Meditation for July 16, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel

On the 16th of July, 1251, Mary appeared to St. Simon Stock and gave him the habit of Carmel. Those who wear the scapular, not only in the cloister, but in the world as well, will receive countless graces, particularly that of a quick deliverance from Purgatory.

In addition to this general history of the scapular there is another story of a more individual nature.

On the 16th of July, 1887, there lay dying at Yun-Nan one of the most valiant missionaries of the Far East, Father Godefroy Chicard, who was worn out after twenty-nine years of labor in China; when young he had hesitated between three careers--monk, robber, or knight. God had reserved for him not the crown of bloody martyrdom, but the slow martyrdom of a life drained out. The last words he pronounced were consecrated to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel on whose feast he died.

Godefroy had a sister in the Carmelite order at Niort. He loved her with all his heart and venerated her deeply. He often said to others, "You haven't a sister, a Carmelite? So much the worse for you! There is nothing better in the world than a Carmelite!"

How the sister from the seclusion of her cloister encouraged her brother!

"Oh what a life is yours, my dear Brother, and what love of God you need to persevere in it. St. Francis de Sales speaks in his letters of the exaltation of works. Your labors might well be described in that way. For it is love that acts. I rejoice at this, as if it were a personal good. My work hardly resembles yours, but I have the same intentions--the glory of God, the salvation of souls and your dear mission. I direct toward these intentions my actions, my prayers and sacrifices...Oh, if I could only be your Veronica! To wipe from your face, the perspira­tion, the dust, and perhaps the blood. But courage, your struggles lead to an unending rest."

If I am a contemplative, I ought to love and understand the apostolate of the missions. If vowed to the exaltation of works, I should try to understand the apostolic significance of the cloistered life.
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Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)