From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
    --1 Peter 5:6 –    
      
   Be you humbled therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may   
   exalt you in the time of visitation: DRB   
   ========================   
   We often worry about our position and status, hoping to get proper   
   recognition for what we do. But Peter advises us to remember that   
   God's recognition counts more than human praise. God is able and   
   willing to bless us according to his timing. Humbly obey God   
   regardless of present circumstances, and in his good time--either in   
   this life or the next--he will lift you up.   
      
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   July 16th - Our Lady of Mount Carmel   
      
    (1251)   
   According to the most ancient Carmelite chronicles, the Order has its   
   origins with the disciples of the prophets Elias and Eliseus. They   
   lived in caves on Mount Carmel. They honored the Queen of Heaven as   
   the Virgin who is to give birth to the Saviour. When the reality   
   replaced the symbol, the pious ascetics of Carmel were converted to   
   the Christian Faith. In the 12th century, many pilgrims from Europe   
   who had followed the Crusaders came to join the solitaries. A rule was   
   established and the Order began to spread to Europe.   
      
   Amid the many persecutions raised against the Order of Mount Carmel,   
   newly arrived in Europe, Saint Simon Stock, General of the Order,   
   turned with filial confidence to the Blessed Mother of God. As he   
   knelt in prayer on July 16, 1251, in the White Friars’ convent at   
   Cambridge, She appeared before him and presented him with the   
   well-known brown scapular, a loose sleeveless garment destined for the   
   Order of Carmel, reaching from the shoulders to the knees. It was   
   given as an assurance, for all who died wearing it, of Her heavenly   
   protection from eternal death. An extraordinary promise indeed, but   
   one requiring a life of prayer and sacrifice.   
      
   Devotion to the blessed habit spread quickly throughout the Christian   
   world. Pope after Pope enriched it with indulgences, and innumerable   
   miracles put their seal upon its efficacy. The first of them was   
   worked at Winchester on a man dying in despair, who when the scapular   
   was laid upon him by Saint Simon Stock at once asked for the   
   Sacraments.   
      
   In the year 1636, a certain gentleman, member of a cavalry regiment,   
   was mortally wounded at the battle of Tehin, a bullet having lodged   
   near his heart. He was then in a state of grievous sin, but he had   
   time to make his confession. Afterwards a surgeon probed his wound,   
   and the bullet was found to have driven his scapular into his heart.   
   When it had been withdrawn he soon expired, making profound acts of   
   gratitude to the Blessed Virgin who had prolonged his life   
   miraculously, thereby preserving him from the irremediable death of   
   his soul.   
      
   At Lourdes in 1858, the Virgin chose to make Her last apparition on   
   July 16th, feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the day the Church   
   commemorates Her apparition to Saint Simon Stock. And at Fatima on   
   October 13, 1917, it is as Our Lady of Mount Carmel that Mary appeared   
   when She said farewell to the three children. Throughout the ages, the   
   Queen of Carmel has always kept a faithful watch over the destinies of   
   Her cherished children on earth.   
      
   Comment:   
      
   The Carmelites were known from early on as "Brothers of Our Lady of   
   Mount Carmel." The title suggests that they saw Mary not only as   
   "mother," but also as "sister." The word sister is a reminder that   
   Mary is very close to us. She is the daughter of God and therefore can   
   help us be authentic daughters and sons of God. She also can help us   
   grow in appreciation of being sisters and brothers to one another. She   
   leads us to a new realization that all human beings belong to the   
   family of God. When such a conviction grows, there is hope that the   
   human race can find its way to peace.   
      
   Quote: "The various forms of piety toward the Mother of God, which the   
   Church has approved within the limits of sound and orthodox doctrine,   
   according to the dispositions and understanding of the faithful,   
   ensure that while the mother is honored, the Son through whom all   
   things have their being (see Colossians 1:15-16) and in whom it has   
   pleased the Father that all fullness should dwell (see Colossians   
   1:19) is rightly known, loved and glorified and his commandments are   
   observed" (Constitution on the Church, 66).   
      
      
   Saint Quote:   
   The trouble is that everyone talks about reforming others and no one   
   thinks about reforming himself.   
   --St. Peter of Alcantara   
      
   Bible Quote   
   But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach a gospel to you besides   
   that which we have preached to you, let him be anathema.  As we said   
   before, so now I say again: If any one preach to you a gospel, besides   
   that which you have received, let him be anathema. (Galatians 1:8-9)   
      
      
   <><><><>   
   This is the Traditional Gradual for the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel:   
      
   O Virgin Mary, blessed and venerable art Thou: who without blemish to   
   thy maidenhood, didst become the Mother of God.  He whom the whole   
   world availeth not to contain, enclosed Himself in thy womb, being   
   made man.   
      
   Alleluia, alleluia.  V. Through thee, O Mother of God, is the life we   
   had lost given back to us: for, from heaven receiving Him who became   
   thy son, thou on the world hast bestowed its Savior.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)