselves to a life of prayer, penance, and charity. They cared for the sick and the poor and taught catechism to children. They were inspired by the writings of Saint Teresa of Avila, and had a special devotion to her. Many other women joined the small group. The women were admitted to the Teresian Third Order and Bettina took the new name of Teresa Maria of the Cross.

Two years later, she joined the Discalced Carmelites as a nun. Over the next few years she started schools in several Italian cities, each with it’s little group of Carmelite teachers. Her Institute of teaching nuns received approval from Pope Saint Pius X on February 27, 1904 as the Carmelite Sisters of Saint Teresa of Florence with a mission to teach and care for children, especially orphans. Like her inspiration, Saint Teresa of Avila, Teresa of the Cross met with much resistance to her work with the poor, much slander about her personal life, and a long period of spiritual dryness, but all who met her commented on the air of joy and peace she brought to her work.

She lived joyfully, body and soul the mystery of the Cross in full conformity to the will of God.  Teresa Maria was outstanding for her love for the Eucharist and her maternal care for children and for the poor. Her life was motivated by a consuming love for Christ and a desire to save souls.  She endeavored to live according to God’s holy will, and took delight in all the crosses which came through this purpose.  In a prayer she wrote: “To suffer, to suffer, always suffer. Do what you want with me, it’s enough that I save souls for you.”

The daily source for her energy was her devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and to the Virgin Mary.  Teresa Mary lived  without gratification instead seeking and finding peace of heart through a simple lifestyle and routine.  This simplicity allowed her to quietly explore the depths of her own soul where she continually united herself with the Lord in each aspect of her day.

She died at Campi Bisenzio on April 23, 1910 and was beatified on October 1986 by Pope John Paul II.

Prayer
O God, You sustained the virgin, Bl. Teresa Maria, along the way of the Cross by a most ardent love of the Eucharist, and You gave her a mother’s love for Your little ones and the poor. Through her intercession, grant that, strengthened by the bread of angels, we may delight in sharing the sufferings of Christ, and hasten the coming of Your kingdom through our own works of mercy. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Quote
"God makes saints with a chisel, not a paintbrush." ~ Blessed Teresa Maria of the Cross

Tags: Carmelite Saints, Taditional Lay Carmel, Traditional Carmelite, Third Order of Carmel, Lay Carmelite, Traditional Lay Carmelite Brazil, Anciente Observation.

Blessed Marie of the Incarnation - Abril 18th

BLESSED MARY of the INCARNATION

Carmelite  (1565-1618)

Blessed Mary of the Incarnation was born in Paris in February 1565; both of her parents were members of the most ancient families of that great city. Before she was born, several other children had seen the light of day, but all died in their infancy. During the time her mother awaited this child, she vowed her to the Blessed Virgin and Saint Claude, promising to clothe her in white until the age of seven and to offer her in a church of the Blessed Virgin. She was born a very healthy babe, and baptized with the name of Barbara, on the day after the Purification of Our Lady. She was of a gentle temperament and an angelic modesty, and at the age of eleven was placed as a intern student in a religious house of the Order of Saint Clare near Paris, where she had a maternal aunt. She continually advanced in virtue and felt great distaste for all the things of this world, along with an insatiable ardor for those of heaven.

When she returned home at the age of fourteen, she wished to enter a religious Order for the care of the sick in Paris, but her parents opposed this plan. Her mother informed her she would never permit her to become a nun. The young girl believed God was speaking to her through her mother and obeyed.

Several offers of marriage were presented, and before her eighteenth birthday she married Pierre Acarie de Villemor, a man of great nobility, piety and charity. Six children were born to them, and their pious mother raised them with great care. She taught them never to complain of circumstances or persons, inspired in them horror for lying, and strove to make them recognize in their hearts any sentiments of vainglory. Her three daughters became Carmelites, and her three sons entered, in turn, the magistracy, the priesthood and the military career.

