HOW IS LAY CARMELITE LIVING MEANINGFUL IN THE CHURCH TODAY?

     The Lay Carmelite is called to the Family of Carmel to be deeply involved in the mission of the Church, to contribute to the transformation of the secular world.  A Lay Carmelite does this by sharing in the charism of the Carmelite Order.  We find in Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and in the Prophet Elijah the models for this way of Gospel living,  Profession of promises as  a member of the Lay Carmelites is an intensified commitment to the living of one’s baptismal promises.  Being a Lay Carmelite is not just a devotion added to life; it is a way of life, a vocation.  By entering the Order the Lay Carmelite takes upon him/herself the Carmelite charism of prayer, community, and service to others.  The call to Carmel, a call to seek God’s will in the ordinary circumstances of everyday life, roots Lay Carmelites in  a love of those with whom they live and work, in the recognition of God’s presence in all circumstances, and in solidarity with God’s People everywhere.

WHAT IS THIS RELATIONSHIP THAT CARMELITES HAVE WITH OUR LADY OF MT. CARMEL AND THE PROPHET ELIJAH?

     Mary is Patroness, Sister and Mother to all Carmelites.  Lay Carmelites have to live this relationship, imitating her virtues, listening to the Word of God in and through daily life.  Lay Carmelites stand with Mary, cooperating with the mysterious will of God who desires salvation for all people.  Elijah is an example of prophetic action, a life spent in service of God, a service that finds its source in a profound experience of God in prayer.  Lay Carmelites see in the prophet of Carmel a model for a life spent testifying in deeds of love to God’s presence in the world.

WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS FOR ADMISSION TO FORMATION?

     A candidate must be a Catholic fully participating in the sacramental life of the Church, who feels called by God to live more deeply one’s baptismal vocation as a member of the Carmelite Family.  A candidate should be between 18 and 69 years of age when seeking entry to the formation program.  A person is admitted to formation through an existing Lay Carmelite community.

WHAT DOES THE LAY CARMELITE FORMATION PROCESS ENTAIL?

Formation is divided into three specific periods:
1.     Phase 1 --Preparation for Reception; lasts one year but may extend up to two years; instructions include history of Carmel, its charism and traditions.
2.     Phase 2 --Preparation for temporary Profession; lasts two years but may extend up to three years; instructions on prayer, community, and the call to ministry
3.     Preparation for final Profession; last 3 years; ongoing formation takes places at monthly community meetings with the other professed; is a time of deepening one’s living of the Carmelite Way as a means of discerning one’s call to Final Profession.
4.     Once a person has been accepted by the community council for Final Profession, he/she continues ongoing formation, which is life- long for all the members of the local Lay Carmelite Community.

WHAT IS EXPECTED OF A LAY CARMELITE?

• To participate in the daily celebration of the Eucharist when possible
• To spend about ½ hour in meditation each day, reflecting on the Scriptures, using  Lectio Divina, or some other appropriate method of personal/reflective prayer
• To pray the Liturgy of the Hours – Morning and Evening Prayer – in union with the Church throughout the world
• To spend some time doing spiritual reading each week
• To attend the monthly community meetings and other (periodic) community activities
• To wear the Brown Scapular daily as a sign of dedication to Mary, trust in her motherly protection, and as an expression of one’s commitment to live in allegiance to Christ by serving others

Candidates studying to become a Lay Carmelite are also expected:

• To meet monthly with the formation director for a two-hour class in the Phase 1 formation program, which consists of 12 lessons in preparation to be received into the Lay Carmelites
• After Reception, to meet monthly with the formation director for a two-hour class in the Phase 2 formation program, which consists of 24 lessons in preparation to make temporary profession as a Lay Carmelite

Eddie Mercieca, SJ

The following words are remarks regarding some of the areas of continuing formation which we consider important for those who wish to continue growing in the ministry of spiritual direction.  This is a holistic and integrated formation that takes into account three related and interconnected dimensions: the spiritual, the psychological and the historic. 

Beginning this church ministry of spiritual direction implies commitment for continuing formation.  Within all professions and ministries of the helping relationship (medical, social service, teaching, catechism, community animator, etc.) it is difficult to imagine a high quality of service without a continual or ongoing formation.  The possibility of renewed formation is also, eventually, an opportunity of continual renewed growth!  In fact, without an ongoing formation, we have no right to continue spiritually directing others in their journeys of following Christ more closely.    

I.  Embracing the experience of being directed

Having had and continuing to have quality spiritual direction is fundamental, for these experiences will always serve as important and valid points of reference.  Whether helpful or not, as points of reference, our experiences (attitudes, judgments, advise, conduct, etc.) later form part of our accumulated inner wisdom.  Those persons who have directed me well in my life and have helped me to grow, plus those who have intended to be good spiritual directors to me but were not –including some who have even harmed me– all remain engraved in my memory.  They are there in my most basic of emotions, such as fright, pain, anger, shame, happiness, my attitudes and values, and truly influence the way and quality in which I relate to others.  These experiences may also play a role in how I help other people.

The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius: Praying with the exercises for eight days or more in a personalized manner is very beneficial, and if possible the 30 day retreat or the 19^th annotation retreat over several months is even better.  These retreat experiences encompass process, the relation between director–directee, personalized treatment, help in making decisions, learning discernment, prayer and living one’s salvation history through the Word face to face with daily life.  The month long retreat as spelled out by St. Ignatius, in content and in experience, ends up becoming a paradigm of life.  The meditations and the prayer periods of the Spiritual Exercises bring to life the different internal experiences of each retreatant.  I know little other pedagogy more effective in the formation of spiritual directors.

In a word, the best training of a spiritual director –the deepest and lasting– is his or her own experience of being directed by experienced people of God.  Before all approaches and techniques, no matter how valid they are, lies the awareness of one’s own experience.  Discovering it, learning to articulate it to self and to others, and to discern in the Lord.  This is how one goes about discovering and forming a personalized style and charisma in the ministry of accompanying others.

II.  Having the human stratum (subiectum) and charisma in Spiritual Accompaniment.

Spiritual direction is not simply a learned task; good will and pure intentions do not suffice.  One must be mature both in the human and spiritual senses. It is maturity which allows and makes possible the other’s holistic growth in the ways of the Lord.  If this is the case, a spiritual director is then able to listen –even with intuition, deeply empathizes, understands emotions and recognizes spiritual movements of the one sharing his or her story.

 Discretion, common sense, balance, grounded in daily reality, optimistic and hopeful trust in the Spirit of God that is alive and acts  in the world and in persons, are all part of the human stratum and  approach of the person who accompanies others. These are just some of the skills that begin to unfold over time through contemplation and not without faith.

Charisma is a gift, a Christian quality that one shares with the other members of his or her community.  It is a special grace from God manifested in someone as a service to be shared within a community.  As such, the charisma to be able to accompany others in their spiritual journey is recognized, then, by those who ask for help and seek direction, orientation and support.  In a way, it is through others that we discover our gifts as spiritual directors: fellow believers with a desire to grow in the Lord and to commit themselves in service to others are the ones who approach us and ask for help and guidance.  This recognition by our brothers and sisters in faith then invites, encourages and confirms the gifts of spiritual direction in another.  At the same time, the one who is graced with the charisma to accompany others in their journey experiences the desire, joy and psychological-spiritual integration as experienced in the same Christian commitment.    

III.  Knowing one’s self intimately

It is fundamental that the professional serving in the helping relationships  knows him or herself well.  Self knowledge is even crucial for giving good spiritual direction.  The importance of good personal awareness and self knowledge can never be under estimated in regarding one’s own personality, deepest desires, strengths, and one’s own potential qualities.  Good self knowledge is not only necessary at the personality level, but it is also essential in understanding one’s own salvation history and personal relationship with God.  All of the mystics, from John of the Cross to Teresa of Avila and Ignatius of Loyola, insist upon this, and with reason.  The dessert fathers, masters in spirituality from the first centuries, also emphasize this, to pay attention to the behavior and tendencies, including temptations, of each individual.  We must all learn, as spiritual directors, how to develop and integrate this approach.  In doing so, it is then possible to get at the roots of the obstacles for growth in the spirit. 

In the spiritual life a more personalized self-knowledge helps us to avoid self deception and allows us to be transformed by God –and not by our own efforts– toward a more genuine image of ourselves and our relationship with God, to not project and to better discern that which is or is not from God.

This is even more necessary in spiritual direction when third parties  play a part and when the interpersonal relationships must be clearer in order to center one’s self in another and in what the Lord may be asking –and not in one’s self and in the possible benefits in the relationship of director–directee.  Any hint of co-dependency, competition, emotional transference, or the desire

to satisfy unmet needs, must be recognized and taken into account as best as possible.  A shallow Self-awareness or even a vague knowledge of the true self simply does not suffice, no matter how healthy a person is.  Rather, we need the help of others, and through adequate measures we are able to deepen our self-awareness, thus illuminating those dark corners, discovering the typical pit-falls, and empowering our own strong points.  In fact, all the dynamics in a helping relationship are present in spiritual direction. If what we aim at is spiritual accompaniment – that which is done in the Spirit of the Lord and nothing else - awareness and self knowledge becomes a needy ascetical attitude, fruit of deep respect towards the helped person and the desire to accompany the best we can without interfering God’s active presence.

