Remembering & Making Present (John 14:23-29)

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22 May Optional Memorial

Yes, we must purify our hearts from everything that can prevent true love for Jesus. He alone is love, and in love he desires to communicate with us. The good Jesus calls us continually, without ceasing. How long will we remain deaf to his invitation? Let us offer our hearts to Jesus, let us give him our will, let us place our faculties and our senses at his service.

Let there be no disorderly attachment to creatures in our hearts, but only love, an ever more ardent love, because love is never satisfied and does not rest until it has consumed itself. And when the pure love of Jesus has completely inflamed our hearts, it will remove everything that is not love.

Let us not sleep, then: let us love God without ceasing. God alone, creator of heaven and earth, be our peace, our comfort. For we can always find the One who remains forever; everything else passes away, is transitory.

Love, love, I urge you to a love that is ever more ardent, that never ceases. The more we love God, the more we will desire to love him. And when we have Jesus in our hearts, we will be certain that we possess all things in him and with him.

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We present one of the earliest examples of animated books, or pop-up books, that we came across while cataloguing our antique collection. It is a cinquecentina, printed in Lyon in 1567, containing the De Sphaera of the astronomer and mathematician Giovanni Sacrobosco (John of Holywood or Holybush), the most widely read treatise on astronomy in the Middle Ages, especially at the universities. The volume contains numerous three-dimensional illustrations depicting the solar system, intended to extend and complete the author's discussion.

In the image, taken from one of the pages of the volume, you can see a reproduction of a lunar revolver, an instrument that allowed the phase, age, and constellation of the moon to be determined. This instrument, composed of several overlapping paper discs, was fixed to the page below by a pin, which allowed each disc to rotate freely around the central axis.

[from: ABiGOC: Archivio e Biblioteca Generali dell’Ordine Carmelitano]

International Formation Course Brings Together 40 of Order’s Formators in Perú

The General Formation Commission organized an international course for formators and vocation promotors. The theme was “Constantly Renew Our Lives to Adhere Radically to Christ According to the Carmelite Way of Life” (RIVC. 19). The course took place on May 5 - 17, 2025 at the Carmelite Center Villa Carmelitas in Lurín, Perú. The participants were 40 persons from America, Africa, Asia and Europe. 

In the first week the participants were enriched by the talks given by invited speakers and the members of the General Formation Commission. Those talks were: Mary and Formation by Fr. Míċeál O’Neill, O. Carm., Prior General, through Zoom. RIVC and Its Development by Fr. Alejandro López Lapuente Villalba, O. Carm., Formation and Synodality by Sr. Birgit Weiler, MMS., two talks Self-Care or Burn Out  and Accompaniment of the Gen Z & A in Carmelite Formation by Fr. Vagner Sanagiotto, O. Carm. (Brasil – Parana), and Theology of the Body for the Carmelite Formation by Fr. Benny Phang, O. Carm. (Vice Prior General).

In the weekend of the first week, the participants refreshed themselves by visiting the historical and the modern parts of the city of Lima and enjoyed the Peruvian delicacies.

In the second week the participants dedicated themselves to work in revising and updating the RIVC 2013, since according to the Constitutions 137, the Ratio needs to be revised every 12 years in responding to the development in the Order, Church and society.

According to one of the participants, Esmeraldo Reforeal, a member of the Province of the Philippines provincial council and formation program, “Stepping back from a week of meaningful discussions and sharing about essential topics on formation, we found solace in Lima, Peru's breathtaking beauty, The city's unique blend of Gothic, Andean Baroque, Romanesque and Arabic architecture stole our hearts. We marveled at the stunning basilicas of the Franciscans and Jesuits, the cathedral, and the Church of the Dominicans, home to St. Rose of Lima, the second patroness of the Philippines, and St. Martin de Porres. Many pilgrims flock to this church to venerate them, where their skulls are enshrined at the side altar. Their tombs are also in this place."

"A sumptuous meal at L'Eau Vive, managed by the Donum Dei sisters, was a heavenly treat. But the highlight was the mass at the Jesuit basilica, where I had the privilege of presiding and delivering a homily partly in Spanish, with  vice-general Benny Phang and commissary provincial of Peru, Raul Maravi concelebrating presiding. Grateful for this experience with confreres," concluded Fr. Esmeraldo.

pdf Read the report by Fr. Benny Phang, O. Carm. (Vice Prior General) ...(289 KB)

General Assembly with Elections of the La Famille Donum Dei Held in France in January and February

The General Assembly of La Famille Donum Dei, also known as Travailleuses Missionnaires de l'Eau Vive, was held in La Grâce-Dieu in the Archdiocese of Besançon, France. The meetings ran from January 27-February 11, 2025.

