Saint Teresa of the Andes

St Teresa of the Andes

Patronage: bodily ills, illness, sick people, sickness, young people in general

Before entering Carmel in 1918, a young eighteen year old Chilean girl, attracted by Christ, explained thus to her hurt and scandalized brother the reasons for her vocation: "There is, in the soul, an unquenchable thirst for happiness. I want to love something infinite, and I do not want the one I love to change or be a plaything of its passions, circumstances of time and life. Love, yes, but love the immutable Being, God, who has loved me infinitely from all eternity." The natural desire for happiness is of divine origin; God put it in man's heart in order to draw him to Himself who alone can fulfill it.

On March 21, 1993, at the canonization of Saint Teresa of the Andes, Pope John Paul II declared: "To a secularized society which lives with its back turned to God, I have the joy to present, as a model of the everlasting youth of the Gospel, this Chilean Carmelite. She brings to men of today the limpid witness of a life which proclaims that it is in the love, adoration and service of God that grandeur and joy, freedom and the full realization of the human creature are found. The life of Blessed Teresa cries out softly from the cloister: God alone suffices!"
Juana Fernandez Solar was born on July 13, 1900 in a well-to-do family of Santiago, Chile (Latin America). From her childhood she manifested an ardent personality, full of heart and intelligence and animated with a great desire for God.

In spite of these good dispositions, Juana did not lack defects. She was stubborn, vain and egoistic, given to pouting and whims. "I sometimes went into a ferocious rage," she would later say. With the help of her family (she had five brothers and sisters) and especially by the grace of her Baptism, she led a tough battle against her inclinations, especially against her hot and emotional temper, which was influenced by her fragile health. One day, her sister Rebecca was so taken away with Juana that she hit her with all her strength. Juana wanted to strike back with the same vigor but instead she kissed her. Victorious over her anger, Juana went meekly away.

Since then, my Jesus speaks to me. I did everything with Jesus and for Jesus."
On December 8, 1915, with the permission of her confessor, Juana consecrated herself to God by the vow of chastity. In 1916, Juana made her first retreat according to the method of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. After meditating on the "Call of Christ the King," she wrote: "Be disposed to follow Jesus wherever He wants. He chose poverty, humiliations, the cross. In spite of her trials and illnesses, Juana remained a joyful and friendly young girl.

Juana heard God's call: "How happy I am, my dear little sister!" she wrote Rebecca on April 15, 1916. "Each day I long to go to Carmel to be occupied with Jesus alone, to be merged into Him and no longer live but on His life: to love and suffer to save souls. Yes, I thirst for souls because I know that is what my Jesus loves most. The demands of conversion concern all the children of the Church. By the vow of poverty, they forsake the personal possession of earthly goods; by the vow of chastity, they renounce marriage; by the vow of obedience, they surrender legitimate autonomy in the direction of their life. This absolute love is a valuable example for all Christians.

In September 1917, Juana wrote to the Prioress of the Carmelite Convent of Los Andes, situated at the foot of the mountain range of the same name, 70 km from Santiago, and expressed her desire to enter the convent. "The life of a Carmelite is suffering, love and prayer, and such is my ideal. My Reverend Mother, my Jesus has taught me these three things ever since my childhood."

In the spring of 1918, she offered herself as a victim of love and expiation, in answer to an inspiration of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Shortly afterwards, her soul was shrouded in darkness. She confided to a priest her state of interior suffering, adding: "I am not surprised, my Reverend Father, because I have asked Christ to deprive me of all consolation, so that other souls whom I love may find peace and joy in the sacraments and prayer."

The redemptive Passion of Christ has conferred a new meaning upon suffering which is a consequence of original sin: it can now be a share in the salvific work of Jesus. There is a constant bond of love and an abundant exchange of all goods among the faithful-those in Heaven, in Purgatory and on the earth-which is called the communion of saints. On January 11, 1919, Juana and her mother visited the Carmelite Convent of Los Andes, chosen because it was the poorest in Chile.