Growing in awareness of  “how one is” and of  “how one functions in relationship (with God, with others, and with self)”, is a constant process that always requires prayerful attention, on the lines of  the daily Ignatian Examen (Ex 43).  God’s working through us not only takes into account our personal history and way of being, it naturally involves them.  The experience of age through the different stages in life and our own human and spiritual growth really determine the guidelines for a fuller self knowledge and personal integration.

IV.  Managing basic psychological factors

The social sciences, psychology in particular, have a lot to contribute to spiritual direction.  Even more, a spiritual director working on being more sensitive and taking seriously anyone who may ask for guidance should not take for granted some of the basic elements of psychology –which in our day is more accessible and easier to understand. 

Without a doubt, a clearer knowledge of the psychological development of the human being is a necessary tool towards a better understanding of those whom we help.  Grace works through nature and the religious–psychological development that occurs throughout the life of a human being becomes clearer and builds itself upon the biological, psychological and social stages we experience in life.  It is very different to spiritually guide an 18 year old person than a 35 year old or a 50 year old, for whatever may seem as common sense should be informed by the psychological studies available to us today as useful and indispensable tools for our ministry.

In addition, another important area of study is of the psychology of personality.  How do I perceive myself?  How do I relate to others? To God?  What are the predominant tendencies in my behavior?  How do I make decisions?  How do I handle frustration?  How do I love and let myself be loved?  To live in the Spirit is to live life –and all the facets of life– in God.  No personality type is independent from the quality and the way in which we relate to others and to God.  The psychology of personality, far from limiting or labeling our directees, allows for growth and openness no matter who the individual is; it helps getting down to earth what the Holy Spirit inspires throughout life and dismisses that which tends to threaten and squelch the ways God speaks to us.    

Also, we can build upon and round out our on-going formation by incorporating communication psychology and the psychology of religion.  Spiritual direction should not be reduced to counseling or, even more, a psychological therapy.  Nevertheless, these areas of psychology can contribute immensely to our ministry of direction.  And central to guiding

someone in the spiritual life is being able to distinguish between the different approaches and professions involved in serving others so as to do justice to each different ministry and to be able to fully assume the specific task of spiritual direction.  Given this, however, we must not take for granted how much insight human psychology offers us today.  Being able to integrate the different theoretical elements, attitudes and psychological tools without merely psychologizing, and at the same time doing spiritual direction without merely spiritualizing, is and in of itself an art, a gift from God. 

V.  Being able up-to-date and in touch with social reality and cultural trends

Neither those who seek guidance nor those who are spiritual directors live in an isolated, ahistorical context.  Wanting to well situate a directee in his or her own social context requires us to be in touch with the world around us and the social and cultural realities of our time.  Spiritual direction that is disconnected from and not rooted in reality is dangerous because it does not seriously consider the context of someone’s life, including the Incarnation of the Lord.

Faith, spiritual growth and apostolic commitment occur within a specific historical context and in a determined culture.  Thus, it is not only important but imperative that someone being trained in spiritual direction to individuals, couples and families, be very aware of new social trends that form the values and judgments of today –like doing a sort of social analysis.

Even more, growing in the ability to identify with Christ as a goal in spiritual direction opens the believer to a richer and more committed faith life: embracing the preferential option of Jesus Christ for the little ones, the poor and sinners.  More closely following Christ naturally leads to a fuller commitment to justice and a compassion for the poor and the marginalized of the world.  It is the gospel criteria for determining the fruits of a Christian lifestyle.   Walking in the footsteps of Christ and his options  require the spiritual director to be in touch with the social and cultural reality of our world.  The historic dimension together with the Christian commitment it implies is an essential element to good spiritual direction.

VI.  Developing themes of spiritual theology

Spiritual theology is a vast reserve of wisdom for those who give spiritual direction.  This is an area rich in theological reflection: biblical theology, sacramental theology, moral theology, Christology, ecclesiology, etc...

The spiritual life and following Christ become enriched by these areas of reflection upon: the true experience of God in our world today, the ways in which God is or is not manifested in our emerging culture and the different experiences we have in a society ever more pluralistic and diversified.      

The one who guides others should seek to articulate as clearly as possible today’s Christian and Catholic spirituality, such as the specific elements of Christian lifestyle, grace and how grace is manifested, and how following Christ is the central focus of all spiritual growth and commitment.

One important realm of spiritual theology includes everything under the umbrella of Christian prayer: what it is or is not, its parameters, the different ways of praying, the Word of God, etc.

The Sacraments, channels of communication with God and experiences of grace, in particular the Eucharist, as a source of Christian life, is another chapter of spiritual theology that requires familiarity on behalf of the spiritual companion.  Knowing how to distinguish between spiritual direction and the sacrament of Reconciliation and relating the two together can be a tremendous help for those being directed.

Good formation in spiritual direction also emphasizes how important it is to be familiar with the “spiritual maps” of believers.  All people have their unique calling and path in life, but similar spiritual movements can be seen in different people –creating a sort of pedagogical paradigm.  Knowing the annotations and rules for discerning the Spirit from the Spiritual Exercises (1-20, 314-346) of St. Ignatius helps immensely in being able to perceive the different movements of the Spirit –and thus, discern them.  Subtlety is a gift of the Spirit that both enriches and empowers clear and more genuine discernment.  Spiritual theology, then, broadens our spiritual direction by giving us more tools to work with –in addition to security and confidence. 

Similarly, being able to understand and articulate the different spiritualities that have contributed to the Church as incarnate in the lives of men and women saints widens our perspective and allows for better discernment of how God speaks to specific individuals.

We must also remember, finally, the mystical experience in a well developed spirituality, both mature and healthy, with its own criteria.

If it’s true that in spiritual direction nothing can replace the personal experience, a relationship in service of helping another must be sufficiently informed by at least the basics of spiritual theology –so as to not do harm!  Even the true great mystics such as Teresa of Avila sought out advice from men and women of God but who were  also  wise and learned people.

VII.  Participating in workshops for continuing formation

One would think that after a personal experience of being directed, after reading about and studying theology and the social sciences –such as psychology, the only missing piece in becoming active in this ministry, then, would be requests from others for spiritual direction.  This is true, but not the whole truth.  Effectively, in practice this ministry requires that everything learned be processed and personalized at more depth by participating in classes and specialized workshops.  Good theology is not enough to be a good spiritual director.  This apostolic ministry is a unique service to others that requires apprenticeship and a lot of feed back from other good spiritual directors.  This is an important point for both beginners at spiritual direction as well as for those already with some experience.

For those beginning, a program of apprenticeship and a directed process of growth is a good approach.  A few suggestions for those preceding down a path of spiritual direction as an apostolic ministry:

• The profile of a spiritual director in the light of Jesus; human and spiritual maturity of the spiritual guide. 
• Decision making ; complex psychological-spiritual situations; spiritual discernment
• Discover, create and polish a personal style; be present to pain, read the “spiritual map” and the spiritual history of the one seeking guidance

In addition, workshops on scripture and psychological-spiritual integration tend to nicely compliment the first few years of ministry.

On the other hand, experienced directors would do well by looking for an ongoing formation along the lines of “supervision” by sharing with others.  These meetings can range from reading and discussing new material for good exchanges in ideas to letting one be challenged by others’ experiences. In these types of “supervised meetings” the focus is the spiritual director himself/herself.  Case studies, sharing experiences, recognition or different styles and approaches of directors, support and new challenges, mutual feedback, etc., all serve as the purpose for these types of theoretical-practical workshops.

My formation as a spiritual director – personal log:

Focus / Achievements in this area / Goals in this area

1). Experience having spiritual direction

2). Human stratum and charisma  in directing

3). Good self knowledge and awareness

4). Able to articulate the basics of psychology

5). Know the culture / social analysis

6). Study areas and themes of spiritual theology

7). Spiritual direction workshops for beginners and veterans in the field

In 2016, the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy of the Church, The Carmelite Order was also busy with many major events.

1.    The Assembly of the Federal Leaders and Representatives of Non-federated Monasteries

3^rd-5^th, FEB, 2016: Taking advantage of the congress of federal leaders of all the religious orders, organised by the Congregation for Consecrated Life, at the end of the year dedicated to the consecrated life, the five Carmelite federal leaders (3 from Spain, I from the Philippines and 1 from Italy), along with the coordinator of the monasteries in Brazil and representatives of monasteries in the Caribbean and the U.S.A. were invited by the Delegate General to a meeting that was held from the 3rd to the 5th of February at St. Albert’s International Centre (CISA) in Rome. This assembly was first of all an occasion for getting to know all about the federations and the monasteries outside the federations, and then to promote communication and communion between the nuns themselves and between the monasteries and the rest of the Carmelite Family.

2.    The Opening of the 450th Anniversary of the Birth of St. Mary Magdalen de’Pazzi

2^nd APRIL, 2016: On the 2nd of April, the date of Mary Magdalen’s birth in 1566, the solemn opening of the anniversary celebrations took place at the monastery of Careggi (Forence, Italy), where her body is venerated. The Cardinal Archbishop of Florence, Giuseppe Betori, led the celebration of the Eucharist that was concelebrated by several priests. The concelebrants included, the Prior General, Fr. Fernando Millán Romeral, along with other members of the General Curia.

On account of the 450th anniversary of the birth of St. Mary Magdalen de’Pazzi, the Apostolic Penitentiary has granted that all Carmelite monasteries be places where people may obtain a plenary indulgence throughout this year, beginning on the 2nd of April, 2016 and ending on the 25th of May, 2017. The same applies to churches and chapels dedicated to her.

