O.Carm
St. Elisha, prophet
June 14 | Memorial
Elisha, the Disciple Par Excellence
Elisha is not Elijah's only disciple. According to a Jewish tradition found in the Vitae prophetarum, in Jerome's introduction to his Commentary on the Book of Jonah, and in some other patristic writings, Jonah was the son of the widow of Zarephath, brought back to life by the prophet and became Elijah's disciple: “Jonah, after his death, was resurrected by the prophet Elijah: he followed him, suffered with him, and, because of his obedience to him, merited the favor of the gift of prophecy” (Arabic Jacobite Synaxarion of September 22).
G. Baconthorp knew this tradition, which he derived from Jerome. G. de Cheminot, following F. Ribot, makes a disciple of the man whom Elijah sent back when he was fleeing from Jezebel, the first one. It is this man whom Elijah sends to the top of Mount Carmel to watch for the coming of the rain.
According to the Vitae prophetarum, Obadiah, Ahab's steward who hid the hundred prophets, fifty by fifty, sent by Ahaziah, became a disciple of Elijah. Theodore Bar-Koni, an eighth-century Nestorian author, specifies that he was endowed with the gift of prophecy after following Elijah. Medieval Carmelites list Obadiah among the great disciples of Elijah. Philippe Ribot is the only 14th-century Carmelite to also make the prophet Micah a disciple of Elijah.
In this group of disciples, Elisha occupies the first place (Cheminot, Ribot).
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Photo © Nick ThompsonProphet Elisha from a series produced c1690 for the Chapel of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Couvent de Grande Carme, Toulouse by Marc Arcis. Musée des Augustins, Toulouse.
Bl. Hilary Januszewski, Priest and Martyr
June 12 | Optional Memorial
Hilary Januszewski was born on 11 June 1907 in Krajenki (Poland) and was given the name of Pawel. He received a Christian education from his parents, Martin and Marianne. In 1927 entered the Order of Carmel. He completed his noviciate in Leopoli and on 30 December 1928 made his simple profession. At the end of his philosophical studies in Cracow he was sent to Collegio Internazionale Sant'Alberto, Rome. He was ordained priest on 15 July 1934. He obtained his lectorate in theology and the prize for the best students of the Roman Academy of St. Thomas and in 1935 returned to Poland to the monastery in Cracow.
On 18 September 1940 the gestapo deported four friars from the Carmel in Cracow. In December, when other friars were arrested, Fr. Hilary decided to present himself in exchange for an older and sick friar. From that day his Calvary began. He was sent to the prison of Montelupi (Cracow), then to the concentration camp of Sachsenchausen and in April 1941 to the concentration camp of Dachau. There he was a model of prayer life, encouraging others and giving hope for a better tomorrow. Together with the other Carmelites, among whom was Saint Titus Brandsma, they often joined in prayer.
Meanwhile in barrack 25 of the concentration camp, typhus was spreading. To help the sick, 32 priests presented themselves to the authorities. A couple of days later, Fr. Hilary Januszewski spontaneously joined the group. His apostolate lasted 21 days because, infected by typhus, he died on 25 March 1945, a few days before the liberation of the concentration camp.
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A multi-lingual book on Bl. Hilary Januszewski is available from Edizioni Carmelitane. The book, giving the reader insight into this Carmelite's life and ultimate gift of his own life for other prisoners, is written in Polish, English, Italian and Spanish and is available at a special price in our webstore with a 30% discount (shipping expenses not included).
Enter the code Januszewski2026 at checkout to use the promo.
Prior General's Schedule for June 2026
Fr. Desiderio García Martínez, O. Carm., the prior general, has the following schedule planned for the month of June 2026:
June 1–13, 2026: General Council Plenary Session.
June 15–19, 2026: PCM Province Chapter (USA).
June 20–21, 2026: Meeting of the Prior General with students from the PCM Province.
June 22, 2026: Fraternal visit to the Carmelite Monastery, Sisters of Hudson (USA).
June 23–25, 2026: Fraternal visit to Hermitage Lake Elmo (USA).
June 27–29, 2026: Carmelite Family Meeting, Iberian Region (Spain– Portugal).
Celebrating At Home - 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Growing Disciples
(Matthew 9:36-10:8)
This week’s Gospel contains the first part of Jesus’ instructions to the disciples as they set out on their mission.
