November 2025

Jubilee Holy Year 2025: Pilgrims of Hope

November is the month dedicated to the Poor Souls in Purgatory 

November 2-8: National Vocation Awareness Week 

Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

OUR LADY, QUEEN OF ALL SAINTS,

OUR LADY, GATE OF HEAVEN,

OUR LADY, QUEEN OF ANGELS,

SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL,

PRAY FOR US. 

Since I, the Lord, brought you up from the land of Egypt that I might be your God, 

you shall be holy, because I am holy.

(Leviticus 11:45)

Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God.

(Matthew 5:8)

Dear faithful readers, welcome to November, a stellar month dedicated to the Poor Souls of Purgatory. "O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, lead all souls to heaven, especially those most in need of Thy mercy."

This month is overwhelming with so much to celebrate. The month kicks off with All Saints Day, a day to remember and pray for all the saints, those formally declared saints, and those not. We remember the "saints next door," and other holy people we know and have known, those living, that is, the saints in the making (all of us!), and those who are dead. In addition, November 1 is extra special this year because Pope Leo XIV formally declared Saint John Henry Newman (1801-1890) a Doctor of the Church and named him co-patron of Catholic education alongside Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274). November 2 follows with All Souls Day, or The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, and then the list of saints to commemorate goes on and on (see below). We celebrate the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, on Sunday, November 23, and have a week to prepare for the First Sunday of Advent, November 30, and the beginning of a new liturgical year. Be sure to get plenty of rest, then, the month will be a busy one. And since we enter a new year in the Church, may I be the first to say, "Happy New Year," remembering what G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936) said: "The object of the new year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul." And as Saint Charles Borromeo (1538-1584) said, "If you wish to make any progress in the service of God we must begin every day of our life with new ardor." Let us begin each day anew then, with ardor and strength to carry on according to God's holy will. By the grace of God we go.

Our voices this month all have something to say about the path to holiness. As we respond to the universal call to holiness, for, after all, as Pope Benedict XVI (1927-2022) reminds us, "We are all called to holiness: it is the very nature of Christian living," and thereby want to achieve holiness, may all that we do and say every day this month, and every day all year round, be with the love of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. Have no fear; do not be afraid to be a saint!

When Saint Scholastica asked her brother Saint Benedict what was needed to achieve holiness, she received this reply: "You must want to."

(Saint Maximilian Kolbe, 1894-1941)

God does not command the Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ to be preached with the noise of arms and with pillage. What He rather commands is the example of a good life and holy teaching.

(Saint Rogue Gonzalez, 1576-1628)

All the science of the Saints is included in these two things: To do, and to suffer. And whoever has done these two things best, has made himself most saintly.

(Saint Francis de Sales, 1577-1622)

It fills me with joy to realize that I can lay down my life daily for God, that I can sacrifice it willingly for Him. I may not be a martyr for the faith, but I can be a martyr of charity.

(Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne, 1769-1852)

[Charity] drives us on to love ourselves and our neighbor, to glorify God in time and in eternity, on earth, in purgatory, and in heaven. It lets us grow into the immensity of the heart of God ...

(Father Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, OP, 1877-1964)

Lord, I am here. Tell me what you would have me to do. If He gives me some task, I am content and I thank Him. If He gives me nothing, I still thank Him.

(Saint Catherine Laboure, 1806-1876)

Tbere is no saint without a past, and no sinner without a future.

(Saint Augustine of Hippo, 354-430)

Let Mary's soul be in each of you to proclaim the greatness of the Lord. Let her spirit be in each of you to rejoice in the Lord. Christ has only one mother in the flesh, but we all bring forth Christ.

(Saint Ambrose of Milan, 339-397)

The good God is free to make us pass better than we are. And we have to accept that like all the rest. If He exposes our weaknesses, or if He shows off our virtues, so what? Nothing is changed! All that is necessary is that we love God truly.

(Guy Oury, OSB, in Dom Gabriel Sortais: An Amazing Abbot in Turbulent Times)

Why is it that any time we speak of temptation we always think of temptation as something that inclines us to wrong. We have more temptations to be good than we do to become bad.

(Venerable Fulton J. Sheen, 1895-1979)

The saints live not after the fashion of the world ... The dignity of the saints is so great because they are not of this world, but "of the household of God."

(Saint Thomas Aquinas, 1225-1274)

The saints in each generation, joined to those who have gone before and filled like them with light, become a golden chain, in which each saint is a separate link, united to the next by faith, works and love.

