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: 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.