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Bl. Teresa Maria of the Cross – April 23 – Carmelite Saints

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Summary:

She was born at Campi Bisenzio, Florence, where in 1874 she founded the Congregation of Carmelite Sisters of St. Teresa, who she also sent to Lebanon and the Holy Land. She lived joyfully, body and soul, the mystery of the Cross in full conformity to the will of God and she was outstanding for her love for the Eucharist and her maternal care for children and for the poor. She died at Campi Bisenzio on April 23, 1910.

History:

Blessed Teresa Maria of the Cross, also known as Bettina (childhood nickname), was born on March 2, 1846, in Campi Bisenzio, Florence, Italy. She lived her entire life in her small village. She was the daughter of Salvatore Manetti and Rosa Bigagli, and had one brother, Adamo Raffaello. She had a very difficult childhood due to the family's precarious economic circumstances following her father's premature death. She received her First Communion on May 8, 1859.

From a young age, Teresa was known for her piety and devotion. Teresa possessed natural leadership skills and organizational abilities. At the age of 18, she gathered a group of young women who lived together in communal life. The group soon became exposed to the writings of St. Teresa of Avila, which they drew inspiration from, and soon enough, a devotion to her grew. They dedicated themselves to a life of prayer, penance, and charity. They cared for the sick and the poor and taught catechism to children.

On July 16, 1876, Teresa organized a group of Carmelite tertiaries and took the name Teresa Maria of the Cross. Shortly thereafter, they moved into the "Conventino," a small house that became the Order's first headquarters. The young parish priest, Don Ernesto Jacopozzi, provided vital guidance and supervised Bettina's work until 1894, the year of her death.

Mother Teresa did not limit herself to a purely contemplative religious life but chose to engage with the world, initiating extensive charitable work, especially in orphanages.
The Congregation's success necessitated a new headquarters, and within a few years, with the help of God and the people of San Martino and beyond, Mother Teresa realized her dream of building a large convent and church (1880-1887). She deepened her commitment and consecration by joining the Discalced Carmelites on July 12, 1888.

In the following years, she founded schools in several Italian cities, each staffed by a small group of Carmelite teachers. Following in the footsteps of her inspiration, Saint Teresa of Avila, Teresa of the Cross encountered challenges in her work with the poor, enduring slander, unfounded accusations, and a prolonged spiritual dryness. Yet, everyone who met her remarked on the joy and peace she brought to her work, despite these hardships.

Throughout her ministry, she gave individual attention to the foundations and to the religious, with the strength of a mother who wished her daughters to be poor and detached from everything, truly tending towards God alone as they served His orphans and little ones.

She herself was the servant of all. Despite her own precarious health, she was forgetful of herself as she sought to pour out joy and her smile upon all who approached her. The witnesses at the process of beatification are unanimous in declaring that everyone who met her was impressed by her trust in God and by her serene abandonment to Providence and felt himself the better person for it.

As the years passed, Teresa was increasingly besieged by crowds, especially on Sundays. People of all backgrounds lined up to be heard and consoled by her. She united them with the Lord, offered wise counsel, healed ailments that defied science, read hearts, saw the future, spanned distances, and multiplied goods and money. Bishop Andrew Cassullo, who knew her well, said: “She undid herself doing good.”

She lived joyfully, body and soul, the mystery of the Cross in full conformity to the will of God. Teresa Maria was outstanding for her love for the Eucharist and her maternal care for children and the poor. Her life was motivated by a consuming love for Christ and a desire to save souls. She endeavoured to live according to God’s holy will and took delight in all the crosses which came through this purpose. In a prayer, she wrote: “To suffer, to suffer, always suffer.   Do what you want with me, it’s enough that I save souls for you.”

Her daily source of energy was her devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and to the Virgin Mary.  One of her great hopes was a house entirely dedicated to the perpetual adoration of the Eucharist. She realized this in Florence, where, on January 11, 1902, in the church of Corpus Domini, which she had built, the Blessed Sacrament was solemnly exposed. It was in contact with Christ that her apostolic desires increased; she exclaimed, “I should like to make all hearts into one and plunge it into the heart of Jesus.” Moreover, the love of Jesus bound her more intimately to Our Lady, whose tenderness and care for Jesus she herself wished to have. Happy to be a Carmelite, she saw in her Carmelite vocation a commitment to belong to Our Lady more deeply and to spread devotion to her.

