With great joy and hope we present the first electronic newsletter for the Lay Carmelites. This initiative is the result of our first meeting with the new General Commission for the Carmelite Laity and Youth of our Order. Reflection on this international group has led to the desire to strengthen two aspects during this sexennium: spiritual formation and communications.
We are sure that this newsletter will be a good way to learn more about our charism and spirituality, as well as the various projects of the laity and youth in different parts of the world. In this issue we highlight the figure of St. Albert of Jerusalem, the Latin Patriarch of the Holy Land who gave us the Carmelite Rule and whose eighth centenary of death we are celebrating this year. We appreciate your suggestions and contributions for future editions of this E-Bulletin. Any news regarding lay Carmelites and Carmelite Youth, please send to us at (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).
Please click here to download the E-bulletin
Pope Francis
To Monsignor Jesus Garcia Burillo, Bishop of Avila
Dear Brother:
On March 28, 1515, a girl was born in Avila who in time would be known as Saint Teresa of Jesus. As the fifth centenary of her birth approaches, I turn my gaze to that city to thank God for the gift of this great woman and to encourage the faithful of the beloved Diocese of Avila and all Spaniards to know the history of this famous founder, as well as to read her books that, together with her daughters in the numerous Carmelite convents spread throughout the world, continue to tell us who and how Mother Teresa was and what she can teach us, the men and women of today.
In the school of this roving Saint we learn to be pilgrims. The image of The Way can synthesize very well the lesson of her life and of her work. She understood her life as a journey of perfection by which God leads man, dwelling after dwelling, to Him and, at the same time, starts on the path to men. On what paths does the Lord want to lead us, in the footprints and by the hand of Saint Teresa? I would like to mention four, which have done me much good: the path of joy, of prayer, of fraternity and of time itself.
Teresa of Jesus invites her nuns to “go, serving joyfully” (The Way, 18, 5). True holiness is joy, because “a sad Saint is a sorry Saint.” Rather than being forced Saints, the Saints are the fruit of God’s grace to men. Each Saint manifests to us a feature of the multi-form face of God. In Saint Teresa we contemplate the God who, being “sovereign Majesty, eternal Wisdom” (Poem 2), reveals Himself to be close and a companion, who delights in conversing with men: God rejoices with us. And, born in the Saint on feeling His love was an infectious joy, which she could not dissimulate and which she transmitted to her surroundings.
This joy is a path that must be followed throughout life. It is not instantaneous, superficial, riotous. It must be procured already “at the beginning” (Life, 13, 1). It expresses the inner joy of the soul, it is humble and “modest” (cf. Foundations, 12, 1). It is not obtained by an easy path that avoids renunciation, suffering or the cross, but is found in enduring works and sorrows (cf. Life, 6, 2; 30, 8), looking at the Crucified and seeking the Risen One (cf. Way, 26, 4). So Saint Teresa’s joy was not egoistic or self-referential, but as that of Heaven. It consists in “rejoicing that all are joyful” (Way, 30, 5), putting oneself at the service of others with selfless love. As she said to one of her convents in difficulties, so the Saint also says to us today, especially to young people: “Do not cease to be joyful!” (Letter 284, 4). The Gospel is not a lead bag that is dragged with effort, but a source of joy that fills the heart with God and impels it to serve brothers!
The Saint also followed the path of prayer, which she described beautifully as a “friendship being often alone with the One we know loves us” (Life, 8, 5). When the times are “tough,” “strong friends of God” are necessary to support the weak (Life, 15, 5). To pray is not a way of fleeing, or putting oneself in a bubble, or isolating oneself, but of advancing in a friendship that grows all the more the more one addresses the Lord, “true friend” and faithful travel “companion,” with whom one can “suffer everything,” as He always “helps, gives strength and never fails” (Life, 22, 6). To pray “is not to think much but to love much” (Dwellings, IV, 1, 7); in turning one’s eyes to look at the one who does not cease to look at us lovingly and to suffer us patiently (cf. Way, 26, 3-4). God can lead souls to Himself on many paths, but prayer is the “sure path” (Life, 21, 5). To leave off prayer is to get lost (cf. Life, 19, 6). This advice of the Saint is of perennial timeliness. Go forward, then, on the path of prayer, with determination, without pausing, to the end! This is singularly true for all members of consecrated life. In a culture of the provisional, live the fidelity of “for ever, ever, ever” (Life, 1, 5); in a world without hope, show the fecundity of an “enamored heart” (Poem 5); and in a society with so many idols, be witnesses that “God alone suffices” (Poem 9).
