Tuesday 16 July 2013

A Child of Mary

This poem was found in Teresa's notebooks.  It can be sung as a hymn to the tune of St. Columba.

O favour'd mortal Mary's Child
Can tongue reveal thy bliss?
The spotless Angel round Her throne
Know not a name like this.

They hail Her as their sovereign Queen
The Mother of their Lord.
They are but servants kneeling there
To wait Her gracious call.

But thou cans't say, as Jesus said
O Mary Mother mine,
For He Himself on Calvary's hill
Has made his Mother thine.

Our Lady, the Child Jesus and St. Mary Magdalen

Twas in that hour beneath the Cross
At Jesus dying prayer
That first Her sinless hands were raised
And Mary blessed thee there.

Ah!  Yes and yet still She loves thee
Heaven's glorious Queen above
Looks down upon Her lowly child
With more than Mother's love.

When storms arise that fain would blast
And Satan wields his power
If you but hope and trust in Her
She'll shield you in that hour.

She'll guide and guard thy every step
In life's long rugged way
If thou but trust and cling to Her
Thy foot shall never stray.

Fear not, thy soul is in Her hand
She knows the price it cost
Fear not: it never yet was known -
That Mary's child was lost. 

 Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Sunday 14 July 2013

Aphorisms of Teresa, recorded by her friend Susan Ryland (later Sr. Barbara)

The mortar is only as useful as the bricks.

Make stepping stones of stumbling blocks.

Small straws shew which way the wind blows.

It is not the work of God to destroy feeling, but to overcome it.

(when washing oneself) Jesus, wash me with Your Precious Blood.

(when dressing) Jesus, clothe my soul with the virtues.

Do not worry.  Have confidence and He in whom you trust will cause the sun to shine and the storm to cease, and lull you to repose in the sure haven of His Sacred Heart.

and most important of all, in the humble opinion of the blog author:

The Mercy of God is greater than all His Works.


Teresa's prayer in honour of the Sacred Head, Seat of Divine Wisdom

My Lord and my God, humbly prostrate before Thee, I adore Thy Sacred Head as the Seat of Divine Wisdom, the Shrine of the Powers of Thy most Holy Soul and Intellectual Faculties, and the centre of the five Senses of Thine adorable Body.

When I gaze into the depths of this fathomless abyss of Goodness, Power and Wisdom, which has contrived and instituted such unheard of ways and means of proving Thine infinite Love, and lavishing Thy choicest gifts upon me, Thy poor child, I am lost in astonishment and admiration.

O Light of lights, in whose glorious rays I see fresh mines of Wealth in the Sacred Heart; O Sun of Justice, in whose intense heat I feel the burning Love that consumes the Sacred Heart.

O Will, which was always in meek subjection to Thy Heavenly Father's, control me in all things, as Thou didst govern all the affections and motions of the Sacred Heart of the God made Man.

O Understanding, which knows all things, ever guide me with Thy Light.

O Memory, in which past, present, and future are at once reflected, which is ever mindful of me, and always seems to be studying some new means of giving fresh favours, force me to love Thee more and more.


Oh!  By the shining light of Thine Eyes, teach me to see Thee in all things; and by Thine Ears, which are ever open to the prayers of the needy, grant that I may ever hear the voice of Thy Church, and listen to Thy holy inspirations.  Oh, give me always a love and a relish for what is right and just.  Let me taste how sweet Thou art.  Let me drawn by the odour of Thy Virtues, and feel forever the intense joy of seeing, loving, praising, blessing and glorifying Thee for all eternity.

O Flood of Light!  Mine of Wealth!  Ocean of Goodness!  Sea of Mercy!  Fountain of Living Waters!  Fire of Love!  Source of all Good!  To Thee I consecrate myself with that I am or have.

O Sacred Head, Seat of Divine Wisdom, Tabernacle of God with man; in Thee I behold at once a celestial and terrestrial Paradise, a new Heaven, and a new Earth; the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven prepared and adorned as a bride glowing with light and glory, in whose sparkling crystals I behold all the attributes of the Godhead reflected as a sea of glass.

O Rainbow of peace!  O Burning Bush!  O Peerless Pearl!  Storehouse of the Treasures of God!  O Lamp, ever burning!  Brightness unfading!  Sun for ever shining!  O Tree of Life!  Life and Light of those who are Thine!  O Seal of the Elect.

O Wisdom without beginning or end!  Boundless knowledge!  Love so great that we cannot understand it!  To Thee I raise my prayer of love, reparation and thanksgiving from the centre of the Sacred Heart, where I safely hide; and I beg of Thee to accept, O my Jesus, all the treasures of this infinite mystery of love and riches, in atonement for my coldness, misery, and poverty.

O Jesus, my beloved Jesus.  I love Thee far more than I can tell; Jesus, my Spouse, and my treasure, I grieve that Thou art so little known and so much offended.  Jesus, my Life and my Light, may all minds know Thee, all hearts love Thee, and all tongues praise Thee, now and for ever more.  Amen.

Jesus!  Jesus!  Jesus!  O Seat of Divine Wisdom, have mercy on me, O Sacred Head and loving Heart, guide me with Thy Light, and consume me with Thy fire.  Amen.