She professed her simple vows, with the words, “Alone at the feet of my Crucified Lord, I looked at him for a long time, and as I looked I saw that he was my whole life”.

Blessed Elia of St Clement Born in Bari, Italy on January 17, 1901 to deeply devout parents; the third of nine children, four of which died in infancy. At her baptism four days later, she was given the name Theodora, ‘gift of God’.

On May 11, 1911 at the age of 10, she received her First Communion. The night before she dreamt of St. Therese of the Child Jesus who predicted to her: “you will be a nun like me”. She eventually entered the Association of the Blessed Imelda Lambertini, a Dominican nun, and afterwards joined the ‘Angelic Army’ of St. Thomas Aquinas.

She received a good religious education. She also had a great devotion to the Eucharist and prayer, which she practised together with a group of friends. She liked to read the lives of the saints, particularly the life of St Therese of Lisieux (The Story of a Soul).

Her spiritual director, Fr. Peter Fiorillo, O.P. introduced her to the Third Order Dominicans who accepted her as a Novice on April 20, 1914, and she made her profession on May 14, 1915. At the end of 1917 Theodora sought advice from a Jesuit priest, Fr. Sergio Di Gioia who became her new confessor. About a year later, he directed her and her friend Clare Bellomi to the Carmel of St. Joseph, Via De Rosi, in Bari.

Theodora entered the Carmelite Community of St. Joseph in Bari on April 8, 1920 (then the feast day of St. Albert, author of the Carmelite Rule) and was clothed in the Habit on November 14th – The Feast of St. John of the Cross, of the same year taking the name of Sister Elisha of St. Clement. She made her simple vows on December 4, 1921 and her solemn profession on February 11, 1925. In 1927 she was appointed sacristan. In January 1927 she was greatly weakened by a bad influenza and started to suffer from frequent headaches but suffered with them without taking any medication.

On December 21 of the same year, she began to have a high fever and on the 24th the doctor was summoned who diagnosed her with possible meningitis or encephalitis, but did not consider it to be serious. The next morning however, on Christmas day two other doctors were called to her bedside, and who declared her condition irreversible. Sister Elisha of St. Clement died at noon on December 25, 1927. She was proclaimed Blessed on March 18, 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI.

Office of Readings

From the Common of Virgins. 

 Second reading

From the Writings of Blessed Elia of Saint Clement

(Ed. O.C.D. 2001: pp. 282, 295, 322).

The desire to lose herself in God and her apostolic zeal

Oh sweet hiddenness, I love to pass my days in your shadow and to consume thus my existence, for love of my sweet Lord. At times, thinking of those eternal rewards, so great compared to the slight sacrifices of this life, my soul remains in wonder, and seized by an ardent longing, it throws itself on God, exclaiming: “Oh my good Jesus, I want to reach my goal, the gates of salvation, no matter what the cost. Do not deny me anything; give me suffering. May this be the most intimate martyrdom of my poor heart, hidden from every human glance: a rugged cross is what I ask of you. I want to pass my days here below hanging from this cross”.

When we suffer with Jesus, the suffering is delightful; I long to suffer with all my heart, beyond this I no longer want anything.

My Delight, who could ever separate me from You? Who could be capable of breaking these strong chains that keep my heart attached to yours? Perhaps the abandonment of creatures? It is precisely this that unites the soul to its Creator. Perhaps tribulations, suffering, crosses? It is in these thorns that the canticle of the soul that loves you is freest and lightest. Perhaps death? But this will be nothing other than the beginning of true happiness for the soul. Nothing, nothing can separate this soul from You, not even for a brief moment. It was created for You and is lost if it does not abandon itself to You.

My life is love: this sweet nectar surrounds me, this merciful love penetrates me, purifies me, renews me and I feel it consuming me. The cry of my heart is: “Love of my God, my soul searches for You alone. My soul, suffer and be quiet; love and hope; offer yourself but hide your suffering behind a smile, and always move on. I want to spend my life in deep silence, in the depths of my heart, in order to listen to the gentle voice of my sweet Jesus.