We cannot go on this path alone, but together. For the reforming Saint, the path of prayer passes by the way of fraternity in the heart of Mother Church. This was her providential answer, born of divine inspiration and of her feminine intuition, to the problems of the Church and of the society of her time: to found small communities of women that, in imitation of the “Apostolic College,” would follow Christ, living the Gospel simply and supporting the whole Church with a life made up of prayer. “”He brought you here for this, Sisters” (Way, 2, 5) and this was the promise: “that Christ would go with us” (Life, 32, 11). What a lovely description of fraternity in the Church: to go together with Christ as brothers! To do this, Teresa does not recommend many things, but simply three: to love one another very much, to strip oneself of everything and to have true humility that “although I say it at the end is the principal base and embraces all the others” (Way, 4, 4). How she would desire, in these times, more fraternal communities where this path is followed: to walk in the truth of the humility that frees us from ourselves, to love others more and better, especially the poorest! There is nothing lovelier than to live and die as children of this Mother Church!
Precisely because she is a Mother with open doors, the Church is always walking toward men to take to them that “living water” (cf. John 4:10) that waters the garden of their thirsting heart. The holy writer and teacher of prayer was at the same time a founder and missionary on the roads of Spain. Her mystical experience did not separate her from the world or from people’s preoccupations. On the contrary, it gave her new impulse and courage for action and the duties of each day, because “the Lord is” also “among the cooking-pots” (Foundations, 5, 8). She lived the difficulties of her time, which were so complicated, without yielding to the temptation of bitter lament, but instead accepting them in faith as an opportunity to take another step on the path. Because, “it is always the time for God to do great favors to one who truly serves Him” (Foundations, 4, 6).
Teresa says to us today: Pray more to understand well what is happening around you and so to act better. Prayer conquers pessimism and generates good initiatives (cf. Dwellings VII, 4, 6). This is Teresian realism, which calls for works instead of emotions, and love instead of dreams, the realism of humble love in face of a laborious asceticism! Sometimes the Saint abbreviates her charming letters saying: “We are on the way” (Letter 469, 7.9), as an expression of the urgency to continue to the end with the task begun. When the world is burning, one cannot lose time in matters of little importance. May she infect all with this holy haste to go on the paths of our own time, with the Gospel in hand and the Spirit in our hearts!
“It is time to walk!” (Ana of Saint Bartholomew, Last Actions of Saint Teresa’s Life). These words of Saint Teresa of Avila, on the point of dying, are the synthesis of her life and become for us, especially for the Carmelite family, her Avila fellow countrymen and all Spaniards, a precious legacy to keep and enrich.
Dear Brother, with my cordial greeting, I say to all: It is time to walk, going on the paths of joy, of prayer, of fraternity, of time lived as a grace! Let us go on the paths of life by the hand of Saint Teresa. Her footprints lead us always to Jesus.
I ask you, please, to pray for me, as I need it. May Jesus bless you and the Holy Virgin take care of you.
Fraternally,
FRANCIS
A Celebration of the 8th Centenary of the Death of St. Albert of Jerusalem
From the 10th to the 2th of October, 2014, at the St. Albert’s International Centre in Rome, a symposium was held, to celebrate the 8th Centenary of the death of St. Albert of Jerusalem. On the invitation of the General Council, some eighty people including friars, nuns, religious sisters and lay carmelites, from Rome and from farther afield, in Europe and in Brazil, took part in the event. The celebration opened on the 10th with Evening Prayer at which the Provost General of the Discalced Carmelites, Fr. Saverio Cannistrà, presided. The words of welcome were given by the Prior General, Fr. Fernando Millán Romeral, O.Carm. and the President of the Institutum Carmelitanum, Fr. Michael Plattig, O.Carm.
The morning of the 11th of October was taken up with the lectures given first by Fr. Vincenzo Mosca, O.Carm. (Neap) on the biography of St. Albert and on his role in relation to the Carmelite Order, and then by Fr. Kees Waaijman, O.Carm. (Neer) on “Silence and Work in the Carmelite Rule”, After these two conferences the participants went into groups to reflect on the following themes: The Rule and Research; The Rule and Pastoral Ministry; The Rule and Contemplation, and The Rule and the Carmelite Family.
