Displaying items by tag: Titus Brandsma

Letter to the Order on the Occasion of the Fourth Centenary of the Canonization of St. Teresa of Jesus

Dear brothers and sisters, I believe we are living through a moment of great grace in our Order. The news that Titus Brandsma will be canonized very soon has moved hearts and minds in every Carmelite community. The next few weeks will be filled with the life and thoughts of this very saintly man. As I write this letter, I am conscious of a part of the life and thinking of Titus Brandsma that enriches the Carmelite Family in a very notable way, namely, his great interest in the life, experience, and writings of St. Teresa of Jesus.

On the 12th of March of this year, the Church will celebrate the fourth centenary of the canonization of Teresa of Avila, who was canonized on the same day as Ignatius of Loyola, Francis Xavier, Philip Neri and Isidore the Farmer. On that day, on the initiative of the Superior General of the Society of Jesus, there will a celebration of the five saints in the church of the Gesù in Rome. The new Superior General of the Discalced Carmelites, Fr. Miguel Márquez Calle, O.C.D., and myself have been invited to take part and to concelebrate with Pope Francis, as representatives of the Carmelite Family. Other members of our General Council will also participate.

This happy event is a very good occasion for building relationships with the Society of Jesus, whom I thank for their invitation, and it is also an occasion within the Carmelite Family itself, to reflect on the gift of our saints. Here, in this letter, through the eyes of Titus Brandsma, I would like to reflect on the gift of Teresa of Jesus to our Order and to the whole Church. Titus Brandsma shared some of the ways we have today of thinking about the Carmelite Family. He was aware of how the Carmelite charism is given to many people in the Church. In writing about Bl. John Soreth, he recognized the great work that Soreth had done by opening up to women the gifts of Carmel that only men had enjoyed up to then.^[1] It is in this same spirit that he recognizes the great gift of Teresa to our Order because of the way that she helps people to a fuller appreciation of the Carmelite charism by helping people to come to a knowledge of the mystery of God in their lives.

Titus made no secret of his regard for Teresa of Jesus. His mother’s name was Teresa (Titjsie). Each year on the feast of Teresa of Jesus, Titus would write a special note to his mother for her feast day. Throughout his life, he prayed with Teresa’s Bookmark, “Let nothing disturb thee”. He began the translation of her works into Dutch with the help of other Carmelites, but did not complete the work, which was a source of great regret to him. Likewise, the biography that he was writing was on his mind right up to the end, so strong was his desire to make this saint known among the Dutch. When commenting on the translation with his great friend and mentor Hubertus Driessen, they surmised how much the translation of the works of Teresa, that they had published at that time, had “given again to the name of Carmel in Holland a good reputation as an Order of prayer and mysticism”^[2].

There are two lectures of Titus Brandsma that might help us in a particular way to see the link between him and Teresa of Jesus. In the lecture that he delivered to the University of Nijmegen, under the title Godsbegrip (The Idea of God)^[3] we find that the idea of God that most appeals to him is the idea of God who enters the life of every human being and will enter more and more into the person who by their way of living and believing make space for him to enter. In his words:

What I thus defend and consider to be indispensable for our time is the contemplation of all being in its dependence on God and its emergence from God whose work we have to see in everything and whose being we have to discern in everything. We also have to recognise and venerate God in all things, and first of all in ourselves. God is revealed to us in the depths of all things and in our own depths. God wishes to be seen and to be known. Nowhere is God to be known better than in the very depth of our being. If the thought about God’s indwelling, about the total dependence of all human nature on God, on God’s guidance and revelation was alive in everything, we would act quite differently and would adjust our behaviour to be in tune with God’s revelation.^[4]

As he pronounced these words, it is possible that Titus was thinking about Teresa, from whom he learned about the union of the soul with God and the all-pervading nature of God in the life of the human person. Among the series of ten lectures that Titus Brandsma gave in his tour of the United States of America in 1935, one was dedicated entirely to Teresa of Jesus. In this lecture, in line with his understanding of the idea of God, he showed, relying mostly on the Interior Castle, how Teresa supported the idea of God entering more and more into the lives of people who know about God, accept God, and seek to know his love more and more. In the words of Titus:

St. Teresa paints the mystical life as something which develops in the soul, according to the soul’s natural ability, as the ultimate realisation of human powers. There have been implanted by God in human nature and will be realised when the soul is aware of its possibility to reach that highest degree of perfection and therefore gives up itself wholly into the hands of the Lord who alone is able to carry it to the highest of elevations. For all this, nothing else is asked of the soul than that it accomplish God’s wishes and desires, put its trust in Him, and in Him only finds its happiness. God likes to have an ordered love and he himself will order that love in the soul.^[5]

