St Joaquina Vedruna de Mas – May 22 – Carmelite Saints

Summary: Blessed Maria Candida of the Eucharist was born on January 16, 1884, in Catanzano. Her parents, Pietro Barba and Giovanna Florona, returned to Palermo, Sicily, where she received First Holy Communion on April 3, 1894. In 1919, she entered the Discalced Carmelite Monastery, Ragusa, making solemn profession on April 23, 1924. She was Prioress and Mistress of Novices many times, radiating a sense of Carmelite holiness both within and outside of the community, influencing others with her love for the Eucharist, as well as by her numerous writings. She died on June 12, 1949, on the solemnity of the Holy Trinity, and was beatified on March 21, 2004. History: Maria Barba was born on January 16, 1884, to Pietro Barba, an appeals court judge, and Giovanna Florena, a noblewoman. She was the tenth of twelve children; unfortunately, only seven survived childhood. The family lived in Palermo, Sicily, but Pietro’s work briefly took them to Catanzaro, Italy, where Maria was born. She was baptized three days later. The devout family returned to Palermo when Maria was 2. After returning to Palermo, Maria was a lively child who passionately longed to receive Jesus. Her zeal for the Eucharist showed early. “When I was still a child, and before I was old enough to receive Jesus in Communion, I used to rush to the front door to greet my mother when she returned from Mass. There I stood on tiptoe to reach up to her and cried, “I want God too!” My mother would bend down and softly breathe on my lips; I immediately left her, and placing my hands across my chest, full of joy and faith, jumping for joy, I would keep repeating: “I have received God too! I have received God, too!” In 1891, Maria started school and achieved outstanding grades. That year, she also began piano lessons, demonstrating remarkable musical talent. Maria received her First Communion on April 3, 1894, at the age of 10. From then on, her devotion to the Eucharist grew. She longed to receive it often, calling it her “vocation for the Eucharist.” Being deprived was for her “a great and painful cross.” Alongside her devotion to Christ in the Eucharist, Maria's longing for religious life began at age 15, sparked by a transformative grace. Her desire to love God wholeheartedly and devote herself to Him fully intensified, further strengthened by her cousin's investiture as a nun in 1899. Despite her growing yearning for religious life, Maria’s family opposed what they saw as her sudden "whim." They dismissed her devotion as fleeting spiritual enthusiasm. During this time, Maria found solace in reading St. Thérèse of Lisieux’s The Story of a Soul, which fueled her Teresian spirituality and strengthened her Carmelite aspirations. Though facing rejection, the book inspired her to persevere. While waiting, Maria suffered inwardly yet showed exceptional strength and fidelity, sustained by a profound Eucharistic devotion she saw as God's sacramental presence and the basis for trust in His promises. Maria's father died on June 21, 1904. In September 1910, she and her family went on a pilgrimage to Rome and met Pope Pius X. Maria received the sacrament of Confirmation on November 13, 1911. Almost ten years after her father’s death, her mother died on June 5, 1914. With both parents gone, her brothers assumed responsibility for her. They viewed some of her spiritual devotions as excessive and restricted her participation in religious services by not permitting her to leave the house alone. Maria could not regularly receive the Eucharist, though she complied to avoid offending them. Despite family misunderstanding, Maria quietly and charitably accepted her circumstances, managing the household for 20 years after her initial calling. Determined, at the age of 35, she entered the impoverished convent of the Discalced Carmelites in Ragusa on September 25, 1919, encouraged by Archbishop Alessandro Lualdi. Her brothers met her departure with silence, refusing to say goodbye or to have any future contact. Maria began her novitiate as Sr. Maria Candida of the Eucharist on April 16, 1920. None of her siblings attended. She took her first vows a year later and her solemn vows on April 23, 1924. Her first manuscript, "Ascent: First Steps," began on June 16, 1922, in obedience to Mother Maria Evangelista di San Luca; it recounts her vocation and arrival at Carmel. "The Song on the Mountain" followed, begun on November 5, 1926, at the request of her spiritual director, Fr. Giorgio La Perla. On November 10, 1924, Sr. Maria was elected Prioress, serving—except for a brief interruption—until 1947, re-elected five times. From 1930-33, she acted as sacristan and mistress of novices. As prioress, she led Carmel’s expansion in Sicily, founding a new convent in Syracuse and securing the male branch’s return to the region. Mother Candida grieved when Sisters disregarded the Rule. One day, she said, "My daughter, why do you insult the Lord like this? Don't you realize that humanity needs you? Why do you let yourself to go off the path?" She strove to cultivate deep reverence for the Rule of St. Teresa within her community. Maria left a lasting Eucharistic imprint on the convent. Her spirituality, revealed in rich autobiographical pages, established her as a true "mystic of the Eucharist." She wanted “to keep Jesus company in the Eucharist.” She prolonged adoration, especially on Thursdays, spending from eleven to midnight before the tabernacle. The Eucharist gave her the strength to consecrate herself as a victim to God on November 1, 1927. During the Holy Year of 1933, on Corpus Christi, Mother Candida began a profound Eucharistic meditation, recording