“Souls, I will search for a way to cast you into the sea of Merciful Love: souls of sinners, but above all souls of priests and religious. To this end my existence is slowly disappearing, consumed like the oil of a lamp that watches near the Tabernacle.” I sense the vastness of my soul, its infinite greatness that the immensity of this world cannot contain: it was created to lose itself in You, my God, because you alone are great, infinite and thus You alone can make it completely happy.

Response (from the Common of Virgins) I Cor 7:34, Ps 72:26

R/. An unmarried woman, like a young girl, can devote herself to the Lord’s affairs.

*   Her aim is to be dedicated to him in body as in spirit.

V/. God is the strength of her heart, he is hers forever:

R/. Her aim is to be dedicated to him in body as in spirit.

Canticle of Zechariah

Oh Lord, how gentle is your love! Lost in your embrace I shall be blessed for ever.

Canticle of Mary:

Your love, oh Lord, is like a fire consuming me in the ardent furnace of your Heart.

Prayer

Oh Lord, who were pleased to accept the self offering of Blessed Elia of Saint Clement, virgin; grant through her intercession, that, sustained by the Eucharist we may be able faithfully to do your will.  Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you, and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of Heaven,
Have mercy on us.
God, the Son, Redeemer of the world,
Have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Ghost,
Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God,
Have mercy on us,

Holy Mary,
Pray for us. *

“God is Love”
by Fr. Marie-Eugene of the Child Jesus  French Discalced Carmelite priest, now in process of beatification

ST THÉRÉSE OF THE CHILD JESUS AND THE HOLY FACE

God is Love: certitude in times of darkness

A little later her sister, Mother Agnes, now Prioress, gave her to Mother Marie de Gonzague as an assistant in the formation of the novices,28 among whom in 1894 was her sister Celine. Assigned to the novitiate, Thérèse found an opportunity to explain her teaching, which otherwise she would never have formulated. Obliged to speak to her sisters, she told them what she felt and experienced. When they questioned her, she quoted by heart passages from St. John of the Cross – as she often did at recreation – for that was her life.

Thérèse thus explained a little of her doctrine, but always in the midst of distress, because of the opposition of her surroundings and the sermons she had to listen to. Her teaching was quite different from all this. In her obscure contemplation she had made the discovery of the God who is Love, an obscure discovery but one which she grasped almost by second nature and which created certitude in the depths of her soul. God is Love. She could say:

“I contemplate and adore the other divine perfections … through Mercy. All of these perfections appear to be resplendent with Love.” There was nothing but this in God.

The searching went on in darkness. Thérèse only explained what she had to explain, either for the novices or when asked to write the story of her life later. Habitually she lived in the dark. We might say that she found herself bogged down in what is often called the purification of the spirit. This consists far less in keen sufferings marked by distinct stages – some of these there were indeed – than in a muddled fog or kind of quicksand in which one becomes enmired and unable to move.” This trial continued in anguish, but with upward thrusts toward God and convictions that she had found him. There was an apparent contradiction between her progressive discovery of sin and of sinful tendencies in herself and others, and her discovery of God.

The God whom Thérèse discovered was the God of Love. At the same time she saw that around her, and even in her Carmel, God was not known. The God who is Love was not known! They knew the God of justice, quid pro quo, and they tried to acquire merits. But, thought Thérèse, this was not the way to win him. God is Love, God is Mercy. But what is Mercy? It is the Love of God which gives itself beyond all demands and rights.

The Council of Trent declared that God bestows his gifts in two ways: out of justice, that is, as a reward for merits, and out of Mercy, that is, surpassing all merit. Thus he is true to his own nature, for he is Love, Goodness which pours itself out. He has a need to give. Therein ties his joy.

Thérèse read the Gospels. What did she find there? Mary Magdalen: God had forgiven her much, and therefore she loved much.” Thérèse also contemplated the prodigal son and the fathers joy in receiving him back: joy, for this was his opportunity to give himself. There will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner repenting than over ninety-nine upright people who have no need of repentance. What glorifies God and “delights him’ is to be able to give himself, and give himself freely. This was Thérèse’s discovery: what gives God joy is the power to give more than what is required by strict justice, freely, based on our needs and the exegencies of his nature which is Love, and not on our merits.

