Immerse me in your love❤️

Dear DLL Jesus,

In 2023 immerse me so much in your love that I have no time and inclination for anyone else. Immerse me into so much work that I have no time and inclination for anything else. Let it be only you and my work in 2023.

Let this be my watchword for this year - Jesus & Work - let me engross myself in only you and work, my lord!

Only you and my work!!!🙏🏻

28 December 1999

The day I got married.......

.......23 years ago!!!

Roman Holiday

Throughout the year I keep watching all these random Christmas movies that today which is Christmas day, I didn't want to watch any of those movies. So I watched Roman Holiday and what a wonderfully romantic movie it turned out to be.🤗

The 24 hours love story of a princess and a newspaper reporter - ends so uniquely - both going on with their way of life like the way it used to be before they met each other.😔 The ending has left a great impression on my heart - not all great love stories have an ending - some linger in our hearts forever - some love stories are pure memories - meant to be forever!

Memorable 2022

We are at the fag end of the year 2022.

And what a wonderful and memorable year this 2022 has been for me!🤗

This year has been filled with travel - travel for work and travel for the OCDS!😊 This year has been to earning money and finding Peace in Carmel - the Peace♥️ that I had been yearning for! Though I don't deserve that Peace I at least know that it exists!♥️ 

This year has been the year of miracles wherein I miraculously made that trip to the Infant Jesus shrine to be the MC for the most beautiful program!🙏🏻

The year 2023 too looks heavenly with the upcoming trip to my dream destination Ryshivana and the OCDS training session! Oh yes, how can I forget the teaching on Liturgical Spirituality even though I don't have to travel anywhere? But hey, don't I have to travel to Anubhav for that?🤭 So travel is travel no matter the distance!🤗 

So the heart rejoices in recalling all these wonderful and miraculous happenings!🤗🤗 

The only sad thing that happened this year was that Minnie🐈 left us.😔 But I refuse to accept this because she came back to us within a month in the form of Milo.🐈 That's why the heart still rejoices at this thought!!!😇😇

Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful year!!!🙏🏻

Milo

St. John of the Cross

Today is the solemnity of my favourite St. John of the Cross.

To prepare for the week-long course on his doctrine, I have started reading his collected works. I am making notes of all that I feel is important. I want to inculcate some of those qualities in me.

1) He made his corrections with much gentleness and charity and always saw to it that the one being corrected would not leave his presence sad.

2) Another characteristic of his wonderfully gracious manners was his custom of asking his subjects for their opinions on various matters or problems which arose.

3) He said to someone: "flee from creatures and hide yourself in God."

Similarly, there are some aspects of his love life for Jesus that I have found similar to mine and thus the love that I have for him gets intensified - my feelings for Jesus are so similar to his feelings - I can actually feel it because I have experienced those feelings!!!!

1) Conjoined to his esteem for the Sacraments and the liturgical prayer of the church was his love for the liturgical seasons. They were something more than just a commemoration - they were the occasion of a veritable interior transformation in the spirit of the mystery being celebrated. I have similar feelings because the 2011 Lenten season brought a great transformation in my life!

2) At Christmas time above all he felt his heart enkindled with love for the Child Jesus. I too undergo similar feelings but somehow could not express them before. Now I know it's not only me - even a great mystic and Doctor of the church has felt similar feelings.🤗 Once he grasped the statue of the Infant Jesus in his arms and began to dance with joy - I too dance with joy during Christmas - albeit the statue of Infant Jesus because I always thought that it would be indecent and humiliating for the Infant Jesus if I grasped his statue to dance! But now I know it won't be indecent - St. John of the Cross has already done it!🤗

4) At Passiontide one could notice the pain he felt - oh my Jesus, I remember the number of tears that had flowed from my eyes during the passion narration on this (2022) Good Friday!😥 I cried so much and I can't forget the pain I felt - I can't forget my yellow handkerchief with which I was wiping my tears! Something was happening to me during this year's Good Friday's passion narrative!😥

Other aspects about him that I like:

1) His deepest concern was for those who in their spiritual life were suffering. The needs of souls undergoing interior trials prompted him to write THE ASCENT OF MOUNT CARMEL and THE DARK NIGHT.

2) The Bible was the book he cherished most of all. I too cherish the Bible. He loved to withdraw to hidden parts of the monastery with his Bible. I wish I too could withdraw to any hidden part of my home with my Bible - in Vasai I had the cozy corner on the terrace, next to the water tank. But now I don't have anything like that. 

3) His nearness to God filled him with confidence and remarkably freed him from all worry and anxiety - there are no two ways about it - I feel exactly the same!🙏

4) Last but not least he taught that trust in God should be great and that even if the whole world were to collapse and come to an end, one should not become disturbed!🙏 So be it, Lord, let nothing disturb me, because I trust in you!!!🙏

Thank you, Jesus!

Am I too free?

Yesterday I was told that just because I have free time does not mean that everyone has it too! That has been working on my mind and I am wondering if I indeed have too much free time!🤔

I am sure that just because I am available for all the OCDS activities does not mean that I am idle or so-called free. On the contrary, I make myself free for all the activities - as the President, I make sure that I lead by example and am available for the OCDS. So calling me free is something I have not liked at all, especially from the mouth of someone from a higher level. 

There's another thing that I have been wanting to write about for some months now - something someone said a few months ago - that we women need to work on the professional front as well to have a standing in society - a standing of our own! 

Now, this is again something I have already achieved as the President of the OCDS community. I have a standing in the community and the church - I feel it is a proud privilege for me as someone who has come from another faith - it's a different standing altogether - which the world will not understand!

