All posts by Anne Tschanz

Vocations, Women's Communities

Visitations Sisters’ Secret: God Is Our Vocation Director

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Any sign of growth in a religious community is a cause for rejoicing, and the Toledo, Ohio Visitation Nuns have much to be thankful for. The nuns recently accepted Sister Ashlie as a postulant (center); and Sister Katie as a first-year novice (second right); Sister Toni as a second-year novice (second left), Sister Maria Teresa (right) as a first-year temporary professed, and Sister Maria Cecilia (left) as a third-year temporary professed.

There were also two sisters recently who made their final profession: Sister Katherine Chantal (left); and Sister Veronica Teresa (right).

Thus, of seven of the 17 sisters in the community are more or less, new members.

What is surprising and hopeful is that these milestones all have occurred within the last nine months. Many communities in the western world, whether contemplative or active, go for years without seeing new faces.

“Our Secret”

“Our secret is that God is our Vocation Director,” said the community’s superior, Sr. Marie de Sales. “He sends them to us. It is interesting, we haven’t received a vocation from our Diocese in many years, but we hear from women in other states. Currently the women in formation are from Indiana, California, Illinois, New York and Texas.”

The backgrounds of the new members are varied: some were homeschooled; some attended Catholic grammar schools or high schools; they frequently came from devout Catholic families or were converts to the faith; and some came from families of four or more children.

Also, many were very active in their parishes in different ministries. The Sisters in formation are between ages 25 and 57. In the last week or so they’ve heard from two young women in their twenties.

How would you describe your charism/spirituality?

Sr. Marie de Sales: We are Daughters of Prayer; we are contemplatives (Seekers of God) striving to be all for God and as our Holy Father, St. Francis de Sales said, “to give to God daughters of prayer, and souls so interior that they may be found worthy to serve His infinite Majesty and to adore Him in spirit and in truth.”

How do you pray for the world events that seem to be so troubling today?

Sr. Marie de Sales: We hold it in our hearts and lift it into the Heart of Christ.

You are contemplative, with a set schedule of prayer, meals, recreation, and so on, but to what extent do you interact with friends and visitors in the Toledo area?

Sr. Marie de Sales: We go out for doctor appointments, grocery shopping, to visit one of our Sisters who may be in rehab, a nursing home or the hospital. We have visits in the parlor with our family and some friends. We attend daily Mass, and the Guard of Honor Holy Hour monthly. Our Sisters who serve as extern Sisters are the face of the monastery for the people who do come to the front door, the Mass, etc.

How do your new members typically find out about the Toledo Visitation?

Sr. Marie de Sales: It seems to be mostly word of mouth, particularly referred by another community (if older). We started our Facebook page ten years ago thinking we would receive vocation inquiries from it. There have been no more than three or four inquiries with Facebook during that time.

Founded by two saints

The Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary was founded in 1610 in Annecy, France by Saint Francis de Sales and Saint Jane de Chantal. The Visitation came to Toledo in 1915 from their Georgetown Monastery in Washington, D.C. at the invitation of Bishop Joseph Schrembs, the first bishop of the Diocese.

Today there are Visitation monasteries all over the world.

For information, or to inquire about a vocation to the Visitation Sisters, contact the Vocation Directress, Sr. Gianna Marie, Monastery of the Visitation, 1745 Parkside Blvd., Toledo, OH 46307-1599. Email toledoviz@toast2.net, or call 419-536-1343. Visit their website at www.Toledovisitation.org.

News, Women's Communities

School Sisters of St. Francis Have a New Name!

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What’s the answer to darkness?
Turn on the Light!

From the School Sisters of St. Francis

We are now officially able to use the name that has been in our hearts for so long!  The School Sisters of St. Francis held their General Chapter in January of 2023 in Vienna, Austria at the Motherhouse.  Ten days of dialogue, prayer, and decision-making for the entire congregation took place, one of which is our now-approved name: Franciscan Sisters of Christ the Light.

This is a fruit of years of searching and discerning – can the Sisters be the reflection of the Light of Christ, igniting that fire in every soul we encounter? Can we put our lights together to kindle a blazing inferno?  Does this desire correspond with the vision of our Mother Foundress (Maria Hyacintha Zechner (Maria Teresia 1697–1763)) and the Charism given to her by the Holy Spirit for the good of the Church and all of mankind?  Is there a need for the Light of Jesus Christ to be lit everywhere in society and in the Church?

