The Chosen Myrrh

This Carthusian monk's reflection from Le Mois de Marie Cartusien on the chosen myrrh, who is our Blessed Mother, was clearly, according to the way it was written, never intended to scale the walls of Carthusian monasteries and reach the outside world. He offers some thoughts on living the Carthusian life, and on a couple of occasions refers to their Rule, thus giving readers outside of the Order some insight into their charism. We also get to meet in this writing a Carthusian nun, Mother Anne Griffon, who one would deduce from what is shared here, was a mystic and a visionary. You’ll see the Latin words, “Fluminis impetus lætificat civitatem Dei,” which is from the Latin Vulgate and more specifically, Psalm 45, verse 5, which translates as: “The stream of the river makes glad the city of God.” This is a splendid reflection on our Lady. The picture used for this post depicts the Presentation of Mary in the Temple. Happy Feast of Our Lady of Fatima!

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One of the principal aims of our Order is to form followers of our crucified Lord, who will carry the cross after Him, in order to fill up, as Saint Paul says, for themselves and for the Church, what is wanting of the sufferings of Christ (cf. Colossians 1:24). In our Constitutions all has been ordained to the end that the cross destined for the sons of Saint Bruno should be borne by them in a perfect manner, and with unflinching constancy. “The man who gives himself to prayer,” says Saint Teresa, “offers himself to our Lord to carry His cross.” She who entered most deeply in union with Him has become the Queen of martyrs. Thus the Church places on Mary’s lips the inspired words: I yielded a sweet odor like the choicest myrrh (cf. Ecclesiasticus 24:20). May our souls, too, and our whole lives be impregnated with this divine fragrance emanating from the Wounds of our crucified Savior.

The cross of the Carthusian serves a double purpose, according as it affects the soul or the body. It is in other words spiritual or material, and is called humility or austerity. Let us see how, following in Mary’s steps, we can offer to our Savior this double martyrdom imposed by our Rule.

Mary’s humility has only been surpassed by that of the Heart of Jesus. No saint can compare with our heavenly Mother in this fundamental virtue. Singularly favored, as she was, by heaven, Mary looked on herself as a mere nothing. “Take it for certain,” she said to Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, “that in the Temple I regarded myself as the lowest of all creatures, and as unworthy as you yourself to be the Mother of the Redeemer.” This humility was the heavenly spikenard which ravished the Most High, and drew the Word of God into the womb of Mary. At the very moment when she was humbling herself in her prayer, not daring to aspire even to the favor of serving the privileged creature who was to give birth to the Savior, the archangel Gabriel came to propose to her that she herself should be the Mother of the Redeemer.

One of our nuns, Mother Anne Griffon, the venerable Prioress of Gosnay in Artois, had wonderful lights on the abyss of humility which caused the graces of the Most High to flow so abundantly into the soul of the Immaculate Virgin. Through these revelations, we may learn to preserve deep in our hearts the knowledge of our own insufficiency in this respect.

On the feast of Saint Anne, as during the Mass the nuns were singing the Responsory, Fluminis impetus lætificat civitatem Dei, the venerable Mother saw Saint Anne under the figure of the city of God, thus depicted because she bore in her womb the Tabernacle of God (cf. Psalm 131:5). God dwelt in Mary by sanctifying grace from the moment of her conception. The stream of the river represented the torrent of graces drawn down upon the mother and the daughter by their mutual humility.

On the feast of the Nativity of Our Lady, the venerable Mother saw in contemplation the Blessed Trinity and all the heavenly court rejoicing in the birth of this unique creature, sanctified and full of grace from the first moment of her existence, and immediately endowed with the use of reason, so that she might be aware that she owed all these graces to her Creator.

On other occasions, our Lady appeared to the venerable Mother as when, after her Presentation in the Temple, she humbled herself more profoundly before the adorable Trinity than ever angels or saints have done or will do. And again, in the mystery of the Purification, seeking how to humble herself, as did her Son when He emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, made in the likeness of men (Philippians 2:7). Again, co-operating in the Redemption at the foot of the Cross, as she suffered for us to an extent equaled by no other creature; at her death, so transformed in God that she seemed to be identified with Him, yet stripping herself of all this glory in order to attribute it all to its divine Author; crowned in heaven with such splendor that we would be tempted to adore her, were we not conscious of the Majesty of the Son. Again, so great that God alone comprehends her, yet ceaselessly offering to Him all she has received from Him, interceding with the divine Goodness that He might bestow on all the elect a share in her glory as the Mother of Jesus and thus the Mother of men – a Mother whom we must imitate by profoundly humbling ourselves, as she did, in the presence of the Divine Majesty, esteeming ourselves as nothing.

