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2 Mary And the Carmelite Saints First Published: 16 July 2018 (feast of OLMC) Updated: 8 December 2018 (feast of the Immaculate Conception) OCDS of the California – Arizona Province of St. Joseph, Phoenix Community Roy Curry, OCDS – President; [email protected] J. Jakob, OCDS; [email protected] 3 Table Of Contents Introduction……………………….……………………………....….5 St. Teresa of Jesus…………………..……………………..…...…6 St. John of the Cross………………………………………..…..13 St. Therese of Lisieux……………………………..…….…..….20 St. Elizabeth of the Trinity……………………….……....…..26 St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein)….....33 St. Teresa of the Andes.…………………….…..…..…..……40 St. Mary of Jesus Crucified.………………………….....……46 St. Raphael Kalinowski……..………………….……….…..…52 References…………………………………………………….….….58 4 Introduction In this short narrative entitled “Mary and the Carmelite Saints” we’ll look at the lives of eight famous Carmelite saints. We’ll learn about their experiences of Mary, what they wrote and what they taught about her. How Our Lady affected their lives. We’ll come to see how Mary made a tremendous impact on their lives, always helping them to grow closer to Our Lord. And in the same way too, as Carmelites we unite ourselves to Our Blessed Mother, with the hope of growing closer to Our Lord. Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin too much. You can never love her more than Jesus did. –St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe 5 St. Teresa of Jesus Her Personal Experience St. Teresa’s devotion to Our Lady began at an early age, after the loss of her mother at the age of 13. St. Teresa writes: In my affliction I went to an image of Our Lady and begged her with many tears to be a mother to me. It seems to me that although I did this in simplicity, it has been of much help for me; for I know that I have always found favor with this sovereign Lady when I have commended myself to her and in the end, she has drawn me to herself. --Life 1:7 6 Teresa had a special understanding of the presence of Mary in the paschal mystery of her Son, on the pain of her desolation and the joy in the Lord's resurrection. She loved to contemplate Mary's fortitude and her communion with Christ at the foot of the Cross. On various occasions it was given to her to contemplate the glorification of the Virgin on the feast of her Assumption. She was aware that the Virgin accompanied the community at prayer with her constant intercession, as happened at St. Joseph's in Avila and at the Incarnation. St. Teresa’s Teaching On Mary The Holy Mother had a profound mystical experience of Mary, and enjoyed her presence. Teresa also experienced the mysteries of Mary's life. Consequently in Teresa's doctrine there runs a deep belief that the mysteries of the Humanity of Christ and those of his Virgin Mother form part of the mystical experience of those tending toward perfection. Of the many virtues that Saint Teresa proposed for imitation there is one that contains all the others: Mary is the first Christian, the disciple of the Lord, the follower of Christ even to the foot of the Cross. --Way of Perfection, 26:8 7 For Teresa, Mary is the model of total adherence to the humanity of Christ and of communion with him in his mysteries. She is the model of a contemplation centered on the sacred Humanity. The Marian Model Everything is Marian in the Order according to St. Teresa -- the habit, the Rule, and the houses. When she was appointed Prioress of the Incarnation in 1571 she placed a statue of Mary in the first place in the choir -- for she knew that the devotion, love and respect of all the religious converged on Mary. 8 In her writings, the name of the Order is always linked to that of the Virgin who is the Lady, the Patron, and the Mother of the Order -- and of each one of its members. We keep the Rule of Our Lady of Carmel ... please God all will be for his glory and praise and that of the glorious Virgin Mary, whose habit we wear. -- Life 36:26, 28. In The Carmel Tradition In narrating the progress of the Reform, Teresa always took care to stress its connection with the Order, the service done for Our Lady, and the special protection provided by Mary on all occasions. Thus the Virgin appears actively in every description Teresa makes in her Interior Castle. 