Titus admired Teresa for the wonder of her experience and doctrine. He also admired her for her work of reform, believing that her reform is of benefit not only to the Discalced Carmelites but to the Carmelites of the Ancient Observance as well. In language that is very much part of the Discalced tradition Titus says:

Certainly, Mary stands foremost in the veneration of her brothers and sisters, but they don’t deem it is derogating from that beloved mother, when they honour the most graced of her children as another mother, a mother who gave them not existence, it is true, but who regenerated them to a new life.^[6]

We now find ourselves is times and circumstances that challenge us to be aware of the true nature of our calling, and to respond to that calling with lives that give authentic witness to that calling. We are to live in a way that is faithful to what we say about ourselves, people called to live in allegiance to Jesus Christ, as contemplative people whose lives are shaped by prayer, fraternity, and service, and who follow in their lives the examples of Mary and Elijah. Titus saw in Teresa a saint who decided to return to the original inspiration of our Order, and to purify the life of the Order of all the accretions it had accrued over the centuries which served to distance its members from their original calling.

In this graced moment, as we rejoice in the prospect of Titus Brandsma being declared a saint, and honour Teresa of Jesus’ canonization, it cannot escape us that we have every reason to give thanks to God, to renew our lives, and to have confidence in the life we have chosen, as God has chosen it for us. With joy and commitment, we will share that life and wisdom with the Church as a whole and with each of our local Churches. For that reason, in the short time available, I encourage our communities throughout the world to celebrate the fourth centenary of the canonization of St. Teresa of Jesus, and to do so, where possible, in conjunction with members of the Discalced Carmelite Family.

May the remembrance and honour we give to St. Teresa of Jesus and our new saint to be Titus Brandsma, strengthen in each one of us our desire to see the face of the living God and do his will in all things.

Míceál O’Neill, O. Carm.

Prior General

5th March 2022

Download the Letter to the Order  pdf here(220 KB)

^[1]  T. Brandsma, A New Dawn, The Carmelite Nuns, Bl. John Soreth, in Carmelite Mysticism Historical Sketches, Darien, Illinois: The Carmelite Press, 1986, 36-43.

^[2]  A. Staring, Fr. Titus Brandsma and St. Teresa of Avila, in Essays on Titus Brandsma, Rome: Carmel in the World Paperback, 1985. p. 207

^[3]  T. Brandsma, Mysticism in Action, Collected Works. Edd. Joseph Chalmers and Elizabeth Hense, Rome: Edizioni Carmelitane, 2021, 95-124.

^[4]  T. Brandsma, The Idea of God, in Mysticism in Action, Collected Works. Edd. Joseph Chalmers and Elizabeth Hense, Rome: Edizioni Carmelitane, 2021, p. 121.

^[5]  T. Brandsma, St. Teresa. The Growth of the Mystical Life, in Carmelite Mysticism Historical Sketches, Darien, Illinois: The Carmelite Press, 1986, p.46.

^[6]  Quoted in A. Staring, Fr. Titus Brandsma and St. Teresa of Avila, in Essays on Titus Brandsma, Rome: Carmel in the World Paperback, 1985. p. 208.

Many of us experience God as hidden. There is nothing new in this is. It is not something unique to our time. Already, two and a half thousand years ago, Isaiah sighed in exile: 'Truly, You are a hidden God' (Is 45:15). Throughout the centuries, people of faith have repeated such words to he Lord, up to and including Titus Brandsma. For Titus, the hiddenness of God was a deeply lived reality.

In his prison cell at Scheveningen, Titus prayed the well-known hymn Adoro Te after lunch. In his account of his time in prison, 'My Cell', he tells us about this: 'The Adoro Te has become my favourite prayer. Frequently I sing it softly and this helps me to make a spiritual commuion'. What does this song sing about? The first and last verses read as follows:

I devoutly worship Thee,
Hidden Godhead,
Who among these signs are
truly hidden.

O may I behold Thee
with unveiled face
and taste the happiness
to see Your glory.