The highest governing body of our Congregation, (while it is in session) the General Chapter, says YES!  There is affirmation of our request to the General Chapter to officially be Franciscan Sisters of Christ the Light along with the Charism Statement:
“We desire to be bearers of the Light of Christ to the spiritually hungry, the lonely and unloved, fostering this light in every soul we encounter.”

There is no doubt of the darkness in our world today.  No one can debate that; while there is much good to celebrate and nurture, darkness reigns among those who have not embraced the Light.  These are the spiritually hungry!  These are those who thirst for truth and hope but don’t know where to find it.

“What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (Jn 1: 1-5)

As we continue our age-old commitment to Christian education in old and new ways, we also renew our commitment to helping make families and marriages stronger through Gospel values and accompaniment. And our primary strategy? Turn on the Light and let in the Light of the World!  We want to show what a personal love relationship with Jesus looks like.  He is the answer to…everything.

“The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; to them that dwelt in the region of the shadow of death, light is risen” (Isaiah 9:2).

https://panhandlefranciscans.org

Men's communities, News

Missionaries of the Real Presence – Contemplative Missionaries for Urban Evangelization

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The Missionaries of the Real Presence are Contemplative Missionaries for Urban Evangelization. They are active-contemplatives, relying profoundly upon the contemplative life and the gifts of prayer found there, in order to go out into the streets, bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those that need it most.

They serve in areas known for their poverty and lack of Catholic presence, bringing Christ’s Real Presence from the church to the margins. Their days are structured around the Liturgy of the Hours, Holy Mass, Adoration, silence, spiritual reading and personal reflection. In between prayer, they go out into some of the poorest and most dangerous neighborhoods, walking joyfully and praying for everyone that they meet.

“When God gives us the opportunity,” said Griffin Rain, “we pray with the individuals we greet along the way, inviting them to the church and praying for their needs by adding them into our book of intentions. Our apostolate is to be missionaries and to go where others have neglected to spread the Good News! It is not complicated, but it requires a deeply spiritual life of devotion to God and love of souls. There are many groups dedicated to social work among the poor, but few to work for the salvation of souls in these areas.”

“We walk by faith, every day, and as we walk, we have no fear, because it is not we that are working but God who is working in us,” Griffin said.  “By this way of life, we have seen the most remarkable fruits growing in the neighborhoods we serve. Many have returned to the Catholic Church and many have begun the process of joining the Catholic Church since starting our ministry. We are always praying for the people who have nobody else to pray for them. We are always speaking life into the world around us, bringing Jesus Christ from house to house and corner to corner. We go out two by two, living the call of Christ to be ‘Fishers of Men.’”

They have interesting ties to the Parish Visitors of Mary Immaculate. Griffin discovered a book of conferences, given to the community by their foundress, Servant of God Mother Mary Teresa Tallon and it resonated with him. “The first chapter was exactly what I needed at that time,” he said, and he wondered if they had a men’s community, because he felt very connected to their charism to be contemplative missionaries.  “Mary Teresa Tallon has helped us to discover our charism and move closer to the will of God and see that what we are doing is not all that new, but has been going on with the Parish Visitors for over 100 years, “he said. “In her works, she often mentions how they are to be like the Good Shepherd going out to find the lost sheep who are away from God and His Church.”

Currently the Missionaries of the Real Presence has been assigned a priest from the archbishop of Milwaukee to accompany them in their process of being established as an Association of the Faithful. They hope to one day take formal vows of poverty, chastity and obedience and the three men currently living in the community are all living as if they have already taken them.

“What we pray for most earnestly is the sanctification of our own souls,” said Griffin, “the salvation of all souls, and for God to send more workmen into the fields.”

RealPresenceMissionaries.org

 

Cloistered life

“Contemplative Nuns Speak For Themselves” from Where Peter Is

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On the website Where Peter Is, there is a recent article on the implementation of the guidelines/instructions contained within Vultum Dei Quaerere and Cor Orans.  In the article, called “Contemplative Nuns Speak for Themselves,”  they cite the Institute on Religious Life and the series of articles we have been doing on the same topic. The IRL articles have been written by our National Director, Fr. Thomas Nelson, O.Praem, as well as by the nuns themselves.  So far, we have heard from the Passionists and the Carmelites with the Poor Clares and the Visitation nuns yet to come.  To read the articles: go to the CloisteredLife.com website,  resources page (middle of page), and click on the VDQ CO articles.