3.    Opening of the "Super miro" investigation for Blessed Titus Brandsma

11^th JULY, 2016: On the 11th July 2016, at 14.00, at the Curia of the Diocese of Palm Beach, Florida, United States of America, the opening session of the diocesan inquiry into the presumed miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Titus Brandsma O. Carm, will take place. This opening session will be presided over by Msgr. Gerald Barbarito, Bishop of Palm Beach, who had agreed to introduce the Cause and appoint the Tribunal so that the gathering of the evidence regarding the alleged extraordinary healing may be effectively done and that the witnesses may be heard.

Bleessed Titus Brandsma is choosen to be a model for the Year of Mercy proclaimed by the Pontifical Council for the promotion of new evangelisation, under the title, “A Strong and Merciful Father”, representing a man  who could combine a strenuous opposition to Naziism with compassion and mercy towards all, including the nurse who gave him the injection that took his life away.

4.    Two Councils - O.Carm and OCD - Pilgrimage to the Holy Door

On the morning of 11 June, 2016 the members of the two Councils, O. Carm. and OCD, assembled at the start of Via della Conciliazione to begin their Pilgrimage towards the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica. They were accompanied by the former Secretary General and Bishop-elect Francisco de Sales Alencar Batista, O. Carm., who led them in  five moments of prayer along the way, concluding with a prayer as the group reached St. Peter's Basilica. At the end of the pilgrimage, the members of the two councils came together at Santa Maria in Traspontina and sang the "Flos Carmeli" in front of the statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

The Prior General of the Carmelites, Fr. Fernando Millán Romeral O. Carm together with the Superior General of the Discalced Carmelites, Fr. Saverio Cannistrà, OCD., have sent a message to all the members of the whole Carmelite family throughout the world on the occasion of the Jubilee of Mercy, entitle: May God be Blessed forever, He who waited for me so long!, the text is available in many languages and is available online.

http://ocarm.org/en/content/citoc/letter-two-generals-ocarm-and-ocd-1

5.    The Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Letter of the Prior General

16^th JULY, 2016: Every Year, the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is most important event celebrated in the whole Order arround the world, in many Parishes and many countries which take her as Patronage. The Celebration ussualy begins with the Novena to Our Lady, 9 days before.

In this Solemnity, the Prior General of the Order,  Fr. Fernando Millán Romero, every year sent out a letter to the whole Carmelite family to express his best wishes and invite all members to celebrate the Feast, beginning with the Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel from 7 to 15 of July 2016.  This custom of the Novena of Our Lady of Mount Carmel before the feast is a long tradition and is observed by many Catholics throughout the world. The Letter is avaialbe online at http://ocarm.org/en/content/citoc/letter-prior-general-solemnity-our-lady-mount-carmel-2016

6.    Carmelite Youth Day in Krakow, Poland, 2016

27^th JULY, 2016: In preparation for the official opening of the World Youth Day with Pope Francis in Krakow, Poland, young people from our Carmelite communities around the world gathered in the beautiful garden of our Carmelite community in the centre of the city on the 27th July. In all, around 350 took part in this special Carmelite gathering of young people, hosted by the Prior Provincial, Fr. Bogdan Meger, the Prior of Krakow, Fr. Zbigniew Czerwien, the main organizer Fr. Marcin Siemek, members of the Krakow community and a wonderful team of young people. Among those present were Carmelite young people from Malta, Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, The Netherlands, Romania, Spain, Portugal, USA, El Salvador, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Venezuela and the largest group present were from the Italian Province with fifty-five young people. Most of the groups were led by Carmelite friars who were accompanying them to the World Youth Day.

As part of the day’s programme, the Prior General, Fr. Fernando Millán Romeral presented his letter entitled “Young Carmelites: sowers of mercy” for reflection and discussion. He also presided at the Eucharist in our Basilica with a liturgical celebration of two Carmelite martyrs, Blessed Titus Brandma and Blessed Hilary Januszewski. Short presentations were also given by Fr. John Keating, Councillor General for Europe and by the Polish Provincial. The day afforded the young people an opportunity to meet and to get to know each other and to build up Carmelite contacts.

7.    The Episcopal Ordination of Frei Francisco de Sales, O.Carm.

4^th AUGUST, 2016: The episcopal ordination of Frei Francisco de Sales Alencar Batista, O.Carm. bishop of Cajazeiras (Paraiba, Brazil) was celebrated in Araripinha (Pernambuco, Brazil). The celebration was led by Dom Frei Antônio Muniz Fernándes, O.Carm., Archbishop of Maceió as the principal ordaining prelate, along with many Bishops and Carmelite Bishops. The Prior General, Fernando Millán Romeral, O.Carm., the Councillor General for the Americas, Raul Maravi, O.Carm. were there also along with Provincials and several Carmelites from Brazil and from elsewhere in Latin America, along with a large number of priests from the different diocese.

The new bishop, at the end of the celebration, spoke about his gratitude to God, to his family, and to the Carmelite Order and he underlined his intention to serve with great hope and generosity the diocese that has been entrusted to him. The Prior General spoke of the three recent appointments of Carmelites bishops as a recognition of the generous service that the Order has given to the local and universal church and he thanked Frei Francisco de Sales for the service he gave to the Order as its Secretary General.

8.    The 5th Centenary of the Death of Blessed Baptist Spagnoli

24^th AUGUST, 2016: The Celebration of the 5th Centenary of the Death of Blessed Baptist Spagnoli begins with the canonical recognition of the Incocurpted body of Blessed Baptist Spagnoli, in the Cathedral of Mantua (Italy). Presence at the celebration was the General Posulator and several Carmelite Friars of the Italian Province. On the following 1st of September, the body will be transferred in solemn procession from the Mantua Cathedral to the Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, in San Felice del Benaco, where it will remain exposed for the veneration of the faithful until the 15^th of October.

On the 10th and 11th of September, the Prior General, Fernando Millán Romeral, O.Carm., led the celebration of the Eucharist in the Carmelite house of San Felice del Benaco (Brescia, Italy) where body of the blessed is venerated. The Prior General spoke about the importance of seeing in these centenary celebrations an occasion for renewal, building on these important figures, towards a revitalisation of our witness in the world of today. The following Sundays, those who led the Eucharist included Fr. Tiberio Scorrano, O.Carm., Vice-provincial of the Italian province, Fr. Christian Körner, O.Carm., Vice General of the Order, Fr. Giovanni Grosso, O.Carm., Provincial of the Italian province and Bishop Giuseppe Zenti, of the diocese of Verona. During this period, a number of cultural events are taking place, aimed at exposing the literary and humanistic contribution of Blessed Baptist, known in his own time as the “Christian Virgil”.

9.    The Episcopal Ordination of Paul Horan, O.Carm.

On Saturday, the 17th of August, in Marymount Teachers College in Mutare, (Zimbabwe) the episcopal ordination of Fr. Paul Horan, O.Carm., named as bishop of the diocese of Mutare, took place. It happens that in the same place in 1957, Donal Lamont, O.Carm., was ordained as the first bishop of that diocese.

The celebration was led by the Archbishop of Harare, Robert Christopher Ndlovu, the principal ordaining prelate. The concelebrants included the Apostolic Nuntio, Marek Zalewski, all the active bishops of Zimbabwe, the Prior General, Fr. Fernando Millán Romeral, O.Carm., the Councillor General for Africa, Fr. Conrad Mutizamhepo, O.Carm., the Provincial of the Irish province, Fr. Richard Byrne, O.Carm., and several Carmelites from Zimbabwe and from elsewhere in Africa, along with a large number of priests from the different diocese.

The very joyful celebration included typical African dancing and singing, with an enormous attendance of which different groups of lay Carmelites, the Handmaids of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, (a congregation of sisters founded by Bishop Donal Lamont) and the cloistered nuns from the new monastery of the Holy Family were part.

10.The Episcopal Ordination of Henricus Pidyarto Gunawan, O.Carm.

On Saturday, the 3rd of September, in Gajayana Stadium in Malang – Indonesia, the episcopal ordination of Fr. Henricus Pidyarto Gunawan, O.Carm. took place. This solemn mass was attended by 38 bishops from all over Indonesia, one Indonesian Cardinal and the Apostolic Nuncio, Antonio Guido Filipazzi; also around 15.000 faithful from all over the diocese of Malang and from outside. The main celebrant was Mgr. Ignasius Suharyo, the Archbishop of Jakarta. The concelebrants included a large number of priests from within the diocese and from other dioceses, among them were Fr. Benny Phang Khong Wing, O.Carm., the General Councillor of Asia-Australia-Oceania, the Provincial of Indonesian Province, Fr. Ignasius Budiono, O.Carm., the Provincial Commissary of Eastern Indonesia, Fr. Yohanes Bosco Djawa, O.Carm. and many Carmelites from Indonesia and Hong Kong.

The solemn and joyful celebration included the attendance of Carmelite students, different groups of lay Carmelites, the Hermanas Carmelitas, Putri Karmel, Carmelites of St. Elijah, and the cloistered nuns from the monastery of Flos Carmeli – Batu. The dignitaries from the local, provincial and national government were also present after the mass to congratulate the new bishop and to show their support.

