Mariam – The Little Arab1
6. Admirable Jesus. – Oh! How admirable is Jesus! My God, I bow to you. You alone are great; I worship your greatness, your power. You alone are worthy of admiration... You are admirable. Who is like you? There is no other God like you, neither in heaven nor on earth. How happy I am that God created me to be able to call you: my God! If you had created me without reason, I could not say: my God. Thank you for giving me intelligence: I offer it to you. How happy I am to have a Father who fills heaven and earth! That everywhere praises are given to my God! That the mountains leap for joy, that the earth rejoices!...
7. The Sweetness of Jesus. – It is sweet to listen when Jesus is spoken of, but sweeter is to listen to Jesus himself. It is sweet to think of Jesus, but sweeter is to possess him... It is sweet to listen to Jesus, but sweeter is to do his will...
8. Buying Jesus with Love. – I see my brother selling the Beloved... Oh, my brother, how can you sell Jesus for your pleasures, for your interests, for walking the path of Satan, which leads to hell? Oh, my brother, if you want to sell the Beloved, I will buy him... Oh, Savior, I would buy you with my tears, with obedience, with humility, with love, with sacrifice, with death, for a purer love for my neighbor... If I do this, I will be buying you for those who sell you.
9. Before and After Holy Communion. – When preparing for communion, you must reflect on who is the One who comes. It is Jesus, so good, so lovable, so sweet and at the same time so great, so powerful, so beautiful! ... To whom does he come? He comes to you, who are nothing but dust and nothingness. He comes to give himself to you, to make one thing with you. When you receive him into your heart, think that you are like Mary, who carried him in her womb. All day long, keep your gaze on that Jesus whom you received in the morning...
10. The Tree of Life2
Welcome, welcome, blessed tree,
you give us the fruit of life!
From the center of this earth
my heart sighs, my heart laments ...
Oh! Who will grant me wings,
to fly to my Beloved?
Welcome, welcome, blessed tree,
you give us the fruit of life!
On your leaves I see these words written:
Do not be afraid!
Your branches say: Hope!
Your boughs tell me: Love!
And your shadow: Humility!
Welcome, welcome, blessed tree,
in you I find the fruit of life.
From the center of this earth
my heart sighs, my heart laments!
Oh! Who will grant me wings,
to fly to my Beloved?
Welcome, welcome, blessed tree,
you bring the fruit of life.
In your shadow, I long to sigh;
at your feet, I want to die...
11. (Short) Invocations. –
Holy Spirit, inspire me!
Love of God, consume me!
Lead me on the right path.
Mary, my Mother, look upon me.
Bless me with Jesus.
From all evil, from all illusions,
protect me from every danger.
12. The Spirit of Jesus. – Holy Spirit, enlighten me. What should I do and how can I find Jesus? The disciples were quite ignorant; they were with Jesus and did not understand him. I too am in Jesus' house and do not understand Jesus... Every little thing disturbs me, moves me. I am too sensitive; I do not have enough generosity to sacrifice (it) to Jesus... Oh, Holy Spirit, when you gave the disciples a ray of light, they changed; they were no longer what they had been before; their strength was renewed; their sacrifices became easy; they knew Jesus better than when he was with them.
Fountain of peace, light, come and enlighten me! I am hungry, come and feed me; I am thirsty, come and give me drink; I am blind, come and enlighten me; I am poor, come and enrich me; I am ignorant, come and teach me. Holy Spirit, I surrender to You...
13. The True Worship of the Holy Spirit. – I seemed to see our Lord standing and leaning against a great tree; around him was grain and grapes ripening in the light that our Lord radiated. Then I heard a voice that said to me: “The world and religious communities seek new forms of devotion and neglect the true worship of the Comforter. That is why there are delusions, discord, and why there is no peace and light. The light is not sufficiently invoked as it should be invoked; it allows us to know the truth. Also in seminaries it is neglected... (And thus) persecutions prevail, jealousy reigns among religious families; that is why the world is in darkness. No one who (whether) in the world or in the cloister will invoke the Holy Spirit and honor him, will die in delusion. All priests who preach this devotion will receive, when they speak to others, the light.” I was told that throughout the world, it is necessary that every priest celebrate Mass for the Holy Spirit once a month. And all who participate will receive the light and grace they particularly need. I was also told that the day will come when Satan will pretend to be our Lord and his words in worldly people, priests, and religious sisters. But whoever invokes the Holy Spirit will uncover the deceit. I have seen so many things about this devotion that books could be written about it. But I could not repeat them. And then, I am unlearned, I cannot read or write. The Lord surely reveals the light to whom He wishes...
14. Mary's Virtues. – I will tell you my Marian prayer. Oh, Mary, you were a virgin in the world. Who could think that you would become the Mother of God? You became the Mother of God for your humility. The Angel of the Lord appeared to Mary to reveal her divine maternity. The Virgin, enlightened by a powerful light of God, humbled herself at the thought that He who created heaven and earth would become her Son. The Angel spoke to the Virgin and Mother; and every time the angel spoke to her, Mary humbled herself. Oh! Mary, how humble you are and in your humility delightful!... Mary was simply a model of faith. – Oh! How pleasing Mary's faith was to the heavenly Father! Through her faith, she enabled Jesus to grow in her every day. The same faith, if we have it, will enable Jesus to grow equally in our hearts. Through her faith and humility, Mary feels unworthy to become the Mother of God. On earth, children cannot be born without a mother: they come into the world through a woman. And likewise, through a woman we enter heaven – and this woman is Mary. After sin, people awaited the fruit of Mary, this Virgin, tender, humble, and holy. Blessed be you, Mary, blessed!...
15. Mary, Mother of the Resurrection. –
At the feet of Mary, my dear Mother,
I found life.
Oh you all who suffer, come to Mary,
at Mary's feet I found life.
Your salvation and your life
are at Mary's feet.
Oh, you who work in this monastery,
Mary counts your steps and your efforts.
Tell yourselves:
At Mary's feet
I found life.
You who dwell in this monastery,
free yourselves from all earthly things.
Your salvation and your life
are at Mary's feet.
You who dwell in this monastery,
Mary says to you:
My daughter, I have chosen you from the thousands;
from the thousands, and I will bring you to my temple.
At Mary's feet
you will find life.
Mary says to you: I have brought you into my temple,
you will not hunger, you will never thirst;
I will provide for you,
the body, blood of the Innocent.
At Mary's feet
I found life.
You who say that I am an orphan, look:
I have a Mother in the heights of heaven.
Blessed is the daughter of such a Mother! ...
At Mary's feet
I found life.
I dwell in the womb of my Mother,
there I find my Beloved:
am I then an orphan?
In Mary's lap
I found life.
The serpent and the dragon wanted to destroy me
and take my life...
But at Mary's feet, in this monastery,
I found life again...
Mary calls me and I will stay in this monastery
forever.
At Mary's feet
I found life again...
16. Mary, Food, Rest. –
The bread meant for me,
the wonderful Mother blessed...
Everything will end, I can no longer live in this life;
good Mother, keep me always close to you.
I can no longer; take me close to you,
beloved Mother ...
My food, the nourishment that I feed on,
is to see you, beloved Mother;
The water I drink to refresh my soul,
is to love you, beloved Mother ...
When I love you, I am nourished by life;
when I love you, I refresh myself.
The rest that nourishes me,
is to seek you night and day ...
(To be continued in the next issue.)
We would like to inform readers that the Carmelite Publishing House has published a book about St. Mary of Jesus Crucified in the Carmelitana edition titled "Miriam – The Little Arab" (more information at www.iKarmel.cz), authored by Pierre Estrate.
