A blog for the St Teresa of Jesus OCDS Community in Raleigh NC
On November 5th Father Pier Giorgio of Christ the King, OCD, the son of one of our member, came to visit our community and gave us a presentation on St. Teresa of Jesus, her spiritual director Fr. Jerome Gratian, and how they coped with their many challenges and difficulties. I ran into some technical difficulties while making these videos but I managed the record most of it.
Everyone one of us, who were present, learned so much about Fr. Gratian's fascinating life!
Part 1
O glorious St. John of the Cross, through a pure desire of being like Jesus crucified, you longed for nothing so eagerly as to suffer, to be despised, and to be made little of by all; and your thirst after sufferings was so burning that your noble heart rejoiced in the midst of the cruelest torments and afflictions. Grant, I beseech you, O dear Saint, by the glory which your many sufferings have gained for you, to intercede for me and obtain from God for me a love of suffering, together with strength and grace to bear with firmness of mind all the trials and adversities which are the sure means to the happy attainment of all that awaits me in heaven. Dear Saint, from your most happy place in glory, hear, I beseech you, my prayers, so that after your example, full of love for the cross I may deserve to be your companion in glory. Amen.
Prayer:
My glorious father St. John of the Cross; overflowing with love for Mary and for the cross of her divine Son by which you merited to become the protector of afflicted souls, obtain for me from Jesus and Mary, I beseech you, an unwavering faith and a love of the cross so deep and so valiant that no possible misfortune will ever be able to separate me from the love of my God. Obtain for me also the special grace I ask through your intercession during this novena if it be for the glory of God and for my salvation (make your request).
Three Our Fathers and three Hail Marys.
Prayer:
Glorious St. John of the Cross, you preserved to death in unspotted brilliancy the radiant whiteness of your baptismal innocence, while nevertheless practicing the most cruel and persevering penance. In honor and imitation of this crucifying love, I entreat you that I may share your mortified and penitential life so that, even in this world, I may receive the grace to atone for my many sins, purify my soul, and acquire merit, that I may also enjoy heaven’s glory with you. Obtain for me also the special grace I ask through your intercession during this novena, if it be for the glory of God and for my salvation (make your request).
Three Our Fathers and three Hail Marys.
Prayer:
O my beloved father St. John of the Cross, your continual prayer merited for you the name of Ecstatic Doctor, favored with special graces in the guidance and direction of souls. I humbly beg you to enlighten my soul and to give me a relish for holy meditation that, detached from earthly things, I may love God alone and desire heaven only. Obtain for me also the special grace I ask through your intercession during this novena, if it be for the glory of God and for my salvation (make request).
Three Our Fathers and three Hail Marys.
Prayer:
Great St. John of the Cross, model of patience and generosity, for the glory of God and for the propagation of the holy reform of Carmel, you endured grievous trials and undertook heavy labors, finding, as did St. Paul, joy in opprobrium. Obtain from our Lord for me the grace of unalterable patience in adversity that I may thereby glorify God, have cleansed my souls of every stain, advance in the practice of solid virtue, and obtain at last the crown promised to those who suffer for the love of God. Obtain for me also the special grace I ask through your intercession during this novena, if it be for the glory of God and for my salvation (make request).
Three Our Fathers and three Hail Marys.
Prayer:
Dear St. John of the Cross, you exercised dominion over the powers of hell, often obliging them to relinquish the souls, as well as the bodies of their victims. Have compassion on me; ask God to preserve me from the temptations and deceits of these wicked spirits, not only throughout my life, but above all at the hour of my death, that persevering to the end in the grace and love of God, I may possess Him with you forever. Obtain for me also the special grace I ask through your intercession during this novena, if it be for the glory of God and for my salvation (make request).
Three Our Fathers and three Hail Marys.
