By Rick Sarkisian, Ph.D
“With courage, trust, and prayer, Adelante (onward) even if you have to walk
among thorns.” Mother Luisita.
I’m looking at it right now . . . the bookmark with a quote from Mother Luisita’s writings, that came from the Carmelite Sisters in Alhambra, California: “You’ll see . . . our good Lord is going to make everything come out alright. Just have a little patience and fortitude, and of course, great confidence in God.”
Words fail me in describing how comforting and touching it was (and still is) to have such peaceful reassurance that “all will be well” as received by St. Julian of Norwich, a Benedictine English mystic in 1373.
I had been seeking greater clarity regarding the direction for my life and God’s will for me. Although I have written a number of books on the discovery of God’s plan – to find, follow, and fulfill his purpose in our life – here I was in a foggy area with no clear answers from prayer, even drawing on the principles from my own books!
What began as a simple bookmark quickly became a trail marker on the path of purpose. As I write, I still don’t have all the answers I seek, yet with each step, the haze is beginning to lift, and I am experiencing a clearer vision of God’s wisdom and guidance.
Here’s why she matters so much to me now. Through Mother Luisita, I have become immersed in Carmelite spirituality. She has inspired me to adopt other members of her family: St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Teresa of Avila, and St. John of the Cross, plus the beautiful example found in the Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles, the community she founded.
I’m convinced that these four Carmelite friends of the soul led me to the discovery of a powerful template for moving forward with my life in new ways – a four-cornered map that helps me navigate daily through life amidst the chaos, hazards and occasional absurdity of human existence. I will explain.
Abandonment – If we want to live a life of reality rather than an outcome-based, fantasy life, then in this present moment, we can confidently abandon ourselves to God’s Divine Providence. This means being available to whatever He wants to do in our life, and our confidence can be enhanced by understanding that God knows and loves us far more than we know and love ourselves! If we live in total self-abandonment, having no other concern than seeking and following God’s will, we then become fully available to the circumstances, events and people in our life.
Detachment – Mother Luisita writes: “Be truly simple and try to detach yourself from everything that is not God. You’ll be able to do this through the intercession of our Blessed Mother. Don’t doubt it.” However, detachment is often difficult, where we tend to cling to something important in our lives, trying to protect and manage it at our own convenience without placing everything into the hands of God. I think this is a short train ride to continued worry, anxiety, all kinds of preoccupations, and disquietude. If we are able to put everything in the hands of God, we will ultimately find a rather profound experience of inner peace and freedom.
Renunciation – Is to accept a certain type of death, the death of renunciation, we will find great freedom in the life that we have right now. To renounce is to release and relinquish, to engage in self-denial, and this particular act helps us let go of what we are holding onto, perhaps desperately. St. Therese of Lisieux tells us: “If one only knew what one gains in renouncing all things.” St. John of the Cross approaches renunciation similarly: “All things were given to me from the moment when I no longer sought them.”
Trust – St. Therese also tells us that “trust works miracles” and that she “will never become discouraged.” There is no question that trust draws down God’s grace, especially if we have a childlike trust in the Father, with confidence that wonderful thing will happen, sooner or later.
With the daily practice of prayer for these gifts of abandonment, detachment, renunciation, and trust, I firmly believe in the following . . .
It will change your life.
You will thrive.
You will have an abiding sense of inner peace.
And I would love this for you.
Mary, the mother of our Savior, joins Mother Luisita as mystical passkeys that open all doors, especially for those who place their confidence in them without reserve. In these days, I’m asking Mother Luisita to join my newly discovered Carmelite family and intercede for me in a particular way to clearly hear the daily call of God within my heart and soul for my unfolding vocation and mission, to be the man God wants me to be and do what God wants me to do. I have complete confidence in my Heavenly Father that through the powerful intercession of these four Carmelite friends, He “is going to make everything come out alright.”
Mother Luisita provides a treasury of beautiful writings which can be found at CarmeliteSistersOCD.com. She provides confident reassurance for our lives: “Between Jesus and the soul there flows a current no one can see and a dialogue that no one hears. Form a rich and beautiful tabernacle for our Lord within your heart and then do not let Him go. In that way, you will always have Him within you. Enter within yourself, and meeting Him, tell Him all your experiences. Adore Him within yourself, as if everything were in silence. How beautiful it is to be in the hands of God, searching His divine gaze, in readiness to do whatever He wishes.”
Through the gifts of abandonment, detachment, renunciation, and trust as described earlier, we can create an empty space that allows God to express Himself and work with us.
