Seek What Is Above: the Feast of All Carmelite Saints

Tina Mayeux draws from the example of the great Carmelite saints to reflect on our need to shed the earthly and embrace the heavenly.

During this month of November, when we remember our departed loved ones, the Church encourages us to pause and reflect upon the inevitable reality of death and eternal life. Our pastor at our local parish recently referred to death as a “stripping away” of everything except Christ. If we cooperate with God’s grace, this shedding of earthly attachments begins during our pilgrimage on earth and continues as we age, until the ultimate stripping away at the moment of our passing from this life.

Today, November 14, is a special day for those Catholics who embrace Carmelite spirituality: the Feast of All Carmelite Saints. It is a day set aside to honor those who ascended the mount of Carmel and achieved union with Christ on earth and in Heaven. These saints, some of whom include Saint John of the Cross, Saint Teresa of Ávila, Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, and Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity, attained sanctity on earth, willingly cooperating with this gradual stripping away of all that is not God in order to achieve sanctity. The Carmelite life itself is structured toward shedding earthly attachments so that its members can more readily be united to the Lord. Those who embrace the Carmelite vocation observe penance and self-denial as a means of pursuing holiness on earth so as to one day be with God in Heaven.

Saint Paul’s letter to the Colossians instructs us to “seek what is above,” and to “think of what is above, not of what is on earth.” (Colossians 3:1-2) On their feast day, the great Carmelite saints teach us how to let go of the things of earth so that we can look up to God and more fully embrace the things of Heaven. One of the beautiful aspects of the Carmelite life is the freedom from worldly distractions which is experienced in the monastic life, enabling its members to enjoy solitude and prayer.

Although as busy wives and mothers we may often find ourselves bombarded with distractions, seeking out a time and space for daily prayer can help us, too, to learn to shed the things which keep us from Jesus and grow in love for Him.

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A recent event in my own life was an occasion for me to experience just such a stripping away and to trust and depend more on the Lord. I underwent hip replacement surgery a little over a month ago and was forced to confront my profound dependence upon God and others during my hospitalization and recovery at home. Relying on the hospital staff, my family, and friends during this trying time was challenging, yet the experience served to remind me of the need to recognize how much I need God at each moment and during every season of my life.

From using a walker and a cane to get around to accepting meals and help driving our daughters to school and practices, my surgery and recovery was a necessary lesson in my own deep need and reliance on God and those around me. It served to humble and instruct me, as I was forced to let go of my desire to be in control and independent and instead opened me up to becoming more docile and accepting of others’ help.

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Seeking out a time and space for daily prayer can help us to learn to shed the things which keep us from Jesus and grow in love for Him. #CatholicMom

Jesus said to His disciples,

“If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23)

If we wish to come after Jesus, we know that we must follow Him even to death. He tells us that the way to follow Him is to accept difficulties and challenging circumstances willingly and with a generous heart. In a small way, these trials and difficult experiences can function as gradual preparations for our own death. Whether in a cloistered Carmelite convent or living out the sometimes-chaotic vocation of wife and mother in the secular world, we are all journeying toward our heavenly homeland.

On this special day in remembrance of the Carmelite Saints, we ask their intercession, that we, too, receive the grace to strip away all that is not of God so we can be united with Him one day in Heaven.

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