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The queenship of Mary is one of her many privileges. She now
reigns with her Son in glory, as Queen of Heaven. At first sight, this special
favour may seem to place her on a pedestal, remote and inaccessible to the
rest of us. To picture a queen can so easily evoke a vision of royal splendour,
pomp and pageantry. But Mary of Nazareth is a different kind of queen. She
remains always the humble handmaid of the Lord, at one in her entire life
and being with the life and being of her Son. She is 'full of grace', the
'most highly favoured one' of all God's family; she is his mother and his
queen. 'He who is mighty,' she tells us, 'has done great things for me.'
A few months before she died, St Thérèse spoke of Mary as
'Queen of the Elect' in her final tribute to her. She wrote:
…in Nazareth
You live in poverty, wanting nothing more.
No rapture, miracle, or ecstasy
Embellish your life, O Queen of the Elect!...
The number of little ones on earth is truly great.
They can raise their eyes to you without trembling.
It's by the ordinary way, incomparable Mother,
That you like to walk to guide them to Heaven.
This is hardly a queen to be feared: she is one to be loved and revered,
admired and imitated, radiant with that beauty described in the First Letter
of St Peter: 'Your beauty must lie, not in braided hair, not in gold trinkets,
not in the dress you wear, but in the hidden features of your hearts, in
a possession you can never lose, that of a calm and tranquil spirit; to
God's eyes, beyond price.'
In the gospel portraits, Mary is inseparable from her Son, always sharing
in his mission. Mary is queen because she is intimately linked with her
Son who is king in his work of redemption. He had to adjust the mind-set
of his people to make them understand that his kingdom is not of this world.
He was not the king of Jewish expectations, waiting for a triumphant ruler
to restore temporal power to Israel. He was a king rejected and despised,
a king mocked and ridiculed on Calvary. His universal kingship was proclaimed
to his people by a pagan ruler: 'Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews'. He
is a king enthroned on Calvary.
Mary is queen after this same pattern of her Son. The aged Simeon spoke
of the sword of sorrow that would pierce her soul. It did so at the foot
of the cross. There, she is like the gospel woman 'in travail… she
has sorrow because her hour has come'. Every inch a queen, Mary stands,
silent and powerless, beside her Son on Calvary and beside the beloved disciple
who represents each one of us. There, Mary received all of us as her children
destined to share with her in the kingdom of her Son: 'Woman, behold your
son.'
At the annunciation, Mary heard the mysterious prophecy about her Son:
'He will be great… the Lord God will give to him the throne of his
father David and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his
kingdom there will be no end.' The risen Jesus now reigns as King in glory.
Mary, taken up body and soul into heaven, now takes her place beside him
and reigns there with him as queen. In the words of Pope Pius XII, she 'shared
her Son's victory over death, and was carried up to heaven, soul and body,
there to reign as queen at his right hand, who is the King of Ages, the
immortal.'
In the crypt of the Church of the Dormition in Jerusalem, there is a beautiful
marble statue of Mary resting at peace as though in the quiet of sleep.
At the centre of an exquisite fresco on the canopy overhead, the mother
of God is depicted surrounded by a stately array of Old Testament women
who prefigure her. Among figures like Eve, Miriam, Deborah and Judith, stands
Queen Esther who was specially chosen to intercede before King Ahasuerus
on behalf of God's people, pleading successfully for them as their queen
before his throne. She is the prototype of Mary as queen. Mary is the new
Esther specially chosen to intercede for the new people of God, pleading
for us as our queen before the King of heaven.
If an earthly queen like Esther can sway the heart of an earthly king,
it is hardly surprising if Mary wields immense influence over the heart
of her Son. She exercises her power with a tender and reassuring touch.
She is a compassionate mother who knows us all, our weakness and our wounds.
She intercedes with a mother's selfless and unfailing love for the needs
of her spiritual children. We, too, in turn, 'can raise our eyes to her
without trembling', as Thérèse did, and confidently invoke
her intercession with her Son.
