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God is sufficiently wise and good, powerful and merciful, to turn even the most apparently disastrous events to the advantage of those who, in simplicity, humbly adore and accept His will in all that He permits.  

–  Father de Caussade, S.J.

Dear Friends of Carmel,

As the seasons change, we are reminded that we have not been in touch with a newsletter since June! It was a busy summer – as all seasons are at Carmel!

Though our days are “busy” and full, they remain simple in the Carmelite daily life of prayer and work. But this does not make us unaware of the complexity of life outside our enclosure – in the world and in the lives of millions. These past few years have been a harsh trial for many, and there is little sign of things changing for the better any time soon. Societal changes can and have happened, seemingly overnight. And the road back to some semblance of order and true peace (God’s peace) can be long, dark and narrow.

Simplicity in life and in our spiritual life is what our loving God desires for us.  God, Who is holiness and simplicity itself, and Who made us in His Own image, urges us by His grace in our souls, to become like Him.  But let it be remembered that it is not we, but God Who accomplishes this in us – He is our sanctity.  Our part in this great and necessary work of a lifetime is to cooperate with Divine grace, always disposing ourselves for His action.

We see, then, that Our Lord had “words of life” for Martha, too, and for us all.  For what is the “one thing necessary”? It is to live in God, with God and for God.  He Who created us, gives us through Baptism, sanctifying grace, a created share in His Own life.  We must live united to God.  We must stop in our tracks (well-worn) and recognize that this is what is really essential.  Perhaps those first words, “anxious and troubled,” are the key to understanding the simplicity Our Lord is offering to us.  Serve Me without wavering, with generosity and with zeal, but without fuss and bustle, without worry and disquiet of soul.  All these things cause yet more trouble, because they tend to turn attention to oneself – and not to God at all, in the end.

The Lord of all, Who knows all things and is ever with us, well knows that life is filled, sometimes to the brim, with dilemmas and difficulties. Christ Our Lord lived in this world the human existence, and He recognizes that life is complicated! Pain, annoyances, frustrations, agony of soul and body are truly the lot of this life, at least now and again – and for some, anguish is continual and unrelenting.

It is our nature always to be trying to solve the problems of life. That very problem-solving is our innate attempt at all times to simplify our existence. Some of the ways of doing it can include uncluttering our lives of needless things (“stuff,” as they say!), commitments and yes, even people. Honest and humble taking stock of our life, day by day, (remember the examination of conscience? and that true freedom is detachment from evil and sin?) leads to simplicity and peace. However, simple does not mean easy, and this work cannot be done all at once. But the gradual letting go, the will to surrender, for love of God, the things of this world, finds us on the path to simplicity. Of course, all of this must be done prudently, with prayer, discerning all according to our vocation and position in life. Admittedly, some burdens cannot be lifted by our effort, but must be borne as the crosses they are meant to be, sent from God and until God wills to relieve the soul of them. Humble, patient acceptance of these, with our gaze upon the God Who loves us, is simplicity at work.

The lesson of simplicity is really all about detachment and trustful abandonment to God and His Providence – all for love’s sake and for the life that we must share with God. It’s about love! Faith and hope, too, but mostly charity, which must become in our souls eternal and without measure. A balanced spiritual life in the state of sanctifying grace, that life that we do indeed share with God, will become more and more simple. We then “travel light”!

Let the holy ones of God teach us:
Unless you become as this little child … Take My yoke upon you… Nothing can separate us from the love of God

St. Augustine – “This very moment I may, if I desire, become the friend of God.”