In the afternoon, Bro. Patrick Mullins, O.Carm., (Hib) and Fr. Bruno Secondin, O.Carm. (Ita) responded to the two morning conferences and Sr. Anastasia of the Carmelite community of Ravenna (RAV) presented a summary of all that was said.
A particularly significant moment was the address given by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and successor of St. Albert, his Beatitude, Fouad Twal, who spoke about the situation of Christians in the Holy Land at the present time.
The Patriarch also led the celebration of the Eucharist on Sunday morning, the 12th of October in the Carmelite church of Santa Maria in Traspontina. The concelebrants included, the bishop of Stockholm in Sweden, Anders Arborelius, a Discalced Carmelite, and the two Priors General, Fernando and Saverio along with Carmelites from both branches of the Order.
A round-table made up of all the speakers, and chaired by the President of the Institutum Carmelitanum, as the final act of the syposium, brought out the various aspects of the role of St. Albert as law-giver, not only at the beginning but for all Carmelites who wish to live in the way that he set out as the foundation for Carmelite life in the “formula Vitae” written for the hermits on Mount Carmel.
At the end, the Prior General, Fr. Fernando thanked all the organisers for their work, and the members of the community of St. Albert’s International Centre for their hospitality which contributed handsomely to the success of the celebration, that took place in a spirit both of fraternity and of family.
Bishop Boyce
Here is a homily given Sunday by Bishop Philip Boyce of Rapho, at Mass in RTÉ studios, Donnybrook.
* * *
There’s a lovely story told about the life of Saint Teresa, one handed down to us by tradition. One day as she was making her way along the corridor in the convent of the Incarnation, in Avila, she saw a small boy standing at the foot of the stairs.
‘Who are you?’ the child asked her
‘I am Teresa of Jesus’, she told him
‘And who are you?
‘I am Jesus of Teresa’, the child replied, and vanished.
The story beautifully illustrates the deep love and friendship that existed between Teresa and the one she liked to call ‘the Good Jesus’
Indeed it was this passionate love for Jesus that filled her whole life. Despite bitter opposition, misunderstandings and poor health, she faithfully followed a divine call, filled with a burning love for the Lord.
Teresa was a woman of exceptional human qualities: warm and sociable, charming and intelligent. She had a great gift for friendship and had many friends. She loved life and all things human and she said herself she had little time for sour-faced saints. It’s little wonder that she has become one of the most endearing of all Christian saints and the most approachable of the mystics.
Saint Teresa was born in 1515, five hundred years ago, in the walled city of Avila in Spain. At the age of twenty-one she entered the Carmelite convent of the Incarnation. She spent twenty years, she tells us ‘on a stormy sea’, torn by countless distractions and the endless comings and goings of the convent. But she always tried to be faithful to prayer and, in the end, it was prayer that enabled her to make a total surrender of herself to God. She fell in love with Jesus and there was no turning back. A new life and a new world opened up for her.
The resulting explosion of love and her desire to do ‘great things for God’ could not be contained within the enclosed walls of a convent but overflowed in action and love for the Church, namely, the foundation of the Carmelite reform.
Teresa spent the last twenty years of her life establishing the Carmelite reform throughout the length and breadth of Spain, from Burgos in the north to Seville in the south, a distance of three hundred miles. Each foundation brought its own hardship: negotiations with civil and ecclesiastical authorities, local opposition, misunderstanding, financial worries and exhausting journeys along winding roads and rough terrain. Before she died in 1582 there were seventeen convents of nuns and fifteen monasteries of friars stretching from one end of Spain to the other.
One of the other great legacies of Saint Teresa is her writings. These have enriched the Church for the past five hundred years. She was a reluctant writer at first but once she set her pen to paper she was on fire with inspiration. Her writings reflect, in a very personal way, the richness of her own spiritual journey and are a faithful witness to her own dynamic spirit. The ease and down-to-earth quality of her writing has made her one of best and surest guides in the restless searching of the human spirit. Little wonder that she was declared Doctor of the Church by Pope Paul VI in 1970 - the first woman to be given that title. She is one of the great mystical figures of the Church, not simply on account of the extraordinary graces she received, but more so because of her gift of being able to communicate and put into words what is almost beyond words.
Prayer is what she talks about most of all in her writings. For her, prayer was about friendship, friendship with the Lord. Like any friendship it grows by communication, and that’s what prayer was for her; a heart-to-heart conversation with someone she knew loved her.
So attractive is her message that many still follow her Carmelite way of life. Indeed, there may be some young women or young men tuned in to our broadcast this morning who feel called to a life of total dedication to God and to the Church in a Carmelite convent or monastery. Let them not be afraid to take the step.