Mrs. Fernandez had been observing the action of grace in her daughter's soul. In the spring of 1919, Juana, wrote to her father in order to obtain his consent. Going against the natural instincts of his heart, he answered, "My child, if such is the will of God, I am not opposed." Filled with joy, Juana exclaimed: "Saint Joseph has done the miracle!"

On May 7, 1919, the doors of the Carmel of Los Andes closed behind the postulant who would be called Sister Teresa of Jesus, Teresa of the Andes. "Blessed be God," she wrote to her mother the following day. "I am in my little convent. I am taking great care to walk in wooden shoes. In every religious community, poverty is in honor. Without denying the worth of created goods, voluntary poverty places them in their true, contingent perspective. Its first meaning is to bear witness to God who is the true wealth of the human heart, out of imitation of Christ in poverty: Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven (Mt 5: 3). In a materialistic world so often eager to possess, oblivious to the needs and sufferings of the weakest, evangelical poverty forcefully exposes the idolatry of money.

On October 14, 1919, Sister Teresa received the Carmelite habit, in the presence of her family and a number of friends. At the beginning of March 1920, Sister Teresa affirmed that she would die in a month. On the 12th, after just eleven months of Carmelite life, Sister Teresa of Jesus entered into the joy of Heaven.

The influence of Saint Teresa of the Andes is surprising for a young girl who died at the age of twenty. Her life, inconspicuous for a society impressed with temporal success, is nevertheless proposed by the Church as an example of human achievement. The secret of Chile's saint is found in her deep union with Christ and in the practice of true love, poured forth in our hearts, by the Holy Ghost, who is given to us (Rm 5: 5). This Love, unlike the false love which seeks egoistic pleasure, is identified with the gift of self without counting; it procures true happiness for man.

When I love, it’s forever. A Carmelite never forgets. From her small cell, she accompanies the souls she has loved in the world' (August 1919). Teresa's burning love moved her to long to suffer with Jesus and like Jesus. `We are co-redeemers of the world, and the redemption of souls is not accomplished without the cross'

Pope John Paul II declared at her canonization: "God made the light of His Son Jesus Christ shine in her in a wonderful fashion, so that she might be a beacon and a guide for a blind world which is incapable of discerning divine splendor To youths who are continually being attracted by the messages and suggestions of an erotic culture, to a society which confuses authentic love which is the gift of self, with the hedonistic use (for one's own pleasure) of others, this young virgin of the Andes proclaims the beauty and the happiness which flows from pure hearts.

Some thoughts of St Teresa of Los Andes

"Who can make me happier than God? I find all things in Him.

"Always look for God. In Him is the source of all bliss. Apart from Him, happiness is impossible. God alone suffices... Men's hearts love one day and on the next they are indifferent. God alone never changes.

I shall take great pains to work for the happiness of others... My resolution: to sacrifice myself for others.... I must strive to be more loving.

A believing soul possesses all things because it possesses God... Everything changes when you look at this divine Sun... With faith, sufferings are transformed.

When you are in love, everything is a joy; the cross is no burden and you are unaffected by martyrdom; you live in heaven rather than on earth.

How your life would be transformed if you went to Jesus often as to your intimate friend!

Let us take notice of our neighbour and serve him, even though we find it repugnant to do so. In this way we will find that the throne of our heart will be occupied by its Owner, by God.

In the shadow of the Cross, all bitterness vanishes... Souls are shaped on the anvil of sorrows.

To lovingly offer ourselves to the Father in order to accomplish his adorable will. This I reckon is the plan of holiness.

God is thirsting for the love of His creatures. The same God is our beggar. Let us give ourselves to Him. Let us not be mean... Let us not look at what we are doing, but at the extent of our failure to correspond to His love.

Always take the Most Blessed Virgin as your model. Speak to her, heart to heart... Ask her to be your guide, to be your star, the lighthouse which shines in the midst of the darkness of your life.

Blessed Titus Brandsma-Martyr

Blessed Titus Brandsma

Not too many people have heard of the heroic Priest Titus Brandsma; let us take a more intimate look at this great man of Faith and courage, who lived the true meaning of living and dying for love of God and his fellow man.