At the beginning of the reading we hear that Jesus is moved with compassion for the crowds. He loves them and feels for them and responds to their need since ‘they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd’. It is Jesus’ compassion for the people that compels him to act.
Then he urges the whole group of disciples to pray to ‘the Lord of the harvest’ for more labourers. Then, from the broader group of disciples, Jesus chooses twelve who Matthew names as ‘apostles’ or emissaries.
To these twelve Jesus entrusts the mission of proclaiming that the kingdom of God is close at hand. This is not an ‘end of the world’ prediction. We could better translate it as: the kingdom of God is very close to you. To a people who had constantly been told that God despised them, that they were sinners and very far from the kingdom of God, this was good news indeed.
Jesus gives the disciples the authority to accompany the proclamation of the Good News with the healing of ‘all kinds of diseases and sickness’ to break the idea that illness (in whatever form) was a curse sent by God or punishment for sinfulness. Instead, the disciples are to be a sign of God’s kindness which brings health and wholeness. The proclamation of the Good News is always to be done generously and without counting the cost.
Through the words of the Gospel may we hear again our own call to be emissaries of God’s love and bearers of Good News. May we allow the kindness and compassion of God to touch one another through us.
Five Or Six Mass Extinctions? The Future Is Today
Fr. Simone Gamberoni, O. Carm.
It was lovely to take a walk and hear the cry of the swallows as they chased insects in the sky amid the summer heat, or perhaps to stroll after a summer storm and see the large, sly green lizards searching for a ray of sunshine, while frogs and toads hopped through the verdant countryside… and then, in the evening, to go out into the glow created by thousands of fireflies… They seem like stories from another time! Yet it is simply about when I was young and herded sheep on the hills around Florence.
The world is changing, and perhaps we don’t always realize it.
To promote awareness and sensitivity regarding ecological issues, an exhibition has been organized titled: “Five Or Six Great Mass Extinctions? The Future Is Today!” The exhibition, held inside the Casa di Accoglienza, adjacent to the Sanctuary of the Madonna del Carmine in San Felice del Benaco (BS), aims to allow people—and especially young students—to reflect on the importance of preserving Creation, offering a simple starting point for reflection, grounded in science, regarding climate change and its consequences for Creation itself. It is a mere drop in a vast ocean that would require much more attention.
The world is, after all, a closed system with limited resources, and every human being, regardless of their religious, political, or philosophical beliefs, should consider the future of the world in a perhaps slightly more prudent manner. Paleontology reminds us that after every mass extinction, life has recovered over the course of millions of years, but how many species have disappeared… To give a simple example, the Permian–Triassic mass extinction (about 252 million years ago), which is the greatest biological catastrophe ever to occur on Earth, saw the disappearance of between 90% and 96% of marine species, about 70–75% of terrestrial vertebrates, and about 30% of insect orders. Thus, approximately 57% of all families of living organisms existing at that time and about 83% of the genera disappeared. It took about 10 million years to reestablish complete and complex ecosystems.
After the sixth mass extinction, life will always recover, but will there be people capable of telling others about it? Following the geological eras that have marked the history of the Earth and life on it, many today speak of the Anthropocene, as a proposed new geological epoch in which human activity has such a profound impact that it alters the Earth’s climatic, environmental, and geological balances. The term combines the Greek words ànthrōpos (human being) and kainos (recent) and was coined in the early 1980s by biologist Eugene Stoermer and popularized in 2000 by Nobel Prize-winning chemist Paul Crutzen; it suggests the end of the previous geological epoch, the Holocene, which began approximately 11,700 years ago.
The exhibition was inaugurated on October 15, 2025, by His Excellency Monsignor Domenico Pompili, Bishop of the Diocese of Verona, approximately two years after the collection of materials began, along with the acquisition of permits and collaboration with scientific professionals. The roundtable discussion accompanying the inauguration featured the following speakers: Dr. Diego Sala, a paleontologist from Trento; Dr. Davide Grigoletto, a professor of Natural Sciences; and Dr. Gianmaria Pisani, a wildlife veterinarian. The roundtable was introduced by Fr. Simone Gamberoni, a Carmelite religious and the creator of the initiative, and was presided over by His Excellency Bishop Domenico Pompili, in the presence of more than sixty students from the Valtenesi school complex and many other people, including religious, civil, and military authorities.
