St. Kuriakos Elias Chavara – January 4 - Carmelite Saints

Summary: The prophet Elijah appears in Scripture as a man of God who lived always in His presence and fought zealously for the worship of the one God. He defended God’s law in a solemn contest on Mt. Carmel, and afterwards was given on Mt. Horeb an intimate experience of the living God. The hermits, who instituted a form of monastic life in honor of Our Lady on Mt. Carmel in the twelfth century, followed monastic tradition in turning to Elijah as their Father and model. History: “We who live in Carmel and who daily call on our Holy Father Elijah in prayer know that for us he is not a shadowy figure out of the dim past. His spirit is active among us in a vital tradition and determines how we live.” – St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross The prophet Elijah stands as the enduring foundation of Carmelite spirituality as the Father of the Carmelite Order. St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross’s beautiful work, On the History and Spirit of Carmel, shows how the spirit of Elijah has lived on in Carmelite spirituality. Throughout this account, excerpts from her work will highlight how Elijah’s spirit remains at the heart of Carmelite spirituality. Elijah lived around 900 BC and was a Thesbite. His name means “My God is the Lord” in Hebrew. He became a prophet when Israel struggled with its faith, and his life protested the era’s immorality. During Elijah’s time, Israel was divided between the northern and southern kingdoms. Omri, King of Israel, promoted practices contrary to religious law, including establishing local altars and priests, and encouraging the worship of Baal. His son Ahab's marriage to Jezebel, a worshipper of Baal, heightened these tensions as Jezebel actively promoted the worship of Baal in Israel. Against this backdrop, 1 Kings 17 begins as Elijah suddenly appears before King Ahab. Elijah warns Ahab that unless he and the people repent of their evils, God will scourge the land with a drought for their apostasy (1 Kings 17:1). “Our Holy Father Elijah succinctly says what is most important in the first words of his that the Scriptures give us. He says to King Ahab, “As the Lord the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” To stand before the face of the living God, that is our vocation. The holy prophet set us an example.” – St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross The prophet’s sudden appearance suggests divine intervention. God reached out to correct and chastise, but also to heal and strengthen his people. He sent Elijah to remind the king and the Israelites that the Lord is their God. The prophet’s mission is to bring about a conversion of mind and heart. By marrying a foreign queen from a pagan nation, Ahab led the people astray by his example. In Israel's history, the king's spirituality shapes the lives of his people. If the king is faithful, the nation tends to remain faithful; if unfaithful, then the whole nation is likely to break the covenant with the Lord. After this confrontation, God told Elijah to flee to the brook Cherith, where ravens would feed him (1 Kings 17:2-6). When the brook dried up, God sent Elijah to a widow in Zarephath. The widow, with only her last meal left because of the famine, nonetheless received him. He told her, “The Lord, the God of Israel, says: The jar of flour shall not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, until the day when the Lord sends rain.” Later, when the widow's son died, Elijah prayed to God to restore her child to life. The Lord heard Elijah's prayer, and life returned to her son’s body (1 Kings 17:7-24). This is the first recorded instance of raising the dead in Scripture. Despite the suffering caused by the drought, Ahab ignored Elijah’s warning and continued to worship Baal with Jezebel. For three years, no rain fell, during which Ahab scoured the land for Elijah but could not find him. Then, after three years, at the Lord’s command, Elijah returned to confront the king. “The prophet, who serves the Lord in complete purity of heart and completely stripped of everything earthly, is also a model of obedience. He stands before God’s face like the angels before the eternal throne, awaiting his sign, always ready to serve. He has no other will than the will of his Lord. When God bids, he goes before the king and fearlessly risks giving him bad news that must arouse his hatred. When God wills it, he leaves the country at the threat of violence; but he also returns at God’s command, though the danger has not disappeared.” – St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross On his return journey, Elijah encountered Obadiah, head of Ahab's household, who had hidden a hundred Jewish prophets from Jezebel's violent purge. Obadiah feared that if he reported Elijah’s presence to Ahab and Elijah disappeared, Ahab would execute him. However, Elijah reassured Obadiah and sent him to summon Ahab. When Ahab arrived, he fiercely accused Elijah of bringing the curse upon the