Christmas in Lent

Christmas in Lent

Let us offer a few reflections about the season of Lent. Our favorite words from the opening of the Holy Forty Days still ring in our ears and hearts: "Be converted to Me with all your heart!" The beautiful phrase finds its echo in the "great commandment" of charity: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy mind and with all thy strength." We have just recently celebrated two great feast days, the Feast of St. Joseph and the Feast of the Assumption. Both days contain beautiful and important lessons!

In WEBSITE NEWS we give suggestions for good Lenten reading.

Text In COMMUNITY NEWS we have been completing to large vestment sets, our first to be fully digitized and embroidered by the Sisters right here in the Monastery. The first set, complete with cope, was for Ash Wednesday, the second Solemn set is for Christmas. The Novices are also preparing for the taking of their vows this coming year. Read More….

A Christian Advent and Christmas

A Christian Advent and Christmas

Secular society, and its heavily commercial influence, pulls people into a worldly, month-long party with pretty much constant revelry and merry-making. Let us attend, then, to the words of our Divine Master Himself, who cautioned those He loves: “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be overburdened with self-indulgence and drunkenness and the cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly, as a snare. For come it will upon all who dwell on the face of all the earth. Watch, then, praying at all times…” (Luke 21:34-36)

In WEBSITE NEWS we give several ideas for valuable gifts of Faith.

In COMMUNITY NEWS we share details from the two sisters clothing ceremonies and we also made special banner for the feast of Christ the King. Read More….

Our Guardian Angels

Our Guardian Angels

Today is the feast of the Guardian Angels, and we remember some of the important functions of these, our greatest friends. As Carmelites, we have a special devotion to them.

In WEBSITE NEWS we prepare for Advent with Advent wreaths and Advent calendars.

COMMUNITY NEWS shares news of another clothing ceremony, “Carmelite engineering,” and the special ceremony of our renewal of vows. Read More….

Mediatrix of all Graces

Mediatrix of all Graces

Let us always give our hearts devotedly to honoring our Mother and Queen, and in a special way during this month. For she is the faithful guide of our souls, saying to her children, “I will never leave you. My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God.”

In COMMUNITY NEWS one of the Sisters made her final profession of vows and received the black veil. It was a moving ceremony, and we are happy to share the details with you. Read More….

Lenten Devotions and St. Joseph

Lenten Devotions and St. Joseph

We break our customary silence during this season of Lent at the request of many of you for some bit of news, and especially a little spiritual “uplift”! Lent is like a retreat and, for all the faithful, a season of reflection and prayerful examination of conscience. It is also just a few days before the feast of beloved St. Joseph, or as Our Holy Mother St. Teresa called him, “The Glorious St. Joseph.”

In WEBSITE NEWS we give gift suggestions for upcoming First Communions.

In COMMUNITY NEWS we are preparing for the final profession of one of our novices and working on vestments. Read More….

St. John of the Cross

St. John of the Cross

One of the special saints celebrated during these days is our own holy Father, St. John of the Cross. We know he enjoys a perfectly miserable reputation among many Catholics: gloomy, strict, distant, and cold. Let us see if we can dispel at least a few of the mistaken notions and fears about this great Saint, who was essentially a very gentle person, yet very intense.

In WEBSITE NEWS we share ideas for Christmas gifts, including some new music selections. Also of interest is the biography of St. Theophane Venard, a favorite Saint of Saint of St. Therese of the Child Jesus.

In COMMUNITY NEWS we have been busy preparing for a bake sale and finishing the St. Catherine vestment. Read More….

Our Lady of the Rosary

Our Lady of the Rosary

October celebrates and honors in a special way Our Blessed Mother under this title—and the prayer and sacramental we call the rosary. We share with you thoughts from a special talk we received on the Feast Day about the words in the final prayer of the rosary “imitate what they contain (the mysteries of the rosary), and obtain what they promise.”

In WEBSITE NEWS we share with you details and photographs about how we make our rosaries.

In COMMUNITY NEWS we strive to fulfill St. Teresa’s request that the Carmelite life be dedicated to prayer and sacrifice, especially for priests, as we celebrate her feast day. Read More….

The Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

The Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Greetings to you all as we celebrate Carmel’s great Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. This feast is not only for Carmelites, but is beloved by all of Mary’s children, since so many of them wear her Scapular. “Devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel indicates a strong call to the interior life…” – Divine Intimacy

In WEBSITE NEWS we have added Third Order Ceremonial Scapulars to our site.

We share some stories of the community in COMMUNITY NEWS - vestment projects, fresh produce from the local markets, and friendly teasing amongst the Sisters. Read More….

Lenten Conversion

Lenten Conversion

Thus saith the Lord: “Be converted to me with all your heart.” Let us hearken to the call. Remember that this holy season is not one of gloom and sadness—but it is indeed one of healthy sorrow for sin. Examining our hearts and knowing our sins, considering more carefully our motives behind what we do all day long and what we say, noticing more readily what we fail to do that we could have and should have done... Are these not sensible ways of keeping a sound mind and vigorous soul for God?

In WEBSITE NEWS we recommend good reading to help you with your Lenten devotions, such as confession and stations of the cross.

In COMMUNITY NEWS we have spent some time perfecting cord rosaries, which we will adding to our website, as well as repairing old vestments. Read More….

End of the World

End of the World

People are not only wondering about tomorrow, but about the last tomorrow—the end of time, the end of all things, the day when God sends His angel to announce, “Time is no more!” For in world events, do we not all hear the echo of Christ’s own words? There will be “wars and rumors of wars … nation will rise against nation…there will be pestilences and famines and earthquakes…But all these things are the beginnings of sorrows…iniquity will abound, the charity of the many will grow cold…”

In WEBSITE NEWS we give ideas for meaningful Christmas gifts.

COMMUNITY NEWS find us creating another shrine on our grounds, this one to Our Lady of Fatima, besides dealing with some critter infestations on the grounds and some stories shared from our recreations. Read More….