11.The General Congregation 2016 in Fatima

The General Congregation, bringing together the members of the General Council, Prior Provincials, Commissaries General and Provincial, General Delegates and Presidents of the Regions, takes place in the Hotel Casa São Nuno, Fatima, Portugal, from 18th September to 1st of October 2016. The theme of the meeting will be:

“… more by our life than by our words” (Const. 24) - Missionaries of God’s tenderness and love”.

The principal speakers are Louis Antonio Cardinal Tagle from the Philippines, who spoke on “Missionaries of God’s tenderness and love”, Fr. Claudemir Rozin, O.Carm. (Par) who addressed “The peripheries of Carmel today” and Fr. Míceál O’Neill, O. Carm., (Hib-CISA) who spoke on “If you knew the gift of God (Jn 4:10) - The Carmelite wisdom of St. Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi”.

12.All Africa Carmelite Family Conference

Representative members of the Carmelite Family in Africa (O.Carm), met at St Teresa of Avila Spiritual Centre, Boko, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania from 21-28 July 2016. The 38 participants were drawn from the following countries: Burkina Faso, Cameroun, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. All branches of Carmel were represented: laity, consecrated religious sisters and the friars. The theme of the Conference was: “United, Heart and Soul (Acts 4:32): Being Carmelite in Africa – One Rule, Multiple Expressions”. The Conference consisted of expert input, personal and group reflection. Sanny Bruijns from the Dutch Province led three of the reflections: 1. The Historical Origins of the Carmelite Rule and Its Spirituality; 2. The Rule in relation to Mary in Carmelite Spirituality; 3. The Rise of Women (Nuns and Laity) in the Carmelite Tradition and Its impact on Carmelite Spirituality Today.

13.A Convention of the Superiors General of the Carmelite Institutes of Consecrated Life

From the 14th to the 16th of October, at the “Maria Madre del Carmelo” Centre in Focene (Rome), the 7th Convention of the Superiors General of Carmelite Institutes of Consecrated Life took place. The Superiors General, or their representatives, of 12 of the 16 Institutes that are part of the Carmelite Family met with the Prior General and other members of his Council. At this time there are 13 institutes of sisters, one institute of male religious, one secular institute and one Third Order Institute. The gathering, which was coordinated by the Delegate General for Carmelite Nuns and Institutes, had as its theme the mission of consecrated people and of Carmel in the Church and in the world of today, in the light of the “Year of Consecrated Life”. The principal speakers were, Sr. Nicoletta Spezzati, APC, the undersecretary of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, and Fr. Bruno Secondin, O.Carm. The convention was also enriched by a number of accounts of collaboration between institutes and of the work of Carmelite women in the international organisations of the Church and of the world. The event closed with the participants attending the canonisation of Elizabeth of the Trinity in St. Peter’s Square.

14.International Course for Formators and Vocation Promoters

From October 31 to November 12, 2016, the International Course for Formators and Vocation Promoters of the Order organized by General Formation Commission took place in Batu-Malang, Indonesia. Fifty formators and vocation promoters, from eighteen countries took part.

The two-week course was centered on the theme: “Walk with us: Growing in the contemplative dimension of life,” (RIVC #10). A number of experts in the Order were invited to speak on the theme of contemplation. Fr. Berthold Anton Pareira (Indo) spoke on the Sacred Scriptures as the Source of Contemplation; Fr. Michael Plattig (Ger) spoke of Contemplation in the Carmelite Tradition; Fr. Quinn Conners (PCM) gave two conferences on the themes,  Ability to Give Love and Give of Oneself, and The Capacity for Responsible Care and Stewardship Expressed in “Service in the Midst of the People.” Fr. Desiderio Garcia Martinez (ACV) gave two conferences on the themes, Accompanying Formandi in a Multi-Cultural Community in Growing into Contemplation, and Accompanying Simple Professed Formandi in Growing into Contemplation in the Midst of Technology Influx. During the meeting, two vocation promoters were also asked to share their experience of formation promotio:  Br. Daryl Moresco (PCM) spoke about the Theological dimension of Vocation Promotion while Fr. Irvin Mangmang (Phil) spoke on the Practice and Experience of Vocation Promotion. All the conferences were in the morning while the afternoons were spent in the practice of contemplative prayers.

15.The 88th Assembly of the Union of Superiors General

From the  23rd to the 25th of November, 2016, the 88th Assembly of the USG (Union of Superiors General) took place at the Salesianum in Rome. The main theme of the gathering was “The Fruitfulness of the Prophetic in Religious Life”. Talks were given by Fr. Bruno Cadoré OP., Master General of the Dominican Order (who coordinated the topics), Fr.Michael Perry, OFM., Minister General of the Franciscans, and our Prior General, Fernando Millán Romeral, O.Carm., who spoke about the challenges in the leadership of Religious life today in view of ministry both “ad intra” and “ad extra”.

16.A Meeting of the O.Carm. and O.C.D. General Councils on Mount Carmel

From the 27th of November to the 2nd of December, a meeting of the O.Carm. and O.C.D. General Councils took place at the Casa "Stella Maris" on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. With the help of Fr. Agostino Montan, CSI, a professor at the Pontifical Lateran University, the time was dedicated to a reflection on the church practice of the relationship between hierarchical gifts and charismatic gifts. Much time was also provided for a sharing between the two Councils on a variety of topics that affect the Orders.

Fr. David Oliver Felipo, O.Carm.

This year the Carmelite NGO Solidarity for Peace Karit has fulfilled its first twenty years of existence. From CITOC-magazine, we asked its president, Father David Oliver, O. Carm., That would tell us what it means Karit and something that this Carmelite NGO has been doing for the needy. This is his testimony.

Twenty years ago a group of Carmelites of the religious Iberian Region (Spain and Portugal), laity, they wanted to make real and concrete commitment to those most in need, with the last, with God’s preferred reality. The starting point was the reflection from the Justice and Peace that the region was performing. The service among the people with the poor led them to give birth to Karit Solidarity for Peace, the NGO of the Carmelite Family. It is, therefore, an important part of Carmel, always committed to a more just and fraternal world peace. Celebrate twenty years of projects, activities, educational projects and awareness that have approached the Carmelites to the needy, to live and be with them, we helped to think and design future with them, to share goods to reality who have to live not lead them to conformism but to project a different world where the fact born here or there does not undermine the dignity with which we have been created.

Karit Solidarity for Peace is born inspired by the torrent where Elijah receives ‘water and bread’ for a path where you will meet with the widow in Sarepta and their presence will enable the food is not finished. We desire to carry the spirit of Elijah in the defense of many people, our brothers, who as Naboth deprived of his vineyard, what is necessary to live with dignity, that which belongs to them as children of God who are food, school , health... the fundamental rights that help them develop what they have and are. Our presence we want a little breeze that testimony of God, His justice and his bliss. Our ‘few’ become ‘many’ where projects where you do get water, where a service to the most needy in our world is dignifies are made. A ‘bit’ of all it has a ‘lot’ in a pharmacy in the countryside of the Dominican Republic or in a school in Rwanda or Mozambique. We want to be instruments that bring the gentle breeze that changes the hearts of people, which awakens the best of them to be, to be.

A third pillar of our birth twenty years ago is the real presence of Carmelite missions in underprivileged countries. People who receive the announcement of the Good News announcing the Carmelites in those places is where we fixed his eyes as the handmaid of the psalm, to know what to do, what to propose, how to help. The presence of religious missions was the impetus needed to organize and be born. They needed and continue to need the support of development aid projects. It was a way to support a lot of work they performed. We want to be, since then, support and security for the continuity of those Carmelite presences come and show Jesus to transform the hearts of men and reality where they live. Karit Solidarity for Peace is at the service of this process of transformation from the Gospel the sisters and brothers living next to the last, they want to make.

These three points are at the origin of Karit Solidarity for Peace have been forced reference of our doing during these twenty years. After twenty years particularly value that this project is of all, whether the state of life that are or structure where they belong, in Karit Solidarity for Peace is not asked, nor unlike anyone by origin, state of life or condition. They are the last that bring us together, is the spirit of Carmel that unites us is the desire to transform reality who moves us. A second nuance that has helped us and is always present is the closeness with which, in the distance of kilometers and actually collaborate. That meeting in the commitment has always been and the proximity of the family, the sense of belonging and shared identity and project remains grounded. There are no middlemen, we are part of the projects mission and they feel part of this reality in which we find ourselves, of our thinking and our doing.

Our Presence

Karit presences Solidarity for Peace doubles. In Spain in the delegations in which the group of partners (religious and laity) gather to learn and get closer to the reality of the projects that will encourage, meet and finance. Each encourages one or more projects during the year will be made elsewhere in the world. We gather, analyze reality, read from a proposal of hope, we know better through the relationship with the partner and look for ways to involve more people to do it. We started wanting to change reality and that reality, which we are approaching in the distance, which changes us, which transforms us when we put name, situation and context. We currently have open thirteen delegations: Madrid, Valladolid, Seville, Malaga, Barcelona, ​​Zaragoza, Murcia, Elda, Onda, Quart de Poblet, Caudete, Lladó and Vila-real.

The presence really important now during these twenty years has been to the places where we carried out development projects. They are those places where a Carmelite community has done this. Places where men and women have relied on Solidarity for Peace Karit his desire, hope and plan to change things, move coordinates that had or have limited resources to be what they are. They have been much wider communities that religious or religious, where after an analysis of reality have opened it for sharing, between them and us, that reality starts to change, to have another color, discover many times rays light and hope. So our presence in these twenty years has been and is in: Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Peru, Argentina, Colombia, Rwanda, Congo, Cuba, Bolivia, Paraguay, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Mozambique, Timor Leste, Indonesia and also in Spain.

