O.Carm
Celebrating At Home - 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
The gentleness of the Lamb
(John 1:29-34)
Ordinary Time in the church’s year begins with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord which celebrates his identity as the ‘beloved Son’. On this second Sunday in Ordinary Time we move from the baptism to the mission of the one baptised.
John the Baptist names Jesus as, ‘the lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world.’ In doing so, he links Jesus with a number of Old Testament passages about the lamb of sacrifice and the suffering servant of God.
As the first reading this Sunday says, this servant has a universal mission to gather and restore God’s people, to be the ‘light of the nations’ and to proclaim God’s salvation ‘to the ends of the earth’.
In speaking about Jesus, John also tells us about his own mission: to proclaim that someone greater than he is was coming, one who would baptise with the Holy Spirit - the Chosen One of God.
Perhaps our reflection on the identity and mission of Jesus also tells us something about who we are meant to become as his disciples.
There is a gentleness we associate with lambs. They are not regarded as aggressive creatures. They do not kill, even to eat. In a world which often praises and rewards violence and aggression, the Lamb calls us to a different way of life.
1/2023: Vitam Coelo Reddiderunt
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29-10-22 |
Ortus
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P. Temp.
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P. Soll.
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Ord.
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15-11-22 |
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16-11-22 |
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25-11-22 |
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12-12-22 |
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01-01-23 |
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Chapel of St. Andrew Corsini
January 9 Feast
Founded during the fourth century, today the Basilica of Saint John Lateran, the cathedral church of the Diocese of Rome, bears a simple but solemn and harmonious façade. The work of Alessandro Galilei (1732-1736) it was commissioned by Pope Clement XII of the Corsini family of Florence. Pope Clement’s ten-year reign over the Papal States, from 1730-1740, saw several important public works built, including the Trevi Fountain, to serve the people of Rome.
The pope also engaged Galilei to design a lateral chapel immediately inside the front entrance of the Lateran basilica. He intended the magnificent chapel as a tribute to his 14 th century ancestor, the Carmelite St. Andrew Corsini, as well as a final resting place for himself.
This chapel, often considered the most perfect building of its kind, is in the form of a Greek Cross. An oil on canvas painting, entitled St. Andrew Corsini in Prayer hangs over the mail altar. It is a work of the Italian artist Guido Reni (1630-1635). A mausoleum terminates each end of the transept. On the left are the mortal remains of Pope Clement XII. On the right are those of Cardinal Neri Corsini. Today St Andrew Corsini, bishop and confessor, is remembered by many for the charity he showed others and his willingness to serve and assist.
The rail that separates the chapel from the aisle of the church is of gilt brass. The pavement of is of marble and the walls are incrusted with alabaster and jasper. They are adorned with bas reliefs. Six pillars adorn the recesses. Two statues of Innocence and Penitence stand on the pediment of the altar.
Each year, on the saint’s feast day, a Mass is celebrated in the chapel and is often televised to the rest of the country.
The Iconography of St. Peter Thomas
January 8 Feast
Francisco de Zurbarán (died 1598) painted St. Peter Thomas with a somewhat unconventional iconography. Zurbarán was a painter in the Spanish baroque period and his works are characterized by a Caravaggesque naturalism and the use of extreme contrasts of light and dark to heighten the dramatic effect. Zurbarán was noted for his religious subjects. Besides St. Peter Thomas, he also painted St. Cyril of Constantinople.
According to the Carmelite historian Joachim Smet, the Spanish master must have known the biography of Philippe de Mézières, a contemporary of the saint. Peter Thomas is seen with the hat which he wore on his constant travels, wearing the habit of a humble Carmelite friar in spite of his patriarchal dignity, and reciting his breviary, which he never neglected on land or sea.
These are all details carefully pointed out by Philippe, his devoted friend. The painting (pictured on St. Peter Thomas’ webpage within the ocarm.org website) now hangs in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts.
Lectio Divina January 2023
Lord Jesus, send your Spirit to help us to read the Scriptures with the same mind that you read them to the disciples on the way to Emmaus. In the light of the Word, written in the Bible, you helped them to discover the presence of God in the disturbing events of your sentence and death. Thus, the cross that seemed to be the end of all hope became for them the source of life and of resurrection.
Create in us silence so that we may listen to your voice in Creation and in the Scriptures, in events and in people, above all in the poor and suffering. May your word guide us so that we too, like the two disciples from Emmaus, may experience the force of your resurrection and witness to others that you are alive in our midst as source of fraternity, justice and peace. We ask this of you, Jesus, son of Mary, who revealed to us the Father and sent us your Spirit. Amen.
General Council Holds Plenary Meeting
The General Council met in plenary session from the November 28 to December 9. The first day was devoted to a common recollection, led by Fr. Alexander Vella, O. Carm., of the Maltese province. This took place at the Passionists house in Rome, located near the colosseum.
The next days of the meeting were taken up with the appointments to offices in the Curia, CISA, and the General Delegation in France.
- In the General Curia community, the Vice Prior General, Benny Phang Khong Wing was reappointed for a second three-year term. Roberto Hasudungan Sianturi, the Secretary General, was appointed subprior. Christian Körner, the Bursar General, was appointed treasurer of the house.