(Saint Simeon the New Theologian, 940-1022)

Filled with light, and united in faith, good works, and love, we are not afraid to be saints and become links in the golden chain. All the saints, angels, and the countless others who have gone before us, please pray for us. Cheer us on to join you at the heavenly banquet. And we are encouraged by our Doctor Mellifuus, Last of the Fathers, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153):

The saints want us to be with them, and we are indifferent, The souls of the just await us, and we ignore them ... We should not only want to be with the saints, we should also hope to possess their happiness.

SAINT MARTIN DE PORRES,

SAINT WINIFRIDE,

SAINT MALACHY,

BLESSED JOHN BODY,

BLESSED RUPERT MAYER,

SAINT CHARLES BORROMEO,

BLESSED FRANCES D'AMBOISE,

ALL THE SAINTS OF IRELAND,

ALL SAINTS OF AFRICA,

SAINT ILLTUD OR ILLTYD,

SAINT NUNO ALVARES PEREIRA,

SAINT JEAN-THEONARD VENARD,

SAINT WILLIBRORD,

BLESSED FRANCES PALAU Y QUER,

SAINT PETER OU,

ALL SAINTS OF WALES,

BLESSED JOHN DUNS SCOTUS "MASTER OF THOUGHT AND LIFE,"

BLESSED GEORGE NAPIER,

SAINT ELIZABETH OF THE TRINITY,

POPE SAINT LEO THE GREAT,

SAINT MARTIN OF TOURS,

SAINT JOSEPHAT, BISHOP, MARTYR,

MOTHER SAINT FRANCES XAVIER CABRINI,

SAINT MACHAR,

BLESSED MARIA TERESA SCRILLI,

SAINT DYFRIG OR DUBRIC OR DUBRICIUS,

SAINT LAURENC O'TOOLE,

THE BEATIFIED MARTYRS OF CLIFTON DIOCESE,

THE READING MARTYRS,

SAINT JOSEPH PIGNATELLI,

ALL CARMELITE SAINTS,

POPE SAINT LEO THE GREAT,

SAINT MARGARET OF SCOTLAND,

SAINT GERTRUDE THE GREAT OF HELFTA,

SAINT EDMUND OF ABINGDON,

OUR LADY GATE OF THE DAWN,

ALL CARMELITE SOULS,

SAINT ELIZABETH OF HUNGARY,

SAINT HILDA,

SAINT HUGH OF LINCOLN,

SAINT DIONYSIUS OF ALEXANDRIA, BISHOP,

SAINT ELIZABETH OF HUNGARY,

SAINT PETER AND PAUL,

SAINT ROSE PHILIPPINE DUCHESNE,

SAINT ROQUE GONZALEZ AND HIS COMPANIONS,

SAINT RAPHAEL KALINOWSKI,

SAINT RAFAEL KALINOWSKI,

SAINT EDMUND,

SAINT BERNWARD,

SAINT CECILIA, VIRGIN, MARTYR,

POPE SAINT CLEMENT I,

SAINT COLUMBANUS, ABBOT,

BLESSED MIGUEL AGUSTIN PRO,

SAINT ANDREW DUNG-LAC AND HIS COMPANIONS, MARTRYS,

SAINT CATHERINE ALEXANDRIA,

BLESSED NIELS STENSEN,

SAINT COLMAN OF CLOYNE,

SAINT LEONARD OF PORTO MAURIZIO,

SAINT JOHN BERCHMANS,

SAINT FERGAL,

OUR LADY OF THE MIRACULOUS MEDAL,

SAINT CATHERINE LABOURE,

BLESSED BERNARD FRANCIS DE HOYOS,

ALL THE SAINTS OF THE FRANCISCAN, OR SERAPHIC, ORDER,

BLESSED DENIS AND REDEMPTUS,

SAINT ANDREW THE APOSTLE,

SAINT CUTHBERT MAYNE,

PRAY FOR US.

This month's photo: Think of what is above, not of what is on earth (Colossians 3:2).

© Gertrude Feick, 2025

Saint Therese of Lisieux "The Little Flower"

Jubilee Holy Year 2025: Pilgrims of Hope

May is the month dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary

Everything growing from the earth, bless the Lord.