Our Projects

The various initiatives and projects we do can be divided into four main areas:

1. Development Promotion Projects. It is the part that consumes most of our resources. These are projects that are born in the Carmelite missionary presence and to reach our offices looking for ways to accompany and finance. These are projects related to education, to health, to social animation, integration, acceptance of the excluded... related to the basic needs of the projects and how to mitigate these needs by creating personal and community future. In these twenty years there have been projects that have contributed to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals that attempted to perform and that marked the agenda of cooperation until 2015. Today we are looking for ways to develop proposed as Sustainable Development Goals .

2. Awareness and communication. It is a permanent task and often unimpressive. It is the presentation here, where we live and we are, of a reality that needs understanding and solidarity. Sensitizing is to put the past in front of us so that no one forget, to know them that we are all able to love them. A second important task of this dimension is the complaint. We can not remain indifferent to the injustice around us, lack of resources or how are distributed. We must, and we feel called to do so, point out how some of our privileges are the result of an unfair distribution of wealth or the way of abusing trade laws ... We would also be a cry for peace in our world, a shout conflict reporting and / or proposals for solving them and build a different and possible world.

3. Volunteer. During these twenty years it has been changing and growing this part of our doing. Many people have participated as volunteers in different projects. It is a truly transformative experience of life and involves traveling. It is not the same after collaborating with the Carmelite sisters in energizing their community school in the Dominican Republic or monitoring a water pipeline Jose Galvez or Antona, to name some some example. On your return, you value and resitúas your center, you make your life has a different meaning. You, the same that was, but we live different, look different, you value different. Many young people have been able to share this experience and all of them have been discovered as men and new women. Travel south to engage in projects requires a preparation Karit accompanies Solidarity for Peace.

4. Education for development. We develop materials that propose other values, another way of looking at reality and serve to generate commitments. They are educational materials for schools, for youth groups, for reflection of adults. Education is true and real change of engine structures. We believe that the task should be constant and permanent, which should not be left to chance change all that oppresses man who does not make you live with dignity. Our materials want to open windows that present us with another world, do we choose the values ​​that dignify the man. Approaching, know, love and commit to a different world where people come first.

Future

We would like to continue to grow. We share some of our concerns for the future:

1. We want the whole Carmelite Family to know us and feel us as part of it.

2. Grow to other presences that are not directly related to the Carmelite Family of the Iberian Region. We are at the disposal of Carmel.

3. Provide more space and material for awareness and education in the most disadvantaged countries. Let’s change our hearts here and change the reality of others, both there and here.

4. Perform projects or programs greater capacity to transform reality: most organizations involved, networking, greater continuity in the time of our presence in projects or programs. Generate a broader transformation of reality in the Carmelite presence planning.

5. Growing number of partners and branches in Spain or Europe?

You can visit our website or follow us on Facebook www.karitsolidarios.org. You can also contact us at Esta dirección de correo electrónico está siendo protegida contra los robots de spam. Necesita tener JavaScript habilitado para poder verlo. and on the phone:
+33-630 763248.

Sanny Bruijns, O.Carm.

On January 12, Fr. Constant Dölle, O. Carm., of the Dutch Province, celebrated his 100th birthday at his present Carmelite convent in Zenderen. Father Constant is currently the oldest member of the Carmelite Order. The celebration began with a Mass of Thanksgiving in the community chapel, after which there was a reception for family and friends who wanted to offer congratulations.

Along with the Prior Provincial of the Netherlands, Fr. Jan Brouns, O. Carm., there were many Carmelites in attendance.  The Mayor of Borne, Mr. R. Welten, also joined in the celebration. During this reception, Fr. Edgar Koning, O.Carm., the prior of Zenderen, read two letters: one from the Prior General and another from the King and the Queen of the Netherlands.

Father Constant was born in the north of the Netherlands in 1916. As a young boy his family house was next to the house of the family Hillesum, where Etty Hillesum (1914-1943) grew up. She died in Auschwitz and left impressive diaries and letters of her spiritual way.  Pope Benedict XVI referred to her in his general audience on Ash Wednesday [13 February 2013], saying:

  “...I am also thinking of Etty Hillesum, a young Dutch girl of Jewish origin who died in Auschwitz. At first far from God, she discovered him looking deep within her and she wrote: “There is a really deep well inside me. In it dwells God. Sometimes I am there, too. But more often stones and grit block the well, and God is buried beneath. Then he must be dug out again” (Diaries, 97). In her disrupted, restless life she found God in the very midst of the great tragedy of the 20th century: the Shoah. This frail and dissatisfied young woman, transfigured by faith, became a woman full of love and inner peace who was able to declare: “I live in constant intimacy with God”...”

Although they were neighbours in the city of Winschoten, Constant cannot remember this girl next door, because he was fascinated by the neighbour on the other side of the house who introduced the little Constant to playing the piano. Probably Titus Brandsma and Etty Hillesum saw each other in 1923, when Titus visited the school, the parish priest, and the Dölle family in Winschoten. Father Constant was seven years old when he met Titus Brandsma for the first time. He liked him at a first sight and felt he could trust this man. After his entry in the Carmelite Order Constant met father Titus several times in Zenderen and Merkelbeek. The last time they met was in the beginning of January 1942, shortly before Titus was arrested. After 74 years, Father Constant still remembers the inward smile of Titus, a smile with a presence of pure light. After World War II, Constant became a teacher in classical languages (Greek) and a parish priest. During the war he experienced the liberation of his city with shootings while he was saying mass and gave his lent meditations. This experience made him realize that liberation and death are very close to each other. For this reason he gave his new church the title of Christus Resurgens, when he was asked to build a new church in the city of Dordrecht in the west of the Netherlands. This title emphasises the Rising Christ and not the Risen Christ, because rising is a process that God gives us each and every day.

 Because Constant knew Blessed Titus Brandsma personally, he wrote a book on the spiritual journey of Blessed Titus: Encountering the Abyss – Titus Brandsma’s Spiritual Journey (Louvaine, Peeters 2002). The book recounts Blessed Titus’ story with particular emphasis on his spirituality.

Although he can be called a senior of the Order and is facing his 80^th jubilee as a Carmelite, he still feels inspired by the Carmelite Rule. Together with members of the Carmelite Family he forms a group, who meets on a monthly basis for reflection on the meaning of the Rule for daily life in the 21^st century. This keeps him mentally young and makes him a gift for his community and for the Dutch province.

Fr. Eduardo Agosta Scarel, O.Carm.