On February 11, 1950, the diocesan priest Marcel Roussel Galle established the Missionary Family “Donum Dei.” They took St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus as their patron. Three years after his death, on February 22, 1987, the Family Donum Dei, according to the will of its founder, joined the Carmelite Order as a secular Third Order. On December 8, 2020, they were erected as a Society of Apostolic Life with diocesan rights in the Archdiocese of Marseille in France. Now that Donum Dei has fulfilled the 5 year experimentum period and have communities in various countries, consultations will begin about the group becoming a Society of Apostolic Life with Pontifical Rights.

The missionary workers, present on all five continents, are dedicated to evangelization in many areas of society.

The following were elected to leadership:

Responsable Générale:
Marie-Michèle Manukula (Wallis)

Conseillère:
Geneviève Konsole (Burkina Faso)

Conseillère:
Anna Hong Nguyen

Conseillère:
Diana Focio Alarcon

PROFESSIO SOLEMNIS
17-05-24  Roger Boris Ava Mbida (Ger-Cam) Yaoundé
06-04-25  Itamar dos Santos Neri (Pern) Aracaju, Brasil
26-04-25  Cristiano Garcia Dias Barbosa (Pern) Recife, Brasil
12-04-25  Mary Regina Wanjiru of the Sorrowful Virgin Mother (Mach) Kenya
12-04-25  Mary Nathalie Nsizoa of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (Mach) Kenya

ORDINATIO DIACONALIS
05-07-24  Roger Boris Ava Mbida (Ger-Cam) Yaoundé

ORDINATIO SACERDOTALIS
05-07-24  Marius Darhlin Wabo Togueu (Ger-Cam) Yaoundé
05-07-24  Isaie Nathan Abiscegue Rousseau (Ger-Cam) Yaoundé
03-05-25  Anacleto Guterres Da Costa (Aust-TL)  Middle Park

Chapter of General Commissariat of "La Bruna" Held in Naples May 12-14, 2024 with Elections

The Chapter of the General Commissariat  “Santa Maria 'La Bruna'” took place May 12-14, 2025, in the Carmelite monastery in Naples under the presidency of the prior general, Míceál O’Neill, O. Carm., accompanied by Richard Byrne, General Councilor for Europe. The theme chosen for the chapter was: “The love of Christ impels us“ (2 Cor 5,14). Contemplation: towards the renewal of fraternal and missionary life in Carmel.

Unfortunately, the Carmelites in Tanzania were unable to receive visas to attend the Chapter in Italy. Instead, they participated by electronic means.

The Chapter opened on Monday, 12th May 2025 with a Votive Eucharist to the Holy Spirit. Thereafter, the gremiales went to the Chapter Hall and listened to an address from the Prior General. As usual, the chapter reflected on the previous three years aided by the reports from the officials of the Commissariat. Over the course of the chapter, the gremiales spent a lot of time reflecting on the relationship between the Carmelites in Tanzania and those in Italy and, in particular, how the Carmelite presence in Tanzania might be developed. Towards the end of the Chapter, the elections for the General Commissary and his Councillors were  held.

On the last day of the chapter, 14th May 2025, the Prior General celebrated the Eucharist on the Feast of St Matthias which coincided with the traditional Wednesday devotions to the Madonna of La Bruna in the Carmelite sanctuary which, as usual, were attended by a large number of the faithful. After the celebration of the Eucharist, the Acts of the Chapter were unanimously approved and signed by all present. With some final words of encouragement, and noting the rich history of the Commissariat, the prior general formally declared the chapter concluded.

The Commissariat is the heir to a tradition that dates back from 1524, when the convent of Carmine Maggiore in Naples was placed directly under the prior general. For awhile it became part of a province and, when this province disappeared due to the civil revolution, Carmine Maggiore was again placed under the jurisdiction of the prior general with the exception of the years 1910-1920 in which it was part of the Province of Naples. In 1947 a commissariat entitled "La Bruna" was set up to include Carmine Maggiore and two other houses. In October 2009 the foundation in Tanzania was established.

First page: www.santuariocarminemaggiore.it

The following members were elected to leadership:

Commissary General | Comisario General | Commissario Generale
Alfredo Di Cerbo, O. Carm.

1st Councilor | 1er Consejero | 1^o Consigliere
Luciano Di Cerbo, O.Carm.

2nd Councilor | 2do Consejero | 2^o Consigliere
Dominic Somola, O. Carm.

