O.Carm

Giovedì, 09 Novembre 2023 07:56

Celebrating At Home - 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Ready & Waiting
(Matthew 25:1-13)

Wisdom is at the heart of the first reading and Gospel. In the Bible, wisdom is not separate from God but a feminine personification of various attributes of God. The first reading presents wisdom as like a light which never fails. God is always taking the initiative with us, searching out the believers and revealing himself to them.

The parable in the Gospel continues the theme of wisdom. The ten virgins (representing the disciples) are waiting for the coming of the bridegroom (the return of Christ). The wise ones brought both their lamps and extra oil. The unwise ones brought only their lamps.

While they are waiting the lamps of the unwise begin to go out (their faith and love has grown cold, their good works are fading). The wise virgins cannot lend their faith, love and good deeds (the oil) to the others. Each disciple has to take personal responsibility for their faith and their salvation.

The wise disciple, whose love, faith and good works do not grow dim, is recognised by the Lord and takes their place in the Kingdom of God.

The disciple needs to remain alert, vigilant and prepared for the ‘day of salvation’ by continually growing in a faithful and loving relationship with God. This loving relationship with God bears fruit in good works for neighbours. That is what it means to be hearers and doers of the Word.

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Celebrating At Home

Mercoledì, 08 Novembre 2023 07:12

St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, virgin

November 8 | Optional Memorial

Elizabeth Catez was born on 18th July 1880 in Campo d'Avor near Bourges, France. In 1894, she took a vow of virginity.

She made her religious profession on 11th January 1903 and 21st January the same year she was given the monastic veil. The five years that she spent in religious life brought her ever closer to God although the Lord tested her with many spiritual trials and severe physical suffering due to Addison's disease which finally brought about her death on 9th November 1906.

Lunedì, 06 Novembre 2023 09:10

Vitam Coelo Reddiderunt

08-10-23
Fr. Francis Kemsley (Brit)

30-12-54

07-09-74

05-09-80

05-12-92

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Vitam Coelo Reddiderunt

Lunedì, 06 Novembre 2023 08:08

St. Nuno Alvares as a Carmelite

6 November Memorial

St. Nuno Alvares was always a religious man. As a soldier and knight of the noble class, he carried the sacred images of the crucified Christ, the Virgin Mary, and of the two patron saints of the knight, St. George and St. James.

Having fulfilled his obligations as parent, re-established the peace with Castile, and concluded the African expeditions which he took part in as supreme head of the Portuguese army, the Constable began his work on a promise he had made to the Virgin: the building of a votive church. He chose the highest spot in Lisbon and placed the first stone in 1389. The construction lasted for 30 years. When completed, it was most sumptuous with beautiful gothic architecture and rich decoration. Nuno wanted a Marian order to take possession of the church and chose the Carmelites.

The Constable was very familiar with the Order. A former military companion, Juan Gonçalves, had professed in the monastery of Moura; also he had a great friendship with Alfonso de Alfama, Vicar General in Portugal.

In 1423, the Carmelites celebrated their first Provincial Chapter in Portugal, an occasion for Nuno to publicly request admission into the Order as a layman. He took the name Fray Nuno de Santa Maria and renounced his titles and declined to enter the clerical state despite his family lineage, wisdom, and cultural preparation. For Nuno, to serve the servants of God, to be the lowest in the community, was an evangelical option that he fully embraced. He refused to maintain any honors in the cloister.

The king, down to the lowest of his vassals, were shocked by the news that the Grand Constable intended to become a lay brother in a religious order. Nuno had no doubts however and chose the Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady as the date to be invested in the habit.

Numerous stories are told about Nuno’s life with the Carmelites. When he met his old friend and former vassal, Fr. Juan Gonçalves, then prior of the house in Lisbon, Nuno would kiss the prior’s hand and ask permission to go out with the classical formulation “Benedicite Pater” to which the prior would respond “At your orders, my Constable. God bless you.” Both took a humble stance toward the other.

He lived the rest of his life in such humility until he died in April of 1431 (Some sources give his death date as November 1, 1431). His fame for holiness rapidly spread throughout the whole country; for the Portuguese he was always the Holy Constable.

Venerdì, 03 Novembre 2023 05:36

Celebrating At Home - 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sincere & Grounded Faith
(Matthew 23:1-12)

The warnings against the leaders conclude this week. This is the final part of this series of readings in which Jesus strongly criticises various groups of leaders who have failed to grasp what religion and faith in God are really about.

The problem centres around the belief that religious practice is all that is necessary to be justified in God’s eyes. According to Jesus, however, it is really about conversion, the continual process of turning oneself towards God. Bit by bit as our hearts are changed by the Holy Spirit we come to see with God’s eyes and feel with God’s heart. That is why Jesus insists that it is what is within one’s heart that is important, not how many religious laws one fulfils.

The Scribes and Pharisees have a ‘one-dimensional’, narrow view of religion and faith. Jesus’ view embraces the whole person in the journey of faith. As St Paul puts it in the Letter to the Romans: faith is a journey of being remade in the image and likeness of Christ. It changes and transforms every part of us.

No true believer can live as though faith and life are separate. Often contemporary civil leaders wish that the Church would confine its comments only to ‘religious’ things. For us, all the dimensions of life are part of our religious framework – social, political, economic, physical, psychological, mental and spiritual.

All these are viewed from the perspective of our faith. As Pope John Paul II said, “The light of the Gospel must be brought to bear on every aspect of human life.” Our moral sense of what is right and wrong develops as we reflect on the issues of human life inthe light of the Gospel.

Ours is never an attitude of “all’s fair in love and war”. No matter what the issue, or what sphere of human endeavour in which we are involved, our words and actions must always be true to the values of our Christian life.

