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- Don't forget! November is dedicated to the Holy Souls in
Purgatory
- New! Sterling silver Pardon
Crucifix
- St. Teresa of Avila's experiences with a soul from
Purgatory
- News from the convent and new website feature: Build a Rosary!
DON'T FORGET!
NOVEMBER IS
DEDICATED TO THE HOLY SOULS IN PURGATORY
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November is the month that
Holy Mother Church dedicates especially to praying for
the Holy Souls in Purgatory. The Carmelite daily prayers
are filled with remembrance of these souls, saved by the
Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, but detained in
the place of purification and preparation for the
perfect life of Heaven. Our Faith tells us that we, as
fellow members of the Mystical Body of Christ, can
assist these souls with our prayers -- to pay their debt
of punishment and hasten the time of their release from
Purgatory.
Among the sacramentals we offer, is a
chaplet just for this special devotion, called the Chaplet
for the Souls in Purgatory. This chaplet is composed
of indulgenced liturgical prayers for the Holy Souls.
(We will share with you that it is one of our personal
favorites here at our Carmel.) Please join us in praying
for these captive holy ones, longing for the Beatific
Vision! |
NEW! STERLING SILVER PARDON
CRUCIFIX
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The Holy Souls in Purgatory
can also be helped through devotion to the Pardon
Crucifix. The purpose of devotion to the Pardon
Crucifix is to obtain pardon from God and the grace
to pardon one's neighbor. It differs in appearance from
other crucifixes in that it has the full Latin text of
the title of Our Lord's cross: "Jesus Nazarenus Rex
Judaeorum". It also has an image of the Sacred Heart on
the back with the words, "Behold this Heart, which has
so loved men." and "Father, forgive them."
This
beautiful little crucifix was particularly favored by
Pope St. Pius X. He granted many indulgences for
carrying and kissing it, all of which are applicable to
the souls in Purgatory. We offer a sterling silver Pardon
Crucifix on our website, which is perfect if you've
been looking for just the right crucifix to wear or
carry. You may also request to have this crucifix used
for any rosary we make for you, as it a time-honored
favorite for that
purpose. |
ST. TERESA OF AVILA'S
EXPERIENCES WITH A SOUL FROM PURGATORY
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The following is from Our
Holy Foundress St. Teresa of Avila's own writings about
one of her experiences with a soul in Purgatory.
(Foundations, Chapter 10):
"...I was
speaking with a distinguished young gentleman who told
me that if I wanted to establish a monastery in
Valladolid he would most willingly give me a house he
owned with a large and good garden containing a
vineyard. He wanted to give away the property
immediately; it was very valuable. I accepted his offer,
although I wasn't too decided on making a foundation
where the property was, since the place was about a
quarter of a league outside the city. But it seemed to
me that we could move to the city once the possession of
a house had been taken in that district. And since he
offered it so willingly, I did not want to refuse his
good deed or hinder his devotion.
"Two months
later, more or less, he was struck by a sudden illness
that took away his speech, and he could not confess
well, although he made many signs to ask the Lord's
pardon. He died shortly afterward, very far from where I
was. The Lord told me that the young man's salvation had
been in great jeopardy, but that he had received mercy
for the service he had rendered to the Blessed Mother in
giving that house to be a monastery of her order;
however, that he would not leave purgatory until the
first Mass was said there-- that then he would leave. I
was so conscious of the grievous afflictions of this
soul that even though I wanted to make a foundation in
Toledo, I set it aside and hastened as much as I could
to found a house in Valladolid...It couldn't be made as
quickly as I desired, for I was forced to
delay...
"[Then] I was in prayer one day in
Medina, when the Lord told me to hurry because that soul
was suffering very much. Although I didn't have the
means available, I set to work and entered Valladolid on
the feast of St. Lawrence (August 10). The license [for
the foundation] could not be gotten so quickly... But
permission was granted to say Mass where the church
would be, and thus it was said for us. I had forgotten
that what Our Lord told to me about that soul would then
be accomplished. When the priest came with the Blessed
Sacrament to the place where we were to receive
Communion and I approached to receive it, the gentleman
I mentioned appeared beside him, his face joyful and
resplendent. With hands folded, he thanked me for what I
had done so that he could leave purgatory and go to
heaven...
"It is important to know that Our Lord
is pleased with any service rendered to His Mother, and
great is His mercy. May He be blessed and praised for
everything. For He repays our lowly deeds with eternal
life and glory, and He makes them great while they are
in fact of little value..."
So as you can see,
God bestows special blessings on those who assist the
Carmelite daughters of His Blessed Mother. We know you
will share our joy that we are receiving yet another
postulant December 8th. It requires all our ingenuity to
make room in our small convent for our new Sister. We
trust in God's Providence and goodness, along with the
assistance of St. Joseph, that by Spring 2003 we will
have the necessary funds to build on to the monastery
and provide more room for the future vocations who are
writing and hoping to enter. We pray that you will want
to be part of our Carmelite family and God's instrument
of Providence by assisting us. We thank you for your
help and promise our prayers for you and yours.
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NEWS FROM THE CONVENT AND NEW
WEBSITE FEATURE: BUILD A ROSARY!
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We are cloistered
nuns, which means that we don't leave our convent. That
has made marketing our rosaries and other religious
items a challenge. We were mailing brochures to people
who would respond to our ads in religious periodicals,
but we were still not able to reach many people with
these beautiful sacramentals. Almost two years ago, with
the encouragement and help of some friends of our
convent who know the computer and internet world much
better than we do, we decided to enter the 21st century
and "get on-line". We have been pretty successful with
this venturing forth, and the whole project has been
instrumental in helping to support our community and
allowing us to pursue our number one purpose: our
religious life of prayer and sacrifice.
Thanks to
these same friends, we now have the only
state-of-the-art site where you can build
a rosary part by part and pay for it, all on-line.
The site is designed so that it is impossible to make a
mistake! People have been enjoying the opportunity to
design their own heirloom-quality rosaries. When we see
the completed rosaries, the beautiful results of these
folks' creativity and good taste, we are very impressed!
Because of our extensive bead and parts choices, well
over 10,000 different rosaries can be built on our
site!
We know that at this time of year, people
are thinking about where to find special and unique
Christmas gifts. Consider custom-designing a rosary for
those dear ones among family and friends. Try choosing a
birthstone or a favorite color as a bead choice. This is
truly a gift that can make a difference in someone's
life -- and one that will last a lifetime!
Click
here to design your own rosary and for other
spiritual gift ideas. |
WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IN
FUTURE EDITIONS OF OUR NEWSLETTER?
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