Thérèse felt acutely the tension of her surroundings, the opposition between her light, her needs, and what she saw being practiced around her . People kept score with God. When you stood before the eternal Father who was to judge you, he would look at your list of merits. You would have obtained so many indulgences, you would have so many merits, and your place would be assigned. For her part Thérèse said: I shall take care not to present any merits of mine, but only those of our Lord. As for me, I shall have nothing, I do not want to present anything, I prefer to let God love me as much as he wants.” Then she added, “It is because of this that I shall get such a good reception.” Here we have the heart of her teaching.

Surrender to Love

Seeing that God was not loved, she, Thérèse, would ‘make reparation’ too. The Love of God, Merciful Love, was not known. So seldom did people have recourse to Mercy; everyone appealed to Justice. They kept accounts with God, while he wished to give himself according to his own exigencies. Thérèse said to herself. “God has so much Love to give, and he can’t do it; people present only their own merits, and these are so paltry.” She therefore presented herself before God, saying: “Give me this love; I accept to be a victim of Love that is, to receive all the Love which others do not receive because they will not let you Love them as you wish. Such was her confidence in the Mercy which exceeds justice.

She then dreamt of making her offering to Merciful Love. But it was not directly in order to receive Love, it was ‘to please God”-, it was so that God might have the opportunity to give himself as intensely as he desired. She would be a victim of Love, she accepted to be consumed by Love, if only God could have his way. Her object was to please him, no to be a saint; it was not even directly to give him to others, but only to please him. Her offering was God-centered. Thérèse looked only at God and she lived by this Love. She wanted to delight God, to give him joy, to let him Love.

In the Gospels she also pondered the scene with the children. To enter God’s kingdom, one must be a child. True, one must also be a saint. But who is greater? The smaller, because it is the weaker. Not by reason of any merits, but because the child, in its weakness and poverty, offers God the widest vessel, capable of holding all. Here we have the essence of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus’ mystical theology.

She also found in St. John of the Cross the most distant horizons of Love, In the Living Flame and the Spiritual Canticle he describes in a rich and comprehensive way the working of God’s Love in the soul. These descriptions correspond clearly to Thérèse’s experience”

God is Love, Goodness pouring itself out.  

A new spirituality
The teaching of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus was based on this central experience. The greatest grace of her life was her understanding of Mercy. The theology she elaborated flowed from a personal insight, something which came naturally to her. At times she experienced suffering so intense that she said, “When I am in heaven, if I have been mistaken about this, I will come and let you know. But in the depths of her being she was certain. Her entire teaching flowed from this light in the next talk I shall try to enlarge on this, but now I should like to show how this doctrine has changed our spirituality, so to say. She was not the only one, there had been other messages of Love through the ages, but I believe that Thérèse’s is still the most important one from a theological and spiritual point of view.

In the years following her death Pius X recommended frequent Communion, which points us toward positive holiness. The holiness and asceticism of the 19th century were negative: people sought above all to purify themselves and make reparation to God. The characteristic note of spirituality in our times is the positive aspect of love which has become a part of our way of life. This is why it succeeds. in each era we follow the grace and light God gives us. Formerly the stress was more on sacrifice; today it is on presence and contact. There was a grandeur about former times, but people did not have the same understanding of Love and Mercy. Their spirituality did not appeal to the majority, since few were strong enough to live by it. Now, on the other hand, as the concept of divine Mercy has been brought to the fore, it has been a powerful influence in opening up the mystical life to the many.

Two periods can be distinguished here. I believe St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus is the herald of the new one. She has exemplified and modernized, in a certain sense, the spirituality of St. Paul, who said, “Through the grace of God I am what I am, and the grace he gave me has not been without result”

Thérèse’s greatness lay in her discovery of Mercy. On one occasion she said to her infirmarian, “You know well that you are taking care of a little saint.” They cut her finger nails. ‘Keep them,’ she said, “some day someone will treasure them.” She also  remarked: ‘They say I have virtue but that isn’t true; they are mistaken. I do not have virtue. God gives me what I need at each instant. I have only what I need for the present moment. These paradoxes are extraordinary and disconcerting. There is a certain quality of greatness in St. Thérèse. I assure you that I have studied her in depth for forty years and her greatness has often overwhelmed me. She has renewed our understanding of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, as we see them operating in her contemplation. It harmonizes with the teaching of St. Thomas. It is not a matter of sentimentality or of novelties. It is a rediscovery, an illustration of the traditional doctrine. I believe this is one of the great graces granted to our times.