land. Elijah, however, replied that Ahab himself was to blame, having allowed the worship of false gods (1 Kings 18:1-18). During this confrontation, Elijah directed Ahab to summon the people of Israel, the 450 prophets of Baal, and the 400 prophets of Asherah to Mount Carmel for a decisive contest between the God of Israel and Baal. There, Elijah rebuked the people: "How long will you straddle the issue? If the Lord is God, follow him; if Baal, follow him." He then instructed the prophets of Baal to call upon their deity, while he would "call upon the name of the Lord," with the agreement that “The God who answers with fire is God,” to which all the people agreed. First, the priests of Baal attempted to invoke their god. For hours, they chanted, danced, and cut themselves, but to no avail. Elijah then took his turn. He repaired the altar of God with twelve stones to represent the twelve tribes of Israel, dug a trench around it, and then prepared his sacrifice. To further demonstrate God’s power, he ordered that both the sacrifice and the altar be drenched with water from "four large jars" three times, until even the trench was filled. Elijah then prayed to God. As he was praying, “The Lord’s fire came down and devoured the burnt offering, wood, stones, and dust, and lapped up the water in the trench.” This miracle prompted the people to declare, "The Lord is God! The Lord is God!" Elijah ordered them to seize the prophets of Baal. They did so, and Elijah brought them to the River Kishon and slaughtered them. Afterward, Elijah went to the top of Mount Carmel and instructed his servant to look toward the sea for a sign of coming rain. The servant found nothing at first but looked seven times at Elijah’s insistence. On the seventh time, he observed “a cloud as small as a man’s hand rising from the sea.” Soon after, torrential rains fell upon the land, ending the three-year drought (1 Kings 18:19-46). “It was she [the Blessed Virgin] who manifested herself to the Prophet Elijah in the form of a little rain cloud and for whom the sons of the prophets built the first shrine on Mount Carmel. The legend of the Order tells us that the Mother of God would have liked to remain with the hermit brothers on Mount Carmel. We can certainly understand that she felt drawn to the place where she had been venerated through the ages and where the holy prophet had lived in the same spirit that also filled her from the time her earthly sojourn began. Released from everything earthly, to stand in worship in the presence of God, to love him with her whole heart, to beseech his grace for sinful people, and in atonement to substitute herself for these people, as the maidservant of the Lord to await his beckoning, this was her life.” – St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross Following the victory on Mount Carmel, Jezebel, infuriated, threatened to kill Elijah, forcing him to flee for his life. Elijah escaped to Beer-sheba in Judah and then went alone into the desert wilderness. There, he sat under a shrub, prayed for death, and fell asleep. An angel of the Lord gently roused him, instructing him to eat and drink. Elijah found bread and water, ate, and fell back asleep. The angel came a second time, urging him to eat and drink further, telling him he had a long journey ahead. Elijah “stood before God’s face because this was the eternal treasure for whose sake he gave up all earthly goods. He had no house; he lived wherever the Lord directed him from moment to moment: in loneliness beside the brook of Cherith, in the little house of the poor widow of Zarephath of Sidon, or in the caves of Mount Carmel… Elijah is not concerned about his daily bread. He lives trusting in the solicitude of the heavenly Father and is marvelously sustained. A raven brings him his daily food while he is in solitude. The miraculously increased provisions of the pious widow nourish him in Zarephath. Prior to the long trek… an angel with heavenly bread strengthens him. So he is for us an example of the gospel poverty that we have vowed, an authentic prototype of the Savior.” – St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross After recovering in the wilderness and journeying to Mount Horeb, Elijah hid in a cave where God spoke to him through a “light, silent sound.” God commanded him to anoint Hazael as King of Syria, Jehu as King of Israel, and Elisha as his own successor. Setting out to fulfill these tasks, Elijah met Elisha, who was plowing a field. Casting his mantle on Elisha, Elijah made him his faithful disciple and eventual successor (1 Kings 19:1-21). Following these developments, Ahab desired Naboth’s vineyard in Jezreel. He offered a better vineyard or a fair price for the land, but Naboth refused, citing God’s command not to part with the land. While Ahab reluctantly accepted, Jezebel took action by murdering Naboth to obtain the vineyard. In response, God instructed Elijah to confront Ahab with a question and a prophecy: "After murdering, do you also take possession?” and "In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, the