However, it is so easy to miss the deeper meaning of intercession. It is
not just a question of bombarding God with our requests. Jesus, we are told
in the Letter to the Hebrews, 'always lives to make intercession'. But here,
it does not mean to make petitions or even to utter words at all. It means
to be with someone on behalf of another. This is how Jesus pleads for
us in his priestly prayer: he enters into the presence of his Father and
stands before him, interceding as the one who bears all believers with him
in his heart. This, too, is how Mary prays. She enters into the presence
of her Son and lives as queen at the King's right hand. She stands as queen
before him as King - face to face, eye to eye - carrying all her children
with her in her heart. We belong to Mary: she has taken us into her heart
on Calvary. We pray like Mary at one with her Son when we stand in faith
before the face of the living God and carry all believers with us in our
hearts.
Many years ago, I was privileged to spend a week with the Taizé
community in the south of France. Their chapel is a place of pilgrimage
where people of all nations and of all religions, or even of no formal religion,
gather to pray. One of the brothers spoke to us daily about the mystery
of Mary, keeping our eyes focused continually on a beautiful Russian icon
of Mary by the crib. One detail of this icon intrigued me. It was Mary's
posture: she was not bending over the crib but looking out on the world
with her back to the manger, where the newborn child lay wrapped in the
winding sheets of the resurrection. The fruits of the paschal mystery seemed,
in this way, to be channelled though Mary to all her children. Grace is
the perennial life-stream of the kingdom won for us with Mary's cooperation
in the work of her Son's redemption. She is the royal dispenser, the mediatrix,
the channel of this priceless gift. In the words of the poet Gerard Manley
Hopkins, she 'mothers each new grace / That does now reach our race'.
We, too, as Mary's children, are called to reign with her in heaven. Like
her, we are privileged to dispense this same new life of God to others,
because we are heirs to his kingdom. We have received the same Spirit that
came on Mary and overshadowed her at the annunciation. That Spirit 'bears
witness together with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children,
then heirs,' Paul tells us, 'heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, provided
we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.' Edith
Stein expressed this mystery well as she stood in prayer with Mary at the
foot of the cross:
But those whom you have chosen as companions here,
Surrounding you one day at the eternal throne,
We now must stand, with you, beneath the cross
And purchase, with our lifeblood's bitter pains,
This spark of heaven for those priceless souls
Whom God's own Son bequeaths to us, His heirs.
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THE CARMELITE CHARISM:
A LIVING STREAM OF PRAYER
The author is a Secular Carmelite who now lives in
Merseyside and has extensive experience in the formation of Secular members
of the Order. In this article, she gives a clear and helpful exposition
of the Carmelite charism - which binds all the members of its various
branches 'in a single bond of unity'.
MARGARET MCLAUGHLIN
Gift to the Church
Every charism is a divinely bestowed gift to the Church,
for the benefit of the Church and the world. It comes from our Father,
through his Son, our Lord, by the working of the Holy Spirit, our Gift
of Love.
The Church in its totality is a continuous living presence
of the life of Jesus Christ. The human life of Jesus was rich and varied.
'Christ's humanity…was so great that it could not express itself
fully except in the totality of the human race.' Charisms make it possible
for different groupings in the Church to express particular aspects of
the life of their Head, Jesus Christ, whose Spirit is the bond of unity
between them all. At the heart of every authentic charism is the Holy
Spirit.
Love in relationship
Each charism in the Church has its own particular shape
and form. Carmel has a distinctive way of expressing the contemplative
prayer life of Jesus - a living stream of prayer, with its source
in the Spirit, that rises to the Father on behalf of all; that spends
time in companionship with Jesus by being 'alone with Him who we know
loves us' (L 8:5), to quote St Teresa's famous description of prayer,
and that flows through its members outwards in mission to give
life to the people of God in the world. This is one way of continuing
the divine mission to accompany human beings, helping them to discover
love in relationship - the ultimate search for meaning in every human
life. Carmel is missionary, as the Church itself is missionary. Carmelites
live 'Thy Kingdom come' through prayer, sacrifice and appropriate action.
