Hope Springs Eternal
“Accept me, Lord, according to Your word, and I shall live:
and do not confound me of my hope.”
– Carmelite Veiling Ceremony
Dear Friends of Carmel,
The weeks have been flying by since our last email, and the Summer weeks are turning into Fall. So much has happened since our last email to you, but our biggest and most joyful news to share is the final profession of vows and veiling of our senior novice.
Some of you might remember her. She is the Sister who received the habit during the COVID lock downs, and we shared the supposed-to-be public ceremony through live streaming and email photos. After finishing her years of training, she has made her final commitment to Christ Our Lord, that irrevocable surrender in the perpetual profession of religious vows “until death” – and has received the mark of a true spouse of Christ – the black veil.
While the Profession of Vows is a completely private ceremony with only the Sisters and the court of Heaven present, the Veiling Ceremony is the one other public ceremony of the Carmelite Order, at which the Bishop (or his delegate) imposes the veil in Christ’s name. One of the most dramatic parts of the ceremony is when the Sister, standing in front of the Choir grille, takes off her white novice’s veil and sings for all the world to hear: “Accept me, Lord, according to Your word, and I shall live: and do not confound me of my hope.” She then kneels and kisses the black veil that is in the hands of the Bishop.
Sometimes people ask us what qualities a person must possess to follow a religious vocation – and particularly a vocation in Carmel. This simple song of the bride of Christ beautifully expresses one of those important qualities – a strong and unwavering Hope. To make religious profession is to surrender your life and everything about it, not to another person, not to a worldly pursuit (however great and noble), but back into the hands of the One who created it: God Himself. It is to keep nothing for oneself and to rely on nothing but Him. It is to give up everything, even one’s will, and place one’s hope entirely and irrevocably in God. And to do that, one must trust Him with her whole heart.
Amo Christum
Hymn sung by the Sisters just before the imposition of the Black Veil:
Translation: I love Christ into Whose bride chamber I have entered: Whose Mother is the Virgin: Whose Father knew not woman: Whose Voice sings to me in melodious accents. Whom after I have loved, I am chaste; after I have touched, I am pure; after I have accepted, I am a virgin. With His ring He has espoused me; and with jewels above price He has adorned me. Whom after I have loved, I am chaste; after I have touched, I am pure; after I have accepted, I am a virgin.
Hope is one of the three theological virtues and a cornerstone in the spiritual life of every Christian. It is given to us at Baptism as an abiding power that we always possess so long as we are in the state of grace. “Hope is the virtue by which we firmly trust that God, who is all-powerful and faithful to His promises, will in His mercy give us eternal happiness and the means to obtain it.” (Baltimore Catechism) The Act of Hope good Catholics pray every day declares: “O my God, relying on Thy almighty power and infinite mercy and promises, I hope to obtain the pardon of my sins, the help of Thy grace, and life everlasting, through the merits of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Redeemer.”
Alas, in these days, our world is largely bereft of this virtue. There are many with no hope at all…and for those who do have hope, they tend to put it in all of the wrong places. So many tend to put their hope for happiness in human relationships and in their careers. They place their hope in important people (“Put not your trust in princes, in man in whom there is no salvation” Psalm 145:3), in science, technology and human endeavor (“Happy the man who makes the Lord his trust; who turns not to idolatry or to those who stray after falsehood” Psalm 39:5). Weakened by our fallen nature, we all tend to place trust in ourselves and our own strength (“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, on your own intelligence rely not” Proverbs 3:5).
We might say this is especially true of Americans, with our notions of “independence” and the American Dream. When these fallible and temporary supports fail us, when we make mistakes, and when our “dreams don’t come true,” this shallow, misplaced hope gives way to despair and distrust. Most often, this distrust carries over into the spiritual life and our relationship with God.