dogs shall lick up your blood, too.” Ahab blamed Elijah as his enemy, but Elijah told him that his own actions made him God’s enemy. Elijah prophesied disaster for Ahab, his family, and Jezebel. Ahab's sincere repentance delayed the full punishment, which God postponed for Jezebel and their son, Ahaziah (1 Kings 21:1-29). The next significant episode involving Elijah concerned Ahab’s successor, Ahaziah. After a serious fall, Ahaziah sent messengers to consult the shrine of Baalzebub, the god of Ekron, about his recovery. Elijah intercepted the messengers, sending them back with a message: “Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baalzebub, the god of Ekron?” When Ahaziah questioned the messengers about the identity of the man who intercepted them, they stated he wore a hairy garment and a leather belt around his waist, and Ahaziah recognized him as Elijah. In reaction, Ahaziah sent three groups of soldiers to capture Elijah. The first two were destroyed by fire, which Elijah called down from heaven. The captain of the third group begged for mercy for himself and his men. Elijah agreed to go with them to Ahaziah. He delivered his message in person and told Ahaziah he would not recover. As Elijah foretold, Ahaziah died from his injuries (2 Kings 1:2-17). “Anyone who is so unconditionally faithful to God can also be certain of God’s faithfulness. He is permitted to speak “as someone who has power,” may open and close heaven, may command the waters to let him walk through and remain dry, may call down fire from heaven to consume his sacrifice, to execute punishment on God’s enemies, and may breathe new life into a dead person. We see the Savior’s predecessor provided with all the graces that he has promised to his own.” – St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross Later, as Elijah spoke with his successor, Elisha, he miraculously split the Jordan River with his mantle. Once they crossed, Elijah invited Elisha to request a parting gift. Elisha asked to receive a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. Elijah agreed on the condition that Elisha witness his departure. As they walked together, "a fiery chariot and fiery horses came between the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind." As Elijah ascended, his mantle fell to the ground, and Elisha picked it up, thus assuming Elijah’s prophetic role (2 Kings 2:1-14). After Elijah was taken up to heaven, he later appeared alongside Moses at the Transfiguration of Jesus on Mount Tabor. St. John Chrysostom, in a homily on the Transfiguration, explained the significance of the appearances of Elijah and Moses. He stated that since “the Jews repeatedly accused Christ of being a transgressor of the Law, and they held him as a blasphemer, and as one who claimed the glory of the Father,” Jesus brought forth Moses and Elijah to prove he was guilty of neither of those crimes. Since God gave the Law to Moses, “Moses would not have suffered the Law to be trampled underfoot, as the Jews supposed, nor would he, the lawgiver, ever have honored the transgressor of the Law… Elijah, on the other hand, was zealous for the glory of God; wherefore he would not have been in attendance upon one who decided himself equal to the Father, had he not been so, nor would the Prophet have obeyed him who claimed that which he possessed not.” During the Transfiguration, Elijah and Moses conversed with Jesus. Even after his earthly departure, Elijah’s story continues in sacred tradition. According to tradition, Elijah will be one of the two witnesses described in the book of Revelation. It is believed that he would come as the forerunner of Christ, at the end of the world, to announce His last coming. Accordingly, the Antichrist would wage war with him and would slay him. His body will lie in the streets, unburied, for three and a half days. At the end of that time, he would be raised by the Lord and would smite the kingdom of Antichrist with a dire blow. After this, the Lord shall come, and He shall slay the Antichrist and those who adored him, and the Lord will reign with all His Saints forever (Revelation 11:1-14). Elijah is the spiritual father and leader of the Carmelites, as the Carmelite way of life embodies the spirit of Elijah. During his ministry, Elijah went up to Mount Carmel to live and to pray. It was there that he taught and trained his followers, who are considered by some to be the first monks. From that time onward, Mount Carmel has been inhabited by men seeking union with God. For centuries, his story has inspired all who number themselves among the sons of the prophets, that is, every Carmelite. In praying with Elijah, we hope to receive some portion of his spirit in our own service of the Lord God. Elijah's spirit of prayer, penance, contemplation, and zeal for the Lord is to this day the very spirit of the Carmelites. From Elijah, Carmelites learn to listen for the voice of God in the unexpected and in silence. We seek to allow the Word of God to shape our minds and our hearts so that