MARY, QUEEN OF APOSTLES,

MARY, QUEEN OF PROPHETS,

MARY, QUEEN OF VIRGINS,

MARY, QUEEN OF MARTRYS,

MARY, QUEEN OF DOCTORS OF THE CHURCH,

MARY, QUEEN OF ALL SAINTS,

PRAY FOR US.

On this glorious day, May 17, 2025, we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the canonization of "The Little Flower," Saint Therese of the Lisieux, also known as Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, Virgin and Doctor of the Church. Give God the praise!  

For a few fun facts, born January 2, 1873, Saint Therese died September 30, 1897, after living a short but powerful life. From the age of 15 until her death at the age of 24, Therese lived a hidden life of the Carmel cloister in Lisieux, France. After her death, though, Therese's fame spread throughout the world and continues to spread this day. Pope Pius X called her "the greatest saint of modern times." 

With a special devotion to The Little Flower, Pope Pius XI, beatified her on April 29, 1923, and canonized her two years later, May 17, 1925. Pope Pius XI called Therese the "the Star of his Pontificate," and in the homily at her canonization, he recommended that all the faithful practice her "Little Way," as he preached:

 If everyone follows this path of spiritual childhood, everyone will see how easily reformation of human society can be achieved, which we have proposed since the beginning of our pontificate. We, therefore, adopt as our own prayer of the new Saint Therese with which ends her autobiography: 'O Jesus, we beseech Thee to cast Thy glance upon the vast number of little souls, and to choose in this world a legion of little victims worthy of Thy love. Amen.

Pope Pius XI proclaimed her "Universal Patron of the Missions," alongside Saint Frances Xavier, on December 14, 1927. Pope Saint John Paul II gave Saint Therese the title "Doctor of the Church," on World Mission Sunday, October 19, 1997. She is joined by other women Doctors of the Church including Saint Teresa of Avila, Saint Catherine of Siena, and Saint Hildegard of Bingen. The Church commemorates the Feast of Saint Therese on October 1. It's not too early to mark your calendars and note the date as an annual celebration. And it's never too late to read her autobiography, Story of a Soul, where she begins, "Springtime story of a little white flower written by herself and dedicated to the Reverend Mother Agnes of Jesus." And I can't go without saying that I received the privilege of venerating the relics of Saint Therese of Lisieux in 2000 when they traveled through Mt. Angel, Oregon. The Little Flower ⚘ was on tour 🚚 with a stop at Mount Angel Abbey. I have been a fan of relics since. How cool is that 😊.

Today it is best to let Saint Therese of Lisieux speak for herself ...

Jesus deigned to teach me this mystery. He set before me the book of nature; I understood how all the flowers He has created are beautiful, how the splendor of the rose and the whiteness of the Lily do not take away the perfume of the little violet or the delightful simplicity of the daisy. I understood that if all the flowers wanted to be roses, nature would lose her springtime beauty, and the fields would no longer be decked out with little wild flowers.

(Story of a Soul, Manuscript A, Chapter I)

It seems to be that if a little flower could speak, it would tell simply what God had done for it without trying to hide its blessings.

(Story of a Soul, Manuscript A, Chapter I)

Perfection consists in doing His will, in being what He wills us to be.

(Story of a Soul, Manuscript A, Chapter I)

I should be distressed that I drop off to sleep during my prayers and thanksgiving after Holy Communion. But I don't feel at all distressed. I know that children are just as dear to their parents when they are asleep or awake and I know that doctors put their patients to sleep before they operate. So I just say God "knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust."

(Story of a Soul, Ch. 8)

For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy. Go to the mountain with Peter, James, and John, or even the valley; you will find Jesus there. You will do well to be attentive to His voice, for it is a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

(Story of a Soul, see reference in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2558) 

Was not Jesus my only Friend! I knew how to speak only to Him; conversations with creatures, even pious conversations, fatigued my soul. I felt it was far more valuable to speak about Him, for there is so much self-love intermingled with spiritual conversations.

(Story of a Soul, Manuscript A, Chapter IV)

Do not be afraid of holiness. It will not take away your energy, your vitality or joy. On the contrary you will become what the Father had in mind when He created you. and you will be faithful in your deepest self. To depend on God sets us free from every form of enslavement and leads us to recognize our great dignity ... Holiness does not make you less human, since it is an encounter between your weakness and the power of God's grace. For in the words of Leon Bloy, when all is said and done, "the only great tragedy in life is not to become a saint.

