SAINT OF THE DAY: TERESA DE JESUS! (TERESA OF AVILA)REFORMER OF THE CARMELITE ORDER TO ORDER OF CARMELITE DISCALCED (OCD)


It's almost 3am in the cold Stockholm but I can't sleep without writing about Madre Teresa de Jésus (also known as St Teresa of Avila.) I recount the old memories when I was s very, very young. I cannot remember the exact years but before I reached even ten years. In simple put, since I started talking (probably) hahahha anyway,my lovely mother ; whose name is Catherine, has great devotion to St Catherine of Sienna (her patron saint) and Teresa de Jesus. So she's one of the earliest Saints I came across with. Nevertheless,only the name was famous to me an issue which made me kinder lax to search for any information about Teresa of Avila.

In a way, I took the "old memories for granted" Well, for quiet sometime now her name and fame became so popular in my ears and I wondered what's so special about this woman? Still, I kept my laxity and I bothered not to do any kind of research. It's unfortunate/ or rather fortunate may be! mh who knows? I came to know her through her famous daughters; St Thérèse of the infant Jesus (my patron saint) and St Teresa of the Andes. My close friendship with these two women directed me to the woman who influenced their love towards the only one Love; Jesus Christ.

Still, I didn't take any effort but I guess she kinder did 'cause I sometimes asked myself "Why is Saint Teresa de Jésus so famous?" with no avail. In case you don't know, I have got a bunch of saints friends (strange mh?!) so I spend a great deal of my time to learn about their lives et.
One day, I was set to watch a film in EWTN, guess what I found? "A min- series of St Teresa de Jésus". I was extremely happy and I knew for sure, this was the "famous bright beginning." I followed this series for three consecutive weeks, and when they wrote "FINITO", I had the reasons why "she is a super woman". So I went to buy her book "The way of perfection" which left me in wonder.

I would love to regenerate some of her words from the book which really touched my heart the most. Don't be happy 'coz I will quote just few of them.
"For one occasion as much distress may be caused by quiet a small matter as would be caused by some greater trial, and there are people whose nature it is to be very much cast down by small things. If you are not like this, do not neglect to have compassion on others; it may be our Lord wishes to spare us these sufferings and will give us sufferings of another kinds which will seem heavy on us, though to the person already mentioned they may seem light. In these matters, then, we must not judge others by ourselves, nor think of ourselves as we have been at some time when, perhaps without any effort ou our part, the Lord has made us stronger than they; Let us think of what we were like at times when we have been weakest" (The way of perfection Pg 52)


It's sad that I have to post this story with no photos, how sad! Can't upload any photo por qui? lol, my poor french!

About giving up our WILL, this is what she said "It seems very easy to say that we will surrender our WILL to someone, until we try it and realize that it is the hardest thing we can do if we carry it out as we should" (PG 206 Supra)

NEVERTHELESS, SHE CONTINUES

"Do not fear that He will give reaches or pleasures or great honours or any such earthly things; His Love for you is not so poor as that. And He sets a very high value on what you give Him and desires to recompense you for it since He gives you His Kingdom while you are still alive." (ibid)

Guess what, I was joking to my sister few days ago requesting her to visit me before I go back to Tanzania for she might find me in a cloister. We both laughed at the Idea. After that talk, I felt something pulling me to search for cloistered orders in Tanzania,only to land in Kiabakari
http://kiabakarisnippets.blogspot.com.
What a grace! So I wrote to the sisters, wish they reply today (The feast of Saint Teresa de Jesus, Madre Teresa de Jesus!. O Lord, it takes a strong woman to enter Carmel ,how can I even desire it? The weak Piccolito, the imperfect little one?
O Madre St Teresa de Jesus pray for us!
Pray for our beloved Pope Benedict XVI
Pray for our priests,
Pray for religious
Pray for Vocations,
Pray for families
Pray for me
I'm so sleepy! Let me call it a day! Happy feast day. This makes me miss Pilauuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

pICCOla

Newsletter

SisterZ n' FriarZ Network



(The Altar at the St Eugenia Parish in Stockholm)




(Stockholm is built up ontop of approximately 14 islands.The view towards (not from) Slussen) lol!!

In Sweden, Catholics are the minorities. Mph! and the rest of the groups are either protestants,evangelicals, agnostics or Atheists etc. Catholicism was one of the earliest religion in Sweden but following the reformation, many consider it to be an alien religion.




Well, despite being the minority, Catholicism is growing very fast in Sweden where converts are being received frequently (Every week people are being baptised; yepeeeh!).




Nevertheless, for the migrants and visitors,language might be an issues-as it is to many of us- because in many parishes and the diocese, masses are being celebrated in Swedish. Luckily enough, in Stockholm,otherlanguage speakers, get at least one mass (Sunday of course hahahah) of their own languages; mostly English, French and Spanish. (I will have to research about other catholic churches outside stockholm! I promise One of the multinational parishes is St Eugenia at King's garden (kungsträdgardsgattan I hope the spellings are correct, let me check! Yap! correct indeed hahhhaah).