Anno Brandsma was born in a little hamlet area of Friesland, Holland in the year 1881 on February 23; he was born into a very tight knit but loving family. His Mother was of an anxious nature and so was very protective of her family, as was his Father, Titus, who was also very proud of their Friesland heritage. Catholicism was not well embraced where the Brandsma family lived and so Titus as head of their home became involved in local politics as he tried hard to preserve their culture from modern intrusion.

But also apart from politics Titus, Anno's father made his living as a dairy farmer in that region of Holland, where he focused on producing milk and cheese to be sold. It was hard living with very few modern conviences, so all the children from early on were raised with a great work ethic as well as a strong Catholic Faith.

Anno attended the Franciscan school or 'gymnasium' at Megen, Holland, many of the students from this school like Anno would later enter the Priesthood. But Anno told others that he didn’t particularly like this school and preferred a more communal approach in living and studying their Faith and the schools other curricular activities.

Upon completion of his studies with the Franciscans, Anno Brandsma felt a calling to embrace the Carmelite Order; he entered the Carmelite Monastery in Boxmeer Holland in the year 1898, where he took his fathers name Titus as his religious name. From the beginning of entering the Carmelite Monastery, Titus showed an extraordinary gift for journalism and writing. Titus was ordained a Catholic Priest on June 17, 1905, and after further studies at the Roman Gregorian University, graduated on October 25, 1909 with a doctorate in philosophy.

Father Titus Brandsma spent his early Ministry in education where he joined the faculty of the newly founded Catholic University of Nijmegen in 1923. Because of Fr. Titus journalistic interests and gift of writing the Archbishop De Jong of Utrecht appointed Fr. Titus as spiritual advisor to the staff members of the more than thirty Catholic newspapers in Holland; this coincided with the more virulent and tyrannical presence of the Chancellor of Germany, Adolf Hitler! It didn’t take long for Fr. Titus to begin criticizing the new German Leadership.

When the Germans invaded Holland in the year 1940 then began the persecution of the Jewish people, upon this the Dutch resistance rose up to counteract the Nazi oppression. Also the Catholic Hierarchy announced that the Sacraments would be refused to Catholics who supported the Nazi occupation and it’s Regime!

During this difficult and most dangerous of times Fr. Titus Brandsma also became more involved in the Dutch resistance, making little effort to conceal his activities from the Nazi's. And it was his refusal and the Church's refusal to print National Socialist propaganda which infuriated the Nazi's. Especially as Fr. Titus also felt compelled to personally deliver to each Catholic editor a letter from the bishops ordering them not to comply with a new law requiring them to print official Nazi publications.

This proved to be too much provocation for the Nazi's and they arrested Father Titus on January 19, 1942; he was interned at Scheveningen and Amersfoort in Holland before being sent to Dachau, where he arrived on June 19, 1942.

Father Titus Brandsma's health was always a little fragile and he suffered periodically with kidney infections throughout the 1930's. So the brutal conditions at Dachau quickly saw his health decline rapidly. Fr. Titus had many times to visit the camp 'hospital' due to his health problems, which then enabled the Nazi's to use this Holy Priest for biological experiments!

But even though Father Titus was imprisoned at Dachau, these were not empty years, as Fr. Titus kept up his prolific abilities to write with deep and mystical meaning upon suffering, and also other holy works.

But unfortunately this Holy Priest health could not stand up to the brutal beatings, forced labour and the vile experiments upon his emaciated figure. Father Titus Brandsma a man and a Priest of Holy and Courageous countenance was killed by the Nazi's with a lethal injection on July 26th in 1942!

This was a Priest who lived a joy filled life even amidst the greatest evil; he is a testament to the Spirit of Love for God and his fellow man. He is a modern mystic, though many of his writings were lost during the years of the war what remained is Mystical Theology based on his own sufferings and that of the Church. Though he did not seek martyrdom yet he bowed with humility when it embraced him as one who is called to atone for the many. With a Christ like love he forgave his enemies and is a shining example of love conquering evil!

Titus Brandsma, 0. Carm. was declared Blessed by Pope John Paul, II on November 1985.