9 It is Mary who intercedes for sinners when they commend themselves to her. She is the Spouse of the Songs, the model of perfect souls. She is also Mother in that all her graces are summed up in her union with Christ in "much suffering” (Mansions I: 2:12). Her book of the Foundations also appears to have been written with continual allusion to the Virgin and her service. When she looks back at the end of the book she remarks: We rejoice to have been able to render some service to our Lady Mother and Patron... Little by little things have been done for the honor and glory of this glorious Virgin and her Son. -- Foundations 29:23,28. In fact, St. Teresa sees the Carmelite vocation as itself inspired by Mary: All of us who wear this holy habit of Carmel are called to prayer and contemplation. This call explains our origin; we are descendants of men who felt this call, of these holy fathers of Mount Carmel who in such great solitude and contempt for the world sought this treasure, this precious pearl we are talking about. -- Mansions V: 1:2 10 Even the separation of the Calced from the Discalced made by the Chapter of Alcala in 1581 was seen by St. Teresa as part of the peacemaking work of the Mother of God: Our Lord has done an important work ... for the honor and glory of his glorious Mother, for she is of the Order as Our Lady and Patron. -- Foundations 29:31 11 12 St. John of the Cross His Personal Experience St. John of the Cross came to Carmel at the age of twenty in the year 1563. Even at a young age, many of John’s biographers mention his great love and devotion to Mary. Some recount how on multiple occasions Mary intervened in an extraordinary way to save the saint from almost-certain death. As a young child, the Virgin saved his life when he fell into a pond at Fontiveros. Then at age 12, after falling into a deep well, he was rescued again after praying to Mary. Suddenly finding a piece of wood to hold onto, he avoided sinking and drowning… After John’s ordination to the priesthood in 1567, St. John came into contact with St. Teresa of Jesus and learned of her intent to reform the order. We know that John explained to her his intent to leave Carmel to join the Carthusians. Fortunately Teresa urged him to reconsider… 13 However, it has been suggested that during this exchange Teresa prevailed upon John’s great love for the Mother of God -- and this attraction to Mary helped him change his mind... If this suggestion is true, we could say that the Blessed Virgin not only brought St. John to Carmel, but also helped keep St. John in Carmel… St. John’s Marian Doctrine One might ask why St. John wrote so little about Mary directly. In actuality, John’s whole spiritual doctrine suggests an underlying Mariology. In his article “Mary and the Holy Spirit in the writings of St. John of the Cross”, Fr. Emmanuel J. Sullivan summarizes the matter neatly: For John, it is Mary who teaches us what constant intimate union with God means. It is Mary who shows us how to be responsive to the work of the Holy Spirit molding us in the image of her Son. And it is Mary who teaches us how to pray, and who helps us to learn and grow spiritually from our sufferings, so that we might more readily respond to and ease the sufferings of others. -- “Mary and the Holy Spirit in the Writings of St. John of the Cross”, by Fr. Emmanuel J. Sullivan 14 St. John’s Writings On Mary Let us consider a few of the texts where St. John does mention Mary. We find this passage in the Ascent of Mount Carmel: God alone moves these souls [who have reached habitual union with God] toward those works that are in harmony with his will and ordinance, and they cannot be moved toward others. Thus the works and prayer of these souls always produce their effect. Such were the prayer and the works of Our Lady, the most glorious Virgin raised from the very beginning to this high estate, she never had the form of any creature impressed in her soul, nor was she moved by any, for she was always moved by the Holy Spirit. --Ascent, Book 3, 2:10 15 This text shows us immediately that the Blessed Virgin was raised to perfect union from the first moment of her birth, and provides a clear basis for the Immaculate Conception. As the perfect, glorious one, it shows the value of the prayers and intercessions of Mary. It also brings into focus her openness to the workings of the Holy Spirit – which is essential. Another reference to Mary occurs in the Living Flame of Love. It describes the Blessed Virgin’s intimate union with the Holy Spirit: When a person is covered by a shadow, it is a sign that someone else is nearby to protect and favor.

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