With Christ as our only teacher we learn the ways of wisdom and love. We learn how to live, not by the values of the world, but by the values of the Spirit.

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Celebrating At Home

Martedì, 31 Ottobre 2023 14:46

Meeting of the General Economic Commission

First Meeting in the Presence of the General Economic Commission

After several online meetings through Zoom, the General Economic Commission met in Rome on October 23-26, 2023. The members are: Javier Domingo Garmón i Calvo (Cat), Günter Benker (Ger), Shiju Njaralampuzha (Ind), Nixon Jacobus Silfanus (Indo-laico), Anna De Giglio (Neap-laica), and Christian Körner, General Bursar. Also participating were Elisabetta Berardi (Curia) and, as translator, Tobias Kraus (Curia).

The meeting began with an examination of the current economic situation of the Curia, which was followed by discussion on the following points: revision of the Economic Directory, project for the future Missions Fund, criteria for investments, possible percentages to be presented and discussed in the future, and the stable patrimony (cf. Const. 417). The Commission also considered the possibility of holding a meeting of the bursars of each province in the present sexennium.

During the meeting, the General Bursar informed the Commission that many Provinces, General Commissariats and Delegations have not yet prepared a financial report, which is also a very useful tool to allocate the percentage of contribution to the Provinces fairly.

The next meeting will be held in April 2024.

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General Economic Commission

Martedì, 31 Ottobre 2023 11:38

Prior General’s Schedule for November

November 1-7: Canonical Visitation in Mozambique

November 8-20: Canonical Visitation in Zimbabwe

November 22-24: USG Assembly

November 25: USG Executive Meeting

November 28- December 1: Visit the two Carmelite Communities in Ukraine.

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prior general

Martedì, 31 Ottobre 2023 08:08

Bl. Frances d’Amboise, Religious

Portrait of Blessed Françoise d'Amboise wearing an ermine cape.

5 November Optional Memorial

On November 5, we celebrate the memory of Frances D’Amboise, once duchess of Brittany, who died as a Carmelite nun in Nantes, France. Her meeting with the prior general, John Soreth, and her subsequent efforts on behalf of the Carmelites had a transforming effect on Carmel in France. The Carmelite historian, Joachim Smet, calls it “one of those warm and human friendships between saints.” In fact, the establishment of enclosed Carmelite monasteries in France is generally attributed to her. She and her husband had already founded a monastery of Poor Clares in Nantes which she intended to join after the death of her husband. However, her health failed her. She considered devoting herself to the care of the poor in a hospital.

Frances received the Carmelite habit on March 25, 1468 from Bl. John Soreth. She insisted on being treated the same as any novice. Later, as prioress, Frances taught, “We are all sisters wearing the same habit and making the same profession. The Rule is not longer for one than for another.”

During the French Revolution the memory of Bl. Frances D’Amboise were dispersed, and her body was desecrated. Unfortunately, most of the instructions and exhortations she gave her nuns for their formation, like the one above, have been lost. The few fragments that remain reveal her to be a strong, loving, generous woman who was truly in love with God. She is depicted wearing an ermine cape* instead of the white wool cape of Carmel to recall her rank as duchess— iconography she herself would not have allowed.

* Portrait of Blessed Françoise d'Amboise - wearing the habit of a Carmelite nun and the crown and ermine cape signifying her rank as Duchess of Brittany.

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Calendar of Feasts and Memorials

Lunedì, 30 Ottobre 2023 09:53

Nuns in Dominican Republic Celebrate Elective Chapter

Carmelite Nuns in La Vega, Dominican Republic, Celebrate Elective Chapter

The nuns of the community of the Maria Ecclesiae Mater (Mary Mother of the Church) Carmelite Monastery held their triennial elective Chapter on Thursday, October 26, 2023.

The monastery was founded on November 21, 1976, by Carmelite nuns from Santiago de los Caballeros (Dominican Republic) , Ravenna (Italy), and Trujillo Alto (Puerto Rico). After seven years at their original foundation, the nuns moved to a new monastery on November 20, 1983.

The results of the elective chapter were as follows:

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Elections

Venerdì, 27 Ottobre 2023 06:12

Celebrating At Home - 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Loving God & Each Other
(Matthew 22:34-40)

Another attempt to trap Jesus is contained in the Gospel this Sunday. Opinions and arguments about which was the greatest commandment were common among the Pharisees and questions about it were frequently asked of rabbis. Clearly, those who asked this question of Jesus were trying to disconcert or ‘wrong foot’ Jesus in an attempt to discredit him with his reply.

Once again, Jesus does not cleverly sidestep the question; he goes right to the heart of the matter.

Love of God and love of neighbour are brought together in one ‘great commandment’. In refusing to be drawn into an ‘either/or’ response Jesus, as he did last week, brings two separate things into right relationship. Love of God and love of neighbour belong together. That’s why the first reading today from Exodus warns against mistreating strangers, widows and orphans and talks about the proper conduct of loans and pledges. The warning comes from God’s lips. It’s not just a nice piece of social philosophy; it is the demand of living our faith.

It means that true faith, as Jesus teaches it, is about being in loving relationship with God and other human beings. Religious rituals are meant to be ways of reflecting on, savouring, remembering, celebrating and expressing that love. Sometimes they just end up as ‘empty’ rituals, when love has been replaced by fear, or when love is absent.

The Kingdom of God is not some far off place, but the moments when God’s life breaks into the human story. Those moments bring love, wisdom, grace, compassion, generosity, forgiveness and peace.

Those practiced in the things of God recognise God’s presence most of all in loving relationships. If our rituals grow out of and express our sincere love for God and neighbour then they have value. We are always at risk of putting ritual above the practise of love.