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."