When her husband encountered difficulties of a political nature, his household was seized, and the very furniture where the family was seated at table was removed from beneath them. She accepted these circumstances without growing troubled, and in fact defended her husband in court, drafting memoirs, writing letters and furnishing proofs of his innocence. He was acquitted and enabled to return to the city after three years.

Blessed Mary was so sage in her almsgiving that during a famine the wealthy persons who desired to help the poor caused their alms to pass through her hands, and this holy woman was universally honored. She entered into the spirit of the current reforms of the religious Orders and the foundation of new Congregations which were reviving the spirit of piety in France. Through her efforts she merited the title of Foundress of the Carmelites in France. Six nuns from Spain brought the spirit of Saint Teresa with them, and soon the principal cities of France had a house of this Order. Blessed Mary of the Incarnation also contributed to the works of the first Ursulines in Paris for the education of youth, and to the establishment of the Oratorians of Italy in France.

Her worthy spouse died in 1613; she then requested admission to the Carmelite Order herself. She arrived saying, “I am a poor mendicant who begs of you the divine mercy, and that I may cast myself into the arms of religion.” At Amiens where she dwelt, her own daughter was Superior; and a perpetual contest in humility began, observed by all. She died in 1618, on Wednesday of Easter week, at the age of fifty-two years, loved and praised by all who had known her. She was beatified by Pope Pius VI; her mortal remains are in the chapel of the Carmelites of Pontoise.

Source: Les Petits Bollandistes: Vies des Saints, by Msgr. Paul Guérin (Bloud et Barral: Paris, 1882), Vol. 4.

Reflection 

Wisdom enters through love, silence, and mortification. It is great wisdom to know how to be silent and to look at neither the remarks, nor the deeds, nor the lives of others.  

 St John of the Cross, OCD

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Carmelite Saints-April

NUNO OF ST. MARY

 (Nuno Alvares Pereira, The Holy Constable, 1360-1431)
Blessed, national hero of Portugal

Nuno was born at Sernache do Bomjardim (Portugal) on June 24, son of the noble, DonAlvaro Gonçalves Pereira, grand prior of the priory of Crato, of the Order of the Knightsof St. John of Jerusalem. Nuno grew up in the company of the knights dependent on hisfather and was given to the reading of the knightly and military deeds of the Round Table. At the age of thirteen he was admitted to the court of King Ferdinand, in view ofa military career. He soon gave such proofs of bravery that while still thirteen years oldhe was chosen as an equerry of the queen and created a knight. In imitation of Galahad,the pure knight of the Holy Grail, he would have wished to remain celibate; but, so as not to oppose his father, on Aug. 15, 1376, he consented to take Lady Eleonora de Alvim as his wife. He had three children, two of whom died young; the third, Beatrice, in 1401 married Don Alphonse, a son of King John I. Don Alphonse was also Count of Barcelosand the first Duke of Braganza, the founder of several princely and royal dynasties of Europe.

During the war between Portugal and Castile Nuno had many occasions to show hisvalor, which, however, was fully revealed only in the political crisis that followed the death of King Ferdinand (Oct. 22, 1383). Among the supporters of the right of Beatrice to the throne of Portugal—she was the daughter of the deceased King Ferdinand and thewife of the King of Castile—were not a few Portuguese, among them Nuno's ownbrothers. Nuno, however, tenaciously opposed the incorporation of Portugal into the kingdom of Castile and, in order to safeguard national independence, defended the candidacy of John, Master of Aviz, a brother of King Ferdinand; at the same time Nunoendeavored to overcome the hesitations and opposition of his compatriots. On April 6,1384, he overcame the followers of the King of Castile in the battle of Atoleiros. A year later the Master of Aviz was proclaimed king of Portugal, and he chose Nuno as his Constable. Thus, at only twenty-five years of age, Nuno became the supreme commander of the army. On Aug. 14, 1385, he engaged in the battle of Aljubarrota and the definitive defeat of the Castilians, despite the fact that the Portuguese were greatly outnumbered. Nuno then passed to the offensive and gained another glorious victory in

