Holy Souls Mass Remembrance
We share the story of Our Lady of the Bowed Head, a miraculous image of Our Lady that has a special connection to the Holy Souls. And we remind you to submit your names for the November Mass remembrance. Read more…
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…
Jesus Living in Mary
Holy Church dedicates the month of April to the Most Blessed Sacrament, since Our Lord instituted this, the greatest of the Sacraments, in April, on the night before he died. But May is right around the corner, so we wish also to dedicate this newsletter to Our Lady. Most fitting and fortuitous! For the Body and Blood of Jesus in this Sacrament was formed in His Blessed Mother. Jesus and Mary! To Jesus through Mary, for through her, He came to us.
In WEBSITE NEWS we give suggestions for First Communion gifts, including good books to help teach children how to receive this most important Sacrament.
In COMMUNITY NEWS we give an update on the community and all the projects that we have been involved in the past few months. Read more…
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…
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 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….
“With Zeal I Have Been Zealous for the Lord God of Hosts”
On the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, we remember briefly the history of this ancient devotion. The Feast of St. Elias is also this month. Why is it his quote, “with zeal I have been zealous for the Lord God of Hosts,” the motto of Carmel? What exactly is zeal? Have we lost the meaning of this important virtue in our days, where passion and fervor for one’s belief is looked upon as fanaticism? We trace this characteristic of Carmel throughout the Order’s history, starting with St. Elias and ending with St. Teresa of the Child Jesus, who in her all-consuming passion for the glory God became “Patron of the Missions,” despite being a cloistered Carmelite Nun: “How long do you halt between two sides? If the Lord be God, follow him.” (3 Kings 18:21).
In WEBSITE NEWS we have added resin statues to our selection of statues, a more economical option than the wood-carved ones. In honor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel we also study the history and meaning behind the brown scapular, an extension of our habit!
In COMMUNITY NEWS we give an update on the new puppy in Carmel, who (it seems) has captured the hearts of our readers! Vestment work, gardening, and battling infestations of wasps and hornets…we have been keeping busy in Carmel! Read More….
Defending God
“In our time more than ever before, the greatest asset of those disposed toward evil is the cowardice and weakness of good men, and all the vigor of Satan's reign is due to the easygoing weakness of Catholics.” – St. Pius X As we see the world marching on its obstinate path away from God, we take heart in the example of souls who did believe, did hope and indeed loved! And were instruments of good and grace to transform the world, not only in their own time, but in centuries to come. These were the souls who found strength in understanding deeply their own weakness - and God's mighty strength. St. Teresa and St. Therese are two familiar names, but we also remember Blessed Nuno Alvarez, who was a knight become Carmelite, and St. Joan of Arc, who battled for the reign of Christ the King.
During this month of the rosary, in WEBSITE NEWS we remember other types of prayer beads called Chaplets.
These past few months have been full of projects – maintenance projects, landscaping projects, repair projects – and in COMMUNITY NEWS we share pictures of just a few of them. We also answer a question asked by many of our readers, “what are Carmelite recreations like?” Read More….
Freedom and the Martyrs of Compiegne
The day after the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, is the feast day of the Martyrs of Compiegne, sixteen Carmelite Sisters who were put to death during the French revolution for remaining faithful to their religious life. We briefly visit their story, which is not well known, and discuss the irony – that though these woman were imprisoned and put to death for their Faith, not many experience the true freedom that they had. What exactly is freedom? To do whatever we want? “Liberty in the eyes of the world, is freedom to disobey as well as to obey, freedom to do evil as well as to do good. True liberty, according to the saints, is not freedom to disobey but only to obey, it is not freedom to do evil, but only to do good... It is the power to say with Satan: "I will not obey." ... If liberty is thus understood, clearly it is impossible to see how Jesus was free, He who never rebelled against divine authority or the commandments of His Father, and who could not rebel against them.” - Fr. Reginald Garrigous-Lagrange
In WEBSITE NEWS we have re-designed our Sacred Heart relic badge and describe the history of this devotion, beginning with Saint Margaret Mary herself. We also give suggestions for good spiritual reading.
All-night Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament for the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the highlight of our COMMUNITY NEWS. We also finished a vestment dedicated to St. Therese, the first face we have attempted with embroidery! Read More….
The 5th Centenary of St. Teresa of Avila
A few centuries ago, this feast day was instituted to celebrate the victory of one of the greatest Christian battles in history, the battle of Lepanto. This year also marks the 5th Centenary of the birth of St. Teresa of Avila, a cause to celebrate for all Carmelites! St. Therese, and the Holy Angels and also remembered during this month of October.
In WEBSITE NEWS we’ve added two new chaplets to our website, the chaplet of St. Raphael (known as the healer and also “the matchmaker” and patron of those seeking a spouse) and the chaplet of St. Peregrine (patron saint of cancer sufferers).
In COMMUNITY NEWS we celebrate the final profession of one of our Sisters. Keeping up with canning and gardening is a challenge at this time of year! Read More….