As it says in the Where Peter Is article: “At the same time that Fr. Nelson was planning the IRL’s series of articles, a similar, but much smaller, initiative began in the shape of a new website, Seeking the Face of God. This is a website “About Contemplative Nuns By Contemplative Nuns.” It was established by our friend Sr. Gabriela of the Incarnation, OCD, a Carmelite nun and a regular contributor to Where Peter Is.”  This is another resource for VDQ CO information.

More from Where Peter Is:

On May 15, 2018, the Vatican announced the promulgation of Cor Orans, the document containing the directives for communities of contemplative nuns around the world. In the years that followed, few Catholic websites in the United States have given a platform for contemplative communities who want to follow the Vatican’s directives to share their perspectives. Where Peter Is has covered Cor Orans and has provided a window into how some of the subsequent issues and controversies have affected these communities. You can find our series of articles here.

 

 

News, Women's Communities

Poor Clare First Profession in Santa Barbara

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Poor Clare First Profession Made in Santa Barbara, CA

God in His generosity has granted to the Poor Clares of Santa Barbara, CA a first profession in recent months.Sister Colette made her first profession on Aug. 2, 2022, professing vows of poverty, chastity, obedience and enclosure. These vows free the heart of all obstacles so that the person will be able to experience God’s love for her in a deeper and more profound manner than before.As St. Clare encourages, “Love Him totally, who has given Himself totally for you.”The Poor Clare Constitutions state,

“Religious profession is an act of adoration of God which shows forth splendidly the Pascal mystery, impelling us to lose our life that we may find it. It draws its sacrificial strength from the sacrifice of Christ. By our religious consecration we are totally set apart for God in a personal covenant of love, surrendered with Christ through the Spirit to the eternal Father.”

The Poor Clares in Santa Barbara are a member of the Poor Clare Federation of Mary Immaculate.  The member monasteries strive to be wholly faithful to the Roman Catholic Church and to their Holy Rule, written by their foundress, St. Clare of Assisi, 800 years ago.

Member monasteries include those in Santa Barbara, Chicago, Sauk Rapids, Los Altos Hills, Barhamsville, Kokomo, Belleville, St. Louis, Rockford, Roswell, Cleveland and Alexandria.  For information about vocations, contact Mother Aimee Marie, vocationssbpcc@gmail.com, or call (805) 682–7670. Go to their website at poorclaressantabarbara.org.

Liturgical Year, Women's Communities

Join the Dominican Nuns as they sing the Canticle of the Passion this Lent!

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From the Dominican Nuns in Marbury, Alabama…

The Canticle of the Passion, or the “Passion Verses” as we say, is a specifically Dominican devotion traditionally sung on the Fridays of Lent.  A compilation of texts from Sacred Scripture relating to the sufferings of Our Lord Jesus Christ, this devotion was revealed by the Blessed Virgin Mary to St. Catherine de Ricci, a cloistered Dominican Tertiary of the 16th century, after the Saint experienced the first of her many ecstasies sharing Our Lord’s Passion.

“Our Lady is said to have desired Catherine, when she revealed this Canticle to her, to spread it through the convent as a form of prayer and contemplation supremely pleasing to our Lord. The venerable confessor, Fra Timoteo, wrote it out in full at the saint’s dictation and submitted it for the approval of the Order. Padre Francesco di Castiglione had then become general, and he was not satisfied with allowing its use in San Vincenzio. By a circular letter to all monasteries of the Province he ordered it to be placed amongst the regular devotions and forms of prayer peculiar to the Dominicans; and it has remained celebrated amongst us, under the title Canticle of the Passion, as a monument to the tender love of our great Dominican saint, Catherine de Ricci, for her crucified Jesus”  (from St. Catherine de’ Ricci : Her Life, Her Letters, Her Community by Florence Mary Capes, p. 76-77).

The Canticle of the Passion is a good example of how Dominican devotions flow from and lead to the Liturgy.  Like the Liturgy, the Canticle is woven out of Sacred Scripture and sung to the haunting tones of our Dominican chant, leading us to enter more deeply into the solemn mysteries of this season of Passiontide and Holy Week.

The above is a recording of the Canticle of the Passion as we sang it during this Lent. (The chant we sing in Latin; we have added English subtitles along with pictorial meditations from sacred art.)

Click here to listen to the heavenly music!

