Elijah's memory was kept alive especially on Mount Carmel where he challenged the people to stop hobbling first on one foot and then on the other but to choose who is God in Israel - Yahweh or Baal.

           Read more

∗ The Prophet Elijah– This statue was created by Louis Laumen (https://www.louislaumen.com/) for the Golden Anniversary of Whitefriars College in Melbourne, Australia in 2010. The statue stands at the entrance to the school chapel while the nearby Reflective Garden contains a sculpture of Mary and the adolescent Jesus, capturing the two major inspirations of Carmelite spirituality.

As a junior high student at the Cathedral of St. Raymond’s in Joliet, Illinois I was given the opportunity to attend a journalism class at Joliet Catholic High School, run by the Carmelites.

As a junior high student at the Cathedral of St. Raymond’s in Joliet, Illinois I was given the opportunity to attend a journalism class at Joliet Catholic High School, run by the Carmelites. I jumped at the chance. It was titled the “Titus Brandsma Journalism Class.”

As an eighth grader. I had no idea who Titus Brandsma was. I would soon find out. Our instructor, Father Kevin Shanley, O. Carm., made Titus’ life story required reading.  It was a compelling read. I was struck by how one man dared to stand up to the Nazis, their ideology and their inhumane treatment of those who stood in their way.

Most impressive to me, was the fact that those persecuted shared little in common with Titus other than their humanity. He needed no other reason to stand up for them, those without a voice. Given multiple opportunities to walk away, he chose to stand by his beliefs.

Father Kevin focused our attention to Titus the journalist. Even while founding the Catholic University of Nijmegen, he still edited a newspaper. He championed freedom of the press and freedom of educational well before the start of World War II. He hailed his heroic efforts to bring a letter, written of his urging, from the Council of Bishops of Holland to the editors of 17 Catholic publications. It detailed how they were to deny the Nazi efforts to add content to and censor their publications. These letters were hand delivered by Titus.

His continued ministry while imprisoned in Dachau has been well documented, as have his mistreatment and murder. His life and death as a martyr for the freedom of the press led to his beatification and canonization.

All of the above are well documented facts but what impact did this have on me? What impact should this have on all of us.

Personally, I witness daily those in need, the homeless, the hungry, those battling substance abuse and personal demons, they too need a voice. I have found numerous agencies in my area to work with such as Habitat for Humanity and the Northern Illinois Foodbank. I hope to provide a voice for my neighbors in need. I do not pretend to have the personal courage of Titus; I am not sure if I have the conviction of faith to give my life for a cause. That does not mean that, inspired by Titus and others, I cannot make a difference in the lives of others. The impact may not be as significant, the results as momentous, but nonetheless an impact.

All of us can benefit from the inspiration of Titus, whether it be in our community, nationally or internationally, life presents us with limitless opportunities to follow his lead.

This leads us to the legacy of Titus. We need to tell his story to our children. We live in a world where the truth can, at times, seem elusive. Our young students would be well served hearing the story of one man. Committed to the truth, compelled to share that truth and show the conviction of his principles.

The lesson of the true costs of freedom and what one man was willing to sacrifice need to be shared with future generations. If not for Father Kevin, I can truthfully say that I would know little of Titus’ legacy. His veneration to sainthood would have gone almost unnoticed. All in spite of receiving my high school education at a Carmelite high school.

While we have all read of the heroic efforts of soldiers on D Day and at the Battle of the Bulge, little time is spent passing along the narrative of lives such as Titus. It was no less heroic than the afore mentioned. He also provides an example of how all us can and should resist crimes against humanity. He provides a wonderful narrative of a human being who was willing to fight for those who shared neither a common faith, ethnic origin or national roots. Most Importantly, they shared humanity and needed to be protected and their story needed to be heard.

If we hope to find a Titus in among us, his story needs to be told, unedited. It is easy to ignore crimes against humanity when we are not personally affected. History, specifically Titus’ story, shows us this is not a good idea.

As we celebrate the legacy of Titus at occasion of his canonization, there is no better way to do so than by telling his story.

Zelo zelatus sum pro domino deo exercituum.