While it is true that we should not place our trust in princes, in the goods of this world, in ourselves….this thought should not be a despairing one. For from this knowledge springs the virtue of Hope. Knowing that we cannot trust anything in this world, we trust in Him and in His ability to sanctify us and bring us to Heaven, and to make us eternally happy, despite all of our failings. Unlike worldly hope, that is based on fallible and faulty things, this hope is stable and unfailing, since it rests on God, Who is all-powerful, all-good, and never breaks His promises. “Thou art my hope, Thou art my confidence, Thou art my comforter and most faithful above all.” (Imitation of Christ)
The “little way” of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, which has simplified and sanctified so many “little” souls, rested on the firm foundation of hope and humility. Her trust in God was an absolute trust, so strong that she rejoiced at the discovery of her least faults. Most of us become downcast or even despairing in the face of our failures, evidence that our pride is wounded. St. Therese faced her mistakes quite differently. She saw each one as an opportunity to “remind” God of just how weak she was and how much she needed Him. Every fall was an occasion for Him to lift her up in His arms to Heaven – and it was for her the only way to Heaven. Like her, we must all realize that we cannot achieve Heaven on our own.
Father Mateo, the great apostle of the Sacred Heart, echoed this sublime confidence in his guidance to souls:
What should we do without the supernatural and divine courage which we find trusting Jesus? Truly the summit of sanctity is reached by confidence and there is no other. For, being what we are – an abyss of miseries and sins – we would be hurled into another abyss – that of a final and irremediable discouragement – if we were asked to fly without first being given the wings of confidence. But with them we can aspire to be saints, and rise to the heights, from the depths of our fallen state, from the abyss of our iniquities.
Do not tell me it is a pretension or an illusion. I well know it would indeed be folly and pride to think I could reach the summit of sanctity by relying on my own strength, but in the “elevator” formed by the arms of Jesus, on His Heart, I am certain to succeed, precisely because I am of less account than a tiny ant. He likes to transform ants into royal eagles when they trust Him. If He, the God of pardon and grace, the God of mercy and tenderness, the Word made flesh to redeem us, the God crucified and hidden in the Sacrament, does not inspire me with a blind, immense and unbounded confidence, who will ever be able to do so?
Now, getting back to vocations to religious life, it is surely and most often a lack of confidence in God’s help that discourages many young people from following what they know to be a call from God. Faced with lofty ideals and responsibility, they feel inadequate: “I just can’t do it.” Indeed, this is not just a problem for religious vocations, but for everyone in every walk of life and every call to a more perfect life of prayer, holiness, and perhaps even great and heroic works… “I can’t do it.”
Well, it is true – we ARE inadequate! Each and every one of us! However, holiness is not about us but about God and becoming like Him. It does not take a new Sister long, upon crossing the enclosure threshold (or anyone endeavoring to practice a deeper spiritual life), to discover just how many obstacles there are between us and Christ, our goal. Without hope, this realization of our weakness brings fear, discouragement, and despair of the possibility of reaching that goal. But with hope, this realization of our weakness is the ground work, the foundation of humility, upon which Christ can work great things in and through us. Hear the words of Saint Paul, words of a humble soul, but also a strong, magnanimous soul, inspired by “the God of hope” (Rom.15:13): “I can do all things….in Him who gives me strength.” (Phil. 4:13)
“St. Therese’s mission seems to have been to recall the world to childlike confidence in God. Ever since the Fall, man has been estranged from his heavenly Father by fear: I heard Thy voice in paradise; and I was afraid…and I hid myself (Gen 3:10). We are all subject to that fear; it is nothing new. Man has always been conscious of miseries within and without, giving him good cause to fear, and this fear increases the more the effects of sin are realized. May we not say that today men’s hearts are withering away for fear and expectations of what shall come upon the whole world (Lk 21:26) – a fear experienced at times even in the hearts of the faithful? Many are losing their faith in the face of a growing materialism and the apparent success of its persecutions of the Church. Confidence is weakened and, with it, the whole spiritual life. By stressing the need for confidence in God and giving us a sure ground for this confidence, St. Therese enables us to face the troubles of our times in the spirit of Christ. Our confidence must reflect, as did St. Therese’s, the confidence of Our Lord.”