We must love, then, humility in all its forms, if we would be true religious, and be content with the hidden life which shelters us from the vanities of this world, and with the lowly position we occupy in the House of God. Let us find pleasure in the apparently humble and commonplace actions which fill our days. Mary herself avowed to a holy religious that she experienced great joy in seeing him every Saturday sweeping the convent cloister for love of her. We should also accept with a fervent heart the practices of respect and humility imposed on us by our Rule, whether it be towards the Fathers of the cloister or to our superiors (Statuta Ordinis Cartusiensis, II Pars, ch. XVIII, I); we should lose none of these opportunities to practice virtue. Above all, we should fulfill with exact fidelity the act of humility prescribed to us when we are admonished for some fault (ibid., ch. XVIII, 20).

We have already treated of austerity, the second form of our Carthusian cross, when meditating on the vow of poverty; we need not, therefore, repeat it here. Let it suffice to recall that according to the testimony of the Sacred Scriptures, wisdom is seldom found in those who live in luxury (cf. Job 28:13), and it hardly becomes the members of a thorn-crowned Head to garland themselves with roses.

It is for us, then, to practice renunciation or self-denial, and to use the sword of immolation whenever grace inspires us to do so. In the matter of the mind, our Lady would have us renounce our ideas, our opinions, our plans, our own judgment; in that of the heart, our desires, our affections, our tastes and our repugnances. As for the senses, we must renounce our ease, all forms of self-gratification and satisfaction; and in the matter of the will, all over-eagerness and our natural vivacity. Such, and no less, is the extent of the renunciation we are called upon to practice.

Our Lady's Doctor Ecstaticus

One of the most prolific writers of the Carthusian Order was Denys van Leeuwen, but perhaps better known simply as Denys the Carthusian or his Latinized name, Dionysius. Denys was Belgian and a model Carthusian to say the least. After being educated in theology, philosophy and Sacred Scripture from the University of Köln, he entered the Carthusian way of life in 1423. The many hours involved daily in praying the Divine Office, celebrating Mass, praying Our Lady’s Office, as well as other devotional practices - all staples of the Carthusian charism – Denys also nearly on a daily basis spent many hours reciting the Psalter in its entirety. In addition to this, he was no stranger to spiritual reading. A couple of years before his death the list of what he read began to surface. He read nearly every ecclesiastical writer leading up to his time in life. Another monk revealed that Denys also read nearly every summa and most commentaries on Scripture; he was also fond of reading the works of Greek and Arabic philosophers. His favorite writer was Dionysius the Areopagite. As incredible as all this seems, perhaps more mysterious and even miraculous is how he found the time to write so much himself. Like all Carthusians, he was very fond of our Lady. Here are some of his thoughts concerning our Blessed Mother:

From his work, De Prœconio, one should be convinced that as long as Mary is present in the life of a sinful soul, that soul need not despair:

"You are the consolation and the hope of the most guilty of men. He who has recourse to you can never complain of your severity and harshness. To your sons, even to the most ungrateful, you are kindness and tenderness itself; for all, you have the heart of a compassionate and indulgent Mother. Despite your high estate and the exalted privileges which you enjoy in heaven, if the most wretched, the most impure, the most despised of sinners appeals to you for help with a truly contrite and humbled heart, far from disdaining him you welcome him with a Mother’s love. You take him into your arms and, holding him close to your heart, you communicate to him a new warmth and then make his peace with the Judge he fears. How many are the afflicted, the sinners, the utterly abandoned, who rejoice that they have found in you, O Mary most merciful, salvation and life!"

In Volume VII of his Opera Omnia, Denys explains why we pray, "Blessed are you among women," for Mary is indeed "full of grace":

"Many women have gathered together great spiritual treasures, but you, O Virgin most admirable, have surpassed them all. For if, according to Saint Jerome, no one is good when compared to God, in like manner no virgin is perfect in comparison with you."

Also from his Opera Omnia in Volume XXXII, Denys tells the story of a Cistercian’s encounter with our Blessed Mother:

"A Cistercian religious had such a great devotion to our Blessed Lady that he would never sit down to table until he had recited on his knees five decades of the Rosary. Now one day, when his relatives had come to see him, and he was about to share their meal in the company of a few friends, he suddenly remembered that he had not fulfilled his customary tribute to his heavenly Mother. Immediately he arose and withdrew from the company. And as he prayed, whom did he see but our Lady herself, clothed with a magnificent cloak studded with Ave Marias, in letters of gold. He was filled with confusion when, with a sweet smile, the lovely apparition said to him: 'See all the Aves you have said to me.' Then, with a gesture she threw open her cloak and, showing him the inside, added: 'When your Aves have covered this side also, I shall come for you, and take you to my Son’s Kingdom.'"

