Blessed Elia of Saint Clement, Virgin

For further information on Blessed Elia of Saint Clement go to http://ocarm.org/en/content/liturgy/bl-elia-st-clement-ocd-virgin-m

For the psalms and readings from the Office of Readings, go to http://universalis.com/USA.NewYork/readings.htm

Today on the Carmelite calendar is the Optional Memorial of Blessed Elia of Saint Clement. Born in Bari, Italy, on January 17th, 1901 to deeply Christian parents. At her baptism she was given the name Theodora, which means gift of God. It was on April 8th, 1920, then the feast of St. Albert, the author of the Carmelite Rule, she entered the Carmel of St. Joseph in Bari. She received the Carmelite habit on November 14th of the same year, the Feast of St. John of the Cross. On December 8th, 1924, she wrote in her own blood her act of total and definitive offering to the Lord with the vow to embrace the "most perfect." She died on Christmas Day 1927. It was on December 19th, 2005, that Pope Benedict XVI signed the Decree of Beatification. She was proclaimed Blessed in Bari Cathedral on March 8th, 2006.

In the first reading from the Office of Readings for today, St. John tells us, "My dear people, let us love one another since love comes from God and everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God." (1 John 4:7) Blessed Elia lived out these words of St. John. She loved God and she loved those around her. In her writings, Blessed Elia says, "My life is love: this sweet nectar surrounds me, this merciful love penetrates me, purifies me, renews me and I feel it consuming me. The cry of my heart is: 'Love of my God, my soul searches for You alone. My soul, suffer and be quiet; love and hope..."

Blessed Elia knew and experienced the love of God within her soul. She lived her whole life in service of God and those around her. She goes on to say, "Souls, I will search for way to caste you into the sea of Merciful Love: souls of sinners, but above all souls of priests and religious." She wanted all people to experience the love of God.

Let us follow the example of Blessed Elia of St. Clement in loving God above all things and loving those in our lives. Let us, as St. John tells us, "Let us love one another since love comes from God."

Joaquina Vedruna de Mas

Today, May 22nd, the Carmelite Order commemorates the optional memorial of St. Joaquina Vedruna de Mas. She was born in Barcelona in the year 1783. She married Theodore de Mas in 1799. They had 9 children before she became widowed in 1816. Then in 1826 she was prompted by God's Spirit to found the Congregation of Carmelite Sisters of Charity, which spread throughout Catalonia, establishing houses for the care of the sick and educating of children, especially the poor. She was greatly drawn to contemplating the mystery of the Holy Trinity. Her spiritual life was marked by prayer, mortification, detachment, humility and love. She died in Vich in 1854.

In her writings she spoke of being "on fire with love of God!" She goes on to speak of how we are to "preach love, proclaim love, and yet more love, until we had set the whole world on fire." This love of God and others was central to her life as a follower of Jesus Christ. She was teaching what our Lord taught, when He was asked what was the greatest commandment.

From the gospel of St. Matthew we read, "'Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?'
Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.'" (Matthew 22:36-40 NIV).

St. Joaquina goes on to teach that we are to have no "undue attachments in our hearts for created things: they must burn with love alone, love more fervent; for love never says 'enough,' never rest until it is completely on fire." Here she is teaching us that God must be at the center of all we do. Nothing is more important than the love we are to have for God. If something distracts us from love and service to God, we are to remove it from our lives. 

St. Joaquina concludes with saying, "The more we love God, the more we shall long to love him. And when we have Jesus in our hearts, we shall have everything else in him and with him." She is teaching that in all we do in love, whether at work, in our families, or in our everyday life, we are to have the love of God at the very center of all we do.

Wouldn't this be a better world if all would follow this advise? Let us all set the world on fire for love of God!