 

Men's communities, Resources

Opportunity to Join Study Group on St. John of the Cross

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Want to be guided throughout 2023 by the great master of the spiritual life, St. John of the Cross? Now you can do this with a never-before offered online reflection series led by Dr. Susan Muto and the Centre for Applied Carmelite Spirituality in the U.K. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to engage with the spirituality of the 16th century mystic and writer under the direction of a world-renowned scholar,” said Fr. Alexander Ezechukwu, OCD, prior of the Oxford Carmelite Friars. “Participants will not only study St. John’s writings, but meet online on video once a month and interact with Dr. Muto,” Fr. Alexander said. The course is “The Sayings of Light and Love,” which is also the title of Dr. Muto’s forthcoming book on the spirituality of St. John of the Cross. “This is a perfect way to deepen one’s prayer life, draw closer to God and neighbor, and to sit at the feet of a great leader in Christian spirituality, Dr. Muto,” Fr. Alexander said. Dr. Muto is a leader in spirituality literature as well as executive director of the Epiphany Association, and dean of the Epiphany Academy of Formative Spirituality in Pittsburgh, PA. She is the author or co-author of more than sixty books on Catholic spirituality. The Centre for Applied Carmelite Spirituality (CACS) is the world’s foremost authority on applied Carmelite spirituality. It is a place of research and training that promotes the renewal and growth of the spiritual life, drawing on the rich resources of the venerable Carmelite tradition. The Centre strives to achieve this through retreats and structured study and training programs on spirituality from the Carmelite perspective. Its flagship program, the Spiritual Direction Formation Programme, is unique and has participants from all over the world. The Centre’s goal, whether through its in-person or online services, is to bring people to experience a life-transforming friendship with God through a lived experience of Carmelite spirituality that is authentic to its biblical roots. The CACS is located at the Carmelite Priory in Oxford, UK. The new course, “The Sayings of Light and Love,” consists of an online video meeting on the last Tuesday of each of 12 months. It will begin on Jan. 31 and will be led by Dr. Muto and a Carmelite friar. Participants will be sent 15 sayings of St. John of the Cross each month along with discussion questions.Participants are encouraged to meditate on the sayings and even record their reflections about them in a journal in preparation for each meeting. The Centre’s online programs have been very well received. A recent Advent online retreat attracted nearly 400 members. Its publishing house, which offers print, audio and video productions, is Teresian Press Publications. The core of Carmelite spirituality is a journey of the heart. One of the Oxford house friars has written that Carmelite spirituality is “like the exodus experience of God’s people and their meeting with the Lord in the wilderness.”  St. John of the Cross, along with St. Teresa of Avila, founded the Discalced Carmelite Order in the 1500s. They cooperated in forming a spirituality that appeals to friars and other consecrated persons as well as the laity. The online reading series is for anyone wishing to deepen their spiritual life, and grow to love God and neighbor more. Sign up for the course, “The Sayings of Light and Love,” at https://www.carmelite.uk.net/online-talks-retreats/sayings-of-light-and-love-series/

There is a charge for the program. Details can be found on the website.

The CACS is part of the Anglo-Irish province the Discalced Carmelites of the UK. Together with other provinces around the world, they belong to the worldwide Order of Discalced Carmelites, governed by the general curia.

Discernment, Women's Communities

A Poem Written by Sr. Mary Michael Huseman, OSF, Upon Entering Religious Life

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Is My Life Enough?

By Sr. Mary Michael Huseman, OSF
(Written as she was entering religious life in 1993)

What special gift do I have
To repay the One I love?
The One Who gives me everything –
Even grace from above.

I asked Him to forgive me
Of my many, many sins.
He said, “I will – you asked me with love.”
I wanted to repay Him. “Where do I begin?

How do I repay Someone…
Who died for me,
and forgave my sins?
Is there a fee?

How do I repay Someone
Who gave His flesh and blood…
Who gives me joy and peace
And fills me with love!?

I asked, “How could I repay You?
You’ve been here from the start!
There’s nothing I have that you could want.”
He said: “I want your heart.”

“What?!” I immediately thought.
“That is a lot to ask!
He took my heart. He took my life.
Now He wants this task?!

He went on to explain,
“If you will abandon your will to Me,
Then you will be part of my Heavenly Plan
That I’ve formed for eternity.”

“I have given you many gifts
And much grace from above.
Will you let Me use you
To save the people I love?”