16 May Optional Memorial (Obligatory Memorial the province of Great Britain)

From “Ignea Sagitta” by Nicholas the Frenchman, Prior General

I Will Lead Her into the Desert and Speak to Her Heart

Has not our Lord and Savior, by His grace, led us into solitude, where He speaks to our hearts with particular familiarity? He gives His friends consolation and reveals arcane mysteries not in public, in the marketplace, amid noise and tumult, but in the cell.

Indeed, in the solitude of a mountain, Abraham, moved by obedience, ascended at the Lord's command to sacrifice his son Isaac; he did not hesitate in his faith and gazed from afar at the fulfillment of the promise that was realized in the passion of Christ, who is the true Isaac. Lot, Abraham's nephew, was also ordered to hurry out of Sodom to save himself in the solitude of the mountains. In the solitude of Mount Sinai, Moses was given the law. Up there, he was clothed in such splendor that when he came down, the others could not look at his radiant face.

While Mary and Gabriel converse in the solitude of a cell, the Word of the Most High Father becomes incarnate. God, made man, in the Transfiguration clearly shows his glory to the representatives of the two testaments in the solitude of Mount Tabor. Our Savior chooses the solitude of a mountain to pray alone. In the solitude of the desert, he fasted uninterruptedly for forty days and forty nights, and there he wanted to be tempted by the devil to show what is the most suitable place to pray, mortify oneself, and overcome the tempter. The Savior therefore goes to the solitude of a mountain and into a desert to pray; he descends from the mountain when he wants to preach and show his works.

He who called our Fathers to the solitude of a mountain showed himself to them and to their successors as a sign, so that they might relive in their lives his actions, which are never without profound meaning.

Some of our predecessors followed this undoubtedly holy rule of the Savior. Recognizing their own imperfection, they lived for a long time in the solitude of the hermitage; and because they wanted to help their neighbors without the slightest personal distraction, they left the hermitage from time to time, but rather rarely, and sowed widely what they had gently reaped in the silence of contemplation, scattering the seeds through preaching.

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Pope Leo XIV Meets With Journalists Emphasizing the Role of Communications in Promoting Peace

In one of the first audiences of his young pontificate, Pope Leo XIV met with the international media in Aula Paulo VI. He thanked journalists for their service to the truth and stressed the role of communications in promoting peace.

“We are living in times that are both difficult to navigate and to recount. They present a challenge for all of us, but it is one that we should not run away from,” the pope said to approximately ____ journalists on May 12. “On the contrary, they demand that each one of us, in our different roles and services, never give in to mediocrity.”

“Thank you, dear friends, for your service to the truth,” he said, also underlining the importance of preserving free speech and the free press.

Using St. Augustine, the pope highlighted the place of communications: “The Church must face the challenges posed by the times. In the same way, communication and journalism do not exist outside of time and history. St. Augustine reminds of this when he said, ‘Let us live well, and the times will be good. We are the times’ (Discourse 311).”

Using the Sermon on the Mount, the pope stressed the important role communications plays in promoting peace: “Jesus proclaimed, ‘Blessed are the peacemakers’ (Mt 5:9). This is a beatitude that challenges all of us, but it is particularly relevant to you, calling each one of you to strive for a different kind of communication, one that does not seek consensus at all costs, does not use aggressive words, does not follow the culture of competition, and never separates the search for truth from the love with which we must humbly seek it.”

“Peace,” he continued, “begins with each one of us: in the way we look at others, listen to others, and speak about others. In this sense, the way we communicate is of fundamental importance: We must say ‘no’ to the war of words and images, we must reject the paradigm of war.”

The pope raised up the responsibility and discernment needed in the use of artificial intelligence. He earlier explained his choice of the regnant name Leo being influenced by the challenges AI presents.

On the topic of truth, Leo XIV reiterated the Church’s solidarity with journalists who have been imprisoned “for seeking and reporting the truth” and said their suffering "challenges the conscience of nations and the international community." He appealed for their release. The Committee to Protect Journalists said 361 journalists were in jail in 2024.

The Order’s leadership in communications gathered in Rome for a three-part meeting of on-going formation, Jubilee celebration, and discussion among themselves of how to serve the Order and the faithful in the future. A two-part follow-up online meeting is scheduled for May 21st.

The pope began the audience speaking in English. He thanked the journalists for the warm reception and then said, “They say when they clap at the beginning it doesn’t matter much… If you are still awake at the end, and still want to applaud, … Thank you very much!”

To read the full address, go here