Holy Card Heaven: November 2012

She has suffered for Jesus, and Jesus will carry her in His arms and fill her with abundant graces.
Bouase Lebel 330

I AM THE

CONQUEROR OF HEARTS

Bouasse Lebel

Jesus Doctor of Evangelists

JESUS OUR REFUGE

St. Catherine Laboré, Memorial Nov. 28

Miraculous Medal
Letaille

The Redeemer of the World

Christ Blessing His Creation

Christ the King, November 25, 2012

Faith and Love

The door of heaven will be opened

to the Christian soul refined by love.

Basset

Let us not attach ourselves to the foreign land,

not search for sweetness, except in the Light.

HERE IS THE ROYAL ROAD OF THE CROSS
Faith enlightens us,
Hope supports us,
Love draws us.
Chez Ch. Letaille, Paris

Thanksgiving Day (U.S.A.) Thursday, November 22th, 2012

Let us consecrate to God

all that we have received from Him.

All that we have received comes from God. Our Lady of the Fields, pray for us.

Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary: Feast Day, November 21

This beautiful feast is observed on the same date both by the Church in the East and in the West.

Today, the most pure temple of the Savior, the precious bridal chamber and Virgin, the sacred treasure of God, enters the house of the Lord, bringing the grace of the Divine Spirit. The Angels of God praise her. She is the heavenly tabernacle.
Kontakion - sung in the Greek Orthodox Church on this Feast Day.
Presentation of the Theotokos

The Carmelite Order recalls with joy that on this day in 1904 Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity composed her beloved Prayer to the Trinity.
From an article on the meaning of this Feast by Fr. James McCaffrey, OCD.

Illuminated engraving
Chas. Letaille

At death, the Christian soul rises to Heaven.

The Reefs Avioded

My child, watch with me ...

One must watch and pray without ceasing.

Small album~

Divine Pilot

The Door of Heaven

St. Elisabeth of Hungary: Memorial, November 17

"Remember always that you are made by the hands of God, and act accordingly."
~ St. Elisabeth of Hungary

Story of
St. Elisabeth of Hungary

Hungarian Cinnamon Bread
From Catholic Cuisine

She is the Door of Heaven.

Bouasse Lebel Plate 872

St. Gertrude the Great: Feast Day, November 16

St. Gertrude
Turgis, Paris
2003

Prayer of St. Gertrude the Great for the Holy Souls in Purgatory

Our Lord dictated the following prayer to St. Gertrude the Great to release 1,000 Souls from Purgatory each times it is said:

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.

St. Gertrude the Great
St. Gertrude the Great Abbess
From these sources we learn that St. Teresa of Avila "chose her as her model and guide" and " sought her intercessory prayer often."

"Look at my heart,
and it will be your
temple."
~St. Gertrude

All Souls of the Carmelite Order: Feast Day, November 15

"On this day the Order remembers in prayer, and confides to the loving mercy of God, all the members of the Carmelite Family who have died." from All Souls of the Carmelite Order, Feast Day
To love... to suffer... to die... in union with Mary.

All Saints of the Carmelite Order: Feast Day, November 14

"On this day the Carmelite Family celebrates the memory of all its holy men and women, those known and those unknown, those living on Earth and those living in Heaven, who reflect the glory of God."
from All Carmelite Saints Feast Day

Text beneath engraving:
"Mon coeur n'aspire qu'à voir Dieu dans sa gloire"
"My heart aspires to nothing except to see God in His glory."

Grant, O my God, that my prayer, like a sweet melody, rises to you, so that it draws on all whom I love a merciful glance.

Mme. Bouasse Lebel

My heart

burns with the desire

to live in your courts,

O blessed City!

HOLY MEETING PLACE

Toward the heavenly Jerusalem
let us unite our efforts here below for a good end ~
to find ourselves
in the living room
of the blessed [the happy souls].

Courage, Courage
We will get there

on verso

The Sheep of Heaven

Happy are those who aspire to heaven.

Bouasse Lebel

On the road to Heaven

Faith enlightens us... Hope supports us,

Love draws us!

Mary followed Jesus... Let us follow our Mother!

Letaille, Paris

Come, blessed of my Father. These crowns belong to you:

Faith, Hope, Love, Chastity, Sweetness, Humility, Lejeune, Paris

Based on Matt. 25:34 Come, ye blessed of my Father,

inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning.

Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity: Memorial, November 8

BL. ELIZABETH OF THE TRINITY
Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity, the Saint of the Divine Indwelling
DAILY QUOTATIONS~Bl. Elizabeth
Elizabeth, the House of God
The Fellowship of His Suffering
Elizabeth of the Trinity and St. Paul
Note:St. Teresa of Avila often referred to the Carmelite monestaries as the Dovecotes of Our Lady. For that reason, and because, like St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity lived near Paris during the time in which most of the cards in this collection were published, I looked for one for her feast day that I hope expresses something of the Carmelite charism she so perfectly embodied:
Nest of the Dove
I retire into solitude, and there listen to what the Lord says to me.
Letaille

Link: Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity

THE DIVINE PILOT 12 The End of the Voyage. The night is here, we gain the port… We touch it: Alleluia!
Letaille

"It rests the soul to think how heaven is the Father's
house; that there He awaits us as beloved children" ~ Bl. Elizabeth of the Trinity

Small album~
The Divine Pilot

YOU ARE ALL CALLED

TO HAPPINESS!

Poor sinner,
why flee the true path?

Even so, the Good Shepherd himself wants to guide you.

Bouasse Lebel 1346

Note: Through the trinitarian symbol above the Gate of Heaven it seems the artist is showing us that even as the Uncreated Light of the Holy Trinity is calling to us from Eternity, we need guidance of the Good Shepherd, God Incarnate, to lead us safely home.