But the greatness of Teresa is not in her achievements or in her writings, but in her own love of God. It is not what she tells us about herself that matters most but what she tells us of God. The essential witness of Teresa is to the reality of the spiritual world, a world in which God is encountered as real and personal, as someone who loves each one of us unconditionally and is intimately involved in the everyday realities of our lives.
God, she tells us, has so many enemies and so few friends that these friends should be good ones. She certainly was a friend of God, a daughter of the Church and a servant of love. And she invites and encourages us to share that journey with her.
http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/bishop-boyce-praises-testimony-of-st-teresa-of-jesus
The beginning of the 5th Centenary of the birth of Saint Teresa of Avila is now close. We have received news of various events that are happening in various parts of the world which we would like to share with you in chronological order. These are in addition to those we have already publicised (citoc-online 91/2013):
In July the “Teresian Carmelite Family” in Portugal made a pilgrimage to places associated with Teresa in Spain with over 500 people taking part. This association, created for the centenary is made up of the Carmelites, Discalced Carmelites, the Congregations of Sisters and groups of Lay Carmelites. It is now organising a second spirituality congress on the theme of “The Christian Mystical Experience” which will take place in Fatima from 17th – 19th October 2014.
An ongoing formation course took place took place for the Iberian Region in Salamanca from 5th - 6th August on “The Carmelite Milieu of St. Theresa” (Jordi M. Gil, O.Carm.) and “The Presence of the Saint in the City of Salamanca” (Desiderio Garcia, O.Carm.)
The General Commission for Formation organised an ongoing formation course at CITES in Avila from 7th – 17th September 2014. 48 Carmelites from 16 countries took part in the course which focussed on the life and doctrine of Saint Teresa (see citoc-online 82/2014).
In Ireland on 12th October Mass celebrated by Mons Philip Boyce, OCD will be televised from Donnybrook with both branches of the Order taking part. On 22nd November Professor Donna Orsuto will give a conference at our house in Whitefriars Street, Dublin, for the whole Carmelite Family.
The Carmelite Forum of Britain and Ireland which is a collaborative project of the whole Carmelite Family in Britain and Ireland are preparing a whole series of liturgies, events and lectures. The Centenary year will begin with opening Masses celebrated both in Dublin (Saint Teresa’s Discalced Carmelite Church in Clarendon Street) and in London (Our Lady of Mount Carmel Discalced Carmelite Church in Kensington). The forum has established a website as a central resource for the Centenary and this can be found at www.teresaofavila.org
In Australia the “Carmelites Together” association includes the various branches and groups of the Carmelite Family. During October 2015 they are organising a pilgrimage to Teresian sites in Spain which will be led by Greg Burke, OCD and Paul Gurr, O.Carm.
The Elective Chapter of the Carmelite Monastery of Seville, Spain, was held 7-8 October 2014. The following were elected:
- Prioress: Sr. M. de Cristo Rey Mora Pérez, O.Carm.
- 1st Councilor: Sr. M. Teresa Molina Sánchez, O.Carm.
- 2nd Councilor: Sr. M. Isabel Moreno de la Torre, O.Carm.
- 3rd Councilor: Sr. M. Asunción Granados Arellano, O.Carm.
- 4th Couniclor: Sr. Hermelinda de Mª Guadalupe Bal Pichiyá, O.Carm.
- Director of Novices: Sr. M. Teresa Molina Sánchez, O.Carm.
- Treasurer: Sr. Blanca de Jesús Toro Sierra, O.Carm.
- Sacristan: Sr. Hermelinda de Mª Guadalupe Bal Pichiyá, O.Carm.
The Elective Chapter of the Carmelite Monastery of Fontiveros, Spain, was held 6 October 2014. The following were elected:
- Prioress: Sr. Fátima M. de la Redención Luna Ceballos, O.Carm.
- 1st Councilor: Sr. M. del Pilar de la Trinidad Felipe García, O.Carm.
- 2nd Councilor and Treasurer: Sr M. Carmela de la Cruz Ronquillo Diamat., O.Carm.
On 16 October 2002, John Paul II began the 25th anniversary of his pontificate by publishing his Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae (RVM) with which he promulgated the Year of the Rosary (from October 2002 to October 2002) and presented the Church with another five new Mysteries of Light on the public life of Jesus in addition to the already existing fifteen mysteries.