Titus knew this song by heart. He prayed it daily and every Saturday evening he sang it with his fellow brothers during the Saturday Station of Our Lady. The hymn touched Titus deeply. He was familiar with it. He carried it with him into prison. There Titus sang it 'softly', on his knees, after his lunch of soup and bread. Prayerfully it dawned on him: really, God is hidden. Not now and then. Not here and there. Always and everywhere, God is hidden.

After this moment of worship, Titus lit a pipe, walked to and fro in his small cell, and filed his nails, which by now had become ‘too long and I could not find the scissors.’ God, for Titus, is hidden in the most ordinary things: a pipe of tobacco, walking to and fro, filing his nails.

God's hidden presence is hopeful for those who have come to know it and to live from it. Seeing his hiddenness can even become so familiar to us that it makes us happy. Our God does not come like a jack-in-the-box. He is not an Easter egg hidden somewhere or a magic trick.

In the Dachau concentration camp, Titus' hidden relationship with God is severely tested. Adoro Te drags him through it. When the camp guard has beaten him, he prays the Adoro Te together with his fellow brother, Rafaël Tijhuis. Hurt in his frail body, he remained standing in God's hidden presence.

Kees Waaijman

Today, Friday 4th March 2022, at 10.30am, the Ordinary Public Consistory led by Pope Francis convened in the Consistory Hall of the Vatican Apostolic Palace.

After the recitation of Terce, the Holy Father announced the canonization of Blessed Titus Brandsma, O. Carm. The canonization will take place on Sunday, May 15, 2022, in St Peter’s Square. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, only the Postulator General of the Order was able to take part in the Consistory.

At last, Fr Titus, after 80 years from his death and 37 from his beatification, can be venerated as a Saint by the entire Catholic Church.

The Carmelite Order, the Church in Holland as well as the entire Carmelite Family joyfully welcome this much awaited announcement.

Download Press release here

Sisters and brothers in the Carmelite family,

I join with all of you in giving thanks to God today for the announcement of the date of the canonisation of Blessed Titus Brandsma. This is news we have been awaiting for a long time and it comes as the result of the Church’s recognition of the holiness and witness of Titus Brandsma, and the work of our present Postulator General, Dr. Giovanna Brizi, her predecessors and their many collaborators whom today I want to applaud and thank for their great work.

Although the time is short between now and the 15th of May, I believe we must use this this time to reflect together on the significance of this event for our lives and for the life and mission of our religious family, and to share the good news with as many people as possible. It is not without significance that we have this celebration at a time when truth and integrity is suffering seriously in the major conflicts that now threaten the peace of the world. Titus Brandsma stands before us as an example and model of a life lived in allegiance to Jesus Christ. We believe that he also intercedes for us in heaven. Thus, the importance of the miracle that restored the health of Fr. Michael Driscoll of the North American Province of St. Elias.

As an example and model, we see in Blessed Titus what it is to be a decent human being, a well-formed and committed religious and Carmelite, a saintly priest, a talented teacher who loves his students and a journalist who is dedicated to the primacy of the truth and all the best principles of good journalism. In addition, we are moved to the depth of our being by the story of his last months. Here we see a child of God who finds that his ultimate happiness lies in God and because of this he is at peace even in the most awful of circumstances.

Titus held no grudge against those who trampled upon his ideals or those who eventually took away his life. His wanting everyone to be saved is a very clear sign to us today of how we must dedicate ourselves always and everywhere to the work of the Gospel and use all the gifts of Carmel to produce in this world the kind of justice that respects the dignity of every child of God. Blessed Titus Brandsma, soon to be Saint Titus Brandsma, pray for us.

Fr. Míceál O’Neill, O. Carm.
Prior General

Watch the Video here

Download the text of the Comments here

The second volume of Blessed Titus Brandsma’s writings has been published by Edizioni Carmelitane in Rome. The volume is entitled Titus Brandsma: Letters to the Family. The book contains over 500 pages and includes any writings still extant of the many cards and letters that Blessed Titus Brandsma wrote to his family. Included are the text of 292 letters and postcards. The correspondence are presented in chronological order and placed in their context. There are reproductions of the many postcards sent by Brandsma, which he sent primarily when he traveled. Included is the final letter he sent to his family from the Dachau Concentration camp on July 12, 1942. The first is a letter he sent to his mother, Tjitje on October 14, 1895, when Brandsma was 14 years old and studying at the Franciscan school in Megen.

This is volume two of a planned seven volume series on the writings, speeches, and letters of Brandsma.

The book can be purchased directly from Edizioni Carmelitane or from other webstores around the world.

Click here to access the many fine publications at Edizioni Carmelitane.