The mustard seed
The Carmelite charism, as said, has its source in the Holy
Spirit. It is not a human initiative but it invites a human response.
Often, divine action takes place very quietly, with humble beginnings,
unknown even to those who are receiving it. This is true of the Carmelite
charism. It began as a small seed and has all the characteristics of the
parable of the mustard seed:
What is the kingdom of God like?... It is like a mustard
seed that someone took and sowed in the garden; it grew and became a tree,
and the birds of the air made nests in its branches. (Lk 13:18-19)
The words 'that someone took' remind us that Carmel has
no identifiable person as founder: it is the Order of Our Lady of Mount
Carmel, and Elijah is considered the father of Carmelites - though Teresian
Carmelites can look in part to St Teresa of Avila who reformed the Order
in the 16th century. But to return to the origins of the Order at the
end of the 12th century, we find that Carmel was 'already a lived community
experience' placed on the fertile soil of Mount Carmel, before any charism
was identified. Carmel's inner life, often described as 'a garden enclosed',
was already planted before it developed a formal shape. That formal shape
is given by the Rule of St Albert. The purpose of the Rule is to
safeguard, tend and cherish this particular charism received from God;
to catch hold of its mysterious shape, and to enable Carmelites to live
and become that shape, more and more, in obedience to the divine gift,
and to have a concrete way of handing on the charism to future generations
who are given the vocation to live as Carmelites. The best witness
to the charism is the Carmelite person. In every Carmelite can be seen
an identifiable family likeness, alongside individual uniqueness. What
is identified is the charism, shining through the one who lives it.
Expressing the charism
It is a continuing responsibility of all Carmelites, in
every generation, to maintain the original gift, or charism, through living
it faithfully, while adapting to the needs of different cultures and times.
The Rule allows for such adaptation, especially through the
Constitutions, which ensure that the Rule is lived while one
reads the signs of the times within different lifestyles and cultures.
All Carmelites - friars (priests and brothers), enclosed
nuns, apostolic congregations of religious, and Secular members - are
called to live the Carmelite charism shaped by the Rule. But each
branch has its own Constitutions, because the way in which the
charism is expressed in each of the branches is very different. It is
the Holy Spirit's presence within the charism that binds all the branches
together in a single bond of unity, within the larger unity that is the
Church itself. In addition, there are special features that may be called
hallmarks of the Carmelite charism, and which we may look at now.
'Allegiance to Jesus Christ'
This phrase, which appears in the Rule (# 2), is
common to all Christians, but Carmel has its own particular way of living
this joyful responsibility. Carmel's way is captured in the Rule. A Carmelite's
whole orientation tends towards 'pondering the Lord's law day and night'
(# 10). The underlying scriptural sources unpack the inner meaning of
this way of allegiance:
…their delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law they meditate day and night.
They are like trees planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its season,
and their leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper. (Ps 1:2-3)
This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth; you shall
meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to act in accordance
with all that is written in it. (Jos 1:8)
The practice of this orientation is prayer - eucharistic,
liturgical and personal. Carmel's charism leads the Carmelite into an
interior prayer environment that requires silence, which is the
inner air we breathe so that we may thrive. It is also necessary to give
time to personal prayer, which becomes the place of encounter. For
St Teresa, prayer is 'an intimate sharing between friends; it means taking
time frequently to be alone with Him who we know loves us' (L 8:5).
Companionship with Mary
Carmel is all Mary's - Totus Marianus est Carmelus,
to quote the traditional saying - and Carmelites live within her influence.