(Story of a Soul, Manuscript A, Chapter I)

Jesus does not demand great actions from us but simply surrender and gratitude.

(Story of a Soul, Manuscript B, Chapter IX)

Here's one of my favorites. Go Therese go! ...

I feel the vocation of the WARRIOR, THE PRIEST, THE APOSTLE, THE DOCTOR, THE MARTYR. Finally, I feel the need and desire of carrying out the most heroic deeds for You, O Jesus. I feel within my soul the courage of the Crusader, the Papal Guard, and I would want to die on the field of battle in defense of the Church.

(Story of a Soul, Manuscript B, Chapter IX)

And now with a few well-known words ...

Charity gave the key to my vocation ... LOVE COMPRISED ALL THE VOCATIONS, THAT LOVE WAS EVERYTHING, THAT IT EMBRACED ALL TIMES AND PLACES ... IN A WORD THAT IT WAS ETERNAL!

Then in the excess of my delirious joy, I cried out: O Jesus, my Love ... my vocation at last I have found it ... MY VOCATION IS LOVE!

(Story of a Soul, Manuscript B, Chapter IX)

Everything I have, everything I merit, is for the good of the Church and souls.

(Story of a Soul, Epilogue)

In the evening of this life, I shall appear before You with empty hands, for I do not ask You, Lord, to count my works. All our justice is stained in Your eyes. I wish, then, to be clothed in Your own Justice and to receive from Your Love the eternal possession of Yourself. I want no other Throne, no other Crown but You, my Beloved.

(Story of a Soul, Appendices, "Act of Oblation to Merciful Love")

And about three months before she died, Therese offered this ...

I feel that my mission is about to begin, my mission of making others love God as I love Him, my mission of teaching my little way to souls. If God answers my requests, my heaven will be spent on earth up into the end of the world. Yes, I want to spend my heaven in doing good on earth.

(Story of a Soul, Epilogue)

Today's photo: Praise and exalt Him above all forever. 

© Gertrude Feick 2025

Saturday of the Twenty-Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

Saint: Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face, Virgin, Doctor (1873-1897)

First Saturday of the Month

Readings of the Day

Rule of Saint Benedict: Ch 7:34 Humility

Mass: Job 42:1-3, 5-6, 12-17; Resp Ps 119; Lk 10:17-24

Lord, let your face shine on me.

MARY, QUEEN OF PEACE,

MARY, QUEEN OF THE MOST HOLY ROSARY,

MARY, QUEEN OF DOCTORS,

PRAY FOR US.

Welcome to the First Saturday of the Month of October, this month dedicated to the Most Holy Rosary. We will invoke Mary, Queen of the most holy rosary, every day this month then.

There is more in store for us, however. It is another big day as we commemorate Saint Therese of Lisieux, also known as Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face; she is also called the "Little Flower". Therese joined the other Doctors of the Church in 1997, when now Pope Saint John Paul II gave her that title. Before that, in 1939, Pope Pius XI named her Patroness of Missions. And more recently, in his 2001 Apostolic Letter Novo millenio ineunte, Pope Saint John Paul II gave a reason why he named her a Doctor of the Church. The pontiff called Therese an "expert in the scientia amoris" (42), due in part to what she wrote in the story her life, Story of a Soul*. Therese wrote: "I understood that the Church had a Heart and this Heart was aflame with Love. I understood that Love alone stirred the members of the Church to act ... I understood that Love encompassed all vocations, that Love was everything" (Manuscript B, Chapter IX, p. 302). Therese was able to exclaim, "in the excess of my delirious joy, I cried out: O Jesus, my love ... my vocation, at last I have found it ... MY VOCATION IS LOVE!" (ibid.)

I have a copy of Therese's Story of a Soul and have so many passages marked I can't include them all. I will encourage you to read it though. How about this great one:

How great is the power of Prayer. One could call it a Queen who has at each instant access to the King and who is able to obtain whatever she asks. To be heard it is not necessary to read from a book some beautiful formula composed for the occasion. If this were the case, alas, I would have to be pitied! ...

For me, prayer is an aspiration of the heart, it is a simple glance directed to heaven, it is a cry of gratitude and love in the midst of trial as well as joy; finally, it is something great, supernatural, which expands my soul and unites me to Jesus.

(Manuscript C, Chapter XI, p. 384)

Therese understood too, Jesus' words in today's Gospel, namely, that is to the childlike that the Father, Lord of heaven and earth, reveals things (Lk 10:21). Therese knew her littleness, yet she set her sights high.

