Today the Carmelite Order commemorates Blessed Maria Sagrario of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, Virgin and Martyr.
Blessed Maria was born in Lilo, Toledo, on January 8th, 1881. She was a pharmacist by trade, and was the first woman in Spain to be admitted to this profession. In 1915 she entered the Carmel of St. Anne and St. Joseph in Madrid. She had a great love for the Eucharist, and devoted much prayer and contemplation before our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. She was prioress of her community when she was martyred on August 15th, 1936. This martyrdom was due to the fact of the Spanish Civil War and the persecution the Church was facing as a result of this Civil War.
On July 20th, 1936, the convent was attacked by a mob. Mother Maria Sagraria spirited her sisters to safety and sought shelter with one of them at the home of that sister's parents. She was arrested, along with the other sister, on August 14th. Surviving testimony well documents her serenity and abandonment to God's will. Under interrogation she staunchly refused to betray anyone, and was executed by being shot on the following day, August 15th, the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
In her writings, she says, "Blessed be God who gives us ways of offering ourselves up to his love!" Blessed Maria Sagrario was able to offer herself as a sacrifice out of love of God in order to protect those under her care. Christ was at the center of her decision, and as a result was able to die for the sake of Christ. She goes on to say in her writings, "Keep your gaze always on our most beloved Jesus, asking him in the depths of his heart what he desires for you, and never deny him anything even if means going strongly against the grain for you."
This is fortitude takes great strength, but if we remain faithful to Christ and His will for us, we will find the peace and contentment that can only come from Him. Each one of us has things in our lives that are a struggle for us to deal with, whether it's a job we don't like, a family member that may get on our nerves, or people in our lives that are difficult to get along with. We are called to find out what the will of God is for us in those situations. Our Lord will lead us to do what he Wills, we just need to be open to His promptings. We are to offer our sufferings, as Blessed Maria did, to the Will of God.
Then we can pray, as she prayed, "Blessed be he who arranges everything for our good! In possessing him, we possess everything."
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