TRGGarcia
Agosto 16: Fiesta Litúrgica de la Beata Maria Sagrario de San Luis Gonzaga, Virgen y Martir de la Orden de los Carmelitas Descalzos
"Blessed be He Who arranges everything
for our good! In possessing Him, we possess everything."
Carmelite Virgin and Martyr
BL. MARIA SAGRARIO of ST ALOYSIUS GONZAGA (Elvira Moragas Cantarero) was born in Lillo, Spain, on 8 January 1881, to Ricardo Moragas and Isabel Cantarero. She was the third child of four. In 1886 her father became the pharmaceutical purveyor to the royal household and the family moved to Madrid. She completed her studies with distinction and was one of the first women in Spain to obtain a degree in pharmacy.
After her father's death, her professional ability became evident. She also became aware of her religious vocation, but, on the advice of her spiritual director and at the insistence of her younger brother who still needed her help, she was obliged to postpone her plans.
In 1915 she was admitted as a postulant to the Carmel of St Anne and St Joseph in Madrid. On 21 December she began her novitiate and received the name Maria Sagrario of St Aloysius Gonzaga. She made her temporary profession on 24 December 1916 and her solemn profession on 6 January 1920.
In April 1927 she was elected prioress and used her mandate to serve the community. In 1930 she became novice mistress and frequently told her novices of her desire to be a martyr. She was elected prioress for the second time on 1 July 1936, two weeks before the Spanish Civil War broke out with a wave of religious persecution.
On 20 July the convent was attacked by a violent crowd. She provided for the safety of her sisters and took refuge with one of them at the home of that sister's parents, where she remained until her arrest, despite her brother's pleas that she move to his home. On 14 August the "soldiers" arrested her and the other sister.
Her serene attitude and total surrender to God's will is well-documented by her daughters' testimony. She was interrogated by the secret police and an effort was made to force her to reveal the whereabouts of the convent's valuables. She resisted the questioning in silence and refused to betray anyone.
On 15 August she was taken to the Pradera of San Isidro and shot. Given the increasing fame of her martyrdom, the process for her canonization was begun in 1962 and closed in 1965. On 8 April 1997 Pope John Paul II approved the decree establishing her martyrdom.
In her beatification ceremony in Rome on May 10, 1998, Blessed John Paul II said of her:
“Mother María Sagrario, a pharmacist in her youth and a Christian example for those who practice that noble profession, gave up everything to live for God alone in Christ Jesus (cf. Rom 6:11) in the Discalced Carmelite Monastery of St Anne and St Joseph in Madrid. There her commitment to the Lord matured, and she learned from him to serve and to sacrifice herself for her brothers and sisters. This how in the turbulent events of July 1936 she found the strength not to betray priests and friends of the community, facing death with integrity for her state as a Carmelite and to save others.”
Here is an excerpt from her writing:
“May Jesus reign always in my heart. The
Lord asks me to be humble, to weep over my
sins, to love Him much, to love my sisters
much, to mortify them in nothing, not to
mortify myself uselessly, to live recollected in
Him wanting nothing for myself, completely
surrendered to His divine will. In this vale of
tears, suffering will not be lacking and we
should be content to have something to offer to
our most beloved Jesus Who wanted so much to
suffer for love of us. The most direct way to
unite ourselves to God is that of the cross, so
we should always desire it. May the Lord not
permit that I be separated from His divine will.
Blessed be God Who gives us these ways
of offering ourselves up to His love! The day
will arrive when we will rejoice for having
suffered in this way. Meanwhile, let us be
generous, suffering everything, if not with
happiness, at least in close conformity to the
divine will of Him Who suffered so much out of
love for us. However great are our sufferings
they come nowhere near His. If you wish to be
perfect seek first of all to be quite humble in
thought, word, deed and desire, learn well what
this means and work tenaciously to carry it out.
Keep your gaze always on our most beloved
Jesus, asking Him in the depths of His heart
what He desires for you, and never deny Him
anything even if it means going strongly against
the grain for you.
Blessed be He Who arranges everything
for our good! In possessing Him, we possess
everything.”
Prayer:
O God,
Who by a spirit of prayer
and devotion to the Eucharist
prepared Blessed Maria Sagrario
to suffer martyrdom,
grant that we, through her example,
may freely spend our lives for You
by faithfully and constantly
fulfilling Your Will. Through our Lord
Jesus Christ Your Son, Who lives and reigns
with You and the Holy Spirit one God
for ever and ever.
Amen.
