Category: Devotions to Our Blessed Mother

Prophet of Carmel

Prophet of Carmel

St. Elias was given an inconceivable mission, to stand as God’s faithful and true servant in a society that was crumbling into paganism and sin; and to call the fallen Israelites back to the true worship of God. Certainly, the same can be said of the true Christian’s mission in today’s world. The errors are the same. The enemies are the same. The challenge is the same. And the prayerful, faithful fight and victory must be the same. We must pray in the spirit of Elias.

In WEBSITE NEWS introduce a new style of Brown Scapular we designed to honor the founder of Carmel. We also introduce our new handcrafted incense sticks. Read More….

Queen of Carmel

Queen of Carmel

Please join us in our novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel preparing for her feast Day!

In WEBSITE NEWS we look at the history and symbolism of the original image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel that was venerated by the first Carmelite monks on Mount Carmel. We have made our own reproduction of this image for your devotion.

In COMMUNITY NEWS we share pictures of our new greenhouse and garden projects. Read More….

The Apostles’ Retreat

The Apostles’ Retreat

It was during these days of the “first retreat” between the Feast of the Ascension and Pentecost that the Apostles underwent the last and most difficult part of their spiritual training. The season of Pentecost is the season of sanctification. Throughout our life, it is our turn to “fight the good fight” and carry Christ’s truth and victory banner into the world.

We also remember the anniversary of Our Lady of Fatima and all her message means for the modern world.

In WEBSITE NEWS we give suggestions for reading during this holy Liturgical season, introduce some new images of Blessed Mother, and give an update on our attempts to update the rosary ordering process on our website.

In COMMUNITY NEWS we finally finished the big vestment project we have been working on for the last four years – a solemn vestment set for Easter. We share pictures and stories of how a solemn set like this is made. Read more…

Blessed Easter!

Blessed Easter!

The light of the Resurrection is eternal! No darkness may reverse or conceal it. Christ, our Victim and our Savior, reigns, “despite His enemies”. May this serene and holy light penetrate the souls of all the redeemed and renew the Church of our Risen King. Read more…

Ecce Mater Tua

Ecce Mater Tua

The greatest gifts are often given to us in the midst of trouble and sorrow. We may not recognize them at the time, but later on, when time has passed, we gain some understanding of the treasures bestowed in sorrow. Behold the hill of Calvary and the Holy Cross – no treasure can compare with the wealth of good that came to all the world, for all time, to every soul from Love Crucified. With redemption and the victory over sin and death, we also received a Mother. In the history of the Church, God’s Mother and ours has revisited her sorrows by visiting earth – always with a message of compassion for our peace. What can we learn from our compassionate and sorrowful Mother?

In WEBSITE NEWS speak briefly about the rosary, St. Therese, and our new St. Michael relic badge.

In COMMUNITY NEWS we celebrate the First Profession of one of our novices. Read more…

Our Lady of Mount Carmel
A Pledge of Her Protection

A Pledge of Her Protection

A very happy feast day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel to you all! As we celebrate this great day we remember some important lessons about the Scapular; “We can truly say that the garment of grace was woven by the blessed hands of Mary, who day by day, moment by moment, gave herself entirely, in union with her Son, for our salvation... She has cooperated in the obtaining the garment of our eternal salvation, the wedding garment in which we shall enter the banquet hall of heaven.”

In WEBSITE NEWS we are happy to see that devotion to the Brown Scapular is spreading, in fact we can no longer keep up with the orders! But we have a solution for this happy problem.

In COMMUNITY NEWS we share pictures and stories from moving into the new building, as well as the other projects which have kept us so busy the past few months! Read more…

“All of Life is Advent”

“All of Life is Advent”

All too often, November finds many of us racing into the celebratory mood of Christmas, without a thought of Advent, that preparatory season of light penance and prayer. Father Delp, who wrote from his WWII cell in Nazi Germany, had many beautiful reflections on this holy season that are applicable today: "Advent is a time of being deeply shaken, so that man will wake up to himself…. Perhaps what we modern people need most is to be genuinely shaken, so that where life is grounded, we would feel its stability; and where life is unstable and uncertain, immoral and unprincipled, we would know that, also, and endure it… erhaps that is the ultimate answer to the question of why God has sent us into this time, why He permits this whirlwind to go over the earth, and why He holds us in such a state of chaos and in hopelessness and in darkness… More, and on a deeper level than before, we really know this time that all of life is Advent."

We don’t forget, during this month of November, our brethren the Holy Souls in Purgatory. Briefly meditating on their sufferings reminds us of the need to pray for them: “Purgatory, in all truth, the workshop of infinite justice. Divine severity and rigor are exercised there with an intensity that, to us on earth, is unknown... On the other hand, purgatory is the masterpiece of the heart of God, the most marvelous artifice of His love.”

In WEBSITE NEWS we touch on the history and symbolism behind the Advent wreath, a beloved Catholic custom during these days before Christmas. We also introduce our new relic badge of Our Lady of Guadalupe, briefly remember the story of this great apparition and patron of the Americas, as well as studying the intricate symbolism contained in Her image.

COMMUNITY NEWS contains the completion of our new shrine to Our Lady of Fatima. Read more…

Our Lady of Fatima and Our Daily Duty

Our Lady of Fatima and Our Daily Duty

Concluding this year marking the 100th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima, we look more closely at Her message, especially that of our daily duty, and what it means for our day to day life. Our Lady was not the first to recommend this practice; it has been the age old practice of the Saints and their road to such sanctity. "To live the Christian life is to live by Christ, to see all things through Him by the light of His grace, to love through His adorable Heart, to pray through His own divine prayer, to work through Him and for Him in order to bring the whole world back to Him, to suffer with Him, and to make up what is wanting to His redemptive Passion. . . . This is not the work of a single day; it requires sustained effort and constant and ever-renewed generosity in the face of our inevitable tendency to backslide... These perspectives should illumine our souls as we perform our daily tasks.” - Fr. Ernest Mura

WEBSITE NEWS introduces the relic badge that we designed to commemorate the centenary. We share with you an excerpt from a sermon given to our community on how to pray the Rosary, and we explore the history behind the green scapular. Read some extensive reviews about a few of our favorite books about St. Therese.

In COMMUNITY NEWS we detail our attempts to complete some new wood inlaid crucifixes, introduce our new puppy, and remember the recent solar eclipse in light of the Miracle of the Sun. Read More….

The Sacred Hearts and Fatima

The Sacred Hearts and Fatima

This year we are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the apparitions at Fatima. In the June apparition, Our Lady showed us Her Immaculate Heart and asked for reparation. We look at a side by side comparison between the apparitions and requests of the Sacred Heart to Saint Margaret Mary, and those made by Our Blessed Mother at Fatima. We also bring to mind the miracle at Hiroshima, that community that miraculously survived the nuclear bombing because of their faithfulness to Our Lady’s message.

In WEBSITE NEWS we look at the history of Sacred Images such as pictures, their importance as sacramentals, their meaning, and the aid that they can be to our spiritual life.

In COMMUNITY NEWS we concentrate on the beautiful procession we were able to have in honor of Our Lady, as well as the many other projects that are keeping us busy. Read More….