Ah! in spite of my littleness, I would like to enlighten souls as did the Prophets and the Doctors. I have the vocation of the Apostle. I would like to travel over the whole earth to preach Your Name and to plant Your glorious Cross on infidel soil. But O my Beloved, one mission alone would not be sufficient for me, I would want to preach the Gospel on all the five continents simultaneously and even to the remote isles. I would be a missionary, not for a few years only but from the beginning of creation until the consummations of the ages. But above all, O my Beloved Savior, I would shed my blood for You even to the very last drop.

(Manuscript B, Chapter IX, p. 300)

As it was, Therese went straight to Pope Leo XIII in 1887 and asked for permission to enter the Carmel of Lisieux when she was 15. She entered a year or so later. She died of tuberculosis at the age of 24. It is after her death that she became Prophet, Doctor, Apostle, and Missionary, and more, in large part due to the publication of her life, Story of a Soul, first published shortly after her death. Translated into over fifty-five languages, it is considered to be a modern spiritual classic, read by millions. Therese must have known something about Saint Benedict's third step of humility, as it was under "obedience for the love of God" (Rule of Saint Benedict, 7:34) that she wrote the story of her life. Therese dedicated it to the Reverend Mother Agnes of Jesus and began in this way: "It is to you, dear Mother, to you who are doubly my Mother, that I come to confide the story of my soul. The day you asked me to do this, it seemed to me it would distract my heart by too much concentration on myself, but since then Jesus has made me feel that in obeying simply, I would be pleasing to Him ..." (Story of a Soul, Manuscript A, Chapter I, p.13).

Pope Francis canonized Therese's parents Louis and Zelie Martin in 2015, making them the first-ever married couple to be canonized. 

SAINT THERESE OF THE CHILD JESUS AND OF THE HOLY FACE,

SAINTS LOUIS MARTIN AND MARIE-AZELIE MARTIN,

PRAY FOR US.

*NB. All quotations from Story of a Soul included in today's reflection are taken from, St. Therese of Lisieux: The Autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux, a Study Edition prepared by Marc Foley O.C.D., translated from the Original Manuscripts by John Clarke O.C.D. (ICS Publications, 2005).

Today's photo: A little flower for the Little Flower, Saint Therese of Lisieux. Teach me wisdom and knowledge.

 

© Gertrude Feick 2022

Saturday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time

Saint: Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Cistercian Abbot, Doctor of the Church "Doctor Mellifluus" (1090-1153)

Readings of the Day

Rule of Saint Benedict: Ch 64:1-6 The Election of an Abbot

Mass: Ezk 43:1-7ab; Resp Ps 85; Mt 23:1-12

For the Feast of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux: Wisdom 7:7-10, 15-16 or Sirach 39:8-14; Resp Ps 19 or 37; Ph 3:17-4:1; Mt 5:13-19 or Jn 17:20-26

The glory of the Lord will dwell in our land.

MARY, QUEEN OF PEACE,

HEART OF MARY, SEAT OF MERCY,

PRAY FOR US.

Therefore I prayed, and prudence was given me; 

I pleaded and the spirit of Wisdom came to me.

(Wisdom 7:7)

The "Doctor Mellifluus," "the last of the Fathers, but certainly not inferior to the earlier ones," was remarkable for such qualities of nature and of mind, and so enriched by God with heavenly gifts, that in the changing and often stormy times in which he lived, he seemed to dominate by his holiness, wisdom and most prudent counsel.

(Pope Pius XII, Encyclical Letter Doctor Mellifluus the Last of the Fathers, May 24, 1953)

How fitting and right it is that as we commemorate the great Cistercian Abbot Bernard of Clairvaux, Saint Benedict writes on the election of the abbot, "Goodness of life and wisdom in teaching must be the criteria for choosing the one to be made abbot ..." (Rule of Saint Benedict, 64:2). Saint Bernard knew that God "is the guide of Wisdom and the director of the wise, for both we and our words are in His hand, as well as prudence and knowledge of crafts" (Wisdom 7:16). Therefore, Pope Pius XII could write: Saint Bernard's "teaching was drawn, almost exclusively, from the pages of Sacred Scripture and from the Fathers, which he had at hand day and night in his profound meditations" (Doctor Mellifluus). 