To place your order please contact:

Libreria Nardecchia (only in Italy)
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Edizioni Carmelitane
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Today, the Holy Father, during the Audience granted to His Most Reverend Eminence Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, authorized the said Congregation to promulgate the Decree concerning the miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Titus Brandsma.

We give thanks to God for the positive outcome obtained and we continue to pray to the Lord, hoping that soon the canonization of Blessed Titus Brandsma will take place.

Read here (only in Italian) the Bulletin of the Holy See Press Office

The Advent 2021 Webinar: Traces of the Spirituality of Titus Brandsma will take place this upcoming Saturday, November 27, 2021.

Most of us are familiar with the basic outline of the life of Blessed Titus Brandsma. However, the lack of access to most of his writings, talks, and letters, in English has limited our understanding of his spiritual development from his own words.

Fr. Titus' spirituality-- his living in relationship to his loving God-- enabled him to accept and overcome the many challenges in his life.

During this webinar we will explore some of those moments and Brandsma's perpective. Reflecting on these moments can provide each of us with some illumination on challenges in our own lives and strategies for strengthening our own relationship with our God.

Presented by:
Fr. William J. Harry, O. Carm.

Cost: $ 10.00

Saturday, November 27, 2021
2:00 PM (Eastern Standard Time, US)
4:00 PM (GMT -3, Brazil)
7:00 PM (GMT, Greenwich UK)
8:00 PM (GMT +1, Europe)

REGISTER NOW

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On November 9, 2021, the Ordinary Session of the Cardinals and Bishops who are members of the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints met with a positive result for the cause of the canonization of Blessed Titus Brandsma, O. Carm.

Soon the Prefect of the Congregation, Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, will submit the conclusions of the Ordinary Session to the Holy Father for approval. The Holy Father, if he confirms the conclusions of the Ordinary Session, will then convoke the Ordinary Consistory in which he would official announce the canonization of the Blessed.

We give thanks to God for the positive results obtained so far. We continue to pray to the Lord, hoping that the canonization of Blessed Titus Brandsma will soon be achieved.

Read our post entitled Brandsma Writings Now Available in English here

Edizioni Carmelitane announces that the first of a multi volume series of the writings of Titus Brandsma is now available. The book has received very positive reviews with great anticipation for the publication of the remaining volumes. What sets this series apart is that it captures Brandsma in his own words and not through the filter of later studies.

Entitled Titus Brandsma: Mysticism in Action, this first volume of 287 pages, shows Titus as “a philosopher, priest, leader of Catholic schools and Catholic journalism, as a brother to Carmelites, member of his family, native Frisian, a free and authentic thinker, a champion of peace, activist against poverty, pro animal welfare, a prisoner, and a faithful martyr.” The book brings Brandsma alive by reprinting letters from Brandsma to a variety of friends and family as well as others, as well as some of his speeches and entries he authored in encyclopedias.

Among the writings included is Brandsma’s famous address, The Idea of God (Godsbegrip) to the community of the Catholic University of Nijmegan when he became rector magnificus in 1932. Brandsma’s very wide range of interests in many areas of life are represented here. He developed an explicitly Christian perspective on whatever topic he studied. Of course, we see the beginnings of his commitment to truth. It was this commitment that brought him into direct confrontation with the Nazi authorities and ultimately led to his murder for the faith.

Whether you consider yourself an expert on Brandsma or this is your first encounter with this fascinating Carmelite, this book will hold your interest.

To access the many fine publications at Edizioni Carmelitane, click here.

To place your order please contact:

Libreria Nardecchia
TEL.: (+39) 06-5373901
FAX: (+39) 06-5373902
E-mail: Esta dirección de correo electrónico está siendo protegida contra los robots de spam. Necesita tener JavaScript habilitado para poder verlo.

Edizioni Carmelitane
TEL.: +39-0646201807
FAX: +39-0646201808
C.C.P.: 14069009
BIC/SWIFT: BPPIITRRXXX
IBAN: IT67 Z076 0103 2000 0001 4069 009
E-mail: Esta dirección de correo electrónico está siendo protegida contra los robots de spam. Necesita tener JavaScript habilitado para poder verlo.

Available in other Carmelite Bookshops Worldwide

Our latest book on Titus Brandsma

We are happy to announce the publication of an English translation of the authoritative biography of Titus Brandsma, O. Carm., by Miguel Arribas, O. Carm.

Watch this short presentation of the book here