As planned, the exhibition features original specimens and casts, displayed in special museum cases, accompanied by explanatory panels curated by three paleontologists from the University of Padua (Dr. Luca Giusberti, Dr. Mariagabriella Fornasiero, and Dr. Eliana Fornaciari), with contributions from a paleoanthropologist (Dr. Luca Pagani) and a climatologist (Dr. Paolo Tarolli), also from the University of Padua, as well as an archaeologist (Dr. Paolo Biagi) from the University of Venice. The exhibition also features an educational tour, curated by a paleontologist from Trento (Dr. Diego Sala) and a professor of natural sciences (Dr. Davide Grigoletto). The room also features multimedia content, which provides a detailed explanation of the artifacts on display, the 14 casts of hominid skulls, the five major mass extinctions, and some of the key animal species driven to extinction by human activity, as well as a diorama that deliberately recreates a “Jurassic Park”-style setting. As a final element, seven small display cases have been set up, presenting minerals classified according to the Nickel–Strunz system, which remind us of the primordial order and harmony that God has inscribed even “in the stones.” The exhibition was curated by Dr. Paolo Ferretti, a geologist at the Muse in Trento. The mineralogy section also features digital microscopes for magnified observation of the perfection of crystalline macrostructures. Other educational elements are also present to facilitate workshops and games for students.
In the cloister, as an introduction to the exhibition, panels have been placed featuring prayers, reflections, and texts drawn from the three major monotheistic religions, the teachings of the Church, and ancient and modern literature.
Recently, a collaboration has also begun with the Medi State-Recognized School in Salò (BS), represented by Ms. Elena Cancellerini, to expand the educational offerings by including students in the School – Work program, who will accompany various groups of visitors to the exhibition, and by developing differentiated educational programs tailored to the various age groups of students, from middle school to high school. Contacts have already been established with the Regional School Office and with a Regional Councilor, Ms. Claudia Carzeri, to involve both educational institutions and municipal administrations in Lombardy.
Humankind has placed itself within its environment, not always respecting it, but the tools we possess today have a destructive potential that no era has ever known since the human or humanoid foot first trod the earth!
“What is the ratio of one to a thousand? And yet it is a common proverb that a single man is worth a thousand, whereas a thousand are not worth a single man. Such a difference depends on the varying abilities of the intellects…”.
With this quote from Galileo Galilei’s Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, we wish to remind you that anyone willing to commit to knowledge and collaboration can help improve the fate of our planet.
If you’d like to learn more:
The exhibition is located at: Casa per Ferie Il Carmine, Via Carmine 11A, San Felice del Benaco (BS).
The Casa per Ferie is adjacent to the Santuario del Carmine.
Phone: +393400547915
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Formation at the “Mater Unitatis” Federation (Spain)
We are pleased to share with you the news of the formation course for Prioresses and Formators held at the Convent of the Most Pure Blood of Christ in Onteniente (Valencia), Spain.
The instructor was Rev. Fr. Rafael Belda Serra de Cristo Jesús, CVMD (Cooperator of the Truth).
He masterfully explored the theme of the Apostolic Exhortation “Vita Consecrata” by Pope John Paul II—an essential and ever-relevant document for consecrated persons. He particularly emphasized the dimension of the contemplative life from a contemporary perspective.
Celebrating At Home - Body and Blood of Christ
The Real Presence of Jesus in Us
(Jn 6:51-58)
The Eucharist is not only an object to be looked at, but an action to be done so that the living presence of Jesus continues to touch and heal.
Maybe we need to think more deeply about the real presence of Jesus being in real, living human beings.
Bread and Wine have no eyes to gaze with love, no face with which to smile, no mouth to speak soothing words, no arms to hold the grieving and the sick, or to lend a hand, no ears to hear the pain. But we do.
So we are called to become the Eucharist that feeds those around us with the nourishment of breadth of heart and vision, respect, love, compassion, hope and forgiveness.