We end with two quotations from Saint Bernard, the first I am unable to find a source for at the moment, the second from a letter of his. In God we trust. 😊

You will find something more in the woods than in books. Trees and stones will teach you that which you can never learn from masters.

(Saint Bernard of Clairvaux)

We wear ourselves with our scribbling to each other, but is the spirit ever weary of loving? We find rest in those we love, and we provide a resting place in ourselves for those we love.

(Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, The Letters of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Letter 90)  

SAINT BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: For Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, from Saint Bernard Catholic Parish, Eureka, CA.

© Gertrude Feick 2022

Friday of the Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

Year of Saint Joseph

Year of the Family "Amoris Laetitia The Joy of Love"

Saints: Saint Teresa of Avila, Virgin, Doctor (1515-1582)

Readings of the Day

RB: Ch 12 The Celebration of the Solemnity of Lauds

Mass: Rm 4:1-8; Resp Ps 32; Lk 12:1-7

Exult, all you upright of heart.

To be a servant of love is a dignity so great that it delights me in a wonderful way to think about it.

(Saint Teresa of Avila, The Book of Her Life, 11,1)

We commemorate another remarkable saint today, Saint Teresa of Avila, also known as Saint Teresa of Jesus. I was privileged to have a semester long course on this great saint, so she is a favorite. Saint Teresa of Jesus is one in an illustrious group of women Doctors of the Church. The others who join her are Saint Catherine of Siena (Feast on April 29), Saint Therese of Lisieux (Feast on October 1), and Saint Hildegard of Bingen (Feast on September 17). 

If you read one book about Saint Teresa of Avila, a good one to pick up is The Book of Her Life. It is in Chapter 1 where the reader learns something of Teresa's childhood and formation in the faith from her father, "a man very charitable with the poor and compassionate toward the sick, and even toward servants" (1,1), and her mother who "also had many virtues" (1, 2). Her mother "suffered much sickness in her life ... was extremely modest", and "although very beautiful, she never gave occasion to anyone to think she paid any attention to her beauty" (1, 2). Teresa's mother "was gentle and very intelligent. Great were the trials she suffered during her life. Her death [at the age of 33] was a truly Christian one" (1, 2). In all, the children were "three sisters and nine brothers. All who resembled their parents in being virtuous" (1, 3). However, Teresa did not include herself in their company, for she relates, "I am ashamed when I recall the good inclinations the Lord gave me and how poorly I knew how to profit by them" (1, 3).

Not daunted and not held back from the service of God, Teresa and her favorite brother read the lives of the saints. They desired to be martyrs and "agreed to go off to the land of the Moors and beg them, out of love for God, to cut off our heads there"! (1, 4). However, they didn't have the means to fulfill that mission and it seemed that their parents were their "greatest obstacle" (1, 4). So the two of them, if not able to be killed for God then, made a plan to be hermits. Teresa goes on: "And in the garden that we had in our house, we tried as we could to make hermitages piling up some little stones which afterward would quickly fall down again. And so in nothing could we find remedy for our desire" (1, 5). Teresa gave alms and sought out solitude to pray her many devotions, especially the rosary, to which her "mother was very devoted" (1, 6). She also liked to play with her friends too, and enjoyed it immensely when they pretended they were nuns in a monastery (1, 6).

Teresa goes on as you will read. Teresa's mother died when Teresa was around 12 years old. It was then that Teresa found solace in Our Lady and "besought her with many tears to be her mother" (1, 7). The story doesn't end there, as many of you already know. I just find her childhood especially interesting as I was with the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah early this morning, where the Lord calls Jeremiah: Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you (Jer 1:5). We just never know what God has in my mind for us. Let's turn to Saint Teresa of Avila for inspiration and intercession. Pope Benedict XVI, expounding on Saint Teresa of Avila (St. Teresa of Jesus) in his General Audience of February 2, 2011 (see www.vatican.va website or Holy Women by Pope Benedict XVI, p. 135), said this:

Dear brothers and sisters, St. Teresa of Jesus is a true teacher of Christian life for the faithful of every time. In our society, which all too often lacks spiritual values, St. Teresa teaches us to be unflagging witnesses of God, of his presence, and of his action. She teaches us truly to feel this thirst for God that exists in the depths of our hearts, this desire to see God, to seek God, to be in conversation with him and to be his friends.

LET THE CHRISTIAN BE VALIANT.

