O.Carm
Formation Course Focuses on Life of St. Titus Brandsma
International Ongoing Formation Program Celebrates Life of St. Titus Brandsma
An international ongoing formation course visiting places from the life of Titus Brandsma took place in the Netherlands and Germany from October 6-16, 2024. The conference focused on the life of St. Titus Brandsma as Carmelite, Professor, Journalist, and Martyr: Contemplation, the Dynamic Element that Unifies Them (RIVC, 28).
The program was planned by the General Formation Commission, chaired by Benny Phang, O. Carm, vice prior general. There were 38 participants from around the Order, representing five continents as well as other parts of the Carmelite Family.
Participants received a variety of presentations, allowing them to reflect on various aspects of the life and writings of St. Titus. They also visited significant places where Titus lived, suffered, and died: Nijmegen, Boxmeer, Oss, Scheveningen prison, Amersfoort concentration camp in the Netherlands as well as the Carmelite church and community in Mainz, and finally the Dachau concentration camp.
They prayed and meditated on some texts that Titus or other witnesses wrote in each place. Particularly in Dachau, they had a dialogue with the Discalced Carmelite nuns living on the grounds of the concentration camp about their experience of living and praying in that place. The program culminated in the celebration of the Eucharist in the Discalced Carmelite monastery of Heilig Blut at the rear of the concentration camp.
Among the presenters were Anne-Marie Bos, Sanny Bruijns, Fernando Millan, Benny Phang, Hettie Berflo, and Míceál O'Neill, the prior general.
The participants found that the Carmelite Way “in obsequio Iesu Christi” as shown by the great witness of St. Titus Brandsma is still relevant for them who are ministering in various fields.
Boxmeer:
Scheveningen:
(Fotos courtesy of Jorge Monterroso, O. Carm.)
A Curiosity in the Carmelite Library in Rome
Among the oldest books of the Carmelite General Library in Rome is a wonderful volume from 1528. Coming from Paris, the work is the first printed edition of the Latin tract Summa de haeresibus et earum confutationibus written by Carmelite Guy de Perpignan (1270-1342), also known as Guido Terreni.
The work, dating from the 16th century, contains a very interesting title page. The page is frames with elegante architectural designs. Inside the frame there are, other than the name of the work and the author, the stamp of the Flemish printer Jodocus Badius Ascensius. The picture shows an old printing shop, staffed by three people working on a wooden printing press. The design captures the "tiratore" (puller), in the center, at the moment he operates the bar to press the platen onto the sheet to be printed. The "rullatore" (roller), on the left, is in charge of inking the pages of movable type. The "compositore" (compositor), on the right, is responsible for composing the texts by aligning the movable type, taken from the typographic case, on the composing machine. Also one notes in the foreground are two stacks of paper, one still blank and one already printed.
In addition the note of ownership can be seen on the title page [Photo], also attributed to the 16th century, places the book in the old library at Santa Maria in Traspontina, a stadium generale for the Order. That library was the original home of most of the oldest books now preserved at the Carmelite General Library in CISA.
Causa Nostrae Laetitiae
INITIUM NOVITIATUS
12-09-24 Mary Domitilla Ndumi of the Cross (MAC) Machakos, Kenya
PROFESSIO TEMPORANEA
14-09-24 David Jonathan Rodríguez (ACV-Ant) Santo Domingo, Rep Dominicana
14-09-24 Johan David Domínguez Guzmán (ACV-Ant) Santo Domingo, Rep
Dominicana
14-09-24 Yonny de Jesús Báez Lora (ACV-Ant) Santo Domingo, Rep Dominicana
01-10-24 Maria Daniela Teresa di Gesù Bambino (CAM) Camerino, Italia
PROFESSIO SOLEMNIS
05-10-24 Ma. Esperanza de la Santissima Trinidad Sánchez Gutiérrez (ONT)
Onteniente, España
ORDINATIO DIACONALIS
17-09-24 Cristiano Garcia Dias Barbosa (Pern) Goiana, Brasil
10-10-24 Bintang Parhusip Nainggolan (Indo) Malang, Indonesia
ORDINATIO SACERDOTALIS
30-09-24 Arnoldus Reban (Indo-Est) Bajawa, Indonesia
30-09-24 Heronimus Muga Wio (Indo-Est) Bajawa, Indonesia
30-09-24 Ironius Sebho (Indo-Est) Bajawa, Indonesia
30-09-24 Alexander Raymond Dhena (Indo-Est) Bajawa, Indonesia
10-10-24 Alfonsus Christi Setiawan (Indo) Malang, Indonesia
Pope's Message for World Mission Day 2024
The 98th World Mission Day will be celebrated on Sunday, October 20, 2024 on the theme “Go and invite everyone to the banquet” (cf. Mt. 22:9). Pope Francis has released his message for World Mission Day 2024 on 25 January 2024, Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul.
In the text, Pope Francis reflects on the Gospel parable of the Wedding Banquet, where the king tells his servants “Go therefore to the thoroughfares, and invite to the marriage feast as many as you find”.
