July 27 | Obligatory Memorial (Feast: Ger, Phil, Del Colombia)

A noted writer and journalist, in 1935, St. Titus was appointed adviser to the Dutch bishops for Catholic journalists. In the period leading up to and during the Nazi occupation in the Netherlands, he argued passionately against the National Socialist ideology, basing his stand on the Gospels. He continually defended the right to freedom in education and for a free the Catholic Press. As a result, he was imprisoned.

He passed from one prison or camp to another until he arrived in Dachau where he was killed on July 26, 1942. He was beatified as a martyr by Pope John Paul II on November 3, 1985 and was canonized by Pope Francis on May 15, 2022, in St Peter’s Square.

The Order’s petition to have the celebration of St. Titus Brandsma changed from an optional memorial to an obligatory memorial for the whole Order was accepted. The Provinces of Germany and the Philippines as well as the General Delegation in Columbia who have St. Titus as their patron celebrate the day as a feast.

Read more about the life of St Titus Brandsma

Reflections on St. Titus' Presence Today
      From the Order's Website - ocarm.org
 

Books Available on St. Titus Brandsma, O. Carm.
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Less than a month after his solemn profession “in articulo mortis” (at the point of death), 21-year-old Carmelite Pablo Ma. de la Cruz Alonzo Hidalgo died. He died on July 15, the eve of the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

The prior provincial of the Province of Aragón, Castilla, and Valencia (ACV), Salvador Villota Herrero, announced the young Carmelites death. Fr. Salvador had received the solemn profession of Alonso as a Carmelite on Sunday, June 25, just three weeks earlier, in the church of the Carmel de Abajo in Salamanca, Spain. An exception was made for him in light of his impending death.

Pablo was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer, when he was 16 years old.

A few days prior to his profession, he had been admitted into the novitiate in a ceremony over which Villota presided at the University Hospital Clinic of Salamanca. Alonso’s parents, the novice master, and his spiritual director were also present.

Before his entry into the Carmelite order, the young man posted an invitation on social media stating his determination, which he headed with a quote from the Carmelite St. Titus Brandsma, who was killed by the Nazis in Dachau: “The cross is my joy, not my sorrow.” The post showed Alonso’s hand holding a cross.

“It is my desire to consecrate myself to God and live as an offering to Jesus Christ. My illness is progressing rapidly. From God we come and to God we go. The Father in his infinite mercy will soon call me to be with him,” the young religious wrote. 

1. Fray Pablo María de la Cruz Alonso Hidalgo, O. Carm., wearing the Carmelite habit.
2. Profession of Fray Pablo.
3. Fray Pablo and his parents as he is received into novitiate.
4. Fray Pablo and his parents along with P. Salvador Villota Herrero, the prior provincial of the Aragón, Castilla and Valencia Province and P. Alejandro López-Lapuente Villalba, director of novices.
5. Fray Pablo and Fr. Rafael Ma. López Melús, the youngest and the oldest members of the Aragón, Castilla and Valencia Province.

New Meditation on Gospel Mercy, the Peace of Christ, and Obedience to God

 Let Yourself Be Loved is a wonderful contribution towards exploring words and themes that are central to the Gospel message. Highlighted are such matters as the facts that mercy in the gospel is an amazingly beautiful thing that bears little resemblance to what the word means outside of gospel contexts; that the peace of Christ is much more than the absence of conflict and/or any of the other dictionary definitions of the English word ‘peace’; and that the notion of obedience to God is something far richer than anything we normally attribute to obedience in other contexts.

In English | 81 pages

The Carmelite nuns of the Carmel of the Sacred Heart in Hudson, Wisconsin, joined family and friends on Sunday, July 16, for the celebration of the monasteries 60 years. Many friends and family members, and fellow Carmelites gathered at St. Christopher Church for a Mass celebrated by Bishop James P. Powers, bishop of the Diocese of Superior (Wisconsin). The former bishop of Superior and current bishop of Boise, Idaho, Bishop Peter F. Christensen, concelebrated along with Carmelites John Horan, Inter-Provincial Delegate to the Carmelite Nuns, and Carl Markelz, prior provincial of the Most Pure Heart of Mary Province. A number of other priests concelebrated as well.

Carmel of the Sacred Heart was established on August 19, 1963 when four nuns and one candidate from the Carmel of the Little Flower in Allentown, Pennsylvania, were welcomed to the diocese of Superior, Wisconsin. Bishop George A. Hammes and a delegation of priests from the diocese escorted the sisters from the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport to their new home in the city of Hudson, Wisconsin, located on the banks of the St. Croix River. The monastery, formerly a private residence, consists of two buildings on a six-acre lot within the city limits. Two hermitages have been established in recent years, providing overnight accommodations for retreatants. A vast expanse of lawn, trees and gardens provide ample solitude and seclusion for the contemplative life.

Visit the Website of the Monastery

12 August Optional Memorial

Bl. Isidore Bakanja, a member of the Boangi tribe, was born in Bokendela (Congo) between 1880 and 1890. In order to survive, even as a boy, he had to work as bricklayer or in farms. He was converted to Christianity in 1906. He was working in a plantation run by a colonialist in Ikili and was forbidden by the owner to spread Christianity among his fellow-workers.

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9 August Memorial (Feast in the provinces of Europe: Patron of Europe)

Edith Stein was born at Breslau on 12th October 1891 to German Jewish parents, and after her secondary education, she enroled in the department of philosophy in the city university. In 1913, she transferred to the University of Gotingen to study under Edmund Husserl. Until the age of thirteen years, she was in effect an atheist. She had her first serious encounter with Christianity listening to Max Scheler. In 1916, she continued and completed her studies at Fribourg where she wrote her doctorate directed by Husserl. She remained working in the university until 1921.

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7 August Feast

Born in Trapani (Scilia) in the 13th century. He distinguished himself for his dediction to mendicant preaching and the notoriety of his miracles. In the years 1280 and 1289 he was in Trapani and shortly afterwards in Messina. In the year 1296 he was prior provincial of the Carmelite Province of Sicily. He was celebrated for his passionate love for purity and prayer. He died in Messina most likely in 1307.

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July 26 Memorial

The Carmelite Order celebrates, with special devotion its Saints, gathering in them the most living and genuine expression of the Charism and the spirituality of the Order throughout the centuries. The feast of the Protectors of the Order is celebrated with special solemnity that is the feast of Saints Joseph, Joachim and Anne.

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24 July Memorial

John Soreth was born near Caen in Normandy in 1394 and entered the Carmelite house there. Ordained priest around 1417, he became a doctor of theology in Paris in 1438 and then regent of studies there. He was Provincial of the French Province from 1440-1451 and Prior General of the Order from 1451 until his death.

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