Soon we will reach the first anniversary of the launching of the much awaited and much critiqued encyclical Laudato Sì (hereafter LS) of Pope Francis, on the care of the earth, our common home. It turned out to be the first document of the universal Church entirely devoted to the question of care for creation. Some might ask at this point what was it that might be new about what Pope Francis brought to our understanding of nature and of the relationship that human beings have with it. There is no doubt that the present Pope stood  on the shoulders of his predecessors, beginning with the seminal address on ecology by Bl. Paul VI, and moving through the letters of St. John Paul II and ending with the magnificent Caritas in Veritate of Benedict XVI.
Following from giants such as these, Francisco saw his ecological itinerary develop, resting on three strong pillars. He is fully convinced that we have to say no to, 1) the dominant global economy, as an economy that looks for immediate returns, denying any possible economic relations  that included the logic of gift and gratuitousness; 2) a culture of voracious consumerism associated with this, that makes nothing of any kind of fraternal relations among people, and 3) the environmental deterioration that is a serious threat to the most disadvantaged of the world today and of future generations.
With this road map, the journey began. In line with his style, he seemed to have no reservations. With a reference to the saint from Assisi, he invites women and men everywhere to look at the earth not only  as a home, but also as “our sister and mother earth” (LS1) establishing a kind of family intimacy with nature, something not seen before with such mystical nuances. He thinks of the earth as having a certain subjectivity, given that she, nature-earth is in crisis, and has a voice that cries out on account of the damage done by human beings. (LS 2)  It is clear that this metaphor finds support in the Bible. That is why the Pope reminds us that the land that is oppressed by human beings “groans and suffers the pains of delivery (Rm 8,22). The Bible also offers support to our origins: “we too are earth”, Francis reminds us. (cf. Gen 2,7)  This metaphorical language, coming from the mystics and from the Bible, allows Francis to talk about catholic thought in harmony with the environmental sciences and ecology.
From here on, the encyclical will be an appeal for an environmental enlightenment and an understanding of the problems of the environment based on the sciences. Francis, from the beginning, rejects the biblical language of “domination” and in its place offers a metaphorical understanding using the concept of “integral ecology” that demands new categories that go beyond “the language of mathematics, or of biology and connect us to the essence of what is human.” (LS 11)  I believe that here Francis is opening the door to the language of the spirit. In other words, integral ecology is a way of living in a kingdom vein.
Thus, an integral ecology connects human beings with their environment, as part of an overall process of evolution, and with the Creator. This supposes a threefold connection between God, humanity and the earth. We read in no. 83 of the encyclical:
The ultimate destiny of the universe is in the fullness of God, which has already been attained by the risen Christ, the measure of the maturity of all things. Here we can add yet another argument for rejecting every tyrannical and irresponsible domination of human beings over other creatures. The ultimate purpose of other creatures is not to be found in us. Rather, all creatures are moving forward with us and through us towards a common point of arrival, which is God, in that transcendent fullness where the risen Christ embraces and illumines all things. Human beings, endowed with intelligence and love, and drawn by the fullness of Christ, are called to lead all creatures back to their Creator.
This text, in the context of the ecclesial magisterium concerning the relation between nature and human beings is revolutionary.  It is in line with the evolutionary approach of the natural sciences, that we find already in Paul VI, and with the language of the spirit. In a certain sense it gives new value to creatures who tend towards God, with and through the whole of humanity. Nature is not there just to be at the service of humans for them to use and abuse it in whatever way they like, but rather the human person has the responsibility to take care of nature and orient it and orient humanity itself in the direction of the transcendent. Here we are talking about the “spirituality” of the cosmos. In the text we can detect signs of the influence of the thinking of Teilhard de Chardin, Jesuit, anthropologist and theologian, a thinker for whom the “grammar of the earth” is expressed by means of the evolutionary unfolding of the present potentialities of created material.
Integral ecology finds its niche in the fact that “everything is intimately related”. Therefore, ecology and social justice are intrinsically united (LS 137). For Francis, with integral ecology a new paradigm of justice comes into view, since every true ecological approach always becomes a social approach; it must integrate questions of justice in debates on the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.” (LS 49) and it could not be otherwise: it is the key to the Kingdom!
As a metaphor the concept of integral ecology would seem to connect two planes, one immanent and the other transcendent. On the immanent plane it means that the ecological integrity in a particular geography and social justice in that concrete place are two faces of the one coin. They are united because human beings and nature are part of interdependent and nourishing systems of life. On the transcendent plane, integral ecology connects the exercise of care for the natural world with the exercise of justice towards the poorest and most disadvantaged people of the earth, who represent God’s option of preference in revealed history, those with whom he identified. For that reason, the exercise of care for creation could become a way of expressing or indeed of cultivating my connection with God. Integral ecology indicates that my faith and my eschatological hope in new heavens and new earth (Ap 21,1) may be seen as the same as the present moment in terms of the Gospel: “as often as you did this to my little ones you did it to me” (Mt 25,40), including creatures.
 This  is the point  at which we see the duty of our faith communities. Our charismatic identity could help us recover the spiritual bond that there is between humans, the environment and God as a way of supporting the initiative proposed by Pope Francis in the final chapter:  
 By spirituality I mean that way of living that is shaped by values and beliefs that guide the fundamental options and decisions of life, a new way, that gives rise to an alternative life-style, distinct from the dominant culture of consumerism and waste. This connection at first sight does not look like a very simple undertaking. It demands, first of all, confidence in the future and in the human person (faith in the Resurrection).
The Pope recognises that the human person of today is a descendent of the biblical paradise where sin upset human freedom. Just as the human person, so also nature is damaged by human sin, which is responsible for cosmic consequences (imbalances). It is clear that our care for the environment is far from being perfect, but, every time that we show that care, we demonstrate our faith in the redemption of all creatures.
Beginning with the Book of Genesis we know that God did not give man an instruction manual as to how to use and care for the natural world. He simply said, “Take care of it and cultivate it”. This duty could not be fulfilled in any way other than with the gift of God that is human intelligence, however imperfect. That much is clear. That is why the Pope has great hope in this quality of the human person (LS 78,164,192). In No. 124 he tells us explicitly:
Any approach to an integral ecology, which by definition does not exclude human beings, needs to take account of the value of labour, as Saint John Paul II wisely noted in his Encyclical Laborem Exercens. According to the biblical account of creation, God placed man and woman in the garden he had created (cf. Gen 2:15) not only to preserve it (“keep”) but also to make it fruitful (“till”). Labourers and craftsmen thus “maintain the fabric of the world” (Sir 38:34). Developing the created world in a prudent way is the best way of caring for it, as this means that we ourselves become the instrument used by God to bring out the potential which he himself inscribed in things: “The Lord created medicines out of the earth, and a sensible man will not despise them” (Sir 38:4).
Francis is one who is happy to believe in human dignity and in our creative capacity to meet all challenges. Above all he trusts in human beings and in God’s help. This fundamental trust is his spirituality which is so attractive to people at the present time. “Let us walk on, and sing” is what he writes towards the end of the encyclical. May our struggles and worries for this planet not take away the joy of our hope”(LS 244).

Carmelite Monastery of Janua Coeli

Dearest Maddalena,

we have written a few lines for you. We speak to you as sisters to sister, crossing the boundaries of time to reach you right there where your are now, in the bosom of the Trinity. In your life on earth you longed for this encounter and you burned with the desire to set the whole Church on fire, with this same passion. You had the feeling that God was driving you to run around “waking up the world”. You know, that today Pope Francis is asking us, the consecrated to wake the world up by the way we live. So it comes naturally to us to think of you, and your concern for evangelisation, your great need to communicate to everyone the love of God, the way you called on the sisters in the monastery, to use their eyes and hands in such a way that these “new” nuns, “might not remain resting all the time in the heart, or the secret bedroom of the spouse, or in his wounded side, but, having spent time in the bedroom, every so often they would run to the window, that is, the wound in his side, and look out and find so many men and women that are in danger of being lost; and that is something that must be done with an anxious and loving desire for their salvation”. (Probations I 259)

We can imagine you, with your frail physical constitution, still almost a child, taking on the ways of God, choosing the Carmelite monastery from among the many that were there in Florence, because at that time it was the only one in which the nuns could receive Holy Communion every day. This was a grace, that you, at sixteen years of age, understood in all its significance. 

Forgive us, if to our way of seeing things, your way of understanding and seeing the monastic life seems unusual, so coloured by a negative theology, the fruits of this being only severe mortification and austere penance. You were of course a child of your time. Nonetheless this does not put a distance between us, rather it spurs us into finding in the languages of today, the expression of an asceticism that corresponds to our being Carmelites, nuns, contemplatives totally involved in the constructive dialectic of memory and prophecy of a charism that is still alive and life-giving. 

We look at you and see you as a nun, fully part of the life of the community, being very familiar with it and knowing how to appreciate its spiritual strength and its fragility. You had to deal with significant changes. Early on you were accustomed  to managing the time that you gave to your own personal prayer, and now it seems to you that time is gone, until you see that you are now part of a dimension of life that grips your whole person, day and night and that gradually makes your existence a continuous prayer. Your days play out, marked by the same rhythm of choir, work, meditation, cell, all in the kind of silence that surrounds everything, because, now as it was then, the life of a contemplative nun unfolds in ordinariness, in the “empty and apparently useless” that in silence opens up to contemplation and that little by little transforms life into prayer.

It is very consoling for us to see these aspects of your life as ones in which we can see ourselves mirrored, in the assurance that comes from the beauty of a charism that does not wear out, and of a vocation that does not lose either power or attraction with the passage of time.

We see you as one who is anxious to live fully and deeply what you are called to be. You are tried by illness, but you also enjoy gifts of mysticism, ecstasy, and rapture. For you too darkness becomes a reality. You too pass through the hour of shadow, trial and pure faith. “All I ask of you O Word, is that you give me light and that the light by which you oblige me to keep moving forward be a true light. O loving word, the time is getting near when the light will not be there and the darkness will come. Here comes the dark brightness and the bright darkness” (Revelations and Intelligences, 294).

You are submerged in temptations, scruples, interior and exterior pain, but the thing that afflicts you most is sin in its darkest effect, the sin that gets inside every human experience, and distances the person from the heart of God. This is a time of purification for you. God brings you to the experience of the pain of even the smallest thing that might be out of tune with your relationship with him. It is the time to lose yourself in order to find yourself even more, a woman in a unique relationship. Your faith is strengthened and that crucifix that you hold so close makes you more like him to the point of allowing his heart to beat in yours and release that uncontainable love that he has for every human being and for the Church, ever holy and sinful. 

We can still see in your profile traces of our own. We too, led into the aura of solitude by an Eternal Love, sooner or later, come to taste the bitter flavour of the struggle. How difficult it is to change, to be converted in heart and in mind.  For each one of us too every day is a step further towards  a full, conscious and mature adherence to the stature of Christ. We grow every day in the awareness of our littleness, our limits, our sin, and as that continues the cry for mercy that rises from every kind of existential periphery becomes an ever greater provocation.

You lived in the years that followed the Council of Trent. We are  daughters of the beginnings of the third millennium and  we would love if everyone could truly  experience the love of Jesus. Really, this present time seems to be a time of confusion, of a great ethical relativism and of corruption at every level. Sometimes it looks like as if the bad is getting the upper hand and peace is merely a utopia and that Christ’s agony goes on and on without a break all over the world.

You had a desire in your heart to see a Church that was pure, a Church Spouse, a Church mother and that is our desire too. “May the flame that comes out of their monastery be such as to set on fire all the hearts that are frozen in love of self, in seeking their own will, in the desire for worldly things”. (Renewal of the Church 105)

Just like you, we would love Jesus to find a welcome in every human heart. And yet how many arguments and contradictions there are. You know how we live on the margins of the world and it would seem that we are not called by God to get involved on the frontlines like many witnesses to the faith. Nevertheless, we, like you, feel that we are fully part of what is going on in the world as women, as contemplatives and as Carmelites, and we know that we are called to jog the consciences of people at every level, the secular and the ecclesiastical. 