Prayer:
Great St. John of the Cross, favored by our Lord and the glorious Virgin, His mother, in reward for your angelic life and with the precious gift of chastity, you converted many souls held captive by the most shameful passions. Obtain for me some share in so priceless a gift that, pure and chaste in soul and body, I may reach heaven where nothing stained may enter and where choirs of virgins follow the Lamb wherever He goes. Obtain for me also the special grace I ask through your intercession during this novena, if it be for the glory of God and for my salvation (make request).
Three Our Fathers and three Hail Marys.
Prayer:
Blessed father St. John of the Cross, in you was joined the most profound humility to the most sublime knowledge of the ways of God. Obtain for me real humility of heart, making me love humiliation and contempt that, despairing worldly vanity, I may learn from you to esteem only God and heavenly things. Obtain for me also the special grace I ask through your intercession during this novena, if it be for the glory of God and for my salvation (make request).
Three Our Fathers and three Hail Marys.
Prayer:
St. John of the Cross, my glorious protector, in your lifetime you were the father of the poor, the consoler of the afflicted and the assured refuge of the suffering; you worked miracles of charity for all, miracles which you repeat even now by means of your holy images and relics. Deign also to be my consoler and my father; comfort me in my sorrows and aid me to see in every cross a pledge of divine mercy that, through the cross, I may gain heaven. Obtain for me, too, the special grace I ask through your intercession during the novena, if it be for the glory of God and for my salvation (make request).
Three Our Fathers and three Hail Marys.
Prayer:
O my loving father St. John of the Cross, to imitate more perfectly our Lord, you generously renounced every consolation, even the spiritual; prayed to suffer and to be despised for God’s sake; and finally died suffering, happy to be condemned by men. Obtain for me the grace of abandonment to the Will of God that, placing all my joy and my hope in the passion of my Savior, I may at last rest eternally with you in His glory. Obtain for me also the special grace I ask through your intercession during this novena, if it be for the glory of God and for my salvation (make request).
Three Our Fathers and three Hail Marys
From: Meditations from Carmel
St Elizabeth of the Trinity
The Novena starts Friday November 30th.
Novena to St Elizabeth of the Trinity by ICS
A 9-Day Novena to St. Elizabeth of the Trinity by Discerning Hearts
Here are some links for the month of November.
November 6 Bl Josepha Naval Girbés, Virgin Tertiary (1820-93) – Optional Memorial
November 7 Bl Francis of Jesus, Mary Joseph Palau y Quer, Priest (1811-72) – Optional Memorial
Two Lesser-Known Carmelite Saints YouTube video on two lesser-known Carmelite Saints, Bl. Serafina of God and Bl. Francisco Palau.
November 8 St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, Virgin (1880-1906) – Memorial
CarmelCast St. Elizabeth of the Trinity and the Divine Indwelling
Elizabeth of the Trinity Short bio done before she was canonized. Nice piano music background similar to what she would have played before she entered the convent.
Saint Elizabeth of The Trinity – Heaven on Earth
"O My God, Trinity Whom I Adore" St Elizabeth prayer
“Holy Trinity, Whom I Adore” a prayer of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity by Discerning Hearts
ICS Publications St Elizabeth of the Trinity
Heaven in Faith: St. Elizabeth of the Trinity – with Dr. Anthony Lilles
The Last Retreat: St. Elizabeth of the Trinity – with Dr. Anthony Lilles
The Letters of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity with Dr. Anthony Lilles
Elisabeth Catez, ou, L'obsession de Dieu For those who read French. Beautifully written by Didier Decoin. À ne pas manquer! I wish there was an English translation.
November 13 Fast Day
November 14 All Carmelite Saints – Feast
November 15 All Carmelite Souls – Commemoration
November 19 St Raphael Kalinowski, Priest (1835-1907) – Memorial
Feast of St. Raphael Kalinowski Bio and novena
November 29 Bl Dionysius of the Nativity, Priest Martyr and Redemptus of the Cross, Lay Brother Martyr, (d. 1638) – Memorial
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| Sister Therese of the Child Jesus, novice, 1889 |