What a marvellous assurance that as we pray the Rosary, our Lady is indeed listening! With all of Denys literary achievements, none of it took precedence over his commitment to prayer. Perhaps there’s a lesson there, in that, if we are committed to prayer, all those other things in our life that we deem as necessary, our Lord, if He also deems it necessary, will see to it that it is accomplished. Finally, it should be noted that Denys the Carthusian was quite privileged in receiving ecstasies, many of which involved levitation. Because of this, he has been given the title of Doctor Ecstaticus.

New Title

Dear Friends,

After a lengthy wait I am now able to name the blog what I had originally intended: FELIX CÆLI PORTA. I trust immensely in Our Lady's intercession. Thank you for your readership.

Ascension of the Lord - May 17, 2015

Click here for the Readings

First Reading Commentary

Saint Luke is the author of the Acts of the Apostles; and so, when he begins this book with the words, “In the first book,” he is referring to the Gospel of Luke. 

Theophilus is probably someone that Luke knew personally but the name “Theophilus” means, “friend of God” or “one who loves God” which may suggest that Luke intended this book to be read by all the faithful. 

“After giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom He had chosen”; these words can be difficult to comprehend but the most accepted explanation among scholars is that Christ formed the Church; and He set up a governing authority to run that Church; and the decisions that would be made by the governing authority would be under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  The Scripture text suggests that Christ was still present in bodily form when giving these instructions; but the understanding is that after Christ’s Ascension into heaven, these instructions would still be given to the apostles through the Holy Spirit. 

“He presented Himself alive to them by many proofs after He had suffered”; skeptics of Christ’s Resurrection have asked why He appeared to only a few and not the masses.  When Jesus appeared to His apostles, they were terrified and were made to touch His Wounds to confirm what their eyes were seeing.  If those who were closest to Jesus were terrified, how much more affected would everyone else have been?  The miracles that were done through the hands of the apostles are proof of the Resurrection. 

“While meeting with them”; in the literal translation from the Latin Vulgate the words are, “And eating with them.” 

“In a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” which refers to Pentecost, the day that the apostles would be sanctified with plentiful graces.

“Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”  This question shows that some of the apostles still had thoughts of a temporal kingdom.  Jesus quickly dismisses these thoughts and turns their attention to their ministry as witnesses of His teachings. 

He was lifted up or literally He lifted Himself up.  “Suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them”; these men were angels of God. 

“This Jesus Who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen Him going into heaven.”  Saint John Chrysostom explains that the word “going” suggests that Christ ascended by His own power and by His own power He will return to judge the world.  Saint Augustine’s homily on the Ascension opens with the words: “Today Jesus Christ our Lord went up to heaven; let our hearts go up with Him.”  What he meant by this was to obey the command of Saint Paul when he exhorts us to seek the things that are above where Christ is and not the things of this world. 

A cloud took Jesus from the sight of the apostles and today we still have that cloud, the veil of bread and wine which prevents us from seeing Him as He is.  The angels assure the apostles that Jesus will return but they discourage them from continuing to look into the sky because now the torch has been passed to them.  Jesus has now left His work, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to His Church. 

Second Reading Commentary

This Reading can be difficult to follow.  Most of it is intended to be a blessing much in the same manner that a priest nearing the end of Mass would say, “Bow your heads and pray for God’s blessing.”  In this blessing, we bow our heads and pray that we will be given the Spirit of wisdom to know Jesus and be Jesus for others and also be able to recognize Jesus in others.  We also pray for the faith to know the greatness of His power and that through Him all things are possible because Jesus is far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this age but also in the one to come.  Jesus is the Head over all things.

Gospel Commentary

“Whoever believes” to which Saint Gregory explains that belief or faith must be supported by good works for that only is true faith. 

“So then the Lord Jesus, after He spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took His seat at the right Hand of God”; this verse is written in such a way that it can be understood by the human senses.  God the Father is pure Spirit Who does not have a right Hand or any bodily shape.  The real Image of God is beyond our understanding.  The message here is that Jesus was raised to the height of glory, where nothing is higher, nothing is greater and He has, with the Father, equal authority over the universe because Jesus is not only true Man but also true God. 

“They went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs”; this final verse not only shows the works performed by the apostles but it is also intended to be an example to exhort us to do good works. 

