OCDS: Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites

15/10/2026

Solemnity of SAINT TERESA OF JESUS —
OUR MOTHER, Virgin and Doctor of the Church (October 15th)

LET US PRAY:

Father,
by your Spirit you raised up
our Mother Saint Teresa of Jesus
to show your Church the way to perfection.
May her inspired teaching
awaken in us a longing for true holiness.

Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
God, forever and ever.
AMEN.

—Carmelite Proper (Proper Calendar:
Order of the Discalced Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary)

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OFFICE OF READINGS

Second Reading: Ch 22:6-7, 14

—From the Autobiography of Saint Teresa of Jesus

~ We should always be mindful of Christ’s love ~

Whoever lives in the presence of so good a friend and excellent a leader as is Jesus Christ can endure all things. Christ helps us and strengthens us and never fails; he is a true friend. And I see clearly that God desires that if we are going to please him and receive his great favors this must come about through the most sacred humanity of Christ, in whom he takes his delight.

Many, many times have I perceived this through experience. The Lord has told it to me. I have definitely seen that we must enter by this gate if we desire His Sovereign Majesty to show us great secrets. A person should desire no other path, even if he be at the summit of contemplation; on this road he walks safely. This Lord of ours is the one through whom all blessings come to us. He will teach us these things. In beholding his life we find that he is the best example.

What more do we desire than to have such a good friend at our side, who will not abandon us in our labors and tribulations, as friends in the world do? Blessed is the one who truly loves him and always keeps him near. Let us consider the glorious Saint Paul: it doesn’t seem that any other name fell from his lips than that of Jesus, as coming from one who kept the Lord close to his heart. Once I had come to understand this truth, I carefully considered the lives of some of the saints, the great contemplatives, and found that they hadn’t taken any other path: Francis, Anthony of Padua, Bernard, Catherine of Sienna. A person must walk along this path in freedom, placing himself in God’s hands. If His Majesty should desire to raise us to the position of one who is an intimate and shares his secrets, we ought to accept gladly.

As often as we think of Christ we should recall the love with which he bestowed on us so many favors, and the great things God showed in giving us a pledge like this of his love; for love begets love. Let us strive to keep this always before our eyes and to waken ourselves to love. For if at some time the Lord should grant us the favor of impressing this love on our hearts, all will become easy for us and we shall carry out our tasks quickly and without much effort.

🎨 Saint Teresa of Jesus — Anonymous, after José de Ribera, Museo Nacional del Prado, 17th century.

08/10/2026

St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, pray for us.
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.

MORNING OFFERING

My God,
I offer you all that I do today
for the intentions and the glory
of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
I want to sanctify every beat of my heart,
my thoughts and simple works
by uniting them to his infinite merits.
I want to repair for my faults by casting
them into the furnace of his merciful love.

O my God!
I ask of you for myself and those dear to me the grace to fulfil perfectly your holy will and to accept for love of you
the joys and sorrows of this passing life
so that one day we may be reunited in Heaven for all eternity.
Amen.

Prayer #10
“The Prayers of St. Thérèse of Lisieux”
ICS Publications

📸 Painting and statue of St. Therese, St. Adelaide’s Parish, Peabody, MA

Photos by Pauline Bedard, OCDS

07/10/2026

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!

07/10/2026

Our Lady of the Rosary (October 7th)

The rosary centers on the events of the lives of Jesus and Mary—the mysteries of our salvation.

As we pray, Saint John Paul II wrote,
“Mary constantly sets before the faithful the ‘mysteries’ of her Son, with the desire that the contemplation of those mysteries will release all their saving power. In the recitation of the rosary, the Christian community enters into contact with the memories and the contemplative gaze of Mary.”

Each time we pray the rosary, Mary shares the life of her Son with us to draw us forward on the path to heaven.

“Among creatures no one knows Christ better than Mary; no one can introduce us to a profound knowledge of his mystery better than his Mother.”

—Magnificat

🎨The Virgin of the Rosary, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo © National Prado Museum

04/10/2026

The following prayer, called "The Absorbeat," was much loved by St. Francis and he prayed it often:

"Lord, may the power of your love,
Burning and sweet,
Wean my heart
From all things under heaven,
That I might die For love of your love,
You who were so good
As to die
For love of my love."

The Jubilee Year of Saint Francis of Assisi
— Jan 10, 2026 to Jan 10, 2027 —

— Feast Day: October 4th

02/10/2026

The Holy Guardian Angels Memorial (October 2nd)

LET US PRAY:
O God, who in your unfathomable providence are pleased to send your holy Angels to guard us,
hear our supplication as we cry to you,
that we may always be defended by their protection and rejoice eternally in their company.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

—Collect

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“See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.”

— Matthew 18:10

01/10/2026

Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, pray for us!

01/10/2026

Feast of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church (October 1st)

“O My God! Most Blessed Trinity,
I desire to Love You and make You Loved,
to work for the glory of Holy Church by saving souls on earth and liberating those suffering in purgatory.

I desire to accomplish Your will perfectly and to reach the degree of glory You have prepared for me in Your Kingdom.

I desire, in a word, to be a saint, but I feel my helplessness and I beg You, O my God! To be Yourself my Sanctity!”

Excerpted from:
ACT OF OBLATION TO MERCIFUL LOVE -
by Marie-Francoise-Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, unworthy Carmelite religious
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Photos © Les archives du Carmel de Lisieux
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LET US PRAY:

God our Father,
you have promised your kingdom
to those who are willing to become like little children.
Help us to follow the way of Saint Thérèse with confidence so that by her prayers
we may come to know your eternal glory.

Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever.

29/09/2026

Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael | September 29th

“In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.” — Psalm 138:1
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Preface: God glorified through the Angels

It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere to give you thanks, Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God, and to praise you without end
in your Archangels and Angels.

For the honor we pay the angelic creatures
in whom you delight redounds to your own surpassing glory,
and by their great dignity and splendor
you show how infinitely great you are,
to be exalted above all things,
through Christ our Lord.

Through him the multitude of Angels extols your majesty,
and we are united with them in exultant adoration,
as with one voice of praise we acclaim: Holy….
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Holy Archangels, pray for us!

Art credits — source paintings for this digital composition:

Saint Michael: Guido Reni, Saint Michael the Archangel, circa 1635. Church of Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini, Rome.

Saint Gabriel: Philippe de Champaigne, The Annunciation, circa 1648. The Wallace Collection, London.

Saint Raphael: Titian (Tiziano Vecellio), The Archangel Raphael and Tobias, early 16th century. Gallerie dell’Accademia, Venice.

28/09/2026

October, the Month of the Holy Rosary will be here in just two days.

The power of the rosary is UNMISTAKABLE! We have been asked to pray...