The Pope noted that the king’s banquet “it is an image of ultimate salvation in the Kingdom of God.”
In the last part of his message, the Pontiff recalls that God wants "everyone to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth". “This is the heart of mission," Pope Francis stressed, "that ‘all’, excluding no one."
World Mission Sunday was instituted in 1926 by Pope Pius XI at the request of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith (Latin: Propagandum Fidei).
On the occasion of the 98th World Mission Day, the Carmelites of Australia and Timor-Leste have prepared the following resource that can be very useful in extending the Pope's invitation to all, especially those on the margins of society.
To see the resource on the pdf World Mission Day 2024(3.15 MB)
To see the Message of His Holiness Pope Francis
Conference Focuses on St. Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi
St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi Subject of Upcoming Lecture at the Center for Carmelite Studies
The Center for Carmelite Studies at the Catholic University of America will host a lecture on October 24, 2024, given by Carmelite Simon Nolan, PhD, prior provincial of the Order’s Irish Province and former Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy of the Pontifical University of St. Patrick in Maynooth, Ireland. The lecture is entitled Awakening to God’s Love: Saint Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi on the Mystical Dimension of Every Christian Life.
For those who wish to be present, the lecture will be held in the Curley Hall Boardroom. The lecture will take place from 5PM-6:30PM (Eastern US time). A light reception will follow the lecture. For those unable to attend in person, there is a livestream link.
St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi (1566-1607) from Florence, Italy, is called the “ecstatic saint” because of her special gift from God to be aware of her union with God while both her internal and external senses were detached from the sensible world. She is attracting renewed interest today and a number of recent books have been published exploring her spirituality.
To learn more about the life of Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi and her work and legacy, we suggest reading the following books from Edizioni Carmelitane, the publishing house of the Carmelite Order:
"Union with God as Transformation in Beauty. A Literary-Spiritual Analysis of the Colloquies of Santa Maria Maddalena de’ Pazzi", Charlò Camilleri, O. Carm.
"Prayer Life in Carmel: Historical Sketches", Redemptus M. Valabek, O. Carm.
To access these and many other fine publications at Edizioni Carmelitane, click here.
Vitam Coelo Reddiderunt
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Celebrating At Home - 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Servants, Not Masters
(Mark 10:35-45)
They’re at it again! One might be forgiven for wondering at just how slow the disciples are in getting Jesus’ message. For weeks he has been instructing them about the Kingdom of God and the conversion of heart needed to be his followers.
This Sunday’s Gospel episode shows that, yet again, they just don’t get it. This time it is James and John, who together with Peter form the ‘inner circle’, the group of disciples closest to Jesus. James and John are asking for the highest places of honour when Jesus comes into his ‘glory’.
While they understand that Jesus is the Messiah, they misunderstand what kind of Messiah he is and what kind of Kingdom he is bringing. While Jesus continues to talk about the path his own life will take through suffering, death and resurrection, the disciples are so focussed on themselves that they ignore his words.
Rather than brush aside the brash request of James and John, Jesus attempts to draw them deeper by hinting at the path of true discipleship. Using two biblical motifs, the cup (the fate that lies ahead of a person) and baptism (not the sacrament but the idea that undergoing trials and dangers is like passing through stormy, turbulent waters) Jesus asks if they can really commit to sharing his life and mission. Without hesitating they say, “We can,” and Jesus affirms that they will. But, as for the places of honour, these are for the Father to assign.
The other ten disciples have been standing near by, eavesdropping on the conversation between Jesus, James and John. They are angry at hearing of their attempt to get in first and claim the seats of honour for themselves – no doubt, they would have liked to do the same!
Jesus takes the opportunity to tell them, yet again, that real greatness in the Kingdom of God lies in self-sacrificing service to humanity. Authority among the people of Christ is not to be exercised by ‘lording it over’ others or by using positions and capacities for self-serving ends. Authority is always to be at the service of and for the benefit of others. Disciples are called to be servants, not masters.
As we follow Jesus through the Gospel, we see that his ‘authority’ over demons, illness and death, as well as his teaching, always brings liberation, restores health and wholeness and sets others at rights with God and neighbour.
That is the pattern that he asks the disciples to follow. The only way to enter into Jesus’ ‘glory’ is to follow him in self-sacrificing service of humanity, as one who gives up their life as a ransom for many.
- pdf Celebrating At Home - 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time [PDF](3.34 MB)
- default Celebrating At Home - 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time [ePub](5.12 MB)
- pdf Celebrando en Familia - XXIX Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario(445 KB)
- pdf Celebrando in Casa - XXIX Domenica del Tempo Ordinario(459 KB)
- pdf Celebrando em família - XXIX Domingo do Tempo Comum(443 KB)
St. Teresa of Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church
October 15 | Feast
Saint Teresa of Avila is among the most important figures of all time for Catholic spirituality. Her works - especially the four best known (The Life, The Way of Perfection, The Mansions and The Foundations) - together with her more historical works, contain a doctrine which encompasses the whole of the spiritual life, from the first steps right up to intimacy with God at the centre of the Interior Castle. Her Letters show her occupied with a great variety of everyday problems. Her doctrine on the unity of the soul with God (a doctrine which was intimately lived by her) follows the Carmelite tradition which had preceded her and to which she herself contributed in such a notable way, enriching it as well as passing the tradition on, not only to her spiritual sons and daughters, but also to the whole Church which she served so unsparingly. When she was dying, her one joy was to be able to affirm that "I die a daughter of the Church".