In her surroundings, Thérèse was unique. I have known Mother Agnes since 1927. I loved and revered her deeply. She was a very holy soul, and the same was true of Sister Genevieve. But St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus was a giant in comparison and far surpassed them. She is the only one, we could say, to have read and perfectly understood St. John of the Cross. In spite of her superior intelligence and spiritual knowledge, however, she showed perfect submission – a sure proof that her understanding was indeed supernatural.

To be practical, we should exploit this theological knowledge of God, of Mercy. St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus has left her mark on our times. She has, so to say, popularized contemplation and sanctity itself.

(above from http://www.ourgardenofcarmel.org/thereselove.html)

“Blessed Maria Candida of the Eucharist was born on 16 January 1884 in Catanzano. Her parents, Pietro Barba and Giovanna Florona, returned to Palermo, Sicily, where she received First Holy Communion 3rd April 1894. In 1919 she entered the Discalced Carmelite Monastery, Ragusa, making solemn profession 23rd April 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 12th June 1949, the solemnity of the Holy Trinity, and was beatified 21st March 2004.”

– From the Discalced Carmelite Proper

“To contemplate with deep faith our Beloved in the Sacrament, to live with Him Who comes to us every day, to remain with Him in the depths of our hearts, this is our life! The more intense this intimate life is, the more we will be Carmelites and make progress in perfection. This contact, this union with Jesus is everything: what fruits of virtue will come from it! You must have this experience. To live with Jesus and to live by His virtues, is to listen to His beautiful voice, to His most loving wish and immediately obey it, to please quickly Him. Our eyes close, longing to find Him again, to contemplate Him in the depths of our hearts: is this not the reason why He gives us Holy Communion in the morning? Is it not the attraction for Him that remains in the Blessed Sacrament, where He lives? I do not know how to separate the ciborium in the sacred Tabernacle from the ciborium in our hearts! Oh how many times, even though we are in the choir, before His sacred Presence, at times exposed, we experience the great need to go deeply into ourselves, and there rediscover and remain with our Jesus!

What mystery of love is this intimacy with our Beloved! I reflect on this, sometimes with emotion, and give praise to Him Who is Love! And with tears I contemplate this intimacy. Everything here on this earth is nothing for us, withdrawn as we are, far from Him Who loved us so much; our eyes no longer see anything: and even though we close them again to lose ourselves from the same sacred environment, we close them anxious to find Him again, to see Jesus! The most delightful Mystery of Love! He allows Himself to be found by the heart that searches for Him, by the soul that knows how to do without many things for love of Him.

To be close to our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, like the Saints in Heaven, who contemplate the supreme Good, is what we must do, according to our Holy Mother Teresa. Seven times a day, we come together around the throne (of our Good God), the sacred Tabernacle, reciting the divine praises: oh how much faith merits such lofty activity, what dying to self! May adoration and love accompany and beautify everything!”

– From the writings of Bl Mother Candida of the Eucharist, OCD.

** Though Mother Candida (Kahn-dee-DAH) passed away on 12 June, her feast is observed on the 14th.

(Carmelite nuns of Mirna Pec, Slovenia)

My future Carmel in Sheffield, UK (http://www.kirkedge.org.uk/) founded a 1990 Carmel in Slovenia. The paragraph below is taken from their website on this foundation.  The picture above and the ones below are of this Carmel in Mirna Pec, Slovenia.  They have a different look to their veils.

“In 1996 Doctor Sustar, Archbishop of Ljubljana in Slovenia, asked us to take the responsibility of a new Carmelite foundation following the Constitutions of 1990.  The Monastery of Mary Queen of Angels, Mirna Pec, was canonically erected in 1998 by His Eminence Cardinal Franc Rode, Prefect of the Congregation of Religious, who was the Archbishop of Ljubljana at that time.”