At St Eugenia, English masses are celebrated every Sunday at 18:00 pm. Of course it's presided by the holy confessions and holy rosary and
the litany of our blessed mother at her chapel. Being multinational, St Eugenia holds small communities
African group- Choir practice under the leadership of reverend sister Maurine
such as Philippine group and African group who from time to time have their own special masses normally,nce each month.




Last Saturday, the African group celebrated it's monthly mass where among other things, four members celebrated their birthdays as well. It was such a great event with good food after wards. yummy, yummy,
yummy!!




Many thanks to our God the almighty, our blessed mother and our chaplain!
We also thank all those who attended this superb event and we wish you all the best in your endeavours!
Let Christ's light shine upon you and those around you





Benedicta- Marie of the Eucharist (Sisters n' Friars Network)

"I have fallen in love with the Nazarene Carpenter"

For daily and weekly updates catch Sisters n' Friars http://piccola.blog.com/8

Long time!

It's just that the other blog was under construction meanwhile this one went on vacation

lol contemplation kinder of thing


But we are backkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk


Check it out soon

I Love Every God's Creations

cute

PRAYER FOR PRIESTS, VOCATIONS AND SEMINARIANS

Most gracious Heavenly Father,
We thank you for our faithful priests and bishops, whose spiritual fatherhood and example of fidelity, self-sacrifice, and devotion is so vital to the faith of your people.
May our spiritual fathers be guided by the examples of Saints Peter and Paul, all the Apostles and their saintly successors. Give them valiant faith in the face of confusion and conflict, hope in time of trouble and sorrow, and steadfast love for you, for their families, and for all your people throughout the world. May the light of your Truth shine through their lives and their good works.
Assist all spiritual fathers, that through your Grace they may steadily grow in holiness and in knowledge and understanding of your Truth. May they generously impart this knowledge to those who rely on them.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Lotti was born in 1381 in the tiny hamlet of Roccaporena, near Cascia, in the Province of Umbria, Italy. Her parents Antonio and Amata looked upon their only child as a very special gift from God since she was born to them as they were already getting on in years.
The Lottis were a devout Christian couple, offering their daughter the witness of strong faith in God and a practical example of Gospel living, especially in their role as official peacemakers or reconcilers among their fellow citizens. It should not have been surprising then that Rita, who shared her parents strong faith and religious devotion, would have desired to dedicate her life to God as a nun. Unexpected, rather, was the response of Antonio and Amata, who preferred to see Rita married, and who, in fact, had arranged a suitable husband for her.

Though initially disappointed, Rita understood this choice to be the expression of God’s will for her and so she consented. Both the civil and ecclesiastical climates at the time were not healthy ones - frequent conflicts and family rivalries were routinely settled by the rule of vendetta on the social level - and the scandal of antipopes and their rival bishops dominated the life of the Church. The only child of aging parents would have been far safer under the protection of a good husband, they thought, than she would be behind the unguarded walls of a convent.

Thus Rita was married to Paolo Mancini, a good man though of strong and impetuous character. Their marriage was blessed with two sons, perhaps twins, and Rita’s days were soon filled with the typical concerns of wife, mother and housekeeper, while Paolo was employed as a watchman for the town. As a minor civil servant, Paolo often found himself drawn into the conflicts that existed between rival political factions, and this may account for the tragedy which eventually touched the Mancini family. One day as he was returning from work Paolo was ambushed and killed. The pain which this unexpected and violent death inflicted upon Rita was only compounded by the fear that her sons would seek to avenge their father’s death.

Her example of forgiveness, her words of instruction and pleading, her prayers for their change of heart, were unable to move the two boys to forego any act of retaliation, and so Rita entrusted the cause totally to God, asking him to handle the situation which was beyond her control. As it happened, both sons died within the year.

Now alone, Rita gave herself to works of charity and to a more intense life of prayer. Eventually the desire to enter the convent once more grew in her, but her request for entrance among the Augustinian Nuns of Cascia was refused, not once but three times. Though Rita was known to the nuns of the Monastery of Saint Mary Magdalene, her good character and religious spirit were outweighed, in the judgment of the community, by the violence that surrounded Paolo’s death. The nuns were afraid of tempting the peace of convent life, possibly because one of their members belonged to the family responsible for Paolo’s murder. But Rita felt deeply that this was the vocation to which she was called and she turned to her three patron saints to intercede for her. After the third refusal of the nuns, Rita recognized that she herself must put their fears to rest. She approached Paolo’s family as well as their rivals, and persuaded them to put an end to their hostility and to live in peace.

The example of her own forgiving spirit, no doubt, was an inspiration and - perhaps an embarrassment - to them. The families were reconciled. They signed a document to this effect, and when Rita presented the document to the nuns, they no longer had reason to refuse her. Rita Lotti Mancini now became Sister Rita.

For the next forty years Rita lived the life of an Augustinian Nun, according to the Rule of the saint she had chosen years before as her spiritual father, Saint Augustine of Hippo. His was a gentle Rule which invited the members of the community to strive in every way possible to achieve communion of mind and heart with God and one another. Her days were spent in prayer and contemplation, in service to the sick and the poor, and in activities necessary to support the life of the small community.