Her Institute of teaching nuns received approval from Pope St. Pius X on February 27, 1904, as the Carmelite Sisters of Saint Teresa of Florence, with a mission to teach and care for children, especially orphans. Houses eventually opened in Syria and Palestine. Today, Teresa's seed has borne fruit not only in Italy, but also in Lebanon, Israel, the Amazon, and, after the collapse of communism, in Prague, where Bettina's daughters are building a boarding school for students who go to study in the Czech capital.

In 1908, Mother Teresa was struck by a terrible illness, which, despite treatment and her perseverance, led to her death on April 23, 1910, in Campi Bisenzio. Following her passing, her relics were subsequently translated to the monastery church at Campi Bisenzio on April 22, 1912.

Her fame for holiness was confirmed by numerous attestations of graces and miracles. Consequently, the process of beatification began in 1930 and gained further momentum in 1938, following the miraculous healing of a Venetian nun of the Order. Subsequently, Pope Pius XII formally opened the cause on July 30, 1944, granting Manetti the title of Servant of God. Pope St. Paul VI approved her heroic virtue and declared her Venerable on May 23, 1975.

Pope St. John Paul II approved a miracle attributed to her intercession on November 16, 1985.  On October 19, 1986, during his Pastoral Visit to Florence, he proclaimed Teresa Maria of the Cross Blessed. On December 7, 1999, the City Council of Campi Bisenzio proclaimed her as the City's Patron Saint, after a popular petition gathered thousands of signatures.

Prayer:

O God,
you sustained the virgin,
Blessed Teresa Mary,
along the way of the cross
by a most ardent love of the Eucharist,
and you gave her a mother’s love
for your little ones and the poor.
Through her intercession, grant that,
strengthened by the bread of angels,
we may delight in sharing
the sufferings of Christ,
and hasten the coming of your kingdom
through our own works of mercy.

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.

