Mariam Baouardy
1846-1878 19th century Feast day: August 26
Letting the Spirit lift you like a little nothing: the simplicity that asks for light before acting.
Who was Mariam Baouardy?
Born in Abellin, Galilee, to a Greek-Melkite family, orphaned at three, never schooled. A servant girl in Alexandria, her throat was cut at thirteen for refusing to deny Christ. She credited her survival to the Virgin's care. A Carmelite in Pau, co-foundress of the Carmels of Mangalore and then Bethlehem, visited by mystical graces that bewildered her sisters, "the little Arab" died at thirty-two; canonized in 2015.
In their own words
Holy Spirit, inspire me; love of God, consume me; lead me along the true path. Mary my Mother, look upon me; with Jesus, bless me. From all evil, all illusion, all danger, preserve us.
If you love your neighbor, it is by this that I know you love me. If you do not love him, it is by this that I know you do not love me.
The world and religious communities seek novelties in devotions and neglect the true devotion to the Paraclete. That is why there is error and disunion, and why there is no peace and no light.