Blessed Maria Sagrario of Saint Aloysius,
pray for us
Agosto 16: Fiesta Litúrgica de la Beata Maria Sagrario de San Luis Gonzaga, Virgen y Martir de la Orden de los Carmelitas Descalzos
"Blessed be He Who arranges everything
for our good! In possessing Him, we possess everything."
Carmelite Virgin and Martyr
BL. MARIA SAGRARIO of ST ALOYSIUS GONZAGA (Elvira Moragas Cantarero) was born in Lillo, Spain, on 8 January 1881, to Ricardo Moragas and Isabel Cantarero. She was the third child of four. In 1886 her father became the pharmaceutical purveyor to the royal household and the family moved to Madrid. She completed her studies with distinction and was one of the first women in Spain to obtain a degree in pharmacy.
After her father's death, her professional ability became evident. She also became aware of her religious vocation, but, on the advice of her spiritual director and at the insistence of her younger brother who still needed her help, she was obliged to postpone her plans.
In 1915 she was admitted as a postulant to the Carmel of St Anne and St Joseph in Madrid. On 21 December she began her novitiate and received the name Maria Sagrario of St Aloysius Gonzaga. She made her temporary profession on 24 December 1916 and her solemn profession on 6 January 1920.
In April 1927 she was elected prioress and used her mandate to serve the community. In 1930 she became novice mistress and frequently told her novices of her desire to be a martyr. She was elected prioress for the second time on 1 July 1936, two weeks before the Spanish Civil War broke out with a wave of religious persecution.
On 20 July the convent was attacked by a violent crowd. She provided for the safety of her sisters and took refuge with one of them at the home of that sister's parents, where she remained until her arrest, despite her brother's pleas that she move to his home. On 14 August the "soldiers" arrested her and the other sister.
Her serene attitude and total surrender to God's will is well-documented by her daughters' testimony. She was interrogated by the secret police and an effort was made to force her to reveal the whereabouts of the convent's valuables. She resisted the questioning in silence and refused to betray anyone.
On 15 August she was taken to the Pradera of San Isidro and shot. Given the increasing fame of her martyrdom, the process for her canonization was begun in 1962 and closed in 1965. On 8 April 1997 Pope John Paul II approved the decree establishing her martyrdom.
In her beatification ceremony in Rome on May 10, 1998, Blessed John Paul II said of her:
“Mother María Sagrario, a pharmacist in her youth and a Christian example for those who practice that noble profession, gave up everything to live for God alone in Christ Jesus (cf. Rom 6:11) in the Discalced Carmelite Monastery of St Anne and St Joseph in Madrid. There her commitment to the Lord matured, and she learned from him to serve and to sacrifice herself for her brothers and sisters. This how in the turbulent events of July 1936 she found the strength not to betray priests and friends of the community, facing death with integrity for her state as a Carmelite and to save others.”
Here is an excerpt from her writing:
“May Jesus reign always in my heart. The
Lord asks me to be humble, to weep over my
sins, to love Him much, to love my sisters
much, to mortify them in nothing, not to
mortify myself uselessly, to live recollected in
Him wanting nothing for myself, completely
surrendered to His divine will. In this vale of
tears, suffering will not be lacking and we
should be content to have something to offer to
our most beloved Jesus Who wanted so much to
suffer for love of us. The most direct way to
unite ourselves to God is that of the cross, so
we should always desire it. May the Lord not
permit that I be separated from His divine will.
Blessed be God Who gives us these ways
of offering ourselves up to His love! The day
will arrive when we will rejoice for having
suffered in this way. Meanwhile, let us be
generous, suffering everything, if not with
happiness, at least in close conformity to the
divine will of Him Who suffered so much out of
love for us. However great are our sufferings
they come nowhere near His. If you wish to be
perfect seek first of all to be quite humble in
thought, word, deed and desire, learn well what
this means and work tenaciously to carry it out.
Keep your gaze always on our most beloved
Jesus, asking Him in the depths of His heart
what He desires for you, and never deny Him
anything even if it means going strongly against
the grain for you.
Blessed be He Who arranges everything
for our good! In possessing Him, we possess
everything.”
Prayer:
O God,
Who by a spirit of prayer
and devotion to the Eucharist
prepared Blessed Maria Sagrario
to suffer martyrdom,
grant that we, through her example,
may freely spend our lives for You
by faithfully and constantly
fulfilling Your Will. Through our Lord
Jesus Christ Your Son, Who lives and reigns
with You and the Holy Spirit one God
for ever and ever.
Amen.
Blessed Maria Sagrario of Saint Aloysius,
pray for us