– Msgr. Vernon Johnson, Spiritual Childhood
Living with hope in God and in His grace leads our souls to conquer fear and to follow without hesitation the path destined for us by God. We are then always confident that He who called us (Thess. 5:24) will also give us the needed grace and help. Finally, we expect nothing of ourselves and everything from Him.
Behold the road upon which the Saints run – or rather, are carried – by Jesus Christ. It is St. Therese’s “elevator” to Heaven.
Website News
Spiritual Reading
The best way to establish hope in our lives is to learn from Our Lord Jesus Christ, His holy Mother, and His Saints. Be careful not to neglect the important practice of spiritual reading – each day, if you can. How much we gain for living well in God’s presence, for growing in hope and all virtues, by letting ourselves be taught and guided by the wisdom of God found in spiritual reading.
We mentioned and quoted from several books above that we always recommend: Spiritual Childhood, Imitation of Christ, Jesus King of Love. In The Imitation, the chapters of Book III are especially poignant for guidance to hope and trust. Below are a few more titles that we know from experience are full of wisdom, spiritual sustenance and encouragement:
Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence – A small book that can be carried with you everywhere, it offers enormous help on the path to peace and lasting happiness.
Joy in Suffering – Another small pocket-size book with treasures of a Saint’s wisdom: St. Therese, who suffered much and suffered well for love of Christ and souls. One of the Sisters remembers her older brother always carrying this book in his backpack with his science and medical books. It was pathetically beat-up, but always with him through college on his way to medical school.
Other wonderful books offering wise counsels for growing in the beautiful virtue of Hope and the way of confidence, especially amidst adversity, may be found here.
Our Lady of Sorrows Relic Badge
Our Lady’s Thirty Days (August 15-September 15) came to a close with the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. Several of the Sisters have long desired us to design a relic badge for Our Lady specifically under this title. Since our newly professed Sister has this title for her religious name, we wanted to make it a reality this year.
It is in this posture of sorrow, that Our Lady was given to us as our Mother: “Behold your mother.” She is our guide, our model. At the foot of the cross she teaches us the meaning of suffering, and even more importantly, how to unite it to Christ’s.
We could write a whole newsletter on this topic! As St. Louis de Monfort said “Of Mary there is never enough.” But we will restrain ourselves to recommending this devotional booklet to learn more about the devotion. And we will offer you this brief meditation that sums it up quite well:
“Jesus had willingly gone to His Passion, and Mary would willingly offer Her well-beloved Son for the glory of the Host Holy Trinity and the salvation of men. That is why the sacrifice of Jesus became Mary’s sacrifice, not only because Mary offered it together with Jesus, and in Him, offered her own Son; but also because, by this offering, she completed the most profound holocaust of herself, since Jesus was the center of her affections and of her whole life. God, who had given her this divine Son, asked, on Calvary, for a return of His gift, and Mary offered Jesus to the Father with all of the love of her heart, in complete adherence to the divine will… Let us contemplate Mary’s sorrows, sympathize with her, and ask her for the invaluable grace of sharing with her in the Passion of Jesus. Let us remember that this participation is not to be merely sentimental – even though this sentiment is good and holy – but it must lead us to real compassion, that is to suffering with Jesus and Mary. The sufferings God sends us have no other purpose. The sight of Mary at the foot of the Cross makes the lesson of the Cross less hard and less bitter; her maternal example encourages us to suffer and makes the road to Calvary easier. Let us go, then, with Mary, to join Jesus on Golgotha; let us go with her to meet our cross; and sustained by her, let us embrace it willingly, uniting it with her Son’s.”
2025 Liturgical Calendar
The 2025 Liturgical Calendar is now available, and with it, the mini version (perfect for sliding into missals, breviaries and devotional books). The Carmelite version (with all of the Feast days particular to the Carmelite order) of both the regular size and mini calendar are not yet finished printing, but are available for pre-order.
