"With zeal have I been zealous for the Lord God of Hosts." – 1 Kings 19:10 (The motto of the Carmelite Order)

Tune in is as Fr. Jedidiah Tritle joins author and host Julia Monnin for this 5-part Lenten Series in which they take a thematic look at certain aspects of the Christian life while witnessing to their own personal experiences and the experiences of some of the Carmelite Saints. On this third episode, Julia and Fr. Jedidiah center their discussion around the theme of "Redemptive Suffering."

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Show Quotes:

"When someone desires to suffer, it is no merely a pious reminder of the suffering of the Lord. Voluntary expiatory suffering is what truly and really unites one to the Lord intimately. When it arises, it comes from an already existing relationship with the Christ. For by nature, a person flees from suffering. And the mania for suffering caused by a perverse lust for pain differs completely from the desire to suffer in expiation. Such lust is not a spiritual striving, but a sensory longing no better than other sensory desires; in fact worse, because it is contrary to nature. Only someone whose spiritual eyes have been opened to the supernatural correlations of worldly events can desire suffering in expiation, and this is only possible for people in whom the Spirit of Christ dwells." - St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein)

"There is no wood like that of the cross for lighting the fire of love in the soul!" - St. Elizabeth of the Trinity

"More effective than the mortification one practices according to one's own choice is the cross that God lays upon one, exteriorly and interiorly." - St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein)

"It seems to me it is being realized in me, on this little bed that is the altar on which I am being immolated to Love. . . . If you knew what a world of destruction I feel throughout my whole being; the road to Calvary has opened, and I am quite joyful to walk it like a bride beside the divine Crucified." - St. Elizabeth of the Trinity

"So, when the divine Master finds a soul generous enough to share His cross, He takes her as a partner in His suffering, and that soul must accept it as a proof of the love of Him who wants her to be like Him." - St. Elizabeth of the Trinity

* Books mentioned in this episode include:

"The Way of the Cross with the Carmelite Saints" - Compiled and Illustrated by Sister Joseph Marie, CHT

"He Is My Heaven: The Life of Elizabeth of the Trinity" - by Jennifer Moorcroft

"To Quell the Terror: The True Story of the Carmelite Martyrs of Compiègne" - by William Bush

"God Is Love: Saint Teresa Margaret, Her Life" - by Margaret Rowe

(All titles are available at icspublications.org)