Pictures came from this article – not in English and has no translation feature unfortunately: http://www.skofija-novomesto.si/article/2013/feb/06/vecne-zaobljube-s-terezije-benedikte/

I did a Google translation of this Slovenia language into English and pasted it in below – there are problems with this translator feature, as usual, so it’s not a perfect read:

“Eternal vows with. Theresa Benedict

On the Feast of the donation at the temple – svečnico Saturday, 2 February 2013 held a grand celebration in Carmel in Mirna sizzle as it is put to its solemn perpetual vows with. Teresa Benedict St. Mary (b. Jerica MULEJ). S. Theresa Benedikto are taking this step pomemebnem escorted home and native parishioners of the parish Ribno in Bled. The ceremony was led by Bishop Andrej Glavan, when it is somaševalo 11 priests. S. Teresa Benedict has taken his religious name after St.. Edith Stein, as she herself before entering Carmel studied philosophy and have overcome personal questions and doubts about faith. Bishop Glavan in his speech also emphasized the need for nuns and monks in a special way try to render in their lives the life of Jesus Christ. Religious communities, especially the contemplative orders, but to their common life modeled on the Holy Trinity and with each other to cultivate the love between God and government entities.

Sisters Teresa Benedict of the heart we congratulate her and asked her for connectivity in prayer!

Excerpt from the homily of Bishop GLAVAN:

“Perpetual vows the crown longer maturation, differentiation, and learning about God’s will and charisma communities and the introduction of community life in osrečujočo beauty of living where the acceptance of personal failure and trials represent those logs that are fueled by light and radiate joy of living. Essence Carmelite charism is: prayer, penance, the victim and the community effort, so to speak, the Trinitarian life of communion.

Nuns, especially in contemplative communities are trying to be in the profession portrayed by Jesus Christ, who was obedient to the Father, clean and miserable. Literally to imitate Jesus’ way of life in all its dimensions, so that the Church became alive the memory of Jesus himself. The experience of Jesus ‘whole life and sole of the Father, and to the mission that He has entrusted to the nuns would assume that they are transformed into living memory, and in fact a sign of Jesus’ way of living and being.

The essence of the whole Church, so much more of each consecrated communion is that it should reflect the mystery of the triune God. Janez Pope Paul II. in the Apostolic Exhortation NMI (At the beginning of the new millennium) gave the program when he wrote that every family, parish, and in particular religious community to become school community. He noted also that this is a challenge for the Church in the third millennium. Religious communities are called to live reflect depth, richness and beauty of the trinitarian mystery.

The pope said in a circular consecrated life, it has also consecrated life is credited to the Church kept alive the need for brotherhood and sestrinstvu, heralding the Holy Trinity (VC 41). Continuously striving to live in brotherly and sisterly love in different forms of life to their members to prove it. The members of the consecrated life are therefore not called to live only in the memory of Jesus, but also and especially in the Triune God. People who live this rich Trinitarian life, radiate peace, joy, love. It is a mission that is needed man 21 century. Only a victim who, after a miraculous alchemy of turning into a love of the cross, and it will be a convincing testimony to the modern man.

This life has also decided to Jerica MULEJ – now with. Teresa Benedict St. Mary. The change of name is a sign of complete surrender decisions and hearts to a new life. “

Below is a link to a wonderful 25 min documentary on the Carmelites of Christchurch in New Zealand (http://www.christchurchcarmel.org.nz/).  It was filmed in 1969.  Below is the synopsis from the site and the link to the video is below.  After the video, click on the picture that says “Credits” to the right of the video to see the remaining 1:11 minutes with a nun speaking and it shows 2 nuns walking the interviewer to the front gate.  Notice the larger veils worn over the smaller ones that Carmelites (and some other orders like Poor Clare Colettines) wore to cover their habit and more importantly their faces.  Just before the gate is opened, the nuns pull down the veil over their faces so as not to be seen by anyone passing by on the road.

The picture below is a screen shot from this site of a scene from the movie – the nuns in choir at prayer.  To watch the movie, click the LINK, not this photo.