Website News

Spiritual Reading For Simplicity

We are pleased to be able to offer yet another rare and out of print book from the Cross and Crown Series of Spirituality.  It is one of the last to be published in the series, and perhaps that is why we have found so few.  In any case, it is another treasure: Stages in Simplicity.  The Dominican author, Fr. Francis Florand, presents the virtue in its many aspects – taking into consideration the psychological make-up of man and our tendencies, both good and bad.  Beautiful chapters on the simplicity of Our Lady, the Saints, the Church open our eyes to the light of the Gospel, where we see the great Exemplar of simplicity, Our Lord, Himself.  Needless to say in a book about simplicity, a saint often mentioned is St. Therese, and here is one pertinent remark of Fr. Florand:

Perhaps we have not noticed enough that as a prelude to her extraordinary discovery of the “little way”… there was an effort at absolute honesty, a will for impartial realism in the examination of her own resources.  “When I compared myself to the saints,” she said, “I discovered that there exists between them and me the same disproportion that we see in nature between a mountain and a grain of sand.”  In this manner she takes stock of her limitations.  She is only a powerless and weak child.  “To become great,” she adds, “is impossible.  I must bear with myself such as I am, with my numerous imperfections.”  She concludes that if she must become a saint – and she must, indeed, since it is the vocation common to every Christian soul, even if only a “little soul” – she will succeed only by following a spirituality of littleness to which she will surrender with the maximum in strength…

We promise to continue searching for more copies of this little book, as we do with all of the others we have presented over these past few years.

Other books to help in the quest for simplicity of life and soul:

The Holy Rosary

We would also take this opportunity to remind you that if you are planning on a rosary for a Christmas gift, please order soon! 

Infant of Prague

Our devotion/sacramental for this newsletter fits in well with our theme of simplicity, and that is the Infant of Prague.  The history of this image is long and interesting – and closely tied to the Carmelite Order.  We hope and plan one day to add a more detailed presentation about the Infant of Prague devotion to our Doctrine & Devotions website pages.  But let the last part of the story, so significant for our own times, suffice for now.  The original statue of the Infant of Prague had been presented as a gift to the Carmelite friars of that city.  The Carmelites were later forced to flee from the city, and in the confusion of the war, they were unable to take with them their miraculous statue. The invaders seized it and threw it into a pile of rubbish.

In 1635, peace came to Prague, and the Carmelites returned. One of them, Father Cyril, who had previously, during his novitiate, received great spiritual help through his devotion to the Infant of Prague, sought the statue and found it amidst the rubbish, not noticing that the hands had been damaged in the violence.

Overjoyed, he again placed the statue in the oratory. Father Cyril knelt in prayer before the small statue. Gazing upon the simple statue of the Child Jesus, he contemplated the most marvelous event in the history of the world, the Incarnation. He was filled with awe and wonder as he prayed to the God who became a Child because of His love for us.

Suddenly, the statue spoke to him. Father Cyril was stunned as he heard, these words of promise:

Have mercy on Me and I will have mercy on you.
Give Me hands and I will give you peace.
The more you honor Me, the more I will bless you.

The devout priest worked generously for the restoration of the statue, and the promises of the Great Little King were fulfilled abundantly, not only for the Carmelite house, but for the city and many devout souls – for centuries.

Symbolism of the Infant of Prague Statue

In the early days of the Church, the elaborate stained glass windows, wood carvings, and statues that filled Catholic churches were more than just devotional pieces of art. Many people couldn’t read, but the stories of the Bible and the doctrines of Faith were thus portrayed in the Church to help instruct the people. So many religious statues and images of the Saints are full of symbols, which tell us far more about our Faith than first glace might suggest. The Infant of Prague is most especially one of these. It is a very didactic image that speaks to all of the essential truths about the Incarnation of the Son of God.

His right hand is raised in blessing, with two fingers raised, bound with one gold ring. The two fingers represent the two natures, both Divine and Human, existing in the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. In His left hand he holds an orb, representing the entire world, which He created and redeemed. The cross surmounting the globe, symbolizes the Redemption. The Infant is often shown with a cross also around His neck. On His head is a crown, proclaiming His absolute right as King to rule both Heaven and earth.

The statue is often, though not always, dressed in rich robes that reflect the colors of the Church’s liturgical seasons, a custom which ties the image to the Liturgy and Mass in a special way, unlike any other image of the Church. And it is a fitting custom, for Our Lord is the principle Priest who presides at every Mass.