Port of salvation
even Jesus himself is the pilot

I am here! Come share my triumph and my glory! In the Court of the Queen of Heaven, you will have the office of the Faithful Subject in time and in eternity.
Letaille

Hearts armed with the Cross, walk with courage.

Heaven will be your portion.

The Holy Cross

By it we will be saved.

hand colored np

St. Hubert, November 3

After seeing The Cross between the antlers of a deer he was about to kill and at the same moment hearing the voice of Jesus begging him to repent, St. Hubert returned to the faith, gave up hunting and became a holy priest. Why he was made patron saint of hunters is a mystery to me!
In A Year of Prayer, I found this Prayer to St. Hubertus
Great St. Hubert, you were passionate about hunting, but when touched by Divine Grace, you put down your bow and took up the collar of Priesthood. Known for your miracles and the conversion of hundreds, you convinced others to worship and glorify Our Lord.
Moved by your example, I implore your help. I ask for the Grace to follow in your footsteps and become a passionate disciple of Christ. Amen.

All Souls Day, November 2

As we begin the month of prayer for the holy souls, we ask the intercession of all the saints and of our Blessed Mother. In 1610 Ven. Dominic of Jesus and Mary, Prepositor General of the Order of Discalced Carmelites, was lead to this miraculous image, Mater Gratiae, and given this promise:"'All those who implore my protection, devoutly honoring this picture, will obtain their petitions, and will receive many graces. Moreover, I shall hearken in a special manner to the prayers that shall be addressed to me for the relief of the souls in purgatory'" ~Joan Carroll Cruz Miraculous Images of Our Lady. Rockford: TAN, 1993.

All Saints Day: Solemnity

Queen of All Saints

NOVEMBER: Devotion, Holy Souls

Feast Days in November:

November 1st. All Saints (S)
November 2nd. All Souls: (M)
November 24th, 2013 - Christ the King: (S)

The Feast of Christ the King is a moveable feast. It is celebrated on the final Sunday of the liturgical year, which is the last Sunday before Advent starts.

November 3rd. St. Hubert (M)
November 10th. Pope St. Leo the Great (M)
November 16th. St. Gertrude the Great (M)
November 17th. St. Elizabeth of Hungary(M)
November 23rd. Saint Stanislaus Koska (M)
November 28th. St. Catherine Labore: (M)

Small Albums ~ November

Heavenly Light
Prayer Light
The Divine Pilot
Christ the King
Paper Shrines

Carmelite Feast Days

November 8 Bl. Elizabeth of the Trinity M
November 14 All Carmelite Saints F
November 15 All Carmelite Souls C
November 16: Our Lady of Ostra Brama
November 19 St. Rafael Kalinowski of St. Joseph M

WELCOME TO HOLY CARD HEAVEN

One of our favorite holy cards says simply, "Heaven is the home of loving souls." In a way, an album of holy cards is like a little heaven; the truth that inspired the cards greets us anew with each tender image, and we feel at home. Little by little I hope to bring together a collection of this gentle faith art for the delight and comfort of any loving soul who happens by.

Ethereal messengers of God's Love and Light, the small engravings that gather here fly in day by day. Little paper shrines that shelter the sacred, they are gathered here in the hope of sharing their beauty and meaning with another generation. To those who love them, they have much to give; like time spent in a restful garden, they are a feast for the eyes and a feast for the soul.

This gentle art can be used today to enter safely into the inner landscape allowing its imagery to guide the soul. Visual poetry employing symbol and metaphor as carriers of meaning, the path to which they invite us is always one in which God's own Love leads the way.

You can click on an image to enlarge it and see the artist's loving attention to detail. It is especially meaningful to be able to see the faces at a higher resolution. In many of the images, the sweetness of expression is at once joyful and serious, and, for a brief moment, we seem to draw close to the Presence of pure goodness, pure happiness.

The blessing I ask for any who come this way is again taken from a favorite holy card: "May a tender Friendship surround you always, and may all your days be a smile of heaven."
Fr. François Fénelon

About the Cards in this Collection

While some are from Italy, Germany, the Netherlands or other parts of Europe, Paris was perhaps the main place of publication. Dates are seldom available but most are from the mid 1800's to the close of that century. The depiction of persons is Eurocentric, but the symbols in the early holy cards are universal and inclusive: the image of the Heart as symbol for the incarnation of divine love, the image of the small bird as a symbol for the human soul eager but fragile and in constant need of God's love and care, the Living Water, the garden enclosed, the door that opens into Light... through visual poetry, the early holy cards continue to speak a language that reaches across the barriers of time and space and can be received by everyone.

Our favorite holy card illustrates the hope we hold as Christians that the door to heaven will be opened to the soul refined by love. It is the refinement of the soul by divine love that the art of the holy cards helps us to contemplate. The card has an engaving of the dove in flight into the mystery of Trinitarian love. The Uncreated Light overlaid by the symbol for the Holy Trinity is at the heart of the card. The writings of the early fathers, as well as those of the the Carmelite saints and Christian mystics throughout the ages - both in the Church in the east and the west - help us to approach the mystery of Trinitarian love not only as the theological underpinning of Christian belief but also as the action of the Spirit of Love in and through which we live and move and have our being.

Scheduling of the Cards and the Small Albums

Holy Card Heaven enters its fourth year on the first Sunday in Advent, December 2, 2012. Day by day the cards will continue to be moved into the new church year depending for their placement on the dates of the movable feasts and seasons. This way no cards need get lost in the distant past, new cards can be added, and we can appreciate the collection a little differently with each passing year.
Small Albums, each with a different topic, will change from month to month and will be linked in the top right column.

Followers