“This NZBC religious programme goes where TV cameras had never gone before: behind the walls of the Carmelite monastery in Christchurch. There, it finds a community of 16 Catholic nuns, members of a 400-year-old order, who have shut themselves off from the outside world to lead lives devoted to prayer, contemplation and simple manual work. Despite their seclusion, the sisters are unphased by the intrusion and happy to discuss their lives and their beliefs; while the simplicity and ceremony of their world provides fertile ground for the monochrome camera work.”

Click this link to watch the video:   “The Carmelites” – 25 minute documentary

+++++++++++++++

As a side note of interest, in the video the interviewer speaks for a bit with a nun who is milking a cow.  This nun is (or was) Prioress of this Carmel and was featured in two videos with 2 other nuns the past few years that has been on YouTube called “Silence is Golden” – she is the older nun in the center:

“Silence is Golden” Part 1

Silence is Golden” Part 2

“As I am writing about our Carmelite sisters who were martyred, I had better dedicate this post to the fifth sister who has been beatified.  Whereas the sisters of Guadalajara and Blessed Mercedes died on the 24th July 1936, our next Beata, Maria Sagrario died a few weeks later, on the 15th August.

Elvira Moragas y Cantarero was born in Lillo near Toledo, on the 8th January 1881,  the third of four children born to Ricardo Moragas, a pharmacist, and his wife, Isabel.  When she was five, her father was appointed the pharmaceutical purveyor to the royal family, and so the Moragas family moved to Madrid. Intrigued by her father’s work, Elvira wanted to become a pharmacist herself.  Few women in Spain at the time managed to get themselves into the professions, but Elvira was determined, and she became one of the first women in Spain to be admitted to the pharmacy degree and graduate with the qualification.  She completed her degree with distinction, and went to work with her father.  When he died, she continued her work and her professional ability became apparent.

God, however, had other things in store for her.  She discerned a vocation to the Carmelites, and made up her mind to enter.  Her spiritual director asked her to wait for a while: her younger brother was still in need of her help, so she had a duty to him; she agreed.  In 1915 she finally entered the Order, joining the Community in the Monastery of St Anne and St Joseph in Madrid.   On the 21st December of that year she received the name Sr Maria Sagragrio of St Aloysius Gonzaga and began her novitiate, taking first vows on the 24th December 1916.  She was solemnly professed on the 6th January 1920.

Sr Maria Sagrario excelled in the monastery.  Her pharmaceutical skills came in handy, but it was her devotion to the contemplative life, her virtues and wisdom which impressed the sisters.  So much so, she was elected Prioress in 1927.  In 1930, her term over, she was appointed Mistress of Novices: again she excelled.   On the 1st July 1936 she was re-elected Prioress.

Two days later the terror began.  Madrid was in an uproar as the anti-Catholic persecution seemed to grow with even more fury every day.   Sr Maria Sagrario, concerned for the care of the sisters, was making plans to disband the Community and find safe havens for them.  On the 20th July a mob attacked the monastery: it was time to get the sisters to safety.  With great heroism and efficiency, Maria Sagrario spirited the nuns to various safe havens and told them to stay hidden until the rage passed.  The nuns, though terrified themselves, saw the serenity of their Prioress.  They also noted, and testified later, that Maria Sagrario was completely open to the will of God and was willing to accept death in order to protect the sisters.

Maria Sagrario took refuge with another sister’s family.  Her brother asked her to come and stay with him, but she refused – she had to stay where she was.  On the 14th August the house was raided by Republicans who arrested the two sisters.    As Prioress, they were interested in questioning her – having rummaged through the monastery they did not find any valuables.  They tried to force her to tell where they were: Maria Sagrario remained silent.  When asked as to the whereabouts of the other sisters: again, Maria Sagrario remained silent.  The question process was rough and she was threatened: yet she remained serene.

The next day, the Solemnity of the Assumption of Our Lady, she was taken out to a prarie, the Pradera of Saint Isidro where she was shot.  God accepted her sacrifice: the sisters of the community survived the persecution.”

