Category: Carmelite Saints

Spiritual Father and Guide

Spiritual Father and Guide

The writings of St. John of the cross have proved a help and inspiration to countless souls – “ordinary” Christians, living hurried, active lives with little time for more than the barest obligations of their faith, find in these “incomprehensible” and “too subtle” treatises something applicable to their particular needs. What is this something? To what type of Christian, other than the contemplative, does St. John of the Cross appeal? What message, if any, can this sublimest of mystics have for the world of today?

In WEBSITE NEWS we look forward to the season of Advent, sharing spiritual reading recommendations, and new items to assist in the devotion of Christmas

In COMMUNITY NEWS we share some stories from the last few months, as well as stories about the sacramentals we have shipped to customers through our website.Read More….

St. Teresa and the Holy Souls

St. Teresa and the Holy Souls

Today (October 15th) is a great day! It is the Feast of St. Teresa of Avila, a beautiful feast day for the Church and especially for all Carmelites. Happy Feast day to all of you! So much could be said about our great patron, Our Holy Mother! But in this brief letter, we will confine ourselves to focusing on the one great characteristic of her life: prayer. Her writings on prayer, which offer much instruction and counsel to those who want to learn to converse with God, are among the most renowned among all the Saints and Doctors of the Church. Five centuries after her death, souls are still benefiting from this great teacher of the spiritual life.Read More….

The Way of the Cross

The Way of the Cross

During this time of fasting and penance, the Church allows us to pause to celebrate the great St. Joseph. A very Happy Feast Day to all of you from all of us here at Carmel!

We take this opportunity to take a deeper look at the Stations of the Cross, their history, importance, and how to pray them. Read more…

All Saints of Carmel

All Saints of Carmel

As the liturgical year comes to a close, this presentation of all of the victors in the Heavenly court not only honors God’s work in them, but is meant to spur us on and give us courage during this “last lap” of the Liturgical Year. Holy Mother Church directs our gaze to the end of time, to the end of our time at our death. But she also puts before us all of these holy examples of people just like ourselves – full of human weakness, besought by trouble and sorrows, tempted by the world and the devil – as a compelling lesson and encouragement.

We also have many new products to share for Advent and Christmas Read More….

Hope Springs Eternal

Hope Springs Eternal

“Accept me, Lord, according to Your word, and I shall live: and do not confound me of my hope.” This beautiful expression of hope and confidence in God is sung by every Sister during her veiling ceremony upon her final profession of religious vows. Hope is one of the three theological virtues and a cornerstone in the spiritual life of every Christian. 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. Behold the road upon which the Saints run – or rather, are carried – by Jesus Christ. It is St. Therese’s “elevator” to Heaven.

In WEBSITE NEWS we give introduce our new Our Lady of Sorrows badge.

In COMMUNITY NEWS we share photos from some of our other recent projects Read more…

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….

Head of the Holy Family

Head of the Holy Family

Happy upcoming Feast of St. Joseph! Today, we wish to highlight St. Joseph’s special patronage of families. Every Catholic knows that St. Joseph is the patron of families and family life. His exalted vocation, by God’s singular design, was to be the father-on-earth of God the Son Incarnate – and to be head of the Holy Family. St. Joseph guides everyone, he prays for everyone, he is everyone’s patron saint!

In WEBSITE NEWS we introduce a new relic badge for the Holy Family, as well as scented candles, St. Joseph books, and Easter books

In COMMUNITY NEWS we give an update on the community for the past few months. 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…

Carmelite All Saints Day

Carmelite All Saints Day

It has long been the custom of Catholic Religious Orders to have a separate day, usually in November, to honor their own particular saints. Today, November 14th, is Carmelite All Saints Day . Again, just as on November 1st, the emphasis is on those whose feast day is not on the regular liturgical calendar, and those "unknown" Saints. We would like to introduce you to a few of these Carmelites - holy, prayerful, apostolic, heroic, and in love with Christ Our Lord: St. Peter Thomas, Blessed John Soreth, Blessed Fances D’Amboise, Sister Marie of Saint Peter, Mother Elias, and many others.

In WEBSITE NEWS we discuss the importance of Patron Saints, and the practice of using or wearing patron Saint medals. Of course there are preparations to be made for the season of Advent, and we are still working on our new website.

The biggest announcement in COMMUNITY NEWS is the start of a new building project. Read More….

Practice of the Presence of God

Practice of the Presence of God

The practice of the presence of God, remaining always in God’s presence, is a beautiful practice that will aid us in our spiritual life and help us prepare for the feast of Christmas. Brother Lawrence, a humble Carmelite Lay-brother, was a mast of this method of prayer. “Although he passed his life in retirement, still there is nobody in any state of life who cannot draw great profit from learning about his conduct. He will teach persons engaged in the world to address themselves to God, to ask His grace for doing their duty, even while they are performing their business.” – Practice of the Presence of God

In WEBSITE NEWS we look forward to Christmas, remembering that so many of the Christmas customs we have spring from our Catholic Faith and have deep Christian symbolism. We especially look at the custom of having a Nativity set and the history behind the Christmas tree and Christmas ornaments. We have also expanded our offering of Liturgical music.

Christmas preparations are busy in Carmel, and we document just a few of them in our COMMUNITY NEWS. Read More….