Citoc Magazine IV No.2 - 2014 covers all the important activities of the Order from January to July 2014. This Issue also highlights the commemoration of the VIII centenary of the Death of St. Albert of Jerusalem.
The Magazine is available for download online at http://www.ocarm.org/en/content/ocarm/citoc-magazine-iv-no2-2014
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http://www.ocarm.org/en/content/book-store#!/Citoc-Magazine-IV-No-2-2014/p/42208534/category=0
On the occasion of the 5th centenary of the birth of St. Teresa of Jesus, on September 7 – 17, 2014, forty-eight Carmelites coming from 16 countries around the world gathered in Avila and Salamanca, Spain, for their on-going formation course. The course was organised by the General Formation Commission, chaired by Fr. Benny Phang, General Councilor for Asia, Australia and Oceania, and its administrative secretary, Fr. Noel Rosas (Curia). Fr. John Welch (PCM) and Fr. Desiderio Garcia Martinez (ACV) facilitated the whole course. Fr. John talked about the life and works of St. Teresa of Jesus and St. John of the Cross: the Interior Castle, Prayer, Transformation, Songs of the Heart, Letting go of Lesser Gods, Divinized Humanity, and how they are relevant to each person and to the present times. Fr. Desiderio, on the other hand, took all the participants to the places where St. Teresa of Jesus and St. John of the Cross were born, grew up, entered Carmel, inspired reform of the Order, died, and were buried. In those places the participants prayed, and meditated, contemplated, and savored the writings of the two Saints where they were actually written.
Fr. Raul Maraví, General Councilor for the Americas, and the Prior of CISA, Fr. Míceál O’Neill, helped with the translation. Fr. Nicolas Sozzi (Ita) helped to create a very prayerful ambiance for the liturgy.
The course was capped by the conference of the Prior General Fr. Fernando Millán Romeral on Blessed Titus Brandsma, a devotee and a scholar of St. Teresa of Jesus. The course became a beautiful moment of fraternity and sorority and friendship. After the final Eucharist, led by the Prior General Fr. Fernando Millán Romeral, the participants went home with spirit renewed and hopeful for the future.
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Peace. That the Lord may grant peace to those parts of the world most battered by war and violence.
World Mission Day. That World Mission Day may rekindle in every believer zeal for carrying the Gospel into all the world.
Lectio Divina October - Octubre - Ottobre 2014
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- Wednesday, October 1, 2014
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The coordinating team of Carmelite NGO met on September 17, 2013 in Rome. The members present were Sr Jane Remson (COLMC), Conrad Mutizamhepo, O.Carm., General Councilor for Africa, William Harry, O.Carm. (PCM), Hariawan Adji, O.Carm. (Indo), Sr Blaise Fernando (COLMC), Sr Annah Theresa Nyadombo (HOLMC), Arie Kuil, O.Carm. (Neer), Eduardo Agosta Scarel, O.Carm. (ACV-Arg), and Andrea Ventimiglia (TOC, Italy).
The items discussed at the meeting included reports from regional representatives, the New York office, finances, communication and some projects dealing with human trafficking and climate change. Special attention was given to the social media and the cooperation between Carmelite NGO and the General Commission of JPIC. The Carmelite NGO will renew the presentation and format of its website by making it more active and interactive. Furthermore, the Carmelite NGO and JPIC commission have agreed to cooperate in the work of JPIC for the whole family of the Order. The first cooperation will be to develop a curriculum that deals with the issue of climate change for students and pastoral workers. The long term cooperation would include the support and participation of the Carmelite NGO in developing a Carmelite JPIC handbook to be published by the international commission of JPIC in the year of 2019.
This year we celebrate the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Albert of Jerusalem: because of that, this edition of CITOC-magazine is centred on the commemoration of that event. The Patriarch’s letter to the hermits of Mount Carmel became our Rule. With the passing of the years it has lost nothing of its originality. It is ever current and ever a source of inspiration, for the first hermits gathered around the spring of Elijah on Mount Carmel, and for the whole Carmelite Family, spread today throughout all five continents.
A short biography illustrates the life of the legislator, and an article looks at the historical context in which St. Albert responded to the request of the hermits for a “norm for their life”. Some thoughts about our Rule in the light of the ecclesiology of the II Vatican Council, and a number of testimonies from members of the Carmelite Family as to how to live out the Rule in daily life, create a bridge to our own days.