personal experiences and theological reflections. It was published in 1936 under the title Eucharist: True Jewel of Eucharistic Spirituality. She saw all of Christian life summed up in the Eucharist, including the theological and evangelical virtues. She saw their full expression, asceticism, and conformity to Jesus. Faith: “O my Beloved Sacrament, I see you, I believe in you!... O Holy Faith. Contemplate with ever greater faith our Dear Lord in the Sacrament: live with Him who comes to us every day”. Hope: “O My Divine Eucharist, my dear Hope, all our hope is in You.” Charity: “My Jesus, how I love You! There is within my heart an enormous love for You, O Sacramental Love...How great is the love of God made bread for our souls, who become a prisoner for me!” Obedience: “Which hymn would we not sing in obedience to this Divine Sacrament? And what is the obedience of Jesus of Nazareth compared with His obedience in this Sacrament for two thousand years?” Poverty: “After having taught me obedience, how much He talks to me, instructs me in Poverty, O Sacred Host! Who is more naked, poorer than you...You have nothing, you ask for nothing!...O Jesus, let religious souls long for sincere detachment and poverty!” Chastity: “If You speak to me of obedience and poverty, what a spell of purity You have over me just by Your glance. Lord, if Your home is in pure souls, who is the soul that, relating with You, does not become such? From this came my goal: “I want to be close to You through purity and love.” She saw that the model of Eucharistic life is the Virgin Mary, who carried the Son of God and continues to give birth to Him in the souls of His disciples. Mother Candida wrote about the Blessed Virgin Mary, model par excellence of Eucharistic living: "I want to be like Mary, to be Mary for Jesus, to take the place of his Mother. When I receive Jesus in Communion, Mary is always present. I want to receive Jesus from her hands; she must unite me with him. I cannot separate Mary from Jesus. Hail, O Body born of Mary. Hail Mary, dawn of the Eucharist!" For Maria Candida, the Eucharist truly was the "source and summit" of the Christian life, forming the foundation for her understanding of beauty, truth, and love. Her final work was "Carmelite Perfection," dedicated to her fellow nuns and begun in 1947, after the end of her term as prioress. In 1947, Mother Candida was diagnosed with a liver tumor. She endured suffering nobly, resigned to God's will in silent recollection. She became a model of loving sacrifice, offering herself for the Church and troubled souls. She invited the nuns to thank Jesus for her diagnosis, describing it as a "caress of infinite mercy," which she felt unworthy to receive. She declared herself "most blessed, most happy" in her pain. After months of suffering, Mother Maria Candida died on June 12, 1949, the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity. Her last words praised the Virgin Mary: "From you I received the Eucharist." Her adherence to the Teresian Carmelite spirit earned her a reputation for exceptional sanctity, with many graces attributed to her intercession. Her burial on June 14 in the tomb of her spiritual director in Ragusa was attended by many. Her remains were transferred to the Carmelite Church in Ragusa on November 12, 1970. She was beatified on March 21, 2004, by Pope St. John Paul II. He presented Maria Candida as "an authentic mystic of the Eucharist … unifying center of the whole of life, following the Carmelite tradition… She was so in love with Jesus in the Eucharist that she felt a constant and ardent desire to be a tireless apostle of the Eucharist.” Another miracle has been considered for her canonization. On January 15, 2007, a priest, accompanied by a group of faithful, celebrated Mass at the Carmelite Monastery in Ragusa, replacing the usual chaplain. The afternoon before, the sacristan nun, together with the mother prioress, checked whether there were enough hosts in the tabernacle. The ciborium contained about twenty, so she placed four more hosts on the celebrant's paten. However, at the beginning of the celebration, the nuns noticed that there were more faithful than usual: they knew of the change of celebrant, but not that he would be accompanied by others. At that point, the sacristan and the prioress sought Bl. Maria Candida’s intercession asking God to grant that everyone receive Communion. The instituted acolyte did the same as soon as he uncovered the ciborium. The celebrant began distributing the consecrated Hosts, of which there were fewer than thirty. In the end, everyone received a whole Host; in fact, about fifty remained. This miracle was investigated in the relevant diocesan inquiry, opened on June 29, 2007, and concluded on June 19, 2008. To mark the closing of the diocesan process, the local bishop celebrated a mass at the Carmel, during which the book ‘A journey into the heart' was presented. Two hymns composed by Cristiana of Jesus Crucified, in honor of the Bl. Maria, were also sung for the first time. Bl. Maria Candida of the Eucharist’s popularity has gone beyond the walls of Carmel to touch the faith of the whole of Sicily. Prayer: All powerful and ever-living God, who, by the breath of the Spirit, inspired Blessed Maria Candida, virgin, to contemplate the riches of the Eucharist, by her intercession, grant we beseech you, that gratefully offering the sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Christ, in union with the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may always glorify You in this Sacrament, Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever.

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.