Castilian territory at Valverde (Oct. 1385). Atoleiros, Aljubarrota and Valverde were but the more salient points on a chain of guerilla encounters drawn out for several years.To his military valor Nuno joined a profound Christian piety. He nourished special devotion to the Most Blessed Sacrament and to the Virgin Mary; he assisted at two Masses every day, and three on Saturdays and Sundays. He went often to confession, and to Communion on Christmas, Easter, Pentecost and the feast of the Assumption. In honor of Our Lady he fasted on every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, as well as on the vigils of her feasts, even when they were days of battle. On his banner were depicted the sacred images of the Crucifixion, Our Lady, and the two patrons Of knighthood, St.James and St. George. Before battle he prepared his soldiers spiritually, exhorting them to trust in God and having them receive the sacraments. He attributed his stupendous victories to the help of God through the intercession of Our Lady. At Valverde, in the thick of the battle, when victory seemed unattainable, Nuno was found on his knees between two rocks, with hands raised up in the act of prayer.

He manifested his gratitude to Our Lady by making frequent pilgrimages to Marian sanctuaries and building churches in her honor. Thus, at Nuno's expense, the churches of Vila Viçosa, Souzel, Portel, Monsaraz, Mou-rao, fivora, Camarate were erected. All of them were dedicated to the Virgin Mary, as was the magnificent temple of Carmel in Lisbon, later destroyed by the earthquake of 1755. He also built a chapel to the Virgin Mary and to St. George exactly where his banner had stood during the battle of Aljubarrota. At Estremoz he completed the construction of a temple of Our Lady of the Martyrs, begun by King Ferdinand. Finally, bound up with the name of Nuno are the monastery and church of St. Mary of Victory, a masterpiece of Gothic architecture in Portugal and better know by the name of Batalha, ordered built by Don John I to commemorate the victory of Aljubarrota and to fulfill a vow made on the field of battle. After the death of his wife in 1387, Nuno constantly refused to enter into a second marriage.

Military engagements had made him live far from home ever since 1383; yet, according to the testimony of Portuguese historians, he always gave the example of anunsullied life and never tolerated any licentiousness among his soldiers. He was always very generous in assisting the needy of every kind. When definite peace had been reestablished with Castile, Nuno distributed a great part of his immense possessions to his comrades in arms. In 1415 he took part in the Portuguese expedition to Ceuta; and then on Aug. 15, 1423, to the wonder and surprise of the whole country, Nuno abandoned all his remaining possessions and was clothed in the Carmelite habit in the convent of Lisbon, which had also been established and endowed by him. He chose the status of the so-called Oblates and dedicated himself to the most humble tasks of the convent.

He took the name Brother Nuno of St. Mary. Only the intervention of the prince, Don Edward, son of King John I, was able to prevent him from actualizing his desire to betake himself to another convent far from Portugal, so that he could avoid the frequent visits of illustrious citizens. He also expressed the desire of begging publicly for his daily food, but his superiors and the same prince Edward did not allow him this. He died in 1431 /the same year as St. Joan of Arc/, probably on April 1, after eight years of a life completely dedicated to prayer and penance. His funeral was a most solemn celebration, with the participation of the entire royal court. He was buried in the Carmelite church of Lisbon.

The repute for holiness which Nuno already enjoyed during life increased marvelously after his death because of the multiplication of wonders and graces received by the faithful at his tomb. A list of these prodigies was quickly compiled and became know in Portuguese literature as The Book of the Miracles of the Holy Constable. King Edward had a silver lamp, which burned continuously, placed on Nuno's tomb. The visits to his tomb increased to such an extent that after a short while authentic pilgrimages were organized, in which the spontaneous devotion of the faithful at times assumed the character of religious-profane manifestations, with songs of popular verses exalting the virtues of the «Holy Count.» The public and ecclesiastical cult attributed to the servant of God increased constantly. His feast was celebrated on one of the first days of  November. However, the date of dedication of his first altar is not known.

