Carmel and spiritual maturity

I was talking to someone on zoom yesterday who was inquiring about joining an OCDS group and I was very taken with her spiritual maturity.  This is something that has been borne in on me recently, the fact that many (though not all) of those who come to Carmel are already spiritually mature.  Often they are already deeply committed to ministry or other work in their parishes.  And yet they come to join us in sitting at the feet of the Carmelite saints.  The more you offer yourself in service of the Lord, the more you thirst to grow closer to Him.  Our spiritual lives proceed in stages of offering: I offer myself to do this task or that task for Him and then the Spirit draws me to an even deeper commitment - and so forth.  I doubt whether our St Teresa, when she set out to found St Joseph’s in Avila, expected to end up founding seventeen convents.  Mind you, yesterday was the Feast Day of Teresa’s contemporary Blessed Sebastian of Aparicio (1502-1600), a wealthy Mexican who after living a holy life for many years became a Franciscan lay brother aged 72.  He took on the task of begging for funds all round Mexico and acquired a huge reputation thereby. ‘ In his ninety eighth year Sebastian died in the convent at Pudbla on February 25, 1600. When his body lay in state, the crowds that gathered were so great, and the miracles wrought were so numerous, that he could not be buried for a long time. More than three hundred miracles which he worked in his lifetime were cited at the process for beatification. Pope Pius VI beatified him in 1787.’

Intercessions:

Cancer: Brian Davis, Bernard (and wife Angela caring for him), Jacqui, Theresa K, Fr Jon Bielowski (Plymouth Diocese), Catherine, Alex (43 with five children), Marie

Illness:  Katy Keeling

Siena, Elara – sick children

David OCDS – housebound

Sophia – blind infant

Grace – troubling ailments, job difficulties, family (deceased mother and health of father)

Lucia – Overwhelmed by weariness

Mark – brain infection

Michael – youngster with occult influences

Defence of the unborn and the elderly

RIP Connor Calleja (20 yrs old, funeral 25 Feb)