After twenty-five years of religious life, Rita was given what she considered a most treasured and singular gift from God. Always devoted to Jesus crucified, her desire constantly grew to share in his great act of love for her and for all humanity by helping to carry his cross. One day as she knelt in prayer, her forehead was pierced by a violent wound, a thorn from the crown that covered Jesus’s own head. She bore this wound for fifteen years until the day of her death.

For the last several years of her life Rita was confined to bed. The last of the many crosses she was presented in life was now the humbling condition of an invalid, totally dependent upon the charity of her sisters. Finally, on May 22,1457 Rita’s life on earth came to an end. The various crosses she had born as wife, widow, mother and nun were now put aside once and for all as she met the embrace of her Risen Lord.

NOVENA PRAYERS TO SAINT RITA OF CASCIA

Leader: Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and enkindle in them the fire of Your love. Send forth Your Spirit and our hearts will be renewed.

All: And you will renew the face of the earth.

Leader: O God, Who by the light of the Holy Spirit, instructed the hearts of the faithful; grant us, by the same Holy Spirit, a love and desire for what is right and just, and the constant enjoyment of His consolation, through Christ our Lord. Amen

LITANY OF SAINT RITA:

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us, Christ hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of heaven, have mercy on us.
God, the Son, Redeemer of the world, ….
God, the Holy Spirit, …
Holy Trinity, One God, …
Immaculate Mary, Mother of God, pray for us.
Holy Mary, Mother of pure love, …
Holy Mary, Comforter of the afflicted, …
Holy Mary, Queen of all the saints, …
Holy Mary, Model of life for Saint Rita, …
St. Rita, our advocate and protectress, …
St. Rita, beloved by the Lord, …
St. Rita given special grace from heaven, …
St. Rita, remarkable in childhood, …
St. Rita, model of obedience to God’s Will, …
St. Rita, of untiring patience, …
St. Rita, model of Christian mothers, …
St. Rita, mirror for Christian spouses, …

St. Rita, heroic in sacrifice, …
St. Rita, generous in forgiving, …
St. Rita, martyr in penitence, …
St. Rita, embracing humility and poverty, …
St. Rita, exemplary as a widow, …
St. Rita, prompt to answer the divine call, …
St. Rita, patient in suffering, …
St. Rita, mirror of religious observance, …
St. Rita, mystical rose of every virtue, …
St. Rita, enamored of the Passion of Christ, …
St. Rita, pierced with a thorn, …
St. Rita, in ecstasy before the Blessed Sacrament, …
St. Rita, consumed with Divine Love, …
St. Rita, received into heaven with joy, …
St. Rita, incorrupt in your chaste body, …
St. Rita, advocate of impossible cases, …
St. Rita, persevering in prayer, …
St. Rita, help of those in need, …





Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us.

Leader: Lord, you have signed your servant, Rita.
All: With the marks of Your love and Passion.


Leader: Let us pray. O God, Who bestowed on St. Rita such grace that she loved her enemies, and bore in her heart and on her forehead the mark of Your love and Passion, grant us, we beseech You, through her merits and intercession, a love for our enemies. Through our contemplation of Your sufferings and Passion, may we merit the reward promised to the meek and the suffering. You live and reign forever. Amen


PRAYER OF PETITION:


All: Glorious St. Rita, patroness of those in need/ your intercession with our Lord is most powerful./ Through the favors obtained by your prayers/ you have been called Advocate of hopeless and even impossible cases./ St. Rita, humble and pure; patient and compassionate lover of Christ Crucified!/ We have confidence that everyone who has recourse to you, will find comfort and relief./ Listen to our petitions and show your power with God in our behalf./ Obtain our petitions for us/ if they are for the greater honor of God, and for our good./ We promise, if our petitions are granted,/ to make known your favor, and to glorify God for His gift./ Relying on your power with the merciful Savior, we ask of you . . .

(here mention your request in silence)

By the singular merits of your childhood, ALL: obtain our request for us
By your perfect union with the Divine Will, …
By your acceptance of troubles in your married life, …
By the anguish felt at the murder of your husband, …
By the surrender of your children, rather than have them offend God, …
By your miraculous entrance into the convent,
By your daily penance and fasting, …
By your courage and joy in bearing the mark of the Crucified Savior, …
By the Divine Love which consumed your life,
By your devotion in receiving the Blessed Sacrament, …
By the happiness you felt in leaving this life for union with Christ, …
By the example you have given to people of every state of life, …

Pray for us, St. Rita, ALL: That we may be worthy of the promises of Christ.

Leader: Let us pray.
All: Heavenly Father! In Your infinite love and mercy/ You heed the prayer of Your beloved servant, Rita./ You graciously grant favors through her intercession,/ which are considered impossible to human skill and effort./ Relying on her compassionate love, we ask You to assist us in our trials and difficulties./ Let unbelievers know/ that you are the helper of the humble,/ the defender of the weak, and the strength of those who trust in You. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

St Rita pray for us

Just to whish you a happy Saturday while waiting for the Holy spirit tomorrow

Best n' Peace
Piccola