(Saint Teresa of Avila, The Interior Castle, 1, 13)

SAINT TERESA OF AVILA,

SAINT JOSEPH,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: Back at Paul and Sue's in Mt. Angel, OR.

© Gertrude Feick 2021

Friday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time

Year of Saint Joseph

Year of the Family "Amoris Laetitia The Joy of Love"

National Back to School Month

Saints: Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Cistercian Abbot and Doctor, "Last of the Fathers" (1090-1153)

Readings of the Day

RB: Ch 64:1-6 The Election of an Abbot

Mass: 

Solemnity of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux: Wisdom 7:7-10, 15-16 or Sirach 39:8-14; Ph 3:17-4:1; Mt 5:13-19 or Jn 17:20-26

Feria: Ruth 1:1, 3-6, 14b-16, 22; Resp Ps 146; Mt 22:34-40

For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.

How fitting it is on this day that we celebrate the Solemnity of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, that we also begin Saint Benedict's Chapter 64 on the Election of an Abbot. It is there in the Holy Rule that Saint Benedict writes, "Goodness of life and wisdom in teaching must be the criteria for choosing the one to be made abbot" (RB 64:2). Saint Bernard of Clairvaux was certainly one who was blessed with goodness of life and wisdom in teaching. The following comes from one of his sermons on the Song of Songs, 37:1. 

You remember that you have agreed with me that no one is saved without self-knowledge, since it is the source of that humility on which salvation depends, and the fear of the Lord that is as much the beginning of salvation as of wisdom. No one, I repeat, is saved without that knowledge ... 

But what if you have no knowledge of God? Is hope of salvation compatible with ignorance about God? Surely not. For you cannot love what you do not know, nor possess what you do not love. Know yourself and you will have a wholesome fear of God; know him and you will also love him. In the first, wisdom has its beginning, in the second its crown, for "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," and "love is the fulfilling of the law." You must avoid both kinds of ignorance, because without fear and love salvation is not possible.

SAINT BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX,

MARY, OUR LADY OF CITEAUX,

MARY, OUR LADY OF CLAIRVAUX,

MARY, OUR LADY OF LA TRAPP,

MARY, OUR LADY OF NAZARETH,

MARY, OUR LADY OF KLAARLAND,

MARY, OUR LADY OF THE REDWOODS,

SAINT JOSEPH,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: My oldest sister Kathy and I saw this tempura and gold on wood piece at the Indianapolis Museum of Art in 2017. By Italian artist Agnolo Gaddi (1350-1396), it was once part of a larger altarpiece whose center panel is now missing. The four saints you see, from left to right, are Saint Mary Magdalene, Saint Benedict, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, and Saint Catherine of Alexandria.

© Gertrude Feick 2021

SAINT GERTRUDE THE GREAT OF HELFTA (1256-1301/2)

Medieval Mystic

Saint Margaret of Scotland (1046-1093)

Queen, Patron of Scotland

Readings of the day: RB 38

Mass: Wisdom 7:22b-8:1; Resp. Psalm 119; Luke 17:20-25

Solemnity of Saint Gertrude, Federation of Saint Gertrude, USA:

Mass: Songs 8:6-7; Eph. 3:14-19; John 15:1-8

With a captive audience, I share an anecdote. Today is my Name Day—and as Italians say on such an occasion—Auguri! Buon onomastica! Before my perpetual monastic profession with the Benedictine Sisters of Mt. Angel, OR, I asked the prioress if I could receive a new monastic name. She agreed and asked me to submit three names for her consideration. Every morning I would add to the list of names that I considered—Gemma, Hilary, Cecilia, etc.—but none seemed quite fitting. Then, on November 16, 2006, I was showing an icon of Saint Gertrude the Great to a group of university students who were visiting the monastery. I shared with them Gertrude’s entrance to the monastery and subsequent conversion—a story which gave me hope for my own life. While explaining some of Gertrude’s human traits, namely, impatience, and as M. Marnau writes, “perhaps a certain harshness and intolerance with the lukewarm (directed, more often than not, against herself)…” I was overwhelmed and knew that Gertrude the Great was to be my patron. There would be no compromising…it would be Gertrude, or I would continue to be called by my baptismal name. I compiled the list of names and submitted it to the prioress: 1. Gertrude 2. Gertrude 3. Gertrude. On November 16, 2007, Saint Gertrude the Great of Helfta became my patron. I give thanks. May God be praised!

