Fascinated by St Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows (Francesco Possenti 1838-1862), whose feast is today: he repeatedly fought off a call to give his life wholly to God and I can identify with that. He had somewhat of a liking for the ladies but with an innate sense of charity and devotion; in 1851 he became seriously ill and promised to enter the religious life if he recovered, only to forget the promise when he got better. He then made the same promise when he narrowly escaped a stray bullet. In 1853 another illness, another recovery, another promise, but with a similar failure to proceed. Finally it was during a procession after a cholera epidemic that had killed his sister that the call became so insistent that he could no longer resist: he became a Passionist only to die after only five years in the Order. Looking back, I can see that I have resisted many calls, but over my years in Carmel the Good Lord has gently persuaded me to trust that our Christian life is about surrender to Him because His call is grace in our lives. I didn’t want to give up control of my life until I took to heart Therese’s saying – ‘Everything is grace’.
Intercessions:
Brian Davis
Marie, Bernard (and wife Angela), Agnes – cancer
Siena, Elara – sick children
Rosemarie – seriously ill
Wojtek – massive heart attack leaving him incapacitated
RIP Roswitha Watson OCDS (former President of St Therese Community, Oxford)
David - housebound
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