This edition also reports on a number of joyful events that show how our Rule is being followed in various nations and in various circumstances: the 125th anniversary of the arrival in New York of the first Carmelites from Ireland, which marked the beginnings of the American Province of St. Elias; the 25th anniversary of the refounding of the Order in France, restoring a presence that was interrupted by the French Revolution; the 25th anniversary of the Spanish Carmelite youth movement called Jucar.
Our Rule is being followed today in new and different settings. We see one response to the challenges of the moving tides of history, in the report on the unification of the Province of Aragon and Valencia with the Province of Castile, to form the one Province of Aragon, Castile and Valencia.
In addition to all these articles and the other items of information, we offer our customary selection of news items, some of which have already been published in CITOC-online, to give some idea of what is happening in the Order at the moment.
We hope all our readers will enjoy reading this latest issue of CITOC-magazine
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Fr. Christian Körner, O.Carm.
Patrick Burke, O.Carm.
It is difficult for us as humans to understand the suffering that Christ had to bear during his passion and dying on the Cross, particularly in the context of an obedience to the Father. In his human nature, Jesus is like anyone else in all things ‘except sin’ (Hebrew 4:15). He is in himself the most perfect of all our humanity. His ordeal of the passion was unworthy of him, of his person, dignity, wisdom and goodness. During his mortal life, he bore our infirmities, our labours, our pains and our tears. He wept as anyone else would, touched by the sadness and love of friends. The Scripture says that he was moved by compassion at things or people he saw. Indeed his human nature being more perfect, his natural response or sensibility was also more delicate, more intense. It is all that is to be expected, since in his humanity he is the reflection of his Father’s infinite being, ‘the radiant light of God’s glory and the perfect copy of his nature’ (Hebrew 1:13).
Yet Jesus suffered and died ‘for us.’ Can we understand why the Father demanded of the Son the debt due to Him in justice because of our sin? The Father willed that Jesus would be bruised for our wickedness. Jesus, our brother, saw the sickness that consumes our world, the evil that brings all class of pain, agony and disease on humans, the mindlessness that created unimaginable torments to human beings. What is described as Christ’s Agony in the Garden of Olives began with a flood of sadness, fear and weariness, which gradually gave way to pain and even to a 'sweat of blood.’ Can we see him offering us love as he is overwhelmed by the torrents of our iniquities? In fact in his natural reaction of revulsion, he pleads with his Father: ‘Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, let your will be done, not mine’ (Luke 22:42). In fact, Jesus was surrounded by the powers of darkness. Betrayed by one of his own company, the Sinless One was first handed over to the soldiers who make a mockery of him to chide the Jews. They beat him; torture and scourge him as a common criminal. Ignominy is heaped on the Holy One of God. Eventually he is condemned and fastened to a Cross, mounted between two thieves. The Prophet Isaiah had foretold the outrages that afflicted him and the humiliations that oppressed him. The Prophet foretold the scene at Calvary: ‘As the crowds were appalled on seeing him, so disfigured did he look that he seemed no longer human, so will the crowds be astonished at him. Without beauty, without majesty we see him, no looks to attract our eyes; a thing despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering, a man to make people screen their faces; He was despised and we took no account of him’ (Isaiah 52:14; 53:2-3).
His passion and death was Christ’s sacrifice that gives infinite glory to his Father and expresses in his love what the Father asked for. It would redeem humanity, restore the proper order in creation and open for us the springs of everlasting life. So St. Paul was able to tell the Romans: ‘There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do; sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit’ (Romans 8:1-5).
The love that Jesus showed for the Father was prompted by his love and concern for the apostles and all who would accept them and their successors throughout the centuries. ‘Greater love than this no man has, than a man lay down his life for his friends’ (John 15:13). St Paul states this as; ‘Christ die for all’ (2Corinthians 5:15).
When speaking of the Good Shepherd who gives his life for his sheep, Jesus says ‘The Father loves me because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me; I lay it down of my own free will, and as it is in my power to take it up again; and this is the command I have been given by my Father’ (John 10:17). Before his arrest, Jesus resisted the temple guards, arguing that ‘I sat daily with you in the Temple and you laid no hands on me’ (Matthew 26:55). When he is brought before Pilate, he makes it clear to him, ‘You would have no power over me, if it had not been given you from above’ (John 19:11). However, because it is his Father’s will, he submits himself to Pilate - for our sakes.
Patrick Burke, O.Carm. Carmelite Family: Number 13, Spring 2002.
from http://www.carmelites.ie/responselove.html
