Mi Dulcinea,

Thank you for the comment. It is so wonderful to observe the saints and they are such an inspiration to us all. In our quest for the Altar of God, we truly stand on the shoulders of giants. May God bless you and may you always be under the mantle of our dearest Blessed Mother.

your servant and campeon,

Elisha

Dear Rene, my sister in Christ,

I am glad that you like this video. We must always keep our eyes on Him, remembering that during the torment, He never abandons us. What a sweet and merciful Lord we have, who wants our hearts to remain calm. Let us have childlike confidence and faith in Him. We become saints not by during extraordinary things, but doing the ordinary things with extraordinary love and devotion to Him. I pray that we always remember that when we feel life is getting mundane, that we never lose focus to Whom we are truly doing everything for. May God protect you and yours my dearest sister and may you always grow in our sweet and blessed Carmel.

your servant in Mary, Queen of the Eucharist,

Elisha9821

Dear Rene, my sister in Christ,

You are most welcome. God bless you my dear sister and may Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ be with you always.

your servant in Mary, Queen of the Eucharist,

Elisha9821

Dear Marisol Soledad, my sister in Christ, I am so glad that you enjoy the videos. May God bless you my dear sister and may the Blessed Mother always be with you gently holding your hand.

your servant in Mary, Queen of the Eucharist,

Elisha9821

Dear Anonymous Scribe, my sister in Christ, I believe you are correct. However, I was only going by the title of the video that was on youtube. May God bless you always and may you remain under the mantle of our Blessed Mother.

your servant in Mary, Queen of the Eucharist,

Elisha9821

The three men (St. Francis and his companions) went together the few paces across the Assisi market-place to the church of San Niccolo… Here they entered and prayed together, whereupon Francis went up to the altar and took the mass-book, opened it and found the following words: "If thou wilt be perfect, go sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven." Twice more he opened the book, and found the first time, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me," and the next time: "And he commanded them that they should take nothing for the way." As Francis closed the book, he turned himself towards the two men and said: "Brothers, this is your life and our Rule, and not only ours, but all those who wish to live with us. Go away therefore and do that which you have heard!"

From "St Francis of Assisi" by Johannes Jorgensen

Dearest Rene, my sister in Christ, forgive me for such a long delay in responding to your comments. I am deeply humbled and I thank God that you find the videos edifying. May God bless you and yours my dearest sister and may you always be close to our Blessed Mother.

your servant in Mary, Queen of the Eucharist,

Elisha9821

Dear Jay, I deeply appreciate your kind words concerning this homily. But I must inform you that I am not a father, but a member of the laity. I am doing this for a friend who is part of the Holy Priesthood. May God bless you and may you be under the mantle of our Blessed Mother.

your servant in Mary, Queen of the Eucharist,

Elisha9821

The sick are encouraged to bear in mind the sufferings of Christ:
those who look after them the compassion of Christ.
In this way, the former will get strength to suffer patiently;
the latter, strength to serve readily.
-Guigo I

I malati dunque siano invitati a meditare sulle sofferenze di Cristo,
e chi li serve sulle sue misericordie.
Così i primi diverranno forti nel sopportare
e i secondi pronti nel soccorrere.
-Guigo I

THE AIM : CONTEMPLATION

Union with God in intimate love is the aim of every Christian life; what singles out the Carthusians is that they strive more directly toward this goal (cf. St 10:1: rectius). The entire life in Charterhouse is geared to this, that "we may the more ardently seek, the more quickly find, the more perfectly possess God himself in the depths of our souls; and thus, with the Lord’s help, we may be enabled to attain to the perfection of love - which is the aim of our Profession and of the whole monastic life - and through it, to obtain beatitude eternal"(St 1,4). To attain 'the one necessary thing', the Carthusians developed their own characteristic way of life marked essentially by solitude and silence.

About the importance of contemplation as the ultimate goal of a human being, a Carthusian wrote, in a letter to Thomas Merton : "Most men find their balance in life through action or creation. A totally contemplative life demands a special grace and a special faithfulness. It also requires a maturity, a richness of soul not often found among the converts. At least this seems to be the case from our experience. But to contemplate, in the first sense of the word, i.e. to gaze upon God while staying immobile, repose and purity being both the condition and the result of such a gaze, is truly speaking the real life, the eternal life for which we have been created."