the way we live and the things we do may be prophetic and therefore faithful to the memory of our father Elijah. [The Carmelite rule] “condensed the entire meaning of our life in a short statement: “All are to remain in their own cells…, meditating on the Law of the Lord day and night and watching in prayer...” “To watch in prayer,” this is to say the same thing that Elijah said with the words, “to stand before the face of God.” Prayer is looking up into the face of the Eternal. We can do this only when the spirit is awake in its innermost depths, freed from all earthly occupations and pleasures that benumb it.” – St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross Prayer: Almighty, ever living God, your prophet Elijah, our Father, lived always in your presence and was zealous for the honor due to your name. May we, your servants, always seek your face and bear witness to your love. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Summary: Barbe Avrillot, also known as Madame Acarie, was born in Paris in 1566. At the age of sixteen, she married Pierre Acarie, by whom she had seven children. In spite of her household duties and many hardships, she attained the heights of the mystical life. Under the influence of St. Teresa’s writings, and after mystical contact with the Saint herself, she spared no effort in introducing the Discalced Carmelite nuns into France. After her husband’s death, she asked to be admitted among them as a lay sister, taking the name of Mary of the Incarnation; she was professed at the Carmel of Amiens in 1615. She was esteemed by some of the greatest men of her time, including St. Francis de Sales; and she was distinguished by her spirit of prayer and her zeal for the propagation of the Catholic faith. She died at Pontoise on April 18th, 1618. History: Mary of the Incarnation, born Barbe Avrillot on February 1, 1566, in Paris, was the daughter of Nicholas Avrillot, lord of Champlâtreux and the accountant general in the Chamber of Paris, as well as chancellor of Queen Marguerite of Navarre. Her mother was Mary L'Huillier, a descendant of Etienne Marcel. Before she was born, her parents had several other children, but all died in infancy. While her mother awaited this child, she vowed her to the Blessed Virgin and Saint Claude. She promised to clothe her in white until age seven and to offer her in a church of the Blessed Virgin. She was born healthy and baptized as Barbe, the day after the Purification of Our Lady. Her parents instilled piety in her from childhood. As a young girl, she was entrusted to the care of the Little Sisters of the Humility of Our Lady at Longchamp, where she had a maternal aunt. There, she was educated. The girls were taught to read and sing and joined the nuns in the Divine Office. She advanced in virtue and developed a distaste for worldly things. She was drawn to heavenly things with great ardor. There, she formed a vocation for the cloister, which was not altered by later life in the world. At fourteen, she returned to her father's house. She expressed her wish to enter a religious Order in Paris to care for the sick, but her parents opposed this plan. Her mother told her that she would never permit her to become a nun. The young girl believed God spoke to her through her mother and chose to obey. She agreed to the marriage her father proposed because she feared opposing him might resist the divine will. In 1582, when she was 16, she obeyed her parents’ wishes and married Pierre Acarie, the Viscount of Villemoran. He was a wealthy young man of high standing, a fervent Catholic, and a Government Treasury Official. Six children were born to them. Their pious mother raised them with great care. She taught them never to complain of circumstances or persons. She inspired horror of lying in them and strove to make them recognize any sentiments of vainglory. Her three daughters became Carmelites. Her three sons entered, in turn, the magistracy, the priesthood, and the military. After her second child was born, Barbe read some words of St. Augustine that made a great impression on her: ‘He is indeed a miser to whom God is not enough.’ After this, she began to have mystical experiences. These worried her at first, but gradually she gained more control. She could be at rest in God while still caring for her family and other works. She sought only to correspond with God's graces by perfectly fulfilling her duties toward her husband, her six children, and her dependents, whose devoted affection she won. Throughout thirty years of marriage, she demonstrated how Christian spouses could achieve sanctity. She bore herself so well in married life that St. Francis de Sales testified she was a perfect example of Christian virtue. Although she longed for prayer and practices of piety, she more than fulfilled every duty as wife and mother. She respected her husband, was watchful in teaching her children, and cared for her household. She was mild in handling servants and housemaids, whom she encouraged in virtue by word and example. In 1589, after