An OCDS model of everyday holiness

I am a bit confused about our fellow Secular Carmelite Josefa Navel Girbés, because she seems to have two feast days – 24 February and also 6 November.  However, I am indebted for the following information about her life to the website of the OCDS community of Mary Queen of Carmel, Clearwater Florida – which I have abridged.

Josefa was born on December 11, 1820 in the village of Algemesi, Valencia Province, in Spain. She had a basic education in reading and writing, and she also learned the skill of embroidery, which proved to be a way to educate and save souls for Jesus.  When she was thirteen, her mother died. Since she was the eldest, she helped her father raise her younger brothers and sisters. As time went by, her love for Jesus and the Blessed Mother grew steadily in her adolescence. As a young adult, she received spiritual direction from Father Silvestre, a parish priest. It was through his influence and her commitment to God, that, at age 18, this Servant of God, consecrated herself to the Lord with the vow of perpetual chastity.  She dedicated herself to answer the call to be holy and to serve the Church and her neighbour.  She started to hold meetings at her home - meetings that evolved into embroidery instruction. During the needlework sessions, there were readings and spiritual conversations. “Under her care, women practiced needlepoint and learned the practice of virtues’. She touched many lives, teaching basic catechism, stressing the importance for prayer and meditation, preparing children for first communion, and encouraging participation in Church activities. Josefa entered the Secular Order, but the date is not known.  She died in 1893 and at her request she was buried in the brown tunic and white mantle of the Carmelite habit.  She was beatified in 1988.

 “Sanctify yourself and sanctify others. That was her guiding principle – always and in everything to follow God’s desire in ordinary life circumstances and secular duties.” Her repeated message was “prayer, prayer; pray for a while each day, and life will be easier and bearable. Learn to speak with God without words and, in this way, practice the prayer of meditation..”

Intercessions:

Brian Davis

Marie, Bernard (and wife Angela), Agnes – cancer

Siena, Elara – sick children

Rosemarie – very seriously ill

Wojtek – massive heart attack leaving him incapacitated

RIP Roswitha Watson OCDS (former President of St Therese Community, Oxford)