Interestingly, this Gospel text was actually missing from Mark’s Gospel.  The original concluded with the empty tomb.  It may have been added to bear witness to Christ’s Ascension; however, another school of thought is that this ending was part of the original Gospel but transcribers left it out because the pages were either mutilated or missing.

Auxilium Christianorum

Here's another gem from the heart, mind and soul of a Carthusian monk in the compilation titled: Le Mois de Marie Cartusien. In this reflection, there's a mentioning that several of the Church Fathers taught that the angels promised in advance reverence and obedience to the Virgin Mother of God. That thought might turn one's thoughts to the Annunciation and the appearance of the angel Gabriel to Mary. What did she see? What was Gabriel's posture that would indicate reverence and obedience? Something to ponder...

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“Almighty and merciful God Who, for the defense of Christendom, hast wonderfully established the Blessed Virgin Mary to be an ever ready help to Thy people. . .” These words, which occur in the Collect of the Mass of Our Lady, Help of Christians, should suffice to indicate to us the aid offered to all who seek it from the holy Mother of God.

We have already seen what help Mary, as dispenser of divine grace, brings to the support of our fallen nature, and how we, God’s creatures, can lean on her, as it were on His own Arm. But Mary’s love, as a Mother, finds other ways of assisting us. One of the most precious is the unwearying protection whereby she shields her children, unceasingly harassed as they are by the enemy of souls. She fulfills to perfection the delightful symbol which Jesus used in speaking to the Jews, to express His ever steadfast and watchful love for their unhappy race. As the hen gathers her chickens under her wings, when she sees the kestrel hovering near, so does our heavenly Mother gather her children under her cloak and hide them in her heart, at the approach of evil (cf. Matthew 23:37).

At the dawn of creation, Lucifer the archangel set himself up in opposition to the Mother of God. The trial that was to settle forever the lot of the angelic spirits consisted especially, according to several of the Fathers, in the proposal that God made to these beings – so noble and so beautiful by nature – that they should promise in advance adoration and submission to the Incarnate Word, and reverence and obedience to His Virgin Mother. The chief of the angels refused to render this homage, and hell was for him, and for those who followed his lead, the punishment of their revolt (cf. Luke 10:18).

When, in the fullness of time, God became man, the rebel angels rose in fury against the Person of our Savior, and by their hirelings crucified Him to Whom they had refused their adoration in the highest heaven. Filled with rage at the thought of the glories decreed to this Son of promise (cf. Acts 13:23) and their Master forever, they turned their fury against the other sons of the chosen Woman. They waged unceasing warfare against those children of Mary who bear within them the sign of the redeemed. No one is exempt from this warfare: between the sons of Satan and the children of Mary there is irreconcilable enmity (cf. Genesis 3:15). Who will be our support in this struggle? We are so weak when left to our own resources.

“Sinners as we are,” wrote Dom Louis Rouvier, “we are exposed to violent and repeated temptations. The more we have sinned, the more power Satan has over us; and, as the implacable enemy of our souls, he has no greater wish than to see us one day share in his torments. To that end, he exercises all his infernal malice in order to encompass our ruin. How can we escape from his wiles without powerful aid? Ever since Mary crushed the head of the accursed serpent beneath her feet, she has, it is certain, a command over him in virtue of which she is able to free her children from danger. This is why she has been given the consoling title of Auxilium Christianorum – Help of Christians. But can we expect her to use her power on our behalf if we do not call on her? How profitable, then, is it for us to invoke this great Queen frequently, in order to triumph over the temptations of the devil” (Dom Louis Rouvier, Novenas for the Festivals of the Blessed Virgin Mary).

And Mary protects us by renewing our courage. Little by little, she will weaken those evil inclinations left in our nature by sin, those instincts which are stepping-stones to further sin. Above all, she will curb the audacity of our enemies. They cannot endure her presence, and the mere indication of her name puts them to flight. “The powers of darkness,” says Saint Bonaventure, “melt away like wax in the warmth of the fire, when they meet anyone who keeps Mary in remembrance and is in the habit of calling on her, and is zealous in imitating her.”

But should we unhappily presume on our liberty to tear ourselves for a moment from her arms and stretch out our hands to Satan, our heavenly Mother would still come to our aid, by preventing this cruel tyrant from exercising over us the power into which our fault has betrayed us, and by forcing him to give us time to gain our pardon.