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St Teresa of Jesus of Los Andes – July 13 – Carmelite Saints
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6
Bl. Maria of Jesus – September 11 – Carmelite Saints
Summary: Born in 1560 in Tartanedo (Spain), María López de Rivas took the Discalced Carmelite habit in Toledo in 1577 and made her profession the following year. She spent the rest of her life serving God in that Carmel, except for a brief period in 1585 when she helped with a foundation at Cuerva. She died in Toledo on September 13, 1640. Saint Teresa of Jesus held her in very high regard. She was a great contemplative, intensely devoted to our Lord, and often drawing inspiration from the liturgy. History: María López de Rivas Martínez was born on August 18, 1560, into a noble Spanish family in Tartanedo. Seven days later, her parents, Don Antonio López de Rivas and Elvira Martínez, took her to the Church of St. Bartholomew to be baptized and named her María. When María was just four years old, her father passed away. 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Torn between religious life and marriage, she decided to entrust the matter to Heaven. While praying before a statue of Our Lord carrying the Cross, she heard Him say: “I want you to be a Discalced Carmelite.” She did not believe what she had heard, preferring to think it was an illusion; yet her conscience gave her no rest. Still resisting, she heard the Redeemer’s voice again and again refused to heed Him. Then Our Lord addressed her a third time: “I want you to be My spouse in the Discalced Carmelites.” At last, María yielded and immediately informed her confessor of her decision to become a nun, writing to St. Teresa of Avila. After Fr. Castro informed St. Teresa of the young lady’s virtues, she wanted the novice to join the Carmel of Avila. However, because that convent already had the maximum number of nuns allowed, she decided to send her to the monastery of Toledo with the following recommendation: “Do not consider her as just anyone, for I hope in God that she will be a prodigy.” With such an authoritative recommendation, María received the habit immediately, on August 12, 1577. In the ceremony, in which she adopted the name of María de Jesús, Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and St. Joseph appeared before everyone. The rigor of religious life and the many penances she imposed on herself soon weakened her health, worrying the nuns, who began to wonder whether such a frail person could keep the rule and even thought of sending her away. Accordingly, St. Teresa sent a letter to the monastery of Toledo stating: “Think well about what you are doing, because if you do not admit Sister María of Jesus to profession, I shall have her come to Avila; and the monastery that will have her will be the most fortunate of all. On my part, I would like to have her always with me in my monastery, even if she had to stay in bed all her life.” Upon receiving this, the nuns offered no further resistance, and María de Jesús made her profession of vows on September 8, 1578. Sr. María de Jesús bore much physical suffering, yet she responded admirably to Carmelite life and lived for a long time. She was always dear to St. Teresa, who, on her visits to Toledo, showed her special affection and maternal care—not so much for her bodily ills as for the “sickness of love” for God that she experienced. To distract her, Teresa wished her to serve as sacristan and then as infirmarian. María attended to her duties scrupulously while remaining continually drawn to and absorbed in God. During her 1580 stay in Toledo, St. Teresa asked the young religious several times for counsel and light, even on problems of mystical theology; once she exclaimed to her: “It must be really as you say, my letradillo (little theologian).” The nickname Letradillo became the name by which Bl. María of Jesus is commonly called. María lived 63 remarkable years within the walls of the Toledo Carmelite convent, embracing prayer, penance, and service to God and her community. Her only departure from Toledo was when she was sent to help with a new foundation at Cuerva in 1585, where she stayed for six months. Throughout her religious life, Bl. María López De Rivas Martínez experienced extraordinary mystical gifts, including the stigmata. She was regarded as a great contemplative by all who knew her, including some renowned theologians. She had a great devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and the Holy Child Jesus. In her contemplation, she drew much inspiration from the liturgy. In 1583, when María was twenty-three years old, she was named mistress of novices, an office that she filled at Cuerva as well, and then repeatedly back in Toledo, well into her old age. She was also chosen sub-prioress from 1587 to 1591 and from 1607 to 1619. She performed all these roles with great dedication and charity. Everyone came to her for advice and held her in great affection. María's spiritual gifts did not go unnoticed within her order, and she was eventually chosen to serve as prioress of the Carmelite community from 1591 to 1595 and in 1598. She fulfilled this office in an exemplary manner, feeling it her duty to be more perfect and to lead the others in complying with the rule. Nevertheless, suffering did not cease to accompany her, as interior trials joined the pains and illnesses she already endured. In 1600, one of the nuns fabricated slanders against her, though the motives behind such an injustice are not clearly known. As a result, Mother María de Jesús was removed from her office as prioress and isolated for two decades. For several years afterward, she also bore the opposition of the provincial, Fr. Alonso de Jesús María, deepening her trial. Throughout this period of undeserved suffering, Maria maintained steadfast faith and trust in God, offering her pain as a sacrifice for the salvation of souls. Even when treated unjustly, she remained peaceful and respectful toward authority. She was esteemed by the wiser religious, who, despite her deposition, immediately elected her again as mistress of novices. In 1619, after nineteen years of fierce persecution, the nun who had accused her reconciled with María de Jesús before she died peacefully. Thus, Sr. María de Jesús was recognized as innocent in 1620 and was unanimously re-elected as prioress in 1624, serving until 1627. Because of her zeal for the Blessed Sacrament, she devoted these last years to erecting the convent church and giving greater solemnity to the ceremonies in honor of Our Lord Jesus Christ and His Blessed Mother. The last ten years of her life were marked by illness. Then, at the age of eighty, after a life of extraordinary holiness and unwavering fidelity to her calling, Mother María de Jesús died on September 13, 1640, surrounded by those she esteemed as daughters, who buried her in their convent. Exhumed four times over the years, she was found incorrupt. The Catholic Church recognized her life and virtues, and on June 22, 1972, Pope St. Paul VI declared her venerable. She was later beatified on November 14, 1976, by Pope St. Paul VI, the feast day of All Carmelite Saints. Bl. María López De Rivas Martínez is an inspiration to all for her faith, perseverance, and unconditional love in adversity. Her commitment to God and service to others exemplifies the virtues of a true Carmelite and a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ. Prayer: Lord, you enabled Blessed Mary of Jesus to contemplate the mysteries of your Son and become a living image of his love. Give us through her prayers the burning faith to seek Jesus in all things and the love to prove by our actions the presence within us of him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever.
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