https://carmelitesholyface.com/supportReverend Mother Irene,
I received your letter a few weeks ago, and I apologize for replying only now. We thank the Lord who gives us strength and assists us.
I read with great interest about your vocation and your experience of the Carmelite eremitic life that you established in Ireland. I was very impressed by your courage, your unfailing fidelity and your unshakable hope. You too have been hit hard by the ideological fury and ruthless hatred of the Modernists who, after years of slow and progressive infiltration, have now occupied all the vital positions in the Church. Like gold in the crucible, Our Lord has wanted to put you to the test, making you pass "through fire and water" (Ps 65), uniting you ever more intimately to Himself.
The Virgin of Carmel has deigned to show Herself in the place where, centuries ago, Saint Elijah proclaimed before the priests of Baal that the God of Israel is the true God:
"O Lord God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Israel, shew this day that thou art the God of Israel, and I thy servant, and that according to thy commandment I have done all these things. Hear me, O Lord, hear me: that this people may learn that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart again." (1 Kings 18:36-37). Even today, in this great apostasy that is fouling the Church and the world, we find ourselves invoking like Saint Elijah that the Lord will manifest Himself in all His power to rout our enemies and expose their superstitions. Even today we see false priests
"cutting their flesh" (ibid., 28) and wanting to impose this on all humanity under the pretext of a false pandemic. Even today, God's people question His divine Kingship and let themselves be charmed by the prophets of Baal and Asera who recommend the vaccine as a "moral duty". But that Vitis Florigena [Blossom Laden Vine], the Mother of the Incarnate Word, invites us to renew our faith in Her Son, in the certainty that He will not fail to show the nations that He is the Lord God and that He converts the hearts of His people. But for this to happen, for this pile of wood ready for the h0Ɩ0cαųst to be swallowed up by the devouring flames of Charity, we must make ourselves worthy of divine intervention, and return to worship the Living and True God, after decades of infidelity and prostitution with idols. The water that drips from the wood symbolizes in fact the faults of the men of the Church and of the faithful, which make it humanly impossible to set fire to it, but which before God provide an additional way to manifest His omnipotence, in spite of our weaknesses.
May your life — yours and your sister's, as well as that of those who wish to join you on the path of perfection — be animated by the spirit of reparation and expiation for the sins and infidelities, especially of the Ministers of the Church. May your serene and smiling face be the mirror of your soul, while in penance and the rigor of fasting you tame your flesh and spirit. Offer yourselves as victims, unreservedly and unconditionally, and you will be welcomed and blessed by the pure, holy and immaculate Victim who offers Himself for us every day on our altars. Pray for those who persecute you, even and especially when they should be your protectors and friends. On Carmel, the Lord God of hosts has triumphed, and with Him has triumphed our Lady and Queen, whom we venerate as Flos Carmeli [Flower of Carmel].
I ask Heaven to bestow upon you spiritual and material graces, above all the grace of a Chaplain. This seems to be a very difficult thing to obtain in Ireland, especially in the present context of total crisis, both in the ecclesial and social spheres. For my part, I will do my best to help you as best as I can. It would be better, if you wish, to discuss this verbally over the phone.
Finally, feel free to publish my writings on your site, in the hope that they may contribute to the spread of the Light of Truth in the hearts and minds of so many who fumble in darkness and confusion.
"Ask not for light crosses, but for strong backs" — St. Teresa exhorts us. Let us pray, therefore, that the Lord will deign to make our backs firm and strong, so that we may be able to bear with love the cross He has prepared for us.
I carry you spiritually with me at the foot of the altar each day as I offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. On behalf of you and your sister, Reverend Mother, I trust that you also feel spiritually close to me especially when you recite the Canonical Hours.
With all my heart, Reverend Mother Irene, I give you and your sister my fullest blessing, in the hope of every heavenly gift.
+ Carlo Maria Viganò, Archbishop