CHRISTMAS IN CARMEL

Carmel has traditions which were handed down from generation to generation.

The best of these, however, are those that the Carmelites have inherited from the devout pioneers, their early brothers in Palestine. These devotions that still strike a familiar note are dedicated to all that concerns the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Holy Family of Nazareth.

Among these are the devotions especially prescribed for Christmas-tide and the Epiphany, which are some of the most beautiful.

From the first Sunday in Advent, the mystery of the hidden life of the Word Incarnate in the Virginal womb of Mary, enwraps the whole convent with an air, almost a perfume, of mystery.

Every evening, about five, the community meets and, with lighted candles in their hands, join the Mother Prioress who advances holding a little Infant Jesus in her arms. Singing hymns and canticles they proceed through part of the convent to the cell of one of the Sisters who has been elected for that honor and there they deposit the effigy of the Royal Babe. The Sister turns all her homage and adoration to the Divine Child until the same hour the following day, when the choice falls to another of the Nuns.

Three days before the Nativity, united in spirit with the Holy Family tramping through the ways of Palestine, they vie with one another in offering up the flowers of their special love and sacrifice.

On Christmas Eve the silence bell is not rung, the night is luminous and full of melody. Every Sister is kneeling in the doorway of her cell as the Divine Child is again carried down the corridors of the convent in accordance with a ceremony instituted by St. Theresa of Avila. This great Saint had a deep devotion for the mystery of the Incarnation. The beauty of the Word Incarnate enraptured her heart.

One Christmas Eve St. Theresa of Avila's transport of love was such that she could no longer contain herself, and, not waiting for the hour of the commemoration ceremony, she left her cell carrying the Child of Bethlehem and, chanting a hymn of joy, she ran to summon all her daughters to come and adore Him with her.

After midnight Mass followed by Lauds, the community meets in the refectory. All are there, the Mother Prioress, the old and aged Nuns, who have seen many Christmases, the young Nuns, who are tasting for the first time the joys of that solemn hour.

They have come full of joy and with happy hearts to meet round the cradle of the new-born Jesus and comfort Him with their singing and prayers. "Parvulus filius hodie natus est nobis", chants the Church in her holy Liturgy; it is the new-born King to Whom they have immolated every earthly joy, including maternal happiness. Some of them pass the whole night in adoration, others are told to take a little rest until called at an appointed hour, with the hymn of the Angels: "Gloria in excelsis Deo".

What a happy time for Sister Theresa Margaret, was that first Christmas spent in Carmel! Together with the others she labored to prepare the Crib, and when at eventide and in the watches of the night they sang to the Divine Infant, her clear young voice could sometimes be heard above the others in ineffable accents of tenderness and love.

Pondering on the sorrow of Mary and Joseph in being denied shelter by the inhabitants of Bethlehem, she tried in her way to comfort them in the bitterness of that cruel repulse. The words of Saint John the Evangelist came to her mind: "In propria venit et sui Eum non receperunt" --- "He came unto His own and His own received Him not" --- and with tears in her eyes she offered the Little Child the warm cradle of her heart. Then she remained immovable in rapt contemplation of the holy Crib.

It seemed to her as if Eden were reopened with all its splendor and happiness. All the attributes of the Eternal Divinity were hidden for her in that mystery of the Incarnation, only Love shone resplendent. She seemed almost in a stupor; her heart was beating fast and her face was aflame with that sacred fire burning in her young heart. She buried her face in her hands imploring the Holy Babe: "Draw me after Thee and I will run in the fragrance of Thy love". The prayer of Sister Theresa Margaret was not in vain; in her brief span of life she always ran to meet her Spouse, even when the road was beset with crosses and the hardest of sufferings.

The holy vigils of Christmas were therefore happier than ever for the whole convent. Sister Theresa Margaret would have wished to have done even more for her Divine Lord. They had no preacher to come and expound to them all the marvels of the cave of Bethlehem and the Divine beauty of the Incarnate Word. What was to be done? To whom could she turn? What a surprise awaited them when they were told that there would be a sermon after all. One quite out of the ordinary, however, when to their astonished eyes Sister Theresa Margaret detached herself from their ranks and, tall and dignified in her white cloak, she advanced towards them.

Kneeling at the Crib, she remained a few minutes absorbed in prayer; then rising, she began her discourse. The faint light of the lanterns shone on her face glowing with love and joy as she spoke simply and unaffectedly. Her words seemed veritable darts of love with which to pierce their hearts. Her Sisters were astonished at so much knowledge and piety in the words of one so young --- a mere girl of eighteen. She spoke of Mary, who had flowered like a lily, light of heart and praising God. She spoke of the Divine Infant, as gathered by the Angels from the bosom of the Father and carried to the Blessed Mother, who received the first kiss from that adorable mouth, dressed Him lovingly and laid Him gently in His bed of straw. The trembling of those infant limbs must have been felt by the young speaker, whose own voice was shaking with emotion and sympathy. "What a spectacle of poverty", she concluded, "of sacrifice and detachment has He not given us, this God of ours!" But she could not continue ... tears choked her and from that and her whole appearance full of tenderness, her edified Sisters could read the height and depth of a great sacrificing love.

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