Your earthly life teaches us that in the first place our task is to become part of the sacrifice of Jesus. He gave his life out of love and in order to do this we have everyday to become more him, take on his DNA, and become accustomed to living in the Spirit. 

In the concrete situation in which you live, you cultivate more and more the consciousness that God is calling you to an active engagement in the renewal of the Church, not an easy task, but one that is made necessary by what you call, “the sweet will of God”. Your cry reaches into our day, just like an echo of the voice of God, in God’s constant search for his children.

What happens in your life and the contagious desire to make his love known that burns in our hearts also, makes us believe that in spite of the continual failure of humanity, God does not abandon the hope of bringing “fire upon the earth”. Adam and Cain, the generation of the flood, and the generation of the tower of Babel, your time, our time ....

As we write, we are thinking of the ideological wars of this present time, and the violence incited by extremists that in the name of religion threaten and attack our peace and the security of the world, and life itself. We think about the thousands of refugees, abandoned in the sea, trafficked illegally, without any certainty of reaching our shores, stripped of every dignity behind the alibi of surviving. The stories are many, too many stories of failures and revolts. Yet God does not abandon anyone, and hoping against all hope, continues to call people and to love people.

As we read your works, we are overjoyed to see that even though the women of your time might not have had much access to the Scriptures, you cultivated a great love for the Word and you understood that even going back to the people of Israel, faith is not the result of human searching for God but rather of God’s movement towards humans, as the expression of a nostalgia for the original beauty of the work of his hands that we are. Then, like a little bell, you wanted to remind the Church that it belongs to Christ.

“My Word has a little bell in his left hand. O God, how I admire seeing you like that, but there is some great thing hidden from us and it is there to teach me. With this you are thinking that I should understand that I have to remind the spouses of the perfection for which you have called us, and you want this little bell to give out a deep sound but make noise, because I have to act gently and meekly in announcing and encouraging,  and with no bitterness, getting more good out of speaking gently and sweetly than by being sharp and severe. You hold it on the left side because that is the side where your heart is, to show me that the words that I will say have to come from the heart, I mean from a deep love of God and of my neighbour, and I must not say things that have not first had an effect on me”. (Probations, 1 251)

All of this seems to be perfectly in tune with the Jubilee Year of Mercy, because of which the Holy Father wishes in practical terms to remind everyone that we belong to Christ through the Church.

With a style that was typical of you, you stretch our vision and help us to see, as contemplatives, that our experience of communion with the Church is not the result of any kind of abstract love. You transmit a love for her that is so strong, that it broadens and deepens the interior awareness of our calling and of our task in the Church: we are to seek God, in truth and humility, beginning with the renewal of our life, with a greater and purer fidelity to the Gospel, and for us, there is a constant demand to be humble intercessors of mercy for all.

We remain in our monasteries, but we know that to seek God in truth will lead us to encounter him in the brothers and sisters that in a variety of ways come to us and in those whom perhaps we will never meet, but for whom every instant of our lives is offered so that they too may recognise themselves as beloved children of the same Father. 

Yes, in this face of a Church that humbly intercedes before God we recognise our duty for today: to always seek the truth, open to understanding the pain of others with great compassion, in following the greatest of all Truth, Christ crucified and risen. 

Quaerere veritatem: our community’s journey lies in searching for the truth, through dialogue and encounter, facing up to reality, listening, under the sign of the cross of Jesus and with our eyes fixed on the resurrection. 

Magdalen, like many other sisters, you helped the story of Carmel to advance, along the path of witnessing to the faith in the total handing over of your life. In many ways, and all of them praiseworthy. We think of our fathers long ago on Mount Carmel, who out of a desire for the restoration of holy Jerusalem, pitched the tent of their lives in the style of a total and exclusive belonging to God alone. Then we begin to think about the great Teresa, inspired and driven by apostolic zeal to found monasteries in which lives would be spent in prayer for the salvation of the world. 

What should we say about the sixteen sisters of Compèigne, who died in defence of the faith that was being threatened by pseudo liberal ideologies, or the young Thérèse of Lisieux who with her little way, from her cell and from her bed of pain, won the prize of being proclaimed the patroness of the missions... And again, a little closer to us, the great Edith Stein, Jewish convert and then Carmelite, aware that she was contributing, by the offering of her life to the good of the Jewish people. Now you are all there, the crown of Mary, interceding for us and rooting for us. We look at you all, we cherish your spiritual legacy and from it we feel encouraged to follow the courageous paths of witnessing to love.

Dear Magdalen, before we leave you, we beg your forgiveness for having kept you so long with our chattering. We ask you as our big sister and companion on the journey; help us to keep our hearts always turned towards God, in listening to him, and in being constantly purified, and help us so that we can always renew our acceptance of the will of God the Father, so that from the margins of the street, where our vocation is located, our life may be an eloquent and contagious witness to love, and so help to renew the face of the Church making it shine with a feminine geniality.  

With deepest affection, in oneness and hope.

Your sisters in Cerreto Carmel,

Fr. Charlò Camilleri, O.Carm.

The anniversary of the birth of St Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi, 450 years ago, could not be celebrated in a more appropriate year than this Jubilee Year of Mercy! We can truly call this saint as being the singer of Divine Mercy: “O God, most merciful and high, your mercy is without limits! It is true that you love your creatures! You are more interested in attracting man to You than man comes towards you!

From where is this saint’s hymn on divine mercy coming? Firstly, she realised that God cast His eyes upon her since her conception in her mother’s womb and even though she did nothing to be worthy of this choice, God, in His love and mercy, wanted her for Himself. In this sense, the saint realises that when God shows mercy, He is loving. Moreover, God’s love is His mercy and His mercy is love. Mercy does not emerge from the emotional capacity of pitying someone but it emerges from love. God has mercy on us because we are dear to Him. In Maltese, this seems to be more the union between love and mercy. Someone dear to me, familiar, equal to me, is referred to as ‘dear’, a derivative of ‘mercy, love.’

In her mystic experience, explained clearly in her mystical writings, Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi mentions mercy in an explicit and direct way for about 1,020 times when speaking about God. Her main writings are in fact a transcript by her fellow sisters of all that she used to vocally experience while in ecstasy. Thus these writings see to be characterised by the announcing of the mystery that opened before her and which she announces in the Church through preaching. These teachings are found in five volumes of manuscripts: The Forty Days, The Colloquies, Revelations and Intelligences and The Probation. To these, we have to add other writings of a different genre like the personal letters to members of her family and friends as well as counsels that she used to give to her fellow nuns and which they gathered into a book.

We here going to glance at some thematic considerations about mercy in the saint’s writings.

Mercy as a remedy of indifference

If there is something which Mary Magdalene preaches in there writings, this is surely Divine Mercy in contrast with man’s indifference and ingratitude. She reflects very often on man’s indifference towards God, and asks in an astonishing way what is wanted from God by man to be attracted to Him: “What is needed from You, O great Love?” Is it knowledge? Is it goodness, kindness? Is it Mercy? Is it Gentleness or Love? She asks these questions, to try and understand why man reacts so badly with God, while meditating on the Passion of Jesus Christ, who is ‘God’s olive branch of peace and mercy,’ and the sufferings He underwent in the hands of the unjust. Christ’s wounds on the Cross ooze in an abundant way mercy so that the soul drinks from it and becomes “in all humility so merciful in a generous way towards her brethren in their spiritual and material needs.”

So it is through this mercy that the malady of indifference is healed. For indifference and a cold heart, God gives the medicine of mercy that unwinds the heart (miseri-cordiai) and moves us towards God and towards our brethren. The soul that drinks from the mercy that oozes from the wounds of Christ feels lighter from holding tight to the material things of this world and with great agility she becomes dedicated to help God and man. In other words, the soul becomes like Christ, lives up to His name.

His Name is Mercy

Maddalena de’ Pazzi reflects also on the meaning of Christ’s name. Christ’s name “in heaven is beauty, on earth is mercy and love, in hell justice.” For us and our salvation, His name is mercy, because He “in everything acts in a merciful way, which mercy is brought about by the great love that He has towards all creatures.” In fact creation is the result of His mercy, redemption emerges from His mercy, the giving of His Body and Blood in the Eucharist is brought about through His mercy, because “His name is mercy,” as expressed by Pope Francis in his book His Name is Mercy.

Since His name is mercy, His identity is Mercy, in the saint’s words “His very own beingis Mercy” insisting that “No one can really understand this Mercy, except God Himself.” We cannot understand God completely. We recognise that He is mercy through His conduct towards us. In His conduct towards us, in this way, God shows His Justice towards us even when He scolds us. He does this to us to improve our lives and stay away from that which hurts us, others and our relationship with Him. His scolding, brought about by mercy, brings us back to our senses and towards Him, so much so that we are ready to receive the forgiveness that is given us through our union with Him.