'From the outset, the mother of Jesus as a woman of silent prayer has
always been a vital inspiration, essential and integral to the Carmelite
charism.' Mary is the one who teaches Carmelites how to ponder. She is
honoured under the titles of Mother and Sister. The first community
called Mary the Lady of the Place - always present, always guiding,
always shaping the life of her Son in the Carmelite. This role she continuously
fulfils. Carmelites live with Mary, pray to Mary, and are loved by Mary.
Carmelites delight to be children of Mary - Queen, Beauty of Carmel.
Love of Scripture
The roots of the Carmelite charism are in the Bible. Part
of living in allegiance to Jesus Christ is to hang on his every word,
found in Scripture. It is here that the habit of 'pondering the Lord's
law day and night' develops. It is a lifetime occupation. Carmelites stay
with the word until the Word in Person appears. Union with the One
who loves us develops through persevering contact with the Person
'heard', through our pondering his word within a silent inner environment.
Scripture engages the mind, the heart and the memory. The mind reflects,
studies and is filled with the truth of the word, so that the heart
can live its decision-making from that truth which the heart loves. The
holding of all that is received is the purpose of the memory. The
life of St Thérèse is a prime witness to the word of Scripture
that took flesh in her. The Gospels gave vitality to her life.
Evangelical lifestyle
The Carmelite charism includes living according to the gospel
counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience - according to the
person's state in life - as witnessed in the life of Jesus who lived in
complete dependence on his Father, remaining empty and relying on his
Father's providence. The Beatitudes give us the kernel of Christ's
own lifestyle, and are a model for the lifestyle of the Carmelite. To
quote one of the sayings of John of the Cross: 'Eat not in forbidden pastures
(those of this life), because blessed are they who hunger and thirst
for justice, for they will be satisfied [Mt 5:6]. What God seeks,
he being himself God by nature, is to make us gods through participation,
just as fire converts all things into fire' (SLL 107).
This involves a certain asceticism, as Carmelites
are gradually transformed from living out of their ego-centre to drawing
life from their Christ-centre. 'Carmelite asceticism is primarily God's
work, not ours. But it is also closely linked with human endeavour.' St
John of the Cross, following both the teaching of Scripture and that of
St Teresa, offers us immense guidance on these aspects of the Carmelite
charism throughout his works. Again, to quote from one of his maxims:
'Love consists not in feeling great things but in having great detachment…'
(SLL 115).
Desire for union with God
Carmelites are called to union with the Beloved, through
living the Carmelite charism. This is the whole purpose of every charism
in the Church. It is the purpose of the Incarnation and the paschal mystery,
to restore the bride to fullness of relationship with the Trinity, the
original blessing received before sin erupted. In the words of the Son
to his Father (in the Romances of John of the Cross):
I will go seek my bride
and take upon myself
her weariness and labours
in which she suffers so;
and that she may have life,
I will die for her,
and lifting her out of that deep,
I will restore her to you. (R 7)
The solitary in community
Carmelite life, lived as tending towards union with God,
is never lived in isolation; this is true, however solitary the heart
that seeks only God, recognising that 'God alone suffices.'
Each branch of the Order has its own way of living community,
but all members are inserted into some form of community. It is from the
marriage of communication and communion that community arises.
Carmel is a worldwide family, and the branches and members keep
in touch at local, national and international levels. The better the communication,
the deeper will be the communion. Communion is that bonding of members
who together seek the same goals through living the one charism. To maintain
communication and communion takes much effort, self-denial and mutual
support in serving one another as well as the wider world. It takes into
account differences, and remains open to change. Only love received and
love freely given can sustain these two 'partners', so to speak - communication
and communion. Community, born from these, is received as a shared gift
from God, in whom there is complete communication, communion and community.
Mission
St Teresa famously wrote, at the end of her teaching on
the inner journey towards union with the Lord, that the reason for prayer
is 'the birth always of good works, good works' (IC VII:4:6). A few lines
further on, she said: 'Do you know what it means to be truly spiritual?
It means becoming the slaves of God… spiritual persons, because now
they have given Him their liberty, can be sold by Him as slaves of everyone,
as He was' (IC VII:4:8).