Read more ...
In November, Edizioni Carmelitane will release a very timely new publication by renowned Philippino author Macario Ofilada Mina, A Spirituality of Truth: Philosophical Explorations of St. Teresa of Jesus.
In the meantime, to learn more about the life of St. Teresa and her work and legacy, we suggest reading the following books from Edizioni Carmelitane The Heirs of St. Teresa of Avila and "I Consider the Labor Well Spent" A Mini-Course on the Interior Castle.
To access these and many other fine publications at Edizioni Carmelitane, click here.
Celebrating At Home - 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Nothing is Impossible for God
(Mark 10:17-27)
In the Jewish tradition, wealth was seen as a blessing from God and the wealthy person as especially favoured by God. Along with the idea of divine blessing and favour came a divine obligation (often ignored) – the care of God’s poor.
As the conversation between the rich man and Jesus unfolds, we see that he a good and upright man. The commandments which Jesus spells out are those to do with one’s treatment of others. These, the rich man says, he has always kept.
Jesus’ love and affection for the man recognises his very genuine efforts to live according to the commandments. This love ushers in the call to discipleship: ‘There is one thing you lack. Go and sell everything you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ Jesus wants this man to be a follower of his. He is inviting him to move from a way of life centred on the Torah (Jewish law) to a way of life centred totally on Jesus.
When the man first approaches Jesus he asks what more he must do to inherit eternal life while still maintaining the present direction of his life. What Jesus is inviting him into is the total transformation of his life – to go in a new direction. Jesus is inviting him to an even more radical fulfilment of his obligations to neighbour by selling all he has, giving the proceeds to the poor, and then becoming a follower of Jesus.
Rather sadly, the rich man cannot take this step. He is trapped and controlled by his possessions and cannot let them go in order to enter into joyful and life-giving companionship with Jesus.
When Jesus talks about how hard it is for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God the disciples are astounded. They, too, think of wealth and possessions as a sign of God’s favour and blessing. Jesus drives home his point by insisting that, ‘It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.’ The disciples are even more astounded and conclude that if rich people can’t make it into the kingdom, then what hope do the rest of us have?
Jesus’ reply to the disciples tells us clearly that if we rely on human resources and means it is impossible to find salvation. But if we rely on God, then we can be saved - the good and gracious God who gives the Kingdom as pure, unmerited gift.
Sometimes, the very things we love, in which we find our security and in which we place our trust can turn out to be our undoing and stumbling blocks on our journey into the kingdom.
Jesus’ reply about God who can do the impossible is also a reassurance that God stands ready to journey with us, to help us find the way to move our hearts from reliance on ourselves and human resources to rely on God’s love and companionship.
- pdf Celebrating At Home - 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time [PDF](3.46 MB)
- default Celebrating At Home - 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time [ePub](5.84 MB)
- pdf Celebrando en Familia - XXVIII Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario(420 KB)
- pdf Celebrando in Casa - XXVIII Domenica del Tempo Ordinario(422 KB)
- pdf Celebrando em família - XXVIII Domingo do Tempo Comum(419 KB)
General Chapter of Carmelite Sisters Held in Caracas
General Chapter of the Hermanas Carmelitas de Madre Candelaria Held in Caracas
From August 30 to September 6, 2024, the Congregation of the 'Hermanas Carmelitas de Madre Candelaria' celebrated their XVII General Chapter. “Walking Together in Communion, Participation and Mission” was chosen as the theme of the gathering.
The General Chapter was held at the generalate in Caracas-DC, Venezuela, with the participation of 31 sisters from the congregation’s communities in Venezuela, Bolivia, and Brazil.
After a previous week of spiritual exercises, the chapter days were taken up with reflection on the experience of religious consecration in the institute. An agreement was arrived at on the courses of action to be taken in order to promote fraternal communion, and the spiritual and apostolic vitality of the congregation.
The Carmelite Family will celebrate 100 years of the congregation’s aggregation to the Carmelite Order on March 25, 2025.
The XVII General Chapter also elected the sisters who will form the general government of the congregation during the sexennium 2024-2030:
General Superior | Superiora General | Superiore generale:
Sr. M. Luisa América Córdova Cova
1st Councilor | 1ª Consejera | 1ª Consigliera:
Sr. Carmen Moreno García
2nd Councilor | 2ª Consejera | 2ª Consigliera:
Sr. Ana María Montilla
3rd Councilor | 3ª Consejera | 3ª Consigliera:
Sr. Yaritza Jackeline Rujano Durán
4th Councilor | 4ª Consejera | 4ª Consigliera:
Sr. Yusmilat Emenencio