Bill Bayci

“Joliet Catholic High School - Class of 1974"

INITIUM NOVITIATUS
01-07-22  Acorentio Feliciano João (Pern-Mz)  Nyazura, Zimbabwe
01-07-22  Rafael Jeçone Matias (Pern-Mz)  Nyazura, Zimbabwe
01-07-22  Christino Chiveza (Hib-Zim) Nayazura, Zimbabwe
01-07-22  Tsepo Sande (Hib-Zim) Nayazura, Zimbabwe
01-07-22  Edward Mukomberanwa (Hib-Zim) Nayazura, Zimbabwe
01-07-22  Percy Kuka (Hib-Zim) Nayazura, Zimbabwe

PROFESSIO TEMPORANEA
02-07-22  Dionisio Mateus Antônio (Pern-Mz)  Kriste Mambo, Zimbabwe
02-07-22  Nicolau Pedro Valentin (Pern-Mz)  Kriste Mambo, Zimbabwe
02-07-22  Suntissa Fernando Paulino (Pern-Mz)  Kriste Mambo, Zimbabwe
02-07-22  Joseph Calen Maingi (Ken) 
02-07-22  Michael Onyango Ogutu (Ken)
02-07-22  Thomas Mwanzia Muange (Ken)
02-07-22  Tatenda Fanuel Gumbero (Hib-Zim)
02-07-22  Abel Matamisa (Hib-Zim)
02-07-22  Tadiwanashe Caleb Zangirai (Hib-Zim)

PROFESSIO SOLEMNIS
20-06-22  Maria Elisabetta di san Giuseppe (Manuela Ferraro) (CAE)
02-07-22  Shelton Zimondi (Hib-Zim)
02-07-22  Underson Musina (Hib-Zim)
02-07-22  Marvelous Tawanda Murungu (Hib-Zim)

ORDINATIO DIACONALIS
18-06-22  Joseph Bayce (Baet) Burkina Faso
02-07-22  Emmanel Po'o Onana (Ger-Cam) Camerun
02-07-22  Nicolas Blaise Owana (Ger-Cam) Camerun
02-07-22  Marie Victoire Bibake Alipe (Ger-Cam) Camerun

ORDINATIO SACERDOTALIS
02-07-22  Achille Andaka Tchokomb Menengue (Ger-Cam) Camerun
09-07-22  Santos Antolino Menndez Ramírez (PCM) Ciudad Delgado, El Salvador
09-07-22  Henrry Mauricio Cienfuegos Ostorga (PCM) Ciudad Delgado, El Salvador

True hospitality
(Luke 10:38-42)

Preparing food for a special occasion or a valued guest can be a daunting task. These days, it can also be filled with all sorts of traps as food preferences continue to change and various allergies appear.

In the story which Luke tells in this Gospel, it is obvious that Martha has gone to a great deal of trouble to welcome and provide for Jesus, the guest.

Pre-occupied with the serving and annoyed with Mary passively sitting at Jesus’ feet, Martha’s anxiety gets the better of her and she asks Jesus to intervene. 

In a way, Martha is like a well-intentioned host who prepares a full dinner of roast meat only to find that the guest is vegetarian! Perhaps true hospitality might have found that out before the meal was prepared. Perhaps true hospitality might have thought about what the guest has to offer, not only about what the host wants to provide.

So often in the Gospels the initial roles in a story get reversed. In this Gospel it seems that Jesus, the guest, has something to offer that Martha overlooks, but Mary recognises. Jesus becomes the host. And it is he who ends up doing the ‘feeding’, not Martha.

And, what of Mary? Apparently lost in listening to Jesus and oblivious to Martha’s need for help? It seems all wrong to us that Jesus praises her for choosing ‘the better part’. Jesus refuses to send Mary back to the kitchen. His reply can also be read as an invitation for Martha to leave her lavish preparations and to join them.

True hospitality for the disciple lies in getting to know and spending time with the Guest.

The position of this story in Luke’s Gospel, sandwiched between the parable of the Good Samaritan (the ideal disciple) and Jesus’ teaching about prayer, could suggest that both are needed – deep attention to the Word of God and robust action: hearing and doing the Word.

It could also suggest that hearing the Word comes first, followed by doing the Word in works of service. It may also suggest the importance of paying attention to making the right choice at any given moment – not to be so caught up in doing even good works that we forget to nourish our relationship with Jesus.

What it does clearly show, however, is that both men and women are called to discipleship.

Mary, the more marginalised figure in the story, offers the kind of hospitality that Jesus wants in a disciple: an open and listening heart.

