St Titus - Carmelite martyr and mystic

St Titus Brandsma was canonised by Pope Francis in May 2022. He is mostly known for being involved in journalism in Holland and being imprisoned by the Nazi’s due to his public opposition to their ideology. Ultimately this led to him being killed in Dachau and so he is venerated as a Martyr. He has been proposed to be proclaimed the Patron Saint of Journalists, particularly relevant in today’s age of “false news” and ideological colonisation and cancel culture. The quote most commonly known and associated with him is the famous “Those who want to win the world for Christ, must risk coming into conflict with it”. 

However, it is lesser known that he is also a mystic in his own right, and as a professor he was also a specialist in Catholic Mysticism. His unique perspective as a Carmelite priest as well as a professor, meant that for him all spiritual life must be founded upon union with God. Everything else is secondary to this, but also must flow from it and lead back to it.

As I prepared myself to learn more about him before the canonisation, I found his writings on Carmelite Mysticism. These were a series of lectures he gave on the historical outline of Carmelite Mysticism, where he shows the spiritual heritage of the Carmelite Order and emphasises that although the Order is juridically divided into two branches -The Ancient Observance/Calced Carmelites (O.Carm) and the Discalced Carmelites/Teresian Reform (OCD), the spirituality is the same for both branches. He also situated the doctrine of Sts Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross, within the wider context of Carmelite spirituality of the Prophet Elijah, Blessed John Soreth, John of St Samson, Venerable Michael of St Augustine, as well as influence from Rhineland Mysticism. 

In these lectures I encountered the presence of St Titus as a professor, but also as a brother in Carmel guiding me in the spiritual life, and also as a friend. He effortlessly synthesises Carmelite Mysticism and shows forth the goal for which all students and disciples in the school of Carmel should aim for. These lectures, along with his lecture on the Divine Maternity of Mary will one day become standard classics in studies of spirituality and Catholic mysticism. The most profound concepts are highlighted and explained in a very simple way so that anyone is able to understand them and be inspired. 

For him, “prayer is not an oasis in the desert of life, it is life”. When we think about this, how often are our priorities the opposite way around? For most of us prayer is something that we have to find time for, that gets put into our schedule or that we turn to for comfort when life feels too overwhelming. But do we see it as a necessity, as something essential and the ground of our being? In the Carmelite tradition, prayer is relationship - it is not about  doing things for God, but being with God, enjoying the Presence of God at all times. 

This is the background to understand his bravery and witness in standing up to the Nazi regime in Holland, as well as his witness to Christ in the concentration camp and eventual martyrdom. He recognised that it is impossible to reconcile Catholicism with Nazi ideology, because he identified Nazi ideology as a form of paganism that was trying to resurface. This is why he not only refused to publish or promote Nazi articles in his newspapers or publications, but as the official chaplain to the Catholic Press in Holland as appointed by the Bishops Conference - he forbade all Catholic newspapers from promoting or publishing any Nazi propaganda. When a Nazi soldier told him he should have complied with the regime and allowed Catholic newspapers to promote the ideology, he responded by saying “We must object to anything or any philosophy that is not in line with Catholic doctrine.”

As he wrote in one of his letters in prison “Our Catholic principles are at conflict with their principles; the contrast of principles is there. For this confession I joyfully suffer what is to be suffered.” This public opposition to the Nazis and failure to promote their ideology in Catholic publishing is what led to his arrest by the authorities and his eventual death. He saw this arrest as an honour and privilege, not as a deprivation. 

He considered himself an optimist and this came through in his cheeky sense of humor. He was also to remind himself and see God’s Providence in all things, and was able to joke that now he was in prison and no longer busy being the Rector of a University and academia, so now in the solitude of his prison cell he was able to finally be a true Carmelite! He even found joy being imprisoned because as he writes in one of his letters from prison: 

I am already quite at home in this small cell. I have not yet got bored here, just the contrary. I am alone, certainly, but never was Our Lord so near to me. I could shout for joy because he made me find him again entirely, without me being able to go to see people, nor people me. Now he is my only refuge, and I feel secure and happy. I would stay here for ever, if he so disposed. Seldom have I been so happy and content.

Whilst in prison, he became known among his fellow prisoners for always remaining cheerful, even in the most inhumane of conditions. He was mocked by the guards for his faith as a Catholic priest, spat on and beaten often. Once the Blessed Sacrament had been smuggled into the prison and he was given it hidden in a tobacco pouch. He was beaten by a guard but refused to defend himself, as he kept his arms by his side to present the Blessed Sacrament in the tobacco pouch he was hiding. Afterwards in his cell, a fellow Carmelite prisoner tried to comfort him, but he smiled to his fellow prisoner saying: 

“Thank you, Brother, but don't have pity on me, I had Jesus with me in the Eucharist."

Although he was short and frail (5”6), he had an inner strength that shone through to the other prisoners. In his free time he would visit them, comfort them, secretly hear their confessions and give them secret blessings by making the sign of the cross over their palm. One Good Friday he famously began a sermon for the prisoners, but instead it turned into a passionate speech on suffering and being united to Christ in suffering. They fellow prisoners could not believe that this small weak man, leaning on furniture to keep himself standing up, was able to encourage them and talk about union with God with face shining, whilst they were all living in the horrors of a concentration camp. 

His calm demeanour and sense of humor was also noted by his fellow prisoners. Whilst proving them comfort or spiritual direction, he reminded them to pray for the guards who mercilessly beat them. When they complained him how hard it is to be able to do this, he wryly but gently replied “You don't have to pray for them all day long.". 

Finally the most inspiring part of his story and martyrdom, is the way he interacted with the nurse who killed him via lethal injection. She had a hatred of religion and had a strong dislike of St Titus. He told her that he often prays for her, and he asked her to pray for him as he handed her his handmade wooden rosary. She told him she does not know how to pray, beautifully he responded by saying “Surely you can still say, ‘Pray for us sinners”. The nurse reacted with laughter, but he told her if she prayed it often, she would not be lost. 

This nurse later testified during his beatification process about how gentle and calm he was. She did not perceive any hostility or hatred from him, even though he knew she had killed people via lethal injection and would be doing the same to him. She testified that she sensed he felt pity for her and that he was a holy man. She later repented and became a Catholic! Now that is what I call a miracle. In his last moments, St Titus evangelised this nurse through witnessing the love of Christ in his life, and through the power of the rosary and the intercession of Mary the Mother of Mercy.