De’ Pazzi insists that the one who is in hell “God reacts in a merciful and just way”, because mercy does not go against that which is just and right, and justice is not justice if it does not reflect God’s lovingness towards us, but it becomes a vindictive punishment, which is not so with God, as the saint says “With so much mercy you keep inwards and you do not take revenge on the offences that we commit towards you.” Interesting to note is that the saint teaches that our perception that there is opposition between Justice and Divine Mercy is brought about through Lucifer. The saint imagines that through this, the devil puts the stairs which we use to lift ourselves towards God, like spiky creatures, that make it difficult for us to climb up in a hurried pace towards this God of Mercy as we forget that God destroyed this non-existent opposition between Mercy and Justice because through the love that He has towards us, He gave us His Only Son who became man. This love which is expressed in just mercy and in loving justice pushes us to always live in the truth and love of God, embraced in His mercy:

“O my gentle God, what mercy can I receive from You if I don’t abandon myself completely on You? Have mercy on me, my God. I really know that I am not worth this mercy but a thousand hells. However I can really pray for mercy, O God, because in that which is yours, ............... (your intention) So my God, all I can do is pray for mercy, and please release me not from places where many curse You.”

Sr. Marianna di Caprio, O.Carm.

The second of four children, Caterina was born in Florence on the second of April, 1566, to Camilo de’ Pazzi and Maria Buondelmonti. In the comfortable setting of a noble family, that began to call her Lucrezia, after her paternal grandmother, the young girl grew up peacefully and with a certain sensitivity to the aesthetic side of her social condition.  Her heart was open to God, and to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, in great simplicity, which is something we can see in the way she might share her lunch pack with a needy person, out of compassion, or the way she would help the children of the poor by gently offering them the first truths of faith. Her mother’s deep piety, and the visits to her home by the Jesuit Fathers, that her parents invited regularly, helped to stamp on Caterina’s soul that sense of Church, “sensus ecclesiae,” that in later life would appeal so much to her conscience.

 At eight years of age, she was sent as a pupil to the nuns at San Giovannino.  The nuns, who noticed the contemplative nature of the child, prepared her for First Holy Communion and not many weeks later, Caterina was sufficiently mature to offer her virginity to God. She was ten years old, and now she didn’t need anymore to get the scent of Jesus, by standing near her mother when she had received Holy Communion, now she began to meditate on the humanity of Jesus. As she was learning to read she came across the Athanasian Creed, and she was very taken by it. In the same way she grew to like the meditations of St. Augustine, and the Lord’s passion by Loarte, whiche she read on the advice of Fr. Andrea Rossi who was her spiritual director.

She had not yet reached the age of seventeen when she showed her desire to be consecrated to God in religious life. Having overcome the initial opposition of her family, she entered the monastery in Borgo San Frediano, to join the Carmelite community of Santa Maria degli Angeli who were very happy to have her. They allowed her to begin as a postulant on the 8th of December, 1582.  This community, that was well known to and highly regarded by the bishop of Florence, was attractive to the young girl principally because of the possibility of receiving Holy Communon every day.

Two months after entering, on the 30th of January, 1853, Caterina received the Carmelite habit, and with it, the name, Sr. Maria Maddalena. At the end of the novitiate year it was decided that she would put her profession back until there were other novices ready to join her. Maria Maddalena, however, got very sick in the following months, to the point of almost dying. With little hope of recovery - even the best doctors in the city had failed to diagnose what today we would call pneuomonia - the prioress decided to have her make her profession in danger of death, in articulo mortis.

About one hour after her profession, something happened to Maddalena. It was an experience of rapture in God. The sisters tell us that when they went to visit her in the infirmary, they came upon the young eighteen year old patient, transfigured, and looking very beautiful. From that day onwards, it was the 27th of May, 1584, the feast of the Most Holy Trinity, the Lord visited her every morning for forty days, and revealed the depth of his love to her. These frequent episodes gave rise to many misgivings in the young girl whose only desire was to live in the hiddenness of her life in Carmel, but it was obvious that this kind of grace had to be recognised and preserved. For that reason, the sisters began very soon to take notes, writing down what Maddalena would say while in ecstasy and what she would say, out of obedience, to the prioress and mistress.

Towards the end of that same year a new period of divine favour began for her. This time, Jesus, the “humanified” Word, held her in intense conversation (reported in I Colloqui) that revealed increasingly, the bridal relationship that Christ had formed with her. It was in one of those ecstasies that Christ brought her into his passion and death. It was Holy Week in 1585: her experiences included the stigmata impresssed on her soul, the crown of thorns, the cruifixion, and every scene from the Gospel was acted out as if it was happening live in that slender tormented body. Then, on the Sunday after Easter, she received from her divine Bridegroom the ring of her mystical marriage.

The manuscript titled, Revelazioni e Intelligenze, gives a faithful account of the communication of God’s grace, that in the days between the vigil of Pentecost and the Sunday of the Blessed Trinity, gave Maddalena an entry into the revelation of the inner dimensions of her Trinitarian life. What was communicated to her was what goes on between the divine persons, and how the human person can fulfil a supernatural vocation by allowing this mystery dwelling within to do its work.

The central element in this understanding, is the saving mission of the Word, Love, made flesh in the most pure womb of the Virgin Mary, and the intuition of “dead love” as the highest expression of the ultimate gift of self.

On the last day of this intense octave of Pentecost, Maddalena began to see with some clarity that the moment had arrived when God, as he had made know to her already on a few occasions, was about to take away from her the enjoyment  of his presence. That was the beginning of five very difficulty years of torment and temptation, to the point where she felt like as if she had been thrown into the “lions’ den”, and reduced to “nothing”. In these interior trials, described in the Probazione, Jesus continues to support her, but without lessening the radical purification that striped her bare, made her more simple and extremely receptive to his visits. In the heart of the crucible, however, Maddalena also received lights from God concerning the condition of the Church of her time - so slow to implement the renewal sought by the Council of Trent - and she felt that she was being drawn by the Truth to be involved in a practical way in calling to order prelates, cardinals and even the pope, Sixtus V. The twelve letters that she dictated in ecstasy, in the Summer of 1586 are collected in the volume titled, Rinnovamento della Chiesa, The five years of trial restored to us a Maddalena transformed.   The Lord had brought her through a divinising process, around which today she could well be considered a master and guide.

After Pentecost 1590, she returned to the normality of ordinary life, something she had always wanted. Apart from just a few, and important, moments of ecstasy (reported in the second part of the Probazione) her days passed quietly as she went about the jobs she had to do (on account of her spiritual maturity she was put in charge of the young sisters in formation), and all the other forms of humble service that she tended to seek. Then the experience of “naked suffering” took hold of her and this would unite her once and for all to the crucified Bridegroom.

 The symptoms of tuberculosis began to appear in 1603. As her strength declined, she suffered the added pain of not being able to feel anything of the Lord’s presence. Just her presence in the community, in the eyes of the sisters, had become a vision of God’s work of art about to be completed. On the 25th of May, 1607, at 3 p.m. in the afternoon, Sr. Maria Maddalena, at the age of forty one gave up her spirit.

On 2^nd of April, 2016, the date of Mary Magdalene’s birth in 1566, the solemn opening of the 450th Anniversary of the Birth of St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi was marked with the solemn celebrations took place at the monastery of Careggi (Florence, Italy), where her body is venerated.

The Cardinal Archbishop of Florence, Giuseppe Betori, led the celebration of the Eucharist that was concelebrated by several priests. The concelebrants included, the Prior General, Fr. Fernando Millán Romeral, along with other members of the General Curia, the Vice-Prior General, Fr. Christian Körner, the Councilor General for Europe, Fr. John Keating, the Procurator General, Fr. Michael Farrugia, the Bursar General, Fr. Carl Markelz, and the Delegate General for the Nuns, Fr. Mario Alfarano. The Carmelite Family was present in great numbers, with friars from the different houses in Florence and Castellina, the sisters of the Istituto di Nostra Signora del Monte Carmelo, and very many lay Carmelites. 

In his homily the Cardinal pointed to the example of the saint in her cultivation of the transforming knowledge of the Risen Lord, just as the readings in the liturgy suggested. He read a telegram from the Pope, signed by the Secretary of State, Card. Pietro Parolin, in which he “joined in thanksgiving to the Lord for giving to the Church such a significant disciple of the Gospel and master of spirituality.”  He ended by imparting an Apostolic Blessing and granting the corresponding plenary indulgence.

At the end of the celebration the Prior General thanked all those who were present and in particular the nuns, who, although they are just a small community, continue to keep alive the spirit and teaching of St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi.

On the 25th of May, feast of St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi, the Prior General led the celebration of the Eucharist at the Hermitage of Santa Maria degli Angeli, in Scandicci (Florence). This monastery was founded n 1987 in the hills opposite where Careggi is situated where the remains of the saint are kept. The Mass, and the banquet afterwards, took place in a festive and fraternal setting. Along with the Prior General, there was a number of Carmelites and three postulants from the Italian province present. There was also a large number of diocesan priests, including the Vicar for that area, priests from the Community of San Leolino and of the “Opera Madonnina del Grappa”. The celebrations were enriched by the presence of the sisters of the Instituto di Nostra Signora del Monte Carmelo, members of the Third Order and many friends of the nuns.

In different places of the Carmelite monasteries, parishes, and schools in the world, among the friars, nuns, and laity, activities of retreats, exhibitions, conferences, and seminars continue to appear to commemorate the 450th anniversary of the birth in Florence of St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi.

On account of the 450th anniversary of the birth of St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi, the Apostolic Penitentiary has granted that all Carmelite monasteries be places where people may obtain a plenary indulgence throughout this year, beginning on the 2nd of April, 2016 and ending on the 25th of May, 2017. The same applies to churches and chapels dedicated to her.

For more information and latest news regarding the 450th anniversary of the birth of St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi, please visit the official website of the order at www.ocarm.org/mmp450 to read and learn more the life and works of the saint.