Peace of Christ to you ALL

Copyright © 2005 Marie Smith. All rights reserved.

Saints Joachim and Anne

Saints Joachim and Anne- Parents of the Virgin Mary

Feast Day-July 26th

Saint Joachim

Husband of St. Anne and father of the Virgin Mary and grandfather of Jesus Christ. Joachim meaning “Yahweh prepares”.

Patronage

Fathers, grandfathers, grandparents


Representation

Man bringing a lamb to the altar and being turned away by the priest; greeting and/or kissing Saint Anne at the Golden Gate; elderly man carrying a basket of doves and a staff; elderly man with the child Mary.


Saint Anne

Mother of Our Lady. Grandmother of Jesus Christ. Wife of Saint Joachim. Anne meaning “grace” or “gracious one”

Patronage

Against poverty, broom makers, cabinetmakers, Canada, carpenters, childless people, equestrians, France, grandmothers, grandparents, homemakers, horse men, housewives, lace makers, lace workers, lost articles, miners, mothers, diocese of Norwich, Connecticut, old-clothes dealers, poverty, pregnancy, pregnant women, Quebec, Santa Ana Indian Pueblo, riders, seamstresses, stablemen, sterility, Taos New Mexico, turners, women in labor.

Representation

Book, symbol of her careful instruction of Mary; flowering rod; crown; nest of young birds; door; Golden Gate of Jerusalem; book; infant Virgin in crib; Shield has silver border masoned in black, with silver lily on a blue field referring to the girlhood of the Virgin. Often Portrayed As: Woman holding Mary or Jesus in her arms or lap; Woman at her betrothal to Joachim; Mother teaching Mary to read the Bible; Woman greeting Saint Joachim at Golden Gate; woman with a book in her hand.


It was in the home of Joachim and Ann where the Virgin Mary received her training to be the Mother of God. Joachim belonged to the tribe of Judah and the house of David. Tradition tells us that he and his wife came from Galilee. They lived in Nazareth and there the Blessed Mother lived.

Joachim was a prominent and respected man who had no children, having no children was seen as a curse from God in that time. They continued to pray and God answered their prayers when the Virgin Mary was born. She was dedicated to God at a very early age. This was their greatest honour, to be the parent's of Mary, the Mother of God and the Grandparents of Jesus.
It was in the womb of Saint Anne that Mary was immaculately conceived. From the first instant of her life, she was in a state of grace and free from all stain of Original Sin. It was her parents, Anne and Joachim that raised her to be faithful to God's word and remain free of sin. They taught her to love and follow God's word and to know and understand the Scriptures. Three very considerable proofs may be adduced of their ardent love for God: the sanctity of their manners and the purity of their life, which, says St. Jerome, was simple, innocent and upright before God, and irreproachable before men; their great charity for their neighbor which is the just measure of one's love for God, since if we have little for the one, we have little for the other. If charity for our neighbor dwells not in our heart, neither does love of God dwell there: "If any man say I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar" (1 Jn. 4:20). Finally, their love for God led them to deprive themselves of their well beloved Child, their sole glory, treasure, consolation, all their delight.

According to the words of the Son of God, humility is the measure of sanctity (Mt. 18:4). The very eminent sanctity of St. Joachim and St. Anne, then, is conclusive proof that their humility was profound. Moreover, God elevated them to the sublime dignity of father and mother of the Queen of Heaven, and grandparents of the sovereign Monarch of the universe. This is another infallible proof of their wonderful humility, since Divine Majesty exalts only the humble.
When the Angel Gabriel came to her at the Annunciation, Mary knew the prophecies of Jesus' life and death. She knew the full extent of the honour and pain she would experience when she gave her 'fiat.'

The way Mary dealt with crisis and how she cared for Elizabeth when she was pregnant give clues to the influence of her parents.