So I want to conclude with two things:

1) I am not free - I make myself free for the OCDS. It's my top priority in life.

2) I do have a standing - a standing different from the measure of this world.

Google Jubilee Cardozo!

Today is the 6th of the month and thus I released the December edition of my magazine (NAINEN) which is a Christmas special. Nothing unusual - only five likes so far - from the usual friends! But I have learned not to get disheartened - and carry on with my magazine as long as possible! I am too very sentimental about it - it's nothing but Jesus' blessing to keep me going during the lockdown - so I will not slow down!🤗

The second thing that happened today is the instalment that I paid for my Tanishq jewellery - one of the most sensible things that I started doing in January 2022. I am again saving money to buy jewellery!🤗

Since nothing exciting happened today, to make the 6th of this month special, I reopened my accounts on Pinterest and Twitter - and then I googled Jubilee Cardozo - it has already started showing my Pinterest account since it is an old one!🤗 But the Twitter account isn't yet visible on Google as I opened it only today - perhaps it will take some more time!

Thus goes the 6th of December for me so far!!!🤗

If anything further exciting happens later, I will definitely add it as PostScript!!!😀

Remain unblemished before the Lord

Today's liturgy reminds us to come before the Lord in purity - unblemished - but the purity with which we are created during our baptism has the risk of getting blemished - thus we need to remain unblemished before the Lord and come to him with a pure heart!🙏

Thus, I pray to you my DLL Jesus, to keep me unblemished - through your Eucharist and your Words - the two pillars of a Carmelite life!

But I am sure my purification has already begun in your Peace - it doesn't allow me to get distracted anymore - it helps me remain grounded in your love!❤️  Your Carmel Peace gives me a vision and a mission in my life as a Carmelite - it doesn't allow me to wander off in the wrong direction - it's that compass of my life that always points north - always points you!😇

I want to write that my train tickets to Mangalore, to study the doctrine of St. John of the Cross in Rishyvana, were booked yesterday!🙏🤗🙏🏻 It is yet another way to keep me unblemished! 

And I have changed my DP on Facebook and WhatsApp to usher in the unblemished Christmas spirit by wearing a reindeer horn!🤗 And today I received my salary also!!!

Yippee💃

💜💜❤️❤️♥️♥️💜💜

3 December 1577

I have been reading that in the early hours of 2 or 3 December 1577 San Juan de la Cruz was arrested and put into prison in Toledo, Spain.😔

Feeling sad about this fact.......😔

But at the same time feeling proud that I joined Carmel on this day.......🤗

Seven years ago.......

.......on this day I joined the OCDS. That was in 2015. The very next day I blogged about it - but when I read that post now, I found it so shallow - I had written the meaning of the OCDS and not my feelings for it - there is no feeling for the OCDS - just the meaning!!!

But seven years from then on today I have a feeling for the OCDS which needs no meaning - these feelings can now be not put into words - this is what I have become - a true Carmelita in the garden of Carmel - the love, the feelings, the emotions - just can't be expressed - leave about written!😇

No one can separate me from Carmel - I was born to be a Carmelite, a Carmelita - just like its many saints - many centuries ago! I belong here, my heart and soul belong here - and I wish to die and lie in Carmel - with my scapular on!🙏🏻

Lord, please grant the desire of my heart!🙏🏻 Let me die peacefully wearing my scapular!🙏🏻

The doctrine of St. John of the Cross

I am extremely happy today because discussions have begun about my visit to Rishyvana to study the doctrine of St. John of the Cross!🤗🤗

It is from 13 to 18 February 2023 and I am mighty pleased about it!😊

This will serve a dual purpose:

1) My desire to be in Rishyvana will get fulfilled and 

2) I will be studying the doctrine of my most favourite saint.

What a heavenly feeling to study the doctrine of St. Juan De La Cruz in Rishyvana!!!😊😊

Thank you so much, dear Jesus, for fulfilling my heart's desire!!!❤️❤️

Carmelite Monastery (Margao)

How can I forget to write about the unexpected visit to the Carmelite monastery in Goa?🤗

As you are aware, dear DLL Jesus, this is my most favourite monastery in the whole wide world and keeping the choc-a-bloc schedule for the Goa Regional Meet, I never thought that a visit could be possible. So I had no hopes at all.

But you have your beautiful ways for the people you love.❤️ Thus, on 27 November, after the Holy Mass, when our spiritual assistant asked some of us about a short visit to the monastery, I just could not resist it!🤗

So we all walked behind him to the monastery singing "On we go to Jerusalem" - it was such a heavenly feeling!!!👏

Those few moments in the beautiful chapel and the equally beautiful garden are the highlighting moments of my Regional Meet in Goa!🤗🤗

I spent a few moments of my first Sunday of Advent in my most favourite place - I can never forget the feeling I got there!!!🤗🤗

Keep him in perfect peace.......

Lord, you keep him in your peace - his mind is set on you - and he has founded his house upon the rock: that's you!🙏🏻

From the time I read today's readings, my prayers have been for all of your priests and deacons and seminarians and nuns - they all have set their minds on you and have founded their house upon you!

So special prayers for them all - all over the world - especially for the Carmelites - my favourite ones!🤗 

I pray for them all today!🙏🏻 

I pray that you keep them away from all the adversities of life, all trials and temptations - give them the grace to carry out the mission that you have entrusted to each of them - I pray that you give them the power to resist all the difficulties in their lives and come out as true soldiers in you(Christ).