Contemplative life requires a continual conversion. Each day anew a Carthusian monk tries to make himself transparent for God, to give himself to God with open hands, and with a mind free of worries and concerns. He thus keeps himself in a state of spiritual virginity.

In the interior and exterior silence of his solitude, the monk lives for God, and for God alone. The members of other monastic Orders also seek God in silence or solitude, but for Carthusians silence and solitude are the principal means to find Him. Inner silence - poverty in spirit - creates the empty space necessary to experience God's presence in our heart, which transcends all words. “Let him make a practice of resorting, from time to time, to a tranquil listening of the heart, that allows God to enter through all its doors and passages.” (St 4,2)

Solitude and silence help the Carthusian monk 'in a special way' to become aware of a great mystery that is present in every Christian (St. 2:2). The whole of Carthusian life helps the monks to live in God's presence: liturgy, work, study, community; everything is done in a climate of solitude and silence.

May God bless you also Rene.

your servant in Mary, Queen of the Eucharist,

Elisha9821

Salve, Regina, madre di misericordia, vita, dolcezza e speranza nostra, salve. A te ricorriamo, esuli figli di Eva; a te sospiriamo, gementi e piangenti in questa valle di lacrime. Orsù dunque, avvocata nostra, rivolgi a noi gli occhi tuoi misericordiosi. E mostraci, dopo questo esilio, Gesù, il frutto benedetto del tuo seno. O clemente, o pia, o dolce Vergine Maria. Amen.

Thank you so much for posting this. May you always be under the mantle of our dearest sweet Lady.

your servant in Mary, Queen of the Eucharist,

Elisha

Fabiana, my sister in Christ, what a wonderful and moving photo of Our Lord and God. Whenever I see Him, I am always reminded that we must not be caught up in grand productions with lighting and music and dances but we must focus on Him, adoring Him in the Silence and Solitude of the adoration chapel, with Heart speaking to heart. "Then the LORD said, 'Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD; the LORD will be passing by.' A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the LORD--but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake--but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was fire--but the LORD was not in the fire. After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound." (1 Kings 19.11-12) May we always run to Him in the Blessed Sacrament and adore Christ Our King!!! Thank you so much for posting this and God bless you my dearest sister.

your servant in Mary, Queen of the Eucharist,

Elisha9821

Act of Consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary Our Lady by Saint Louis de Montfort

CONSECRATION OF ONESELF TO JESUS CHRIST,
WISDOM INCARNATE,THROUGH THE HANDS OF MARY

True Devotion to Mary

223. Eternal and incarnate Wisdom, most lovable and adorable Jesus, true God and true man, only Son of the eternal Father and of Mary always Virgin, I adore you profoundly, dwelling in the splendour of your Father from all eternity and in the virginal womb of Mary, your most worthy Mother, at the time of your incarnation. I thank you for having emptied yourself in assuming the condition of a slave to set me free from the cruel slavery of the evil one. I praise and glorify you for having willingly chosen to obey Mary, your holy Mother, in all things, so that through her I may be a faithful slave of love.

But I must confess that I have not kept the vows and promises which I made to you so solemnly at my baptism. I have not fulfilled my obligations, and I do not deserve to be called your child or even your loving slave. Since I cannot lay claim to anything except what merits your rejection and displeasure, I dare no longer approach the holiness of your majesty on my own. That is why I turn to the intercession and the mercy of your holy Mother, whom you yourself have given me to mediate with you. Through her I hope to obtain from you contrition and pardon for my sins, and that Wisdom whom I desire to dwell in me always.

224. I turn to you, then, Mary immaculate, living tabernacle of God, in whom eternal Wisdom willed to receive the adoration of both men and angels.
I greet you as Queen of heaven and earth, for all that is under God has been made subject to your sovereignty.
I call upon you, the unfailing refuge of sinners, confident in your mercy that has never forsaken anyone.

Grant my desire for divine Wisdom and, in support of my petition, accept the promises and the offering of myself which I now make, conscious of my unworthiness.