Once again, I gave into Him,
For He melts my heart, you see.
“True happiness comes,” He said,
“When you come and follow me.”

“There may be days of darkness.
There may be times when you are blue.
But do not worry. Do not be sad.
I am ALWAYS with you!”

Sr. Mary Michael Huseman, OSF, grew up as the youngest of nine children in Nazareth, Texas, a German Catholic farming town. While visiting the shrine of the Eucharistic Miracle in Lanciano, Italy, she writes: “I was overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit with instant clarity.  All of my doubts about the faith disappeared.  The knowledge and truth of the Love of God for each soul on earth was tangible.  His keen interest in each and every person was amazingly beautiful.  I wanted to put my face on the ground, for it hit my heart the first time that I was truly standing in front of God!”

She eventually discerned the call to religious life and visited a local Franciscan convent to see how the sisters lived their lives, not thinking that this was the right community for her. “If you want to make God laugh,” she said, “tell Him your plans.”  She was was touched by the love the Sisters had for each other, their lifestyle, their traditionalism, their apostolate, and that they were Franciscan.  Sister Mary Michael is now the vocation director for the School Sisters of Third Order of St. Francis in Panhandle, Texas (www.panhandlefranciscans.org).  You can read her full vocation story in the November/December issue of Religious Life magazine.

News

Magdala Apostolate for Religious Sisters: A Testimonial from the Marian Sisters of Santa Rosa

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The Magdala Apostolate is an outreach project of the Institute of Catholic Culture and is dedicated to providing sound doctrinal formation—both initial and ongoing—for women religious and novices, in accord with the Church’s call for a new evangelization. Each term, they offer free, online, semester-long courses in the faith to any religious sister or community who applies. 

Here is a testimonial from the Marian Sisters of Santa Rosa who believe that this program provides their Sisters with orthodox, faithful and profound spiritual and academic formation that would be hard to obtain elsewhere.

“…Unity through charity, and pursuit of truth through learning”

As the Constitutions of the Marian Sisters of Santa Rosa are based upon the ancient Rule of St. Augustine, we are devoted to living according the above motto. In this “pursuit of truth through learning”, the Magdala Apostolate of the Institute of Catholic Culture has come to our unparalleled assistance.  In the decade since our founding we have been blessed with many beautiful vocations to our congregation, and as such our Mother House, Mater Dei Convent, is home to Sisters in every level of formation and profession. Mater Dei serves as Novitiate, House of Studies and Apostolic House all in one. Through courses offered through the Magdala Apostolate, formation is available for all our Sisters and their varying needs. As an individual and in community, our Sisters have benefited from the Magdala Apostolate from postulancy unto perpetual profession and beyond.

In the Postulate and Novitiate, the Philosophy, Scripture and Catechesis available through the Magdala Apostolate have constituted a foundational aspect of our formation program. The immense support that the Magdala Apostolate education provides for the Sisters’ ministries becomes all the more evident after profession when the Sisters, often teaching in some capacity, have a classroom of eager eyes, looking to them for the truth of History, Philosophy, Art, and—most importantly—the Faith.  Having been intellectually fortified for the task by the Magdala Apostolate, our Sisters are better equipped to meet this need.  Many Sisters have found the courses so helpful in this regard, that they will seek the opportunity to continue their education with the Magdala Apostolate through classes and recordings long after the profession of vows. Not only does the Magdala Apostolate provide edification for our Sisters intellectually but also spiritually. The many courses and special lectures on the liturgical year, lives of the saints, and spirituality have been utilized by the Sisters, as individuals and as a community, to expand our minds and hearts with the love and knowledge of God.

In sum, the Magdala Apostolate has enabled us to provide our Sisters with orthodox, faithful and profound spiritual and academic formation at a level that would be nigh impossible to receive without it. The ability to learn from our convent home, to enroll in courses that best suit our personal and community needs, and to know better and better through these courses the Lord who is the Lord of all truth so that we may, faithful to our charism, better impart “…the beauty goodness and truth of the Catholic Faith…”. With much gratitude to the generous benefactors of the Magdala Apostolate, and to all that labor with this wonderful branch of the Institute of Catholic Culture, we wholeheartedly pray that this apostolate grow, with Our Lord’s help, forming the minds and hearts of Religious so that we may in turn form the souls of those to whom we minister.