In a touching allegory, Holy Scripture describes this manifestation of Mary’s mercy. The sons of Respha had been delivered up to the Gabaonites, who crucified them. By their bodies, keeping untiring watch to defend their remains from the birds of the air by day and from the beasts of the field by night, was their mother. Nor did she leave them until the king, David, had them taken down from the cross, and had them buried with the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son (cf. 2 Kings [2 Samuel] 21:13). Such is the image of Mary, watching over fallen souls, in order to prevent hell from completing the work of their destruction, and ceaselessly drawing down upon them the cleansing waters of sorrow and repentance: donec stilleret eos aqua de cælo. . . until there fall upon them dew from heaven (cf. Psalm 71 [72]:6; Joel 3:18; Amos 9:13).

A Vision of Our Blessed Lady

This is how Hugh de Miromars describes the wonderful part played by Our Lady in his choice of the monastery where he received the Carthusian habit.

“With good reason I had taken fright at the thought of a life in which honors, riches and pleasures combined only too well their attractions to render life easy and pleasant for me. Enlightened, however, by a ray of the eternal mercy, I determined to bid a last farewell to the world, and to withdraw to the desert of the Chartreuse, and embrace the austere Rule of the sons of Saint Bruno. The only question was which monastery I should choose as the blessed refuge of my soul, enamored forever of the only lasting good? At the time, I thought of the Charterhouse of Montrieux, of which I knew nothing more than the reputation for sanctity enjoyed by the community. I did not even know where it was.

"That was as far as I had got in my reflections, when one night I dreamed that I had to choose my bride. I found myself transported to a valley surrounded by high mountains. A spring gushed forth at my feet. It was there I awaited her to whom I was to be united for life. Long did I wait, but all to no purpose. Impatient at the delay, I began to pace up and down, thinking I would go away, when suddenly I found myself in the presence of a Lady whose modestly veiled countenance shone bright with nobility and beauty. I knew it to be our Blessed Lady. She was not more than average height: her complexion was as pure as alabaster. Raising my right arm, she deigned to rest it on her shoulder; then her gentle glance penetrated to the very depths of my enraptured eyes. ‘Beloved’, she said, ‘will you refuse me’? As one distraught, I cried out: ‘No, no, my Queen, a thousand times, No: I will not refuse you’. At these words, the vision faded.

"On visiting the Charterhouse of Montrieux some time later, Hugh found exactly that same scene of which Mary had shown him a glimpse. Needless to say, he was not long in entering the House of God, to be united to the chosen Bride of his heart" (Le Couteulx: Annales Ordinis Cartusiensis, Vol. IV, Monttreuil-sur-Mer, p. 94).

The Life of Perfection

This particular piece from a Carthusian monk, in the book Le Mois de Marie Cartusien, focuses on the poverty of the Virgin Mother of God, in order that she may “preserve her unique treasure.” Jesus tells us to “make to yourselves . . . a treasure in heaven which does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth corrupts. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also’” (Luke 12:33-34). The possessions of this world’s goods or the lack thereof, causes much stress in the heart of humanity. Our fallen nature renders us “control freaks,” making it difficult to surrender totally to our Lord and trust in His Providence. Jesus encourages us however, when He said: “Fear not, little flock, for it has pleased your Father to give you a Kingdom” (ibid. verse 32).The Carthusian annals record the apparition, in the year 1137, of Our Blessed Lady to a simple lay-brother of La Correrie near La Grande Chartreuse, to whom she said, having delivered him from some grievous temptation: “Keep on advancing always in the life of perfection. Love the coarse food, the poor clothing allowed you by your Rule, and spend yourself in manual labor.”

These are the counsel of a Mother, herself imbued with a great love for poverty, a virtue of which during the whole of her life she gave a wonderful example. Daughter of David, and the descendant of the kings of Judah, Mary counted it her glory to live hidden from the eyes of men. She heard herself spoken of as a carpenter’s wife, and rejoiced in it, just as her Son was happy to pass for a workman’s son. Rich in the possession of her divine Son, Mary deprived herself of the goods of this world, in order to preserve her unique treasure. And yet as she was Queen of creation, she knew that she could have been trusted always to make use of created things in a lawful and holy manner. We too, therefore, should remain detached from the vanities of this world, if we would possess Him Who in truth only gives Himself to those who can repeat with the poor man of Assisi: “My God, and my All!”

The prospect of the unfading crown which will encircle the brows of those who conquer for Christ’s sake should make us generous in our detachment, like those athletes of whom the apostle speaks, who strip themselves of everything in order to fight in the arena (cf. 1 Corinthians 9:25). Did not Joshua once see his army put to flight by the enemies of God in punishment for a theft committed by a son of Israel, who had stolen objects vowed to the pagan gods?

Holy Mary, Mother of God: pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.