225. I, an unfaithful sinner, renew and ratify today through you my baptismal promises. I renounce for ever Satan, his empty promises, and his evil designs, and I give myself completely to Jesus Christ, the incarnate Wisdom, to carry my cross after him for the rest of my life, and to be more faithful to him than I have been till now.

This day, with the whole court of heaven as witness, I choose you, Mary, as my Mother and Queen.
I surrender and consecrate myself to you, body and soul, with all that I possess, both spiritual and material, even including the spiritual value of all my actions, past, present, and to come. I give you the full right to dispose of me and all that belongs to me, without any reservations, in whatever way you please, for the greater glory of God in time and throughout eternity.

226. Accept, gracious Virgin, this little offering of my slavery to honour and imitate the obedience which eternal Wisdom willingly chose to have towards you, his Mother. I wish to acknowledge the authority which both of you have over this little worm and pitiful sinner. By it I wish also to thank God for the privileges bestowed on you by the Blessed Trinity. I solemnly declare that for the future I will try to honour and obey you in all things as your true slave of love.

O admirable Mother, present me to your dear Son as his slave now and for always, so that he who redeemed me through you, will now receive me through you.

227. Mother of mercy, grant me the favour of obtaining the true Wisdom of God, and so make me one of those whom you love, teach and guide, whom you nourish and protect as your children and slaves.
Virgin most faithful, make me in everything so committed a disciple, imitator, and slave of Jesus, your Son, incarnate Wisdom, that I may become, through your intercession and example, fully mature with the fullness which Jesus possessed on earth, and with the fullness of his glory in heaven. Amen.

On 17 July, 1794, in the closing days of the Reign of Terror led by Robespierre, sixteen Carmelite nuns of the Catholic Church were guillotined at the Barrière de Vincennes (nowadays Place de la Nation) in Paris. They were buried in a common grave at the Picpus Cemetery, where a single cross today marks the remains of the 1,306 victims of the guillotine. A mere handful of the French Revolution's victims, they have commanded the attention of historians, hagiographers, authors, playwrights, composers, and librettists for two hundred years. In the course of the 20th century, the Martyrs of Compiègne have been the subject of a massive scholarly history, a German novella, a French play, a film, and Francis Poulenc's opera Dialogues of the Carmelites. In 1902, Pope Leo XIII declared the nuns Venerable, the first step toward canonization. They were later beatified by Pius X in May, 1906: Carmelites celebrate the memory of the prioress, Blessed Teresa of St. Augustine (Lidoine), and her fifteen companions on July 17, and Catholics may adopt them as patrons. The bicentenary of their death was observed in 1994; many are petitioning for their canonization.
The martyrs consisted of fourteen nuns and lay sisters, and two servants:

Choir Nuns
Mother Teresa of St. Augustine, prioress (Madeleine-Claudine Ledoine) b. 1752
Mother St. Louis, sub-prioress (Marie-Anne [or Antoinett] Brideau) b. 1752
Mother Henriette of Jesus, ex-prioress (Marie-Françoise Gabrielle de Croissy) b. 1745
Sister Mary of Jesus Crucified (Marie-Anne Piedcourt) b. 1715
Sister Charlotte of the Resurrection, ex-sub-prioress and sacristan (Anne-Marie-Madeleine Thouret) b. 1715
Sister Euphrasia of the Immaculate Conception (Marie-Claude Cyprienne) b. 1736
Sister Teresa of the Sacred Heart of Mary (Marie-Antoniette Hanisset) b. 1740
Sister Julie Louise of Jesus, widow (Rose-Chrétien de la Neuville) b. 1741
Sister Teresa of St. Ignatius (Marie-Gabrielle Trézel) b. 1743
Sister Mary-Henrietta of Providence (Anne Petras) b. 1760
Sister Constance, novice (Marie-Geneviève Meunier) b. 1765

Lay Sisters
Sister St. Martha (Marie Dufour) b. 1742
Sister Mary of the Holy Spirit (Angélique Roussel) b. 1742
Sister St. Francis Xavier (Julie Vérolot) b. 1764

Servants
Catherine Soiron b. 1742
Thérèse Soiron b. 1748