O.Carm
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 Time 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 Person in 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.
Saint Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi, Virgin
25 May Feast
From On Revelation and On Temptation of St. Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi
Come, Holy SpiritYou are truly wonderful, O Word, in the Holy Spirit, in causing him to infuse himself into the soul, through which infusion it is united with God, conceives God, tastes God, and delights in nothing but God.And the Holy Spirit comes into the soul always marked with that precious seal of the Blood of the Word, the Lamb who was slain; indeed, it is the Blood that moves him to come, if he moves of himself and wills to come.The moving Spirit is in itself the substance of the Father and the substance of the Word; and it departs from the essence of the Father, from the good pleasure of the Word, and comes as a source spreading itself in the soul, and the soul drowns itself in Him. And as two rivers flow forth and unite together in such a way that the smaller one loses its name and takes that of the larger one, so does this divine Spirit who comes to the soul to unite with it. But it is necessary that the soul, which is the smaller one, lose its name and leave it to the Holy Spirit; and it must do this by transforming itself so much in the Spirit that it becomes one with Him.And this Spirit, dispenser of the treasures that are in the bosom of the Father and treasurer of the counsels that are made between the Father and the Word, is infused into the soul in such a gentle way that it is not understood and, because of its greatness, is esteemed by few.With its weight and lightness, it moves in all those places that are suitable and prepared to receive it. By its frequent speech and supreme silence, it is heard by all; with an impetuous gaze, immobile and most mobile, it infuses itself into all.Read about the life of St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi ...
Books published by Edizioni Carmelitane on the life of the saint:
First Chapter of the Eastern Indonesian Province
Recently Formed East Indonesian Province Holds First Chapter in May 2026
The First Provincial Chapter of the Eastern Indonesian Province of the Order of Carmelites was held at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Retreat Center in Wae Lengkas, Ruteng, Flores (Indonesia) from May 17-22, 2026. The province was established on March 25, 2025, the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord. At that time, the prior general and his council appointed the first prior provincial and council to hold office until this first Chapter.
The majority of the Chapter was spent on reviewing and approving the statutes. The proposals focused on community building, ministries, formation of the members, and financial stability. The prior general emphasized the need for rooting ourselves into the depth of our charism. He stressed tha "the roots of the tree of the new province should go into the depths of the Carmelite core. Only then will it be able to provide welcome shade for all."
The new province has 130 solemnly professed members, 103 of which participated in the Chapter creating "a warm, fraternal, and joyful celebration."
The East Indonesian Province comprises the ecclesiastical provinces of Makassar, Ende, Kupang, and Merauke.
During the chapter the following were elected:
Prior Provincial | Prior Provincial | Priore Provinciale
Telesforus Jenti, O. Carm.
Vice Provincial | Vice Provincial | Vice Provinciale
Ferdinandus Tay, O. Carm.
1st Councilor | 1er Consejero | 1o Consigliere
Yosep Arnoldus Devanto, O. Carm.
2nd Councilor | 2do Consejero | 2o Consigliere
Hendrikus Dasrimin, O. Carm.
3rd Councilor | 3er Consejero | 3o Consigliere
Aloysius Roja, O. Carm.
4th Councilor | 4to Consejero | 4o Consigliere
Blasius Petrus Su'u, O. Carm.
Call for Articles for Carmelus
In 2026, we will celebrate two anniversaries related to John of the Cross: the 300th anniversary of his canonization and the 100th anniversary of his proclamation as a Doctor of the Church.
Therefore, we would like to feature a special section in Carmelus 1/2026 and request articles on St. John of the Cross.
Especially in light of his elevation to Doctor of the Church, his reception over the last hundred years could be a topic of interest. An article on his reception in church documents over the last hundred years is already available.
Of course, other aspects of the saint’s life and work may also be explored.
And as always, Carmelus welcomes scholarly articles on all topics related to Carmel.
Please send articles and proposals to Fr. Michael Plattig O. Carm.: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Thank you very much!