St. John Damascene, speaking of St. Joachim and St. Anne, writes :

O blessed couple, all the world is indebted to you, for it is by your means that it can offer to its Creator the most excellent gift possible, her who is worthy to be Mother of His only Son. O blessed Joachim, who hast merited to be father of the most holy Mother of God! O worthy womb of Ann, which formed, nourished and produced so holy and marvelous a fruit, which carried within it a living heaven more vast than all the heavens! O blessed breasts, which fed the nurse of Him Who nourishes the world! O miracle of miracles! O most prodigious of all marvels! O blessed Joachim and Ann, who, in living chastely and holily, have produced the treasure of virginity!


God of our fathers, you gave Saints Joachim and Anne the privilege of being the parents of Mary, the mother of your incarnate Son. May their prayers help us to attain the salvation you have promised to your people. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

Saint Peregrine Laziosi

Also known as: Peregrinus

Born: Forli, Italy 1265

Died: Forli, Italy May 1, 1345

Beatified: September 11, 1702 by Pope Clement XI

Canonized: December 27, 1726 by Pope Benedict XIII

Patronage: Cancer patients; against cancer; AIDS sufferers; breast cancer; open sores; sick people; skin diseases; Forli,Italy

Saint Peregrine was born wealthy, and spent a wild, worldly youth, and became involved in politics. He was initially strong anti-Catholic. At the time, Forli was governed by the Pope as part of the Papal States, and Peregrine's family was involved in the opposition to the Papal rule. The city was under the Church penalty of interdict which meant that Mass and the Sacraments could not be celebrated there. Saint Philip Benizi had gone to Forli to preach reconciliation, and the impetuous Peregrine struck him across the face, and Saint Philip Benizi, calmly turned the other cheek, prayed for Peregrine, and Peregrine converted.

Peregrine received a vision of Our Lady who told him to go to Siena, Italy and join the Servites. After training and ordination he was assigned to his home town. He lived and worked in silence and in solitude as much as possible, and without sitting down for 30 years as penance for his youthful life. When he did speak, he was an excellent orator, fervent preacher, and gentle confessor.

At the age of 60, as a result of his penance from all those years of standing, he developed varicose veins which deteriorated into an open, running sore on his leg, which was eventually diagnosed as cancer. The sore became so obvious, odorous, and painful, that Peregrine was scheduled to have the leg amputated. All night long the night before the operation, he prayed before the image of the crucified Christ. He received a vision of Christ coming down from the Cross and touching and healing his leg. Upon awakening, he found the sore healed, and his leg saved. He lived another 20 years before dying of natural causes at the age of 80. The people of Forli chose him as the Patron Saint of their city.

Copyright © 2005 Steve Smith. All rights reserved.

Saint Jude Thaddeus-Apostle and Martyr

Saint Jude Thaddeus

Memorial:28 October (Roman Church); 19 June (Eastern Church)

Patronage: desperate situations; forgotten causes; hospital workers; hospitals; impossible causes; lost causes diocese of Saint Petersburg, Florida

Representation: axe; bearded man holding an oar; boat; boat hook; book; club; square rule; sword; nearly every image depicts him wearing a medallion with a profile of Jesus, and usually with a small flame above his head; often carries a pen or sits at a writing location to make reference to the canonical Epistle.

Saint Jude Thaddeus was one of the Twelve Apostles. He was a a brother of Saint James the Lesser, nephew of Joseph and Mary, and a blood relative of Our Savior, and reputed to look a lot like him. He may have been a fisherman. He preached in Judea, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Persia with Saint Simon. He wrote an Epistle (letter) which is in the New Testament.

He is the patron of lost or desperate causes, and several reasons are given for this patronage. The first, is that early Christians often confused him with the traitor Judas, and as a result of the confusion between the names, never prayed to him, and devotion to him became something of a lost cause. The second comes from his Epistle where he stressed that the faithful should persevere in the harsh and desperate environment faced by Christians in those times.

Jude was the one who at the Last Supper, asked the Lord why He would not manifest Himself to the world after His resurrection. Not much more is known of his life. He was martyred in Armenia which was then controlled by the Persians. He was beaten to death with a club, then beheaded postmortem. His relics are at Saint Peter's, Rome, at Rheims, and at Toulouse, France .

Copyright © 2005 Steve Smith. All rights reserved.