Other Infant of Prague Sacramentals

We offer on our website several different replicas of the original Infant of Prague, both wood-carved and resin statues.  Less well known is the Chaplet of the Infant of Prague, composed by Venerable Sister Marguerite of the Blessed Sacrament. 

We also have a small booklet which gives a more complete history of the image as well as several devotional prayers, including the famous novena “in case of urgent need.” 

Advent

Reading for Advent and Christmas

We have carefully selected titles for these seasons over many years.  Bossuet’s Meditations for Advent provides doctrinal, devotional structure for daily prayer during these most prayerful seasons.  Hardly any of the Saints can compete with St. Francis de Sales for his love of Christmas.  His book of meditative conferences for Advent and Christmas are a joy: Advent and Christmas: The Sermons of St. Francis de Sales.  To immerse oneself in the special Advent and Christmas liturgy is the best way to observe the seasons – it is to pray with the Church.  Abbot Gueranger’s Liturgical Year offers no better way to accompany this prayer, with his explanations of scripture and prayers of the Masses, along with the edifying – and even fascinating history behind the seasons and customs of our ancestors in the Faith. 

Gregorian Chant

Hearing the prayer of the Church is another way of learning the true spirit of her prayer – and being united to it as faithful children of the Church.

Chapel Veils

Sterling Silver Religious Plaques

Many years ago we offered these devotional sterling silver plaques, artistry imported from Italy.  They are simply beautiful, and we are pleased to be able to bring them back to offer as wonderful gifts for homes, chapels and classrooms.

Community News

Carmel’s days always hold much work to do for the honor and glory of God, and the moments of the each day pass far too quickly. The word boredom has left our vocabulary, for every soul here is deeply involved in striving for the “one thing necessary,” and we know it to be found in our daily duty and the graces of the present moment all day long. Who could not be interested? But for us, too, obstacles, crosses and challenges present themselves to be offered to God. From God come answers and solutions.

They were slow to grow, and alas, the gophers got most of them! But we had a harvest that was delicious. We are hoping next spring, after another big sewing/embroidery project is completed, to devote more time and energy to growing our own food. Several good friends who are experts are waiting in the wings with generous help and advice. These small, industrious families shared their own fresh produce this summer, so that it almost seemed we grew it ourselves. God reward them all!

A new tunic gown was in order, complete with embroidery and capes with the colors of every liturgical season. The embroidery, ornate but simple, includes all of these colors and shades. We found mini “cope-clasps,” and replaced the plastic stones on the crown with Swarovski crystals. A couple of nicks were repaired, and the somewhat faded paint and gild work was touched up or redone, especially near the hands of the Infant.

The sewing room is littered with many little “practice capes,” as we pursued a “sure-fire” technique for getting the capes to fit correctly, have the trim actually be in a straight line – and not look war-torn in the end!  Our thoughts often went back to the Infant’s words “The more you honor Me, the more I will bless you,” – and we couldn’t help but think He was using this project to give us more and more opportunities to honor Him.  It has been a work of love for our Infant King, which engaged and even developed the special talents and labor of all of the Sisters.

As we were in the process of writing this letter, we celebrated the Feast of Our Holy Mother on October 15th.  It is a special day in Carmel, and we all took something of a break from our pressing duties to celebrate our holy foundress’ Feast day, with solemnly chanted Vespers and a festive meal.  A little over a month ago, on September 14th, when we renewed our vows in the bi-annual ceremony, Our Mother Prioress read to us these words of St. Teresa, which seem so fitting for these uncertain days:

It was such a timely reminder that nothing can stand in our way (the small obstacles such as unruly velvet, or the far larger ones in the world scene) of accomplishing our work for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.  The next few months will be busy ones at Carmel, but know that you will be in our thoughts and prayers as we turn our thoughts toward Advent, Christmas, and the End of Time.

In Christ,

Your Carmelite Sisters

My Peace and My Joy

By St. Therese, January 21, 1897

Traslated from the original French by Donald Kinney, OCD
from the book The Poetry of Saint Therese of Lisieux