The most ancient document that is known in regard to the canonization of Nuno is a letter preserved in the Mediceo-Laurenziana library of Florence (fondo Ashburnham,  cod. 1792 /1716/, vol. I, f. 20). It was written on July 21, 1437, by King Edward to the Portuguese Benedictine John Gomes, abbot of the monastery of St. Mary at Florence and the intermediary between the Portuguese court and Pope Eugene IV. In this letter the king asks the abbot to obtain from the pope a duplicate of the decree for the process of canonization of the Holy Constable, since the one already sent to Lisbon had not arrived. At the bottom of the letter is added a prayer composed by Don Peter, brother of the king, in honor of the servant of God. Succeeding demands for canonization were sent to the Holy See in 1641 by King John W and in 1674 by the Portuguese episcopate.

In 1894 the process of recognition of immemorial cult was begun. The sentence of the delegated judge, signed on March 7,1914, was confirmed by the S. Congregation of Rites on Jan. 15, 1918, and approved by Pope Benedict XV on Jan. 23, 1918. The feast of the blessed is celebrated on Nov. 6 in Portugal, and on April 1 in the Carmelite Order. On May 28, 1941, the decree for the reassumption of the cause of canonization was published. Finally, the deeds of Nuno have been sung by L. Camoes in the Lusiadas (canto IV, est. 376-411, and canto VIII, est. 780-84).

His liturgical celebration today has the rank of obligatory memorial for the Carmelites, and of optional memorial for the Discalced (however, the memorial is obligatory also for these latter in Portugal).

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Crónica do Condestdvel de Portugal of an anonymous contemporary of Nuno, printed for the first time at Lisbon in 1526 (succeding editions: Lisbon 1554 e1623; Porto 1848; Coimbra 1911; Lisbon 1937, 1947 e 1953); F. Lopes, Crónica de D.Joao I, written in the XV century: first edition, Lisbon 1644 (other editions: Lisbon 1897,1915; Porto 1940, 1945); S. Coelho Compendio das ehronicas da Ordem de Nossa Senhora do Carmo, Lisbon 1572; M. de Sa, Memorias historicas da Ordem de Nossa Senhora do Catrmo, Lisbon 1727; J. Pereira de Santana, Chronica dos Carmelitas, Lisbon 1745-1751; J. P. Oliveira Martins, A vida de Nun'Alvares, Lisbon 1893. This work which has already had eight editions, is the most diffused biography of Nuno. It is a work of great literary and historical worth, but theologically unacceptable, given the positivistic and rationalistic ideas of the author. E. Battaglia, L'eroe nazionale portoghese Beato Nuno Alvares Pereira, Rome 1918 /in an English digest by Gabriel Pausback, Blessed Nuno, Carmelite 2nd ed., Fatima, 1969/ V. A. Cordeiro, Vida do Beato Nuno Alvarez Pereira, 2» ed., Lisbon 1921; J. M. Haffert, The peacemaker who went to war, New York-Melbourne 1945; E. M. Cardoso A bibliografia condestabriana, Rome 1958 (224 works regarding the life and deeds of Nuno are listed.) M. da Soledade, Nun'Alvares o Santo Condestdvel, Braga 1959; J. Vaz de Carvalho, Nun'Alvares herdi e santo; 2» ed., Lisbon 1962; Antonio dos Reis Rodrigues, Nun'Alvares condestdvel e santo, (Lisbon)

1961.

Prayer

O Lord God,
you called Saint Nuno Álvares Pereira
to put aside his sword and follow Christ
under the Patronage of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
Through his prayers may we too deny ourselves,
and devote ourselves to you with all our hearts.
We ask this through Christ, Our Lord.

Read More : Nuno Alvares Pereira Biography

Elias Cardoso
http://www.blessednuno.org/