(above from: http://fatherdirector.blogspot.com/2012_05_01_archive.html)

If I am going to reflect on some of the martyrs of the Spanish Civil War, I had better start with my own brothers and sisters – the Discalced Carmelites.  And of them I must begin with the first three martyrs of the War to be raised to the altars – the three nuns of Monastery of Guadalajara who were martyred on the 24th July 1936: Blessed John Paul II beatified them on the 29th March 1987.

As with all of the martyrs, each of them has their own story and experience of life.  These three women were attracted to a life of prayer and contemplation from an early age, seeking to live their lives in a cloistered monastery offering their prayers and sacrifice for the Church and those in need.

Sr Maria Pilar of St Francis Borgia, the oldest of the three, was born Jacoba Martinez  Garcia in Tarazona, in the province of Zaragoza in Aragon, on 30th December 1877.  At the age of twenty she fulfilled her desire to enter Carmel, joining the Monastery of Guadalajara in Castile-La Mancha.   She had a tremendous devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, and spent as much time as could in His presence.  It seems she was given a particular grace of feeling his Eucharistic presence throughout her life, so much so that she would call him “the Living One”.  Her devotion to the Eucharistic presence of Christ edified her sisters, and she was deeply respected and loved. At time of her martyrdom she was 58 years old.

Sr Maria Angeles of St Joseph was born Marciana Valtierra Tordesillas in Getafe, outside Madrid, on 6th March 1905.  She heard the call to Carmel when she was very young, and though she made various efforts, she had to wait until she was twenty-four before she could enter.  She would only spend seven years as a Carmelite sister, but in those years the holiness of her life impressed the community.  The Prioress was so struck by her virtue that she referred to her as “a little angel”.  Sr Maria Angeles had a vibrant missionary spirit – it is surprising that she did not join an apostolic missionary congregation, but like St Therese, she was resolved to be a missionary within the cloister.   She never thought of herself, but rather made herself the servant of all, always available to help her sisters in their needs.  She was 31 when called to martyrdom.If I am going to reflect on some of the martyrs of the Spanish Civil War, I had better start with my own brothers and sisters – the Discalced Carmelites.  And of them I must begin with the first three martyrs of the War to be raised to the altars – the three nuns of Monastery of Guadalajara who were martyred on the 24th July 1936: Blessed John Paul II beatified them on the 29th March 1987.

As with all of the martyrs, each of them has their own story and experience of life.  These three women were attracted to a life of prayer and contemplation from an early age, seeking to live their lives in a cloistered monastery offering their prayers and sacrifice for the Church and those in need.

Sr Maria Pilar of St Francis Borgia, the oldest of the three, was born Jacoba Martinez  Garcia in Tarazona, in the province of Zaragoza in Aragon, on 30th December 1877.  At the age of twenty she fulfilled her desire to enter Carmel, joining the Monastery of Guadalajara in Castile-La Mancha.   She had a tremendous devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, and spent as much time as could in His presence.  It seems she was given a particular grace of feeling his Eucharistic presence throughout her life, so much so that she would call him “the Living One”.  Her devotion to the Eucharistic presence of Christ edified her sisters, and she was deeply respected and loved. At time of her martyrdom she was 58 years old.

Sr Maria Angeles of St Joseph was born Marciana Valtierra Tordesillas in Getafe, outside Madrid, on 6th March 1905.  She heard the call to Carmel when she was very young, and though she made various efforts, she had to wait until she was twenty-four before she could enter.  She would only spend seven years as a Carmelite sister, but in those years the holiness of her life impressed the community.  The Prioress was so struck by her virtue that she referred to her as “a little angel”.  Sr Maria Angeles had a vibrant missionary spirit – it is surprising that she did not join an apostolic missionary congregation, but like St Therese, she was resolved to be a missionary within the cloister.   She never thought of herself, but rather made herself the servant of all, always available to help her sisters in their needs.  She was 31 when called to martyrdom.