• Celebrating At Home -  pdf 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time [PDF] (3.10 MB)
• Celebrating At Home -  default 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time [ePub] (3.96 MB)
• Celebrando en Familia -  pdf 16 Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario (638 KB)
• Celebrando in Casa -  pdf XVI Domenica del Tempo Ordinario (632 KB)
• Celebrando em Família -  pdf 16 Domingo do Tempo Comum (467 KB)

A Joint OCARM-OCD Letter for the Year of Prayer and the Solemnity of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

"In Mary a Dawn of Hope: In Mary Our Way of Praying"

A joint letter of the two general superiors, Míċeál O'Neill, O. Carm., and Miguel Márquez Calle, OCD is being published on the Solemnity of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in 2024 which coincides with the Year of Prayer called for by Pope Francis to mark a time of preparation for the Jubilee Year in 2025.

Read more

A Video Message for the Celebration of the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel – July 16, 2024 from Fr. Míċeál O’Neill, O. Carm., Prior General of the Order

Dear sisters and brothers in the Carmelite family throughout the world:

the celebration of the solemnity of Our Lady of Mount Carmel this year coincides with the Year of Prayer, announced by Pope Francis as a time of preparation the celebration of the 2025 Jubilee. The desire of the Holy Father is that there should be a “symphony of prayer” throughout the world. His teaching on prayer is an invitation to the Carmelite family to play its part in praying and in helping others to pray.

Read more

Watch on YouTube

IN SOLLEMNITATE B.V. MARIAE DE MONTE CARMELO

Flos Carmeli, vitis florigera,
splendor caeli, Virgo puerpera singularis.
Mater mitis, sed viri nescia,
Carmelitis esto propitia,
stella maris.

MÍCEÁL PRIOR GENERALIS
DOMUSQUE GENERALIS COMMUNITAS

16.VII.2024 

Diocese of Málaga Features Interview with Carmelite Prior General to Highlight Devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel in July 

The July issue of the magazine of the Diocese of Málaga (Spain) focused on Our Lady of Mount Carmel. As July 16 is the feast day, several of the articles focused on the devotion of the people and how they celebrate the feast marking the Christian summer calendar. The cover of the magazine showed the image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel who is the patroness of Marbella.

Read more here 

Major Events Throughout History That Took Place on July 16th

On the occasion of the Solemnity of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, we can look back at the major events throughout History that took place on July 16th.

Read more here

+       +      +

We would like to hear how others are celebrating the feast in their local communities or ministries. Please send a short writeup and pictures to the Communications Office (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

A Video Message to the Carmelite Family for the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Sisters and Brothers in Carmel,

I would like to wish all Carmelites a very joyful and fruitful celebration of the Solemnity of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, 2022.  Our spirits are lighter because of the feeling that we will be able to celebrate our Lady's feast this year fully without the threat of Covid 19.

There is also the joy that we share because of the canonisation of Saint Titus Brandsma that we celebrated two short months ago, when Carmelites from around the world gathered in Rome in great numbers, while many more followed all that was happening through social media.

The good feeling generated by that event will remain with us for a long time, as we take up St. Titus’ legacy and offer it to the world as a wonderful expression of what it means to be a true follower of Christ in the Carmelite tradition.

Despite all the good things that are happening, all is not well in our world. The threat and the culture of war and violence never seems to leave us, because of a belief that people have that recourse to arms is a legitimate way to achieve one’s goals.

We come from a different culture, one that St. Titus Brandsma stood for and suffered for in his life. It is the culture of peace and forgiveness. It is that culture that says that we are all sisters and brothers to one another without exception, which makes it unthinkable that we should take up arms against one another.

Somehow through this culture we have to find the way to use the power of love and truth to overcome all our difficulties.

One of the expressions of our culture that we have seen this year is the hospitality given by various Carmelite communities, male and female to refugees from the conflict in Ukraine , a reason for all to give thanks.

I pray with all Carmelites this year that as we ponder on what the Holy Mountain means for us, we might know what it means to put on the armour of God (Rule 21) and answer the demand to turn our swords into ploughshares and our spears into pruning hooks. (Is 2).

Peace, joy and happiness to you all. 