Registration for the Spring 2023 semester will close on Monday, January 9, 2023. The following is a list of courses:  

HISTORY & DEVELOPMENT OF THE CONSECRATED LIFE II—Mother Maria Regina van den Berg

THEOLOGICAL VIRTUES—Mark Wunsch, Ph.D. 

NICAEAN AND POST-NICAEAN FATHERS—John Pepino, Ph.D. 

INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW TESTAMENT—Ximena DeBroeck, Ph.D. 

SACRAMENTAL THEOLOGY—Rev. David Anderson 

BIBLICAL APOLOGETICS
—Rev. Sebastian Carnazzo, Ph.D. 

 In addition to their classes specifically for religious sisters, the Institute of Catholic Culture also offers courses online available for all in people seeking to learn more about the Faith, Catholic and non-Catholic alike. Here is one for the Spring semester: 

CATHOLIC POLITICAL THOUGHT 101—Chad Pecknold, Ph.D. 

 Religious sisters may register here: magdalaapostolate.org

General interest

The Experience of Beauty: Reflections From Rome by Fr. Eusebius Schwald, ORC

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Rome, November 8, 2022

Greetings from Rome!

As I have been granted the special grace to deepen spirituality studies in Rome, permit me to share some new insights. In these days, one of our professors mentioned a conference that Cardinal Ratzinger gave once about the experience of beauty[1]. Let me share some thoughts about it and add some reflections.

The experience of beauty always draws us out from the routine of daily life and sets us in a state of amazement: the greatness of the ocean with the rhythmic breaking of the waves, the breathtaking view from the top of mountains, the power that lies in a waterfall, the variety of colors and smells of flowers, the beautiful melodies and combination of tones in music, the millions of stars that speckle the night sky, the harmony of proportion, the play of light and combination of colors of different elements in sacred architecture, sculptures and paintings. There is so much beauty in the world! Just recently, I had several such experiences: the Coronation Mass of Mozart in Assumption Grotto parish in Detroit, and many beautiful churches here in Rome, especially St. Peter’s Basilica. Daily, thousands of tourists, many of them not even Catholics, flock these churches to admire their beauty.

Why does beauty attract us? We come from our brokenness, from the routine of daily life, we experience ugliness, corruption and sin, including our own weakness and failures. The encounter with beauty is, as Cardinal Ratzinger describes the view of Plato, “the salutary emotional shock that makes us leave our shell” and sparks our “enthusiasm” by attracting us to what is other than ourselves[2]. We have lost our original harmony, beauty and perfection, and by encountering beauty in different ways, we experience a longing in us for something that is beyond us, a longing and desire for harmony, peace, beauty and eternity, which experience is somehow “painful.” We are “wounded” by beauty.

On Friday, Divine Providence had a special visit for me in store. On the way to the University – my daily journey takes around one hour from our house to the University –  the bus stopped maybe 1 km away, and the bus driver told all passengers to get off the bus. It seems there was some road closure. I decided to walk and visit some churches on the way. The first one was Our Lady of Victory Church. It seems it is run by the Carmelites. On the side altar, I saw the famous beautiful sculpture of Santa Teresa while experiencing the mystical piercing of the heart” by an angel. St. Teresa was wounded by the beauty of God’s love. She describes it in her autobiography.

“Our Lord was pleased that I should have at times a vision of this kind: I saw an angel close by me, on my left side, in bodily form. This I am not accustomed to see, unless very rarely. Though I have visions of angels frequently, yet I see them only by an intellectual vision, such as I have spoken of before. It was our Lord’s will that in this vision I should see the angel in this wise. He was not large, but small of stature, and most beautiful—his face burning, as if he were one of the highest angels, who seem to be all of fire: they must be those whom we call cherubim. Their names they never tell me; but I see very well that there is in heaven so great a difference between one angel and another, and between these and the others, that I cannot explain it.

I saw in his hand a long spear of gold, and at the iron’s point there seemed to be a little fire. He appeared to me to be thrusting it at times into my heart and to pierce my very entrails; when he drew it out, he seemed to draw them out also, and to leave me all on fire with a great love of God. The pain was so great, that it made me moan; and yet so surpassing was the sweetness of this excessive pain, that I could not wish to be rid of it. The soul is satisfied now with nothing less than God. The pain is not bodily, but spiritual; though the body has its share in it, even a large one. It is a caressing of love so sweet which now takes place between the soul and God, that I pray God of His goodness to make him experience it who may think that I am lying. During the days that this lasted, I went about as if beside myself. I wished to see, or speak with, no one, but only to cherish my pain, which was to me a greater bliss than all created things could give me.”