the death of Henry III, political turmoil entered France as many opposed the succession of Henry of Navarre to the French throne. Henry was baptized a Catholic but raised as a Huguenot by his mother, Queen Jeanne III of Navarre. Barbe’s husband, Pierre, was one of the staunchest members of the Catholic League, which opposed the Huguenots. He was one of the sixteen who organized the resistance in Paris, which led to a famine caused by the siege of Paris in 1590. The cruel famine gave Barbe an occasion to display her charity. She was so wise in her almsgiving that, during the famine, the wealthy who desired to help the poor entrusted their alms to her, and she was widely respected. When Henry became King in 1594, Pierre was exiled from Paris, and the Acarie estates were seized, as were those of many others in the League, even though he never joined in the violent activities of some members. Barbe had to remain behind in Paris while Pierre went to Bourgfontaine. Driven from her house and stripped of her wealth, she also had to contend with creditors and irate businessmen. Pierre’s zeal for his faith had outstripped his prudence, and he recklessly lent money to other League members. Barbe faced sudden debts and had to give up most remaining possessions to pay them off. Her once-prosperous state became so dire that she barely had enough money for bread for herself and her children. Many people began to treat her with contempt. When she went to seek help for her husband, servants sometimes refused to let her in. She sent her four oldest children away to school and the two youngest to live with relatives. Barbe herself stayed with her cousin. Barbe never criticized her husband for his reckless ways, and her love for him never faltered despite the hardship. She traveled 45 miles to Bourgfontaine to see him. There, he was captured by bandits. She raised the ransom to free him and arranged his transfer to the Chateau at Luzarches, which was closer to Paris. There, she saw him more often. On returning from one visit, her horse stumbled, and Barbe broke her hip. Medical treatment only made things worse, leaving her an invalid for the rest of her life. Nevertheless, she put all her trust in God and did not yield to despair. She worked hard to provide for her children and restore her husband’s liberty. She defended Pierre in court by drafting memoirs, writing letters, and furnishing proof of his innocence. She won, and he was acquitted and able to return after three years. The family also reclaimed part of their property and fortune. She accepted these circumstances without becoming troubled. She endured want, insults, and pain. And yet afterwards, she often said that this had been a happy time. It was sweeter to her than any other. After four years, the family reunited and regained their home and holdings. Barbe regained popular esteem, including that of the royal family. She devoted herself to expanding the worship of God and became well known in Paris for her charity to the sick and poor. She also opened a refuge for prostitutes who wanted a new start and made vestments for missionaries. By the early seventeenth century, the Acarie home became a gathering place for clergy and devout laity. Many came to ask Barbe’s advice. She accommodated clergy who wanted to stay during convalescence. Many distinguished and devout people came to her home. Her cousin, Cardinal Pierre Bérulle, was a frequent visitor. Others included Madame Jourdain, Madame de Bréauté, the Chancellor de Merillac, Père Coton, St. Vincent de Paul, and St. Francis de Sales, who was Barbara’s spiritual director for six months. It has been said that Barbe provided the first definite impulse towards the interior growth of St. Francis de Sales, making him a fit guide for the soul of St. Jane Frances de Chantal. In 1601, Abbé de Brétigny’s translation of Ribera’s life of St. Teresa was published. After Barbe began reading it, St. Teresa appeared to her and told her that God had chosen her to found Carmels in France. Barbe consulted her friends and advisers, but they felt the time was not right. They advised her to abandon the idea or put it aside. She tried to set it aside. Eight months later, St. Teresa appeared again and assured her that the difficulties would be overcome. Barbe approached the Duchess of Longueville to serve as the foundress. This meant financing the project and securing letters patent from the king. She convinced the Duchess, and Barbe persuaded her friends and advisers to support her. Barbara’s good works later won the admiration and support of King Henry, who assisted in bringing the reformed Carmelites of St Teresa to France. St. Francis de Sales wrote to Pope Clement VIII to obtain his permission to found monasteries of Discalced Carmelite nuns in France under the jurisdiction of secular clergy, as there were no Carmelite Friars in France at that time.  