Míċeál O’Neill, O. Carm

Prior General

Watch on YouTube here

A LETTER TO THE CARMELITE FAMILY FOR THE FEAST OF OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL 2022

Brothers and sisters in the Carmelite Family,

as the solemnity of Our Lady of Mount Carmel approaches, we find ourselves in festive mood. We want to celebrate and give thanks to God for everything that Our Lady of Mount Carmel represents for us. In a particular way, we want to give thanks to God and to Our Lady because the fear we had of Covid 19 this time last year has lessened and life for many is returning to some kind of normality. At the same time we continue to pray for Our Lady’s protection for us and for the world.

This year for us has been blessed by the canonization of Saint Titus Brandsma. Who will ever forget those days of joy and happiness in Rome, and that moment in St. Peter’s Square when along with nine other disciples of Christ our brother Titus was declared a saint? 

Sadly, this year has also been marked by the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces, to add to the many other ills that cause so much suffering to innocent people around the world. We think of the many displaced persons, without shelter, living in refugee camps, many of them women and children. Meanwhile the men continue to be drawn into unwanted armed combat.

The celebration of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and the example and inspiration of Saint Titus Brandsma, invite us this year to ponder, the gift of Carmel, seen through the experience of our new saint. We can see what Carmel offers us as the deepest motivation for the work of peace. We can contemplate and make our own God’s desire for peace and for the fullest dignity of the human person.

As Mary stood at the foot of the cross, along with John the beloved disciple and the other women, Jesus in that moment created a new kind of human family, built not on the bonds of blood, but on the reality of people caring for one another. Now it is the son who takes the mother into his home.  Things are changed around.  The dream and the project is that sons and daughters come into the world and as they grow up, they grow into the ability to care for all that is there before them in order to hand it on to the sons and daughters who will come after them.

Both the Corona virus and the welcome given to refugees from the conflict in Ukraine have given us in many instances new examples of how people care for one another, especially in times of deep suffering.  As we observed the precautions around the Corona virus we knew that we were protecting ourselves and others also. As we accepted the restrictions on social contact, we did so in order to help stop the spread of the virus, something that now, thank God, seems to be within our grasp. Then the flow of refugees from the conflict in Ukraine arrived on our doorstep. Throughout Europe there has been a quality of welcome that has surprised even ourselves. Governments and private citizens have opened their offices and family homes to welcome people who in an instant found themselves having to leave their homes and their livelihoods in order to seek refuge from violent attack coming from the skies. 

Mount Carmel represents for us the place both of mystical and fraternal encounter, where the members came to a deeper knowledge of God and of one another through all that they did by their life of solitude and by their coming together, pondering day and night on the law of the Lord.  This is our way too. Under the patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in allegiance to Jesus Christ, through our solitude and our coming together we build a culture of peace among ourselves and thus bring forth and give birth to a Word of Peace for the world.

Each week in the Liturgy of the Hours we repeat the canticle of Isaiah, that speaks of the mountain of peace.

It shall come to pass in the latter days

that the mountain of the house of the Lord

shall be established as the highest of the mountains,

and shall be lifted up above the hills;

The highest mountain is the one that is worthiest of honour. If it had a voice, its voice would be the one that we would listen to most. Amid the many voices that tell us what should happen in the world, we pay prayerful attention to the voice that speaks of truth, transparency and love, a voice and a vision that stand above every other vision, particularly the visions that are based on the preservation of the vested interests of the few, while millions of people go hungry, are homeless, have been displaced.

and all the nations shall flow to it,

and many peoples shall come, and say:

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,

to the house of the God of Jacob,

that he may teach us his ways

and that we may walk in his paths.”

The mountain is there for all, but it needs people to lead the way. Here we get the sense of how we help and invite one another to seek the ways of the Lord, the highest way, the way that respects the full dignity of the human person, and that hears the cry of each child of God.

For out of Zion shall go forth the law,

and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

Mount Zion and Jerusalem the city built on a height, to which the people go up, singing their songs, today has become a place of conflict. They remain for those who believe, the representation of God’s commitment and closeness to his people, through a chosen people and a chosen place. It is in Jerusalem that God will establish peace for his people. “On Jerusalem peace”. (Ps 122)

He shall judge between the nations,

and shall decide disputes for many peoples;

Where are the leaders today who speak of right judgement, who look to the higher wisdom of God, in order to find the wisdom that will resolve conflict and mark out the path that leads to peace and wellbeing for all? Judgement, must be based on truth, and wisdom. Our wisdom comes from the Word of Wisdom. We find it in Mary, and in the saints of Carmel. It is the wisdom by which we are able to judge all that we see happening around us, and in that judgement see the workings of salvation, and add our yes and our collaboration to the work of God. 

and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,

and their spears into pruning hooks;

nation shall not lift up sword against nation,

neither shall they learn war anymore.