The encounter with the beauty of God’s love “wounds” the soul. It’s nice and inspiring to read this account.

Actually, there are two ways of knowing God’s love[3]: through instruction (reading, study, listening to talks etc.), this is a second hand knowledge: we read the explanation of others who had an experience of the love of God, or explain it.

The second way is: the personal experience of GOD’S love, a direct relationship with reality. This is what happened to St. Teresa. Note, that this experience is not reserved to the saints. This is actually what we are asking the Archangel Raphael, the “arrow and medicine of Divine love”, when we pray in the Supplication to the holy Angels of the Opus Angelorum: “wound our hearts, we implore you, with the burning love of GOD and let this wound never heal, so that even in daily life we might always remain upon the path of love and overcome all things through love!” We are asking the holy Archangel to help us experience GOD’S love “first hand”; we are asking for a life-changing encounter, an encounter with the beauty of GOD’S love, that leaves a “wound” in us, a longing, a desire, a happiness that pulls us out of our habitual sins of daily life, that does not allow us to fall into a routine of daily life but stirs us up again and again to lift our eyes to heaven, give us hope and joy in midst of trials and dryness.

We have to ask for this grace and be open to receive it and expose ourselves to God’s love, especially in prayer. The beauty of the sea, the mountains, the stars, the flowers, the music give witness of this love!

We discover Christ’s beauty in different ways when contemplating the beauty of creation. Do we not sing:

  1. Beautiful Saviour, King of Creation, Son of God and Son of Man! Truly I’d love Thee, truly I’d serve Thee, Light of my soul, my joy, my crown.
  1. Fair are the meadows, Fair are the woodlands,Robed in the flowers of blooming spring; Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer, He makes our sorrowing spirit sing.
  1. Fair is the sunshine, Fair is the moonlight, Bright the sparkling stars on high;Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer Than all the angels in the sky.

Jesus is beautiful, especially because in Him appears the beauty of Truth, “the beauty of God himself who draws us to himself and, at the same time captures us with the wound of Love, the holy passion (eros), that enables us to go forth together, with and in the Church his Bride, to meet the Love who calls us”[4].

But there is still another aspect which we tend to forget easily in a world that is focused on worldly pleasures.

In St. Peter’s Basilica, we can see the Pieta of Michelangelo. Every day, thousands of people admire the beauty and harmony of this masterpiece of art. But why is this beautiful: a mother holding the lifeless body of her son in her arms, full of pain and sorrow? Is it not rather something that we tend to avoid? It is so attractive because it is the TRUTH, and because you can see LOVE. BEAUTY and SUFFERING do not contradict each other; in the suffering Christ we learn “that the beauty of truth also embraces offense, pain, and even the dark mystery of death, and that this can only be found in accepting suffering, not in ignoring it.”[5]

“It is precisely on the Cross that the One who in death appears to human eyes as disfigured and without beauty, so much so that the bystanders cover their faces (cf. Is 53:2-3), fully reveals the beauty and power of God’s love.”[6]

In the meditation – and not only meditation, but by exposing ourselves to it, reliving it –the Passio Domini, the Passion of Our Lord, we encounter in a very particular way the truth of the beauty of God’s love, revealed to us in the beauty of the suffering face of Jesus, so amazing, so attractive, because His love is true. Let us be wounded in this encounter with Christ’s beautiful, Crucified love, by experiencing that it is very personal! This love is especially present in the Eucharist and is poured out upon us anew every day!

Can we, then, not say: “How much He loves me, in spite of everything, how great is His love that created me, redeemed me and sanctifies me!”

With a blessing, I wish you this living encounter with God’s love, and ask your prayers,

Fr. Eusebius ORC

Website for the Canons regular of the Holy Cross: Cruzios.org

[1] CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH, “The Feeling of Things, the Contemplation of Beauty”, MESSAGE OF HIS EMINENCE CARD. JOSEPH RATZINGER TO THE COMMUNION AND LIBERATION (CL) MEETING AT RIMINI (24-30 AUGUST 2002)
[2] ibd.
[3] ibd.
[4] ibd.
[5] ibd.
[6] VITA CONSECRATA, JOHN PAUL II, 25 March 1996, n. 24