They all considered it essential to bring nuns from Spain who had known St. Teresa, so that the French Carmelites would be authentically Teresian. The Pope granted authorization for the new monastery in Paris, and Barbe gathered a group of future postulants. Abbé de Brétigny travelled to Spain to bring back Spanish Carmelites who had known St. Teresa, but he was initially refused, so he called on Barbe for advice. She sent her cousin, Cardinal Pierre Bérulle, to help him, and together with some ladies of the nobility, they returned with six of Teresa’s best nuns, including Bl. Anne of St. Bartholomew and Bl. Anne of Jesus. Two Spanish Carmelite friars accompanied them and gave the habit to the first French novices. The Spanish nuns all went to the newly built Paris Carmel in 1604, but more foundations followed, and Barbe was much involved in those at Pontoise in 1605, Dijon in 1605, and Amiens in 1606. By the time of her death, 12 years later, there were fourteen Carmels in France, which profoundly influenced the French religious and secular society of the day. Blessed Mary of the Incarnation also contributed to the works of the first Ursulines in Paris for the education of youth, and to the establishment of the Oratorians of Italy in France. Among the young women Barbe had gathered together to train as future Carmelites, she found that some clearly did not have a Carmelite vocation. Yet they were dedicated women sincerely seeking to serve God.  It occurred to Barbe that they would make excellent teaching sisters, so she set about founding the Ursulines in Paris, convinced that if girls were taught their faith well they could reform morality in the country, as most of these girls would go on to be mothers and would pass on the teaching to their children. She also urged Cardinal Bérulle to refuse the tutorship of Louis XIII, and on November 11, 1611, she, with St Vincent de Paul, assisted at the Mass of the installation of the Oratory of France. In 1613, her husband fell gravely ill, and she never left his bedside until, nine days later, she saw him die. The tears and the prayers of the blessed widow were comforted by the heavenly confirmation of the eternal salvation of her pious husband. Barbara settled her affairs and, now free from her duties towards her family, broke every bond with the world and decided to become a Carmelite as a lay sister. In 1614, she withdrew to the Monastery of Amiens, which she had founded. Her three daughters had preceded her into the cloister, and one of them, Margaret of the Blessed Sacrament,  was Sub-prioress at Amiens. She took the name Sr. Mary of the Incarnation and made her solemn profession on April 8, 1615, but her health had deteriorated significantly.   As a religious, Mary edified her fervent sisters by her attention to the humblest kitchen tasks, by her complete submission to all, by her practice of poverty, and by a unique finesse in charity, especially towards the sick. Although favored by God with exceptional gifts, she was extremely cautious and preferred the simple practice of the common, solid virtues. She was ever a shining example of poverty, obedience, and the practice of every rule. Her love of humility, in particular, was so great that despite being the parent and mistress of the rest, she chose the humble duties of a lay Sister. She could in no way be persuaded to accept the office of Prioress, although all of the nuns requested her to do so. She preferred to obey her own daughter, who held that place in the absence of the Superior. In 1616, at the request of her Superiors for health reasons, she went to the Carmelite Convent at Pontoise, which she had likewise founded. She spent a year there, patiently bearing a long and severe illness. Her health deteriorated further, and she received the last Sacraments and died on the Wednesday of Easter week, April 18, 1618, amid the prayers and tears of her companions. She was then fifty-three years old. She was heavily influenced by the piety exhibited in the death of St. Francis Xavier, and asserted a desire to die as he had died, namely, bereft of all physical recourse. St. Francis de Sales considered her death in spiritual poverty as laudable as that of St. Francis Xavier, who died in utter physical poverty. Mary’s prime glory is to have contributed more than all others to the introduction of the reform of St. Teresa of Jesus into France, so much so that she merits the title of mother and foundress of the Discalced Carmel in France. The process for beatification was opened in Rome in 1627. The successive decrees of Pope Urban VIII and other circumstances led to the cause's suspension, and it was not resumed until 1782. It was concluded with her beatification, proclaimed by Pope Pius VI on June 5, 1791. Her Feast Day is kept on April 18 in Paris and in the Carmelite order. Her body lies in the Chapel of the Carmelites of Pontoise. Prayer: Heavenly Father, You gave Blessed Mary of the Incarnation heroic strength in the face of the adversities she met along life’s road, and zeal for the extension of the Carmelite family. May we your children courageously endure every trial and persevere to the end in Your love. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.