Holy Souls Remembrance
Every year we offer you the opportunity to enroll the names of your loved ones to be remembered at all of our November Masses, the month dedicated to prayer for the Holy Souls. See details
Vintage Style Medals and Rosaries
The new “vintage style” medals and rosary parts that we introduced to our site several months ago have become a favorite among our customers. They are among our favorites too! Copies of original antiques, the devotion, reverence, and details put into some of these pieces is just beautiful, and rarely found in much modern Catholic art. We have built up quite a gallery of vintage rosaries, and still receive so many requests for customization that we finally took the time to create a vintage section in our “build a custom rosary feature.” So you can now mix and match beads and parts to your heart’s content! People have already designed many beautiful new rosaries with this feature. We have also designed many chaplets (Angelic Crown, Holy Face, Purgatory, St. Joan of Arc, St. Anne) and new 1-decade finger and car rosaries (with a clasp for hooking around your rear view mirror) using some of our favorites.
You will see many of these same vintage medals now also available as key chains, in the key chain section of our website. Having something devotional on your key chain is a wonderful reminder of your Faith, as you probably finger it several times a day! The larger, more detailed medals are perfect for this purpose. A St. Anthony key chain (Patron Saint of lost things) would be a wonderful gift for someone always losing their keys! One of our favorites is a beautiful Our Lady of Fatima medal with St. Christopher (patron Saint of travelers) on the back. See our entire selection to choose your favorite.
Beeswax Tin Candles
The Tin candles are back! This time with a Beeswax coconut oil mix and two beautiful scents. The white tin makes burning the candle clean and easy, with a lid for easy storage. Perfect for those who don’t have holders!
Discounted Christmas Cards and Advent Calendars
As we prepare for the upcoming Christmas season, we have welcomed many new Christmas card designs to our selection this year. (We’ll be talking more about that in a later newsletter as we get closer to Christmas!) In order to make room for the new styles, we are trying to move out some of the older styles that have been discontinued with our suppliers. So this year, we will be offering discounted prices on a variety of our Christmas card packs. If you are one of those well-prepared, thinking-ahead people who know how time melts into nothing at the busy Christmas season – you may want to take time now to see if any of these lovely Christmas cards will be your greeting this year to family and friends. You can find our selections here.
Community News
The profession was the highlight of what news we have to share from the past few months. It is the Sister’s wedding day and had many preparations!
This time of year, keeping up with the grounds and maintenance of the buildings is always a concern. This year we undertook the project of moving our Saint Michael shrine to the far corner of the property, where he now observes and protects all. Our Holy Family shrine also “migrated” to a more prominent place in the enclosure. This was our second year with the new large greenhouse; we certainly learned a lot and had many battles! Last year it was the aphids. This year – gophers! They burrowed up under the plants and pulled them into their holes, consuming all our cabbage, kohlrabi, green beans and carrots. The Gardening Sisters watched, dismayed, but fascinated, as a beautiful cauliflower plant started shaking, then slipping lower and lower, until the whole plant disappeared beneath the soil. This rather tragic yet humorous scene mostly took place in our absence, but it gradually decimated our crops. The little varmints! The little thieves! (Sigh) We have plans to prepare for – and win – next year’s battles, God willing…
The beehive is entering its second Winter. Sister Beekeeper has faced some of the challenges that face all new beekeepers, but the colony is doing well and thriving. This summer, we harvested our first batch of honey. It was just a few frames, but plenty for us to taste and enjoy for several weeks. The frames where the bees have stored the honey are put into a “spinner” to separate the honey from the comb. As we have just a small “operation” we got a small manual spinner, but quickly found out that it took four Sisters to hold it down and keep it still while another cranked the handle. Needless to say, we will be looking for some place to bolt it to the floor next year!
As we close up the gardens and clean out the greenhouse, as we continue our sewing projects, care for our four German Shepherds… pray, chant, read, and study… we assure you of our prayers and hopes for God’s blessings and protection. We pray with our dear Sister in Heaven, St. Therese: “I will labor for Your love alone, O Lord, to please You, to console your Sacred Heart and to save souls who will love You forever!”
In Christ,
Your Carmelite Sisters