St Teresa of the Child Jesus and St John of the Cross was the youngest of the martyrs.  She was born Eusebia Garcia y Garcia in Mochales, not far from Guadalajara in Castile-La Mancha, on the 5th March 1909.  She was an early bloomer, making up her mind to enter Carmel when she was thirteen.  Like St Therese she had to wait until she was sixteen, facing many obstacles.  Like Therese, Teresa was determined: she heard the call to offer herself to Christ in Carmel and she was going to respond regardless of what stood in her way.    This reveals a very impulsive and determined nature which was not always graced, and so her first years in religious life were years dedicated to overcoming this stubborn streak.  It was through generous acts of charity and self-denial that she gradually overcame this aspect of her personality, and indeed led her to great holiness.  She chose as her motto “Charity above all”, and sought to live this every day of her life.     Like Sr Maria Pilar she was given a particular grace for devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and loved adoration.  She used to describe adoration as “sunbathing” because of the divine rays she received.   She was 27 when martyred.

As tensions were rising in Spain, the sisters in the Community kept a careful eye on what was happening.  Learning from the experience of the French Revolution in which sixteen members of the Order were martyred, the Prioress made the decision that the Community should be ready to disband and flee at a moment’s notice.  As is usual for Carmelite nuns, the sisters of the Community were offering their prayers and sacrifices for Spain and for her Catholics.  Interestingly, something was stirring within the hearts of Sr Maria Angeles and Sr Teresa – they heard a distinct call to offer themselves – to suffer and to die.  Such an experience in not unknown in Carmel: when nuns find themselves in the middle of persecution, they tend to offer themselves as an oblation.  Both of the sisters answered the call and made the oblation.

Meanwhile, Sr Maria Pilar, was reflecting in a similar way.   Before the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament she sought to discern what to do, and asked Jesus that if he needed a victim for the community, so it would be spared, she would offer herself.  She asked him to accept this offering and save the other sisters.  She made this offering around the 22nd July 1936.

On that day, 22nd July, Mother Prioress made the decision that things were too dangerous and the Community would have to disband.  Anti-religious feeling in Guadalajara was very high and a number of occurrences led her to realise that the Monastery was a definite target for the anti-Catholic Republicans.  Taking off their habits, the sisters assumed secular dress, and then, in small groups, slipped out into the city to seek refuge with friends who had agreed to hide them.  In these private houses and apartments, the sisters hope to ride out the storm.

On the 24th July it became clear to Srs Maria Pilar, Maria Angeles and Teresa, that their hiding place was not very safe.  They decided they needed to find a more secure place.  Going out to look for an alternative,  they walked through the streets which were filled with Republicans.   Though they were in secular dress, a woman Republican recognised them, their short hair probably gave them away, and shouted “Look, nuns!  Shoot them!”  The sisters ran, but a hail of bullets descended on them.  Sr Maria Angeles was killed outright, falling on to the street in a pool of blood.  Sr Maria Pilar was seriously wounded, but still alive.  She survived for a few hours, but died in dreadful agony. As she was dying she prayed the words of Jesus from the Cross: “Forgive them, Lord, for they do not know what they are doing”.

Sr Teresa was agile enough to dodge the bullets and she escaped.   The whole experience was so distressing that she was disorientated, and so she was wandering around the streets.  She met some people who seemed concerned and offered to help her.  Going with them, she soon realised that they were some of those who had attacked them.  They brought her a cemetery, the favourite execution site for the Republicans, and there she was shot.  She cried out “Viva Cristo Rey!”  Long live Christ the King, before she fell to the ground and died.

As a friend of mine, a brother Carmelite, said to me just last night: if supporters of the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War think that three innocent Carmelite sisters were politically active and so were normal casualties of conflict they are much mistaken.  The Carmelites of Guadalajara were simple, holy women, who spent their days in prayer and sacrifice, helping those who came to them, and seeking to love all people for Christ’s sake.   Their death was a true martyrdom and their story needs to be hold and their lives and sacrifice celebrated.  They are just three of thousands of others whose only crime was to believe in Jesus Christ: and in Republican Spain, that was a crime.  May their example and intercession give heart to all of us who struggle with oppressive regimes and anti-Catholic attacks.

The feast of Blesseds Maria Pilar, Maria Angeles and Teresa is the 24th July.”

(above from: http://fatherdirector.blogspot.com/2012_05_01_archive.html)