To provide a brief biography of Saint Gertrude, I also share with you part of a paper I wrote a few years back:

Gertrude the Great’s place of birth and family of origin are well described as a mystery. She relates the following details about her early life: “…from infancy, in my fifth year to be precise, you [God] chose me to be formed among the most faithful of your friends, to live in the household of your holy religion” (The Herald of Divine Love, II, 23). The household of holy religion that Gertrude entered in 1261, was the community of nuns at Helfta, Germany, who lived according to the Rule of St. Benedict. The monastery was a thriving center of spirituality and study. B. McGinn describes the environment at Helfta: “The ancient monastic ideal of combining the love of learning and the desire for God was alive and well at Helfta” (The Flowering of Mysticism: Men and Women in the New Mysticism—1200-1350, 267). The communal life at Helfta revolved around the daily rhythm of the Divine Office, lectio divina, work, and study. 

Welcomed by the community of nuns at Helfta, Gertrude entered the monastery school. She possessed many gifts and was well-liked by other students in the school. Gertrude’s biographer writes:

Even at this tender age, she already possessed the wisdom of a mature person. She was amiable, clever, and eloquent, and so docile that she was admired by all who heard her. As soon as she was admitted to the school, she showed such quickness and intelligence that she soon far surpassed in learning and knowledge all the children of her own age and all her other companions as well. Gladly and eagerly she gave herself to the study of liberal arts. And so the years of her childhood and youth were passed with a pure and innocent heart, and she was preserved by the Father of mercies (2 Cor. 1:3,4) from the many vain trivialities which often lead young people astray (cf. Wisdom 4:11-14) For this, may praise and thanks be given him for ever! (The Herald of Divine Love, I, 1.)

Even so, Gertrude was not always open to encountering God, or letting God encounter her. It is reasonable to think that if a person is placed within the environs of a thriving and loving monastic community and school at such an early age, the youngster would readily and fully embrace monastic values. Alas, simply living in the monastery does not make a person a Benedictine, [or a Cistercian] that is, one who does not “get too involved in purely worldly affairs” (RB 4:20). This is true of Gertrude who did not fully live monastic life until roughly twenty-four years later after entering the monastery! It was in her twenty-sixth year that St. Gertrude had her day of salvation, when the Lord appeared to her and “resolved to disperse the darkness of [her] night” (The Herald of Diving Love, II, 1). Until that time, she was worldly and prideful, and, according to her testimony, “alas, I was—in vain—bearing the name and wearing the habit of a religious” (II, 1).

So, Gertrude’s being open to the God of love was a process and not something that was taken for granted. Her conversion was the beginning of the mystical dimension of her life. From the age of 24, then, “her love of learning now became desire for knowledge of God…In those days she could never tire of the sweet pleasure she found in the contemplation of God and in the study of Scripture…” (I, 1, 53). Gertrude became solely focused on encountering God and letting God encounter her. Gertrude received the grace of encounter, of growing in intimacy with the God who gives himself unconditionally, whether we are recognize it or not.

Set me a seal on your heart.

Songs 8:6b

May Christ dwell in your heart through faith; that you rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Eph. 3:17-19

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. 

John 15:7-8

Pope Benedict XVI, on Saint Gertrude the Great, General Audience, Saint Peter’s Square, Oct. 6, 2010:

St Gertrude the Great, of whom I would like to talk to you today, brings us once again this week to the Monastery of Helfta, where several of the Latin-German masterpieces of religious literature were written by women. Gertrude belonged to this world. She is one of the most famous mystics, the only German woman to be called “Great”, because of her cultural and evangelical stature: her life and her thought had a unique impact on Christian spirituality. She was an exceptional woman, endowed with special natural talents and extraordinary gifts of grace, the most profound humility and ardent zeal for her neighbour’s salvation. She was in close communion with God both in contemplation and in her readiness to go to the help of those in need…

St Gertrude’s life lives on as a lesson of Christian life, of an upright path, and shows us that the heart of a happy life, of a true life, is friendship with the Lord Jesus. And this friendship is learned in love for Sacred Scripture, in love for the Liturgy, in profound faith, in love for Mary, so as to be ever more truly acquainted with God himself and hence with true happiness, which is the goal of our life.

IN ALL THAT CONCERNS ME,

YOUR ADORABLE WILL BE DONE.

Saint Gertrude the Great

GERTRUDE THE GREAT OF HELFTA,

PRAY FOR US.