Isn’t that what we would all love to see. In my years in Peru, I used to see the children parade in the town square on Independence Day, with imitation rifles and imitation machine guns in their hands. At that early age they were being taught to think that a weapon of destruction was more important that an instrument of honest labour, a pen, a shovel, knitting needles, a crucifix, as a way of defending the nation. The picture we have of Titus Brandsma is that of a peace maker, in the midst of his books, or pen or pipe in hand, in deep conversation with colleagues, fellow Carmelites, students. For him a newspaper was a way of defending the truth and the freedom of every human person.

Titus Brandsma looked for the deepest motivation for all that we do and hope for. He saw Carmelites as people who are bearers of the Word, just as Mary was a bearer of the Word. That Word is peace. Those who have received that Word, and cherish it, are people who can bear that Word for the world and give birth to it in the world. In his retreat notes Titus suggested that “From Mary we must learn how to remove from our hearts all that does not belong to God. From her we can learn how to open our hearts to God in a way that will make them full of his grace. Then Jesus will enter, and be born again in us and grow in us. He will become visible in the things that we do, and he will live within us.  The less we are full of God, the poorer our lives will be. With Mary, full of grace, we will live the life of God and find in our union with the Lord our own glory and salvation”. 

Our founders on Mount Carmel devised a way of life that was a formula of peace, as their response to the armed forces that prevented them from entering the Holy City, Jerusalem.  Mary was at the heart of that plan of peace. They would not resort to armed conflict, but rather, they would put on the armour of God.

Just as St. Titus prayed that one day Germany and the Netherlands would walk together in the way of peace, my prayer for all of us as we approach the Solemnity of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is that we will truly learn the ways of peace from earliest childhood to the end of our days, and along with the prophet, I say, O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord. Let Carmelites everywhere fulfill their vocation to be bearers of the Word, and let that Word truly be the Word that is Peace.

Fraternally,

Míċeál O’Neill, O.Carm

Prior General

Download the Letter  pdf here (178 KB)

“It was with great joy that we received the 2019 Constitutions.”

After receiving the Italian language edition and the Spanish language edition, the Council of the General Commissariat of Portugal appointed a commission of three friars to create a translation and edition of the 2019 Constitutions in Portuguese.

In its meeting, the Commission opted to make the translation from the original text in the Italian language. After this work, the necessary corrections were made: standardization of criteria to be used in the text, notes, etc.

In order to minimally standardize the edition, we asked the Curia to send us the IT support for the Italian and Spanish editions. We had a very quick positive response, which we appreciated.

Then it was just a matter of placing the text and formatting it according to the criteria previ­ously agreed upon by us and printing it in a printing company we trust with whom we usually work. The format of the Portuguese edition is exactly the same as the Italian and Spanish editions.

We therefore have a copy available for friars who speak Portuguese as an official language.

Requests can be made to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (the General Commissioner of Portugal).

2019 Constituições Disponíveis em português

Foi com muita alegria que recebemos as Constituições 2019.

Depois de termos recebido a Edição em língua Italiana e a Edição em língua Espanhola, o Con­selho Do Comissariado Geral de Portugal nomeou uma comissão de três frades para tratar da tradução e edição das Constituições 2019 em língua Portuguesa.

Reunida, a Comissão optou por fazer a tradução a partir do texto original em língua Italiana. Terminado este trabalho fizeram-se as devidas correcções: uniformização de critérios a usar no texto, notas, etc.

No sentido de uniformizar minimamente a edição, pedimos à Cúria que nos enviassem o su­porte informático das edições Italiana e Espanhola. Tivemos uma resposta positiva, muito rá­pida, que agradecemos.

Depois foi só colocar o texto e formatá-lo conforme os critérios previamente por nós acorda­dos e imprimi-lo numa gráfica da nossa confiança com quem habitualmente trabalhamos. O formato da edição Portuguesa é exactamente igual ao das edições Italiana e Espanhola.

Temos assim um trabalho disponível para os frades de língua oficial Portuguesa. Os pedidos podem ser feitos para o Comissário Geral de Portugal: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.