- Tadeusz Popiela of the Polish Province will continue as prior of the community of St. Albert’s International Center (CISA) in Rome. Jose Deepak Aracka of the Indian Province was appointed subprior. Jan Wozniak of the Polish Province continues as community treasurer.
- Appointed as General Delegate for the French Delegation was Martin de la Croix Gilloux. Martin is the first Frenchman to hold the position in modern times. Also confirmed were two councilors to assist Martin: Gianfranco Tuveri of the Italian Province and François Sulistya Heru Prabawa of the Indonesian Province. They will serve a three-year term.
During the meeting, reports from the various regions of the Order and the departments within the Curia such as the postulator general, the delegate for the nuns, and the director of communications were also received.
The plan for a meeting with the various Superiors General of Affiliated Congregations, scheduled for May 2023, continues to take shape. There was also discussion of the program for a course for the prior provincials and leaders of delegations. To accommodate the time differences between east and west, the course will be conducted online in two sessions. This is scheduled for the end of September.
The Carmelite General Council and the General Council of the Discalced Carmelites was able to meet together for a second time, returning to a practice of biannual meetings that had been in place prior to the Covid pandemic. This meeting was held on December 10th at the Discalced Curia in Rome. Much of the sharing revolved around the upcoming centenary of the canonization of St. Therese of the Child Jesus. The two councils made some initial plans for a longer meeting in Lisieux in 2024.
Christmas Message from the Prior General
Fr. Míceál O'Neill, Prior General of the Carmelite Order, sends his annual message to the Carmelite Family on the occasion of the Nativity of the Lord, 2022.
You can watch it here or on the YouTube channel @CarmelitesOCARM.
Celebrating At Home - Nativity of the Lord
God is with us!
(Matthew 1:18-25)
We began Advent with the cry, ‘Come, Lord Jesus’.
Now we end it with the joyful shout, ‘God is with us!’ Reflecting on the historical birth of Jesus, the Church proclaims the truth that God is, and has always been, with his people. And if God is with us, then God is for us. God is on our side.
God has no desire to live in houses made of wood, stone or gold. God’s deepest desire is to live in human flesh. Just as God did that in the human flesh of Jesus Christ a long time ago, God continues to do so now in us.
Like Mary, we accept God’s invitation, allowing Jesus to become flesh in us, too; to be seen and experienced in good thoughts, good words and good actions, in deeds of loving kindness which bring life, not death, to God’s people.
- pdf Celebrating At Home - Nativity of the Lord [PDF] (4.30 MB)
- default Celebrating At Home - Nativity of the Lord [ePub] (2.84 MB)
- pdf Celebrando en Familia - La Natividad del Señor (229 KB)
- pdf Celebrando in Casa - Natale del Signore (233 KB)
- pdf Celebrando em familia - Natividade Do Senhor (230 KB)
Celebrating At Home - 4th Sunday of Advent
The promise fulfilled
(Matthew 1:18-24)
The great Christmas feast is almost here. As always in Advent, what is promised in the first reading is brought to fulfilment in the Gospel reading. We began Advent with the cry, ‘Come, Lord Jesus’. We will end it with the joyful shout, ‘God is with us!’
Our Advent journey has called us to:
stay awake to the coming of God,
prepare ourselves to receive the Lord,
rejoice that he is not afraid to make his home with us, and to
receive him with faith and love.
At Christmas we will hear the call to give birth to him in word and action so that the saving power of God may be seen and experienced through our every thought, word and action.
The promise of the first reading from Isaiah that, “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and they will call him Emmanuel, a name which means ‘God-is-with us’,” is fulfilled in the Gospel which tells how Joseph received both Mary and Jesus into his home.
Following Joseph’s example, we joyfully welcome Jesus, and Mary, into our hearts.
The great gift of Jesus to the world cannot be confined only to one moment in history. Through us, the Body of Christ, the Gift is given again and again; born into every moment of human history. The presents we exchange at Christmas are meant to be symbols of our readiness to give and receive Christ, the eternal gift of God’s love.
As, year by year, we travel the liturgical journey of the Church’s feasts and seasons we touch ever more deeply the living presence of Christ in us that we may become ever more deeply the living presence of Christ in the world.
- pdf Celebrating At Home - 4th Sunday of Advent [PDF] (2.55 MB)
- default Celebrating At Home - 4th Sunday of Advent [ePub] (7.84 MB)
- pdf Celebrando en Familia - Cuarto Domingo de Adviento (669 KB)
- pdf Celebrando in Casa - IV Domenica di Avvento (536 KB)
- pdf Celebrando em Família - O Quarto Domingo do Advento (669 KB)
Assembly of the Lay Carmelites of Pernambuco, Brazil
On the Sunday of the Solemnity of Christ the King (November 20, 2022), the Assembly of the Lay Carmelites of the Province of Pernambuco was held in "Camocin de São Félix", where a common project for the formation of the laity was elaborated and the new Council of the Carmelite Tertiaries of the Northeast was elected. This new Council will be the decision-making body, accompanied by the delegate of the laity of the Province of Pernambuco.