May we become what we receive. (St Augustine)
- pdf Celebrating At Home - Body and Blood of Christ [PDF](2.91 MB)
- default Celebrating At Home - Body and Blood of Christ [ePub](2.42 MB)
- pdf Celebrando en Familia - Santísimo Cuerpo y Sangre de Cristo(638 KB)
- pdf Celebrando in Casa - Santissimo Corpo e Sangue di Cristo(624 KB)
- pdf Comemorando em família - O Santíssimo Corpo e Sangue de Cristo(630 KB)
Pope Leo XIV Releases First Encyclical
Pope Leo XIV’s First Encyclical Calls for “Preserving the Human Person in the Age of Artificial Intelligence”
There were strong indications of what one of his pontificates main focuses would be when Robert Prevost chose the name Leo for his new life as leader of the Catholic Church. He also mentioned artificial intelligence when addressing the crowd in St. Peter’s Square and the world via the various forms of communication we now have available. In May 1891, Pope Leo XIII released the encyclical Rerum novarum addressing the condition of the working class in the period of the Industrial Revolution. It discussed the rights of workers, owners, and the state.
On the 135th anniversary of that encyclical, Pope Leo XIV released his first encyclical, entitled Magnifica humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Peron on the Time of Artificial Intelligence.”
The co-founder of Anthropic, Chris Olah, was invited to speak at the presentation of the encyclical. In his talk, Mr. Olah raised some interesting issues, pointing out that “every frontier AI lab … operates inside a set of incentives and constraints that can sometime conflict with doing the right thing.” He echoed the pope’s call for discernment and highlighted three questions that companies need to discern about and “where I think the Church’s voice is most needed.” First is our duty to the global poor. Secondly is the need for moral imagination and ambition regarding human flourishing. Finally, the world has need for discernment on the nature of AI models.
The reactions have been generally favorable with many being very enthusiastic about the pope’s words. The Archbishop of Chicago, Cardinal Blaise Cupich, is quoted in an interview with Vatican News as giving very high praise for the encyclical. He sees this encyclical as “a new lens to read the entire Social Doctrine of the Church.”
Following interviews with Church leaders in Africa, ACI Africa summed up the leadership’s reactions as seeing the document as “a decisive intervention on the ethical, spiritual, and social implications of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies. Bishop Badejo of Nigeria recalled that just four days after his election, Pope Leo met with the media, challenging them to safeguard the true nature of communication as creation of culture and of human and digital environments that become spaces for dialogue and discussion.”
In response to those who may dismiss the pope’s call in his encyclical, Cardinal Cupich pointed out that “Pope Leo XIV is clear that this is Church doctrine and not simply a body of teaching that Catholics may choose to accept or ignore.”
Bishop Badejo sees the letter’s strongest point is its call for discernment and vigilance regarding the control of emerging technologies. The document is “now calling all segments of society to a shared discernment process guided by the Holy Spirit to discern how to navigate responsibly this intriguing era of AI.” Cardinal Cupich concurs. “The new technology has the potential to overtake our capacity to control it, and the pope is giving us a wake-up call to seize this moment with urgency."
Read to the Encyclical Magnifica humanitas
Lectio Divina June 2026
Opening Prayer
Father,
your love never fails. Hear our call.
Keep us from danger and provide for all our needs.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Celebrating At Home - The Most Holy Trinity
God Enfleshed In Us
(John 3:16-18)
The Church’s focus today is on experience, not theology.
In intellectual terms, God remains a mystery. For people of faith, God is known not by the mind, but by the heart. That is what spirituality and mysticism are about - exploring our experience of God.
In the first reading God is proclaimed as a God of tenderness and compassion, slow to anger and rich in mercy; a God who walks with his people.
Paul’s words in the second reading are born out of his belief that, having been made in the image and likeness of God, Christians must always act in the image and likeness of God.
Through our public liturgy, private prayer and contemplation we come to experience - to ‘know’ and feel in our hearts - that God loves us, accepts us, forgives us and constantly invites us into an ever deeper experience of love.
When we allow God’s heart to speak to ours in love we begin to absorb more of God’s life into our own. We are being transformed. Our values and attitudes, our ways of looking at and being in the world start to change. We begin to see with God’s eyes and feel with God’s heart.
We become passionate about the things God is passionate about: speaking truthfully, acting with justice and integrity, looking out for each other and especially for the vulnerable, promoting peace and understanding, ending competition and discrimination, respecting life.
That makes us better people and our lives become a blessing for each other and for the world.
That is what it means to live out of God’s great gift to us, the Spirit of Jesus Christ which God has placed in our hearts. God becomes enfleshed in us and we become stewards of God’s grace and life.
