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Prayerful Remembrance of the Holy Souls in Purgatory

Prayerful Remembrance of the Holy Souls in Purgatory

It is a prayerful month, as we answer the call of Holy Mother Church to pray for the Faithful Departed, “that they may be released from their sins,” as the Book of Machabees expresses it. Carmelites have ever been devoted to praying for the souls in Purgatory, as the history of the Order documents, especially from the time of our Holy Mother St. Teresa. “Marvelous is the mercy of God to have provided sinners with a Purgatory – a place of purification in unchangeable eternity; a robing room for those whose wedding garments are earth-soiled; a period when God Himself, jealous for the beauty of His bride, finishes the life-work which the negligent soul has left undone.” – Divine Crucible

In WEBSITE NEWS we are still constructing our new website, and with Advent coming soon, we recommend some good spiritual reading to help prepare for Christmas.

In COMMUNITY NEWS we share with you pictures from the funeral and requiem vestment sets we just completed. The weeping willow design was based on an old vestment that we have. Read More….

Fires and Floods

Fires and Floods

The events of this long, difficult summer have kept us from writing a newsletter sooner! Our sincere thanks to all who have emailed and written with concern to ask about our safety during the June forest fires and the heavy rains and floods of September. Sadly, many who have not faith, question how a loving God could allow such devastation to take place. And even those who do have faith very often do not understand why we suffer. Why are we left to our loneliness and loss? Has God forgotten us, our troubles, our need? On the contrary, the God of heaven and earth - our sovereign, strong, living God - sends and permits trouble and sorrow for the very purpose of making us know our need and to draw us from the superficial things of life. "Suffering, when accepted in the right spirit, enhances the understanding: it reveals the secret nature of things and shows everything as it is.

In WEBSITE NEWS we are still working on the new website, and have added a woodcarved image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel to our site. We decided to embroider the tiny scapulars for this image ourselves!

In COMMUNITY NEWS the Black Forest Fire only a few miles from us encouraged us to do some mitigation on our own property. We were able to have a procession to celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Read More….

The Coming of the Holy Ghost

The Coming of the Holy Ghost

Let us remember what our holy Faith teaches us about this Person of the Holy Trinity, Whose name we use often in our prayers, but perhaps with little reflection. In the Nicene Creed, we proclaim, “And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life; Who proceeds from the Father and the Son; Who together with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, Who spoke through the Prophets.” St. Augustine gloried in what the Holy Spirit is to the Church, saying that: “What the soul is to the body of man, the Holy Ghost is to the Body of Christ, which the Church is. What the soul does in all the members of one body, this the Holy Spirit does throughout the Church…” This indwelling of the Holy Spirit in souls is often forgotten or ignored—even by devout souls.

In COMMUNITY NEWS we share pictures with you from our last vestment project, a solemn set for Pentecost with details embroidery. Read More….

A Prayerful Lent

A Prayerful Lent

Our letter to you during the holy season of Lent will be brief—and only to lend a little encouragement to persevere with prayerful peace in your Lenten observance. May that sorrow of our Savior break our hearts—and convert them, accomplishing all that the Lord wills in each of our souls. Read More….

Advent and the Liturgy

Advent and the Liturgy

Beginning another liturgical year is meant to bring us all back to a vivid remembrance of God's purpose and plan of Redemption—and the call to holiness that His redemptive work has won for us. "Now during the season of Advent, our Lord knocks at the door of all men's hearts—at one time so forcibly that they must notice Him, at another, so softly that it requires attention and vigilance to know that Jesus is asking admission. He comes to ask them if they have room for Him, for He wishes to be born in their house.” – Abbot Dom Gueranger

In WEBSITE NEWS we give some good gift ideas for Christmas.

In COMMUNITY NEWS we give answers to some of the questions most frequently asked us by our readers: What do the Sister eat? What do the Sisters read? Do the Sisters use medicine and medicinal herbs like the monasteries of old? Read More….

St. Therese As She Was

St. Therese As She Was

As September draws to a close, Carmelites all over the world recall with fraternal love and admiration the generous life and holy death of St. Therese of Lisieux, "The Little Flower". But as we know and have remarked in a past newsletter, St. Therese can be misunderstood. The Way of Spiritual Childhood, as she called her "Little Way," has often been mistaken to mean childishness. Another misinterpretation of St. Therese has tried to place her in the defiant age of the mid-twentieth century, and has thus construed odd notions about what she wrote and said about herself. We do our best to describe St. Therese as she was and what really defined her spirituality.

In WEBSITE NEWS we recommend some excellent books on St. Therese.

In COMMUNITY NEWS we have been keeping busy with canning and autumn gardening, as well as vestment repairs. Read More….

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Fatima, and The Immaculate Heart of Mary

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Fatima, and The Immaculate Heart of Mary

The founding Mothers of our Carmel chose the name of our Monastery, Carmelite Monastery of the Sacred Hearts, largely because of their devotion to Our Lady of Fatima. At Fatima, Our Lady promised that if her requests were fulfilled, God would grant the world a time of peace, but there can be little doubt that the solemn requests of Our Lady at Fatima have not been fulfilled. What do Carmelites do when faced with this heartbreaking reality?

In WEBSITE NEWS we have added some new books to our site.

In COMMUNITY NEWS we mention the large fire that destroyed many homes only thirteen miles from us. We also tell he special story of an adoption that was arranged between families of the Carmelite Sisters. Read More….

Lent in Secret

Lent in Secret

But before Carmel's yet deeper retreat from the world during these Holy Forty Days, we pass onto you a few lessons the Church offers her children to guide them through this time. "No Lent," the St. Andrew Missal instructs, "is worthy of the name without a personal effort of self-reformation, of leading a life more in accordance with God's commands and an attempt by some kind of voluntary self-denial to make reparation for past negligence.

A wonderful Carmelite Saint who faithfully followed the Savior's example in mortification was St. Teresa Margaret of the Divine Heart.

In WEBSITE NEWS we have expanded our cord rosary options.

In COMMUNITY NEWS we continue our Liturgical sewing work. We also comment on St. Teresa’s words: “God save us from sad-faced saints!” Read More….

Advent and the Angelus

Advent and the Angelus

"Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come to save us!" This urgent plea, taken from Psalm 79, is the constant prayer of this season of Advent and its liturgy. Although in our days, the ringing of the Angelus bell throughout each day is not as common as in past ages, what better way is there than to meditate on the coming of the Redeemer in this prayer.

In WEBSITE NEWS we give gift suggestions.

In COMMUNITY NEWS we celebrated the first profession of another of novices. Read More….

The Rosary and The Carmelite Shield

The Rosary and The Carmelite Shield

This is the month of the Holy Rosary: “The Most Holy Virgin, in these last times in which we live, has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Holy Rosary. She has given this efficacy to such an extent that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal or above all, spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families, of the families of the world, or of the religious communities, or even of the life of peoples and nations, that cannot be solved by the Rosary.” – Sister Lucia

We also answer a longstanding and good question some of our friends and readers have had—and that is about the meaning of the Carmelite Shield.

In WEBSITE NEWS the new calendar is available, and we also recommend some good spiritual reading about St. Therese.

In COMMUNITY NEWS we celebrated another first profession for one of our novices. We have also been busy growing vegetables and doing some small landscape projects. Read More….