Each branch of the Order finds its own mission, its own
way of serving the kingdom. What is common to all is a life commitment
of availability to be used in service, a good work that continues
into eternity. St Thérèse had no ambition for eternal rest!
On July 17, 1897, two months before she died, she said: 'I feel…that
my mission is about to begin... my heaven will be spent on earth until
the end of the world. Yes, I want to spend my heaven in doing good on
earth.'
Here, in this statement, the face of the Carmelite charism
is recognised in a Carmelite saint who lived by all its features, and
took it with her to heaven from where it came.
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SPRINGS OF LIVING WATER
'Taste and see'
Taste and see that the Lord is good.
Psalm 33:9
The world is
not with us - enough.
O taste and see.
'O Taste and See', Denise Levertov
The poet - when he is writing - is a priest; the poem is
a temple; epiphanies and communion take place within it. The communion
is triple: between the maker and the needer within the poet; between the
maker and the needers outside him - those who need but can't make their
own poems… and between the human and the divine in both poet and
reader… Writing the poem is the poet's means of summoning the divine…
'Origins of a Poem', Denise Levertov
The greatest thing a human soul ever does in this world
is to see something, and tell what it saw in a plain way. Hundreds of
people can talk for one who can think, but thousands can think for one
who can see. To see clearly is poetry, prophecy, and religion - all in
one.
Modern Painters, John Ruskin
'Be not afraid'
Fear not, little flock, for it has pleased your Father
to give you the kingdom.
Luke 12:32
I am telling you not to worry about your life…
Matthew 6:25
I'm an old man now and have had a great many problems. Most of them
never happened.
Mark Twain
'The spirit gives life'
It is the spirit that gives life. The flesh has nothing to offer.
John 6:63
In spite of all the enforced physical and mental primitiveness of the
life in a concentration camp, it was possible for spiritual life to deepen.
Sensitive people who were used to a rich intellectual life may have suffered
much pain (they were often of a delicate constitution), but the damage
to their inner selves was less. They were able to retreat from their terrible
surroundings to a life of inner riches and spiritual freedom. Only in
this way can one explain the apparent paradox that some prisoners of a
less hardy make-up often seemed to survive camp life better than did those
of a robust nature.
Man's Search for Meaning, Viktor E Frankl
Never satisfied
What description can I find for this generation? It is like children
shouting to each other as they sit in the marketplace: 'We played the
pipes for you, and you wouldn't dance; we sang dirges, and you wouldn't
be mourners.'
Matthew 11:16-17
OUR PRIEST
If he is energetic, he is highly strung.
If he is calm, he is lazy.
If his hair is grey, he is too old.
If he is young, he lacks experience.
If he introduces change, he is revolutionary.
If he does not, he has no initiative.
If he preaches against sin, he is a fanatic.
If he does not, he is worldly.
If he gesticulates, he is theatrical.
If he stands still, he is wooden.
If he raises his voice, he shouts too much.
If he does not, he is monotonous.
If he is at home, he should be out visiting.
If he is seen in the street, he should be preparing his sermon.
If he visits the poor, he is a socialist.
If he visits the rich, he is currying favour.
Lord, give our priest patience!
Anonymous
Always and everywhere give thanks to God.
Ephesians 5:20
'Thy will be done'
Let it be done unto me according to your word.
Luke 1:38
GOD'S WILL
Lord God, Your will is dominant.
It controls the waters,
the sea, the sky and the stars.
All the elements that people consider
the power of nature
are under Your dominion.
Your will is done.
Your will for me is
that I become
that beautiful little one
that You have created
in all its fullness.
May I be like a reed
that bends and bows
under Your direction.
May I be easy to direct.
If I am like this You will bless me
and be grateful.
Elizabeth Tuttle, PBVM
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MOUNT CARMEL VOL 58. NO.3
JULY - SEPTEMBER 2010
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