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Brookline Carmel Bulletin                         J M J T

December 6, 1959

 

 

Cogitatio Sancta

(Holy Meditation)

 

Carmel’s Devotion to Mary

 

The Feast of the Immaculate Conception not only brings to mind Our Lady, always dear to Carmel, but it also focuses our attention upon her absolute purity, a quality we must seek to imitate if we hope to attain to the pure contemplation of God.  Since this is the aim of Carmel, and since a necessary prerequisite is purity of soul (that there be nothing in the soul that is contrary to the will of God), it is not surprising that Carmel has always been known for its Marian devotion.  In her we have not only a perfect model of purity, but our most powerful intercessor for the acquisition of that all-embracing virtue.  (We use the word purity here in the broad sense to include purity of mind and heart, as well as chastity.)  Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen spoke of her thus:  “From the heights of Carmel a Mother smiles upon us.  She is the mother of our souls, the Blessed Virgin Mary.  From its intimate association with her, the Carmelite soul draws light and strength.”

 

At the end of her magnificent treatment of the Pater Noster, Saint Teresa remarks that she had intended to say something about the Ave Maria.  Had she been able to carry out this intention, our treasury of spiritual literature might have been enriched with another great masterpiece.  It would undoubtedly have given us a deeper insight into Saint Teresa’s personal devotion to Our Blessed Mother.  But even though she did not leave us an explicit treatment of the part Mary played in her life, we have no doubt that she could never have reached the heights of contemplation and union with God without the constant help of the Mother of God.  Here and there in her writings we do find tender references to Mary.  In the first chapter of her Life she tells of the death of her mother, and continues: “When I began to realize my loss, I went in distress to an image of Our Lady, and with many tears besought her to be a mother to me.  Though I did this in my simplicity, I believe it was of considerable avail to me; for whenever I have commended myself to this Sovereign Virgin, I have been conscious of her aid.”  During her lifetime, Teresa had visions of Our Lady at various times.  She describes one instance as follows:  “Once, on the Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady, Queen of the Angels, the Lord was pleased to grant me the following favor:  in a rapture, there was pictured to me her ascent into heaven and the joy and solemnity with which she was received and the place where she now is… The benefits of this vision were wonderful, and I was left with a great desire to serve Our Lady, because of her surpassing merits.”  On another occasion, during her first (very difficult) year as Prioress at the Incarnation Convent, “at the beginning of the Salve Regina, I saw the Mother of God, with a great multitude of angels, descend to the Prioress’ stall in the choir, and seat herself there.”  Teresa had placed a statue of her there, to indicate to the nuns that it was Mary herself who was ruling the convent.  During this vision, our Lady commended her, saying, “Thou hast done well to place me here; I will be here when praises are offered to my Son, and will present them to Him.  On another occasion, God the Father spoke to her, saying:  “I have given thee My Son and the Holy Spirit and this Virgin.  What canst thou give Me?”  Teresa must have been well aware of the challenge contained in this question.  The only gift in any way worthy of God was all that she possessed and her very self, offered without reservation or qualification, through the hands of Mary to her Son, and through Him to the Father.

 

There is never a time, no matter how advanced we may be in the spiritual life, when we no longer need Mary’s help.  God has chosen to send us all graces through her.  He gave His only Son to us through her at Bethlehem, and this Son, being divine as well as human, is the Source of all graces.  “If you seek Jesus without Mary,” Saint Bonaventure wrote, “you seek Him in vain.”  Carmel has always sought Jesus through Mary.  This approach to Our Lord through His Blessed Mother is one of the essential characteristics of the Carmelite vocation.  In the words of Father Gabriel, “The Life of Carmel is hard; it demands much self-denial, many sacrifices.  It is so comforting to be able to climb the steep path that leads to the summit of union with God under the watchful eye of a Mother who is so gentle and strong, and so encouraging by her example.”

 

 

 

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