Carmelite life is modeled on the lives of Mary and Joseph. The religious observance, therefore, in the Carmelite Order is such as to create an environment in which the soul can expand and open out to God. It provides opportunities for coming into frequent contact with Him. In other words, the whole pattern of Carmelite life is ordered to a single end: to facilitate a life of friendship with Christ.
(Carmelite Ratio)
“He who wants to win the world for Christ must have the courage to come in conflict with it.”
(Bl. Titus Brandsma)
“Those who join the Carmelite Order are not lost to their near and dear ones, but have been won for them, because it is our vocation to intercede to God for everyone.”
(Edith Stein)
Let nothing disturb you
Let nothing frighten you
All things are passing
God never changes
Patience obtains all things
Who possesses God lacks nothing
God alone suffices.
Teresa of Avila
“I wanted Carmel as soon as I learned of it; I find that all the aspirations of my heart are fulfilled in this Order.”
(Saint Therese of Lisieux)
CARMELITE DIRECTORY - PRESENCE IN THE WORLD
The Coordinating Committee of the Carmelite NGO decided during its annual meeting to take the trafficking of human beings as its main focus for the coming year. A number of Carmelite ministries and organizations are already involved in the issue. The meeting was held at CISA in Rome on August 6-8, 2012.
One morning session was dedicated to a presentation and discussion with Dr. Alessandra Barberi from the Italian Prime Minister's Office of Equal Opportunity, the government agency responsible for dealing with trafficking. Dr. Barberi presented the current situation in Italy and outlined measures being taken to stop trafficking in the country.
A lay Carmelite from Sicily, Avv. Andrea Ventimiglia, was invited to join the coordinating committee. A lawyer by profession, Sig. Ventimiglia and his wife are very involved in the Domus Carmelitana Siculorum, an active NGO dealing with various social situations in Sicily.
Members attending the recently completed RIO+20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro reported on the various conferences and meetings they were able to attend.
Each member reported on the activities of their geographical area, the annual budget was discussed, and the publications for the Carmelite NGO for the year were planned. This meeting is usually held in conjunction with the annual meeting of NGOs at the United Nations but due to the recent RIO+20 Summit, no meeting was held this year.
More information about the work of the Carmelite NGO can be found on its website: www.carmelitengo.org
On the 5th of August just gone by, at the end of the re-dedication of the Church in Olinda (Citoc-online 75/2012) the Prior General, Fernando Millan Romeral, O.Carm., handed over the icon of "Our Lady of Hope" to Fr. Roberval Mendes Pereira, O.Carm., Prior Provincial of the Carmelite province of Pernambuco. That particular icon, written by the Carmelite nuns in Ravenna (Italy) went from one carmelite house, college and church to another in the different countries of Europe and was brought by young people to the international Carmelite gathering that took place during World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid (Spain). Fr. Roberval, for his part, handed the icon over to the young students of the community of Goiana, in the north-eastern province of Pernambuco, as the first stage in the icon's pilgrimage throughout America. It will pass through a number of different states in Brazil and it will preside over the gathering of young Carmelites at the next World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro, in July of next year.
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Nine Themes in Carmelite Spirituality - 7. Carmel is Elijan
Written byby Fr. Patrick Thomas McMahon, O.Carm.
Lay Carmelites seek God's presence in prayer while living an active life in the world. This duality of contemplative prayer and active ministry was modeled by the first Carmelites who lived as hermits on Mount Carmel, then later became mendicants in the cities of Europe.
Carmel is Elijan
That means we look to the prophet Elijah, the great prophet who lived on Mount Carmel eight centuries before Jesus, and we find great inspiration in him. Carmelites from the very beginning of the Order have looked to Elijah for inspiration. They saw in the prophet everything that they wanted to be. He was a man of deep contemplation, one who sought solitude in the wadi Carith or in the cave at Mount Horeb. All Carmelites need to know the Elijah stories that we find at the end of the First Book of Kings, and in the beginning of the Second Book of Kings in the Bible.
We see in these stories that Elijah was a restless man. He was filled with energy for God like we want to be, and he was anxious to spend that energy on God’s kingdom. But he was always searching to know what God asked of him. He is the model, along with Mary, for each of us Carmelites. Elijah was a fearless prophet who stood strong and tall against the injustice of his day. He defended the farmer and the peasant against the mighty kings and lords. And that is why the Order of Carmel today has stood with the Church in making the preferential option for the poor. Carmel chooses to stand up for the cause of the poor. We stand with the teachings of Popes John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul II, and now Pope Benedict XVI, and with their teaching about the rights of immigrants and the rights of workers and the rights of women and the rights of all human persons for housing, health care, and education. Carmel stands for nothing more than what the popes have stood for in their brilliant encyclical letters when they call for rights of the poor to be protected.
The trouble is that many Catholics do not know what the Church teaches in the areas of social justice. Let me say that, tragically, our bishops and our priests often have not done their job in this area. Too often the laity intimidate them from speaking the truth. Too often some clergy preach only that part of the Church’s magisterium that their congregations already agree with. But we Carmelites cannot depend on others for our knowledge of the Church’s teaching. Carmelites have an obligation to learn the social gospel of the Catholic Church and to put it into practice. I am going to be very blunt on this point. If our politics aren’t formed by our Christian and Catholic faith then we’re not good Christians, good Catholics or good Carmelites. Some Catholics think that all they have to do is vote for the candidates that are opposed to abortion, but while the protection of human life from the moment of natural conception until the moment of natural death will always be the chief priority, the social teaching of the Catholic Church is far broader than that one issue. We must know our faith. We must be familiar with the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Papal Encyclicals. The Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Papal Encyclicals belong in our hands as we vote, even as they belong in our hands for every decision we make in our lives. Some might say ‘Render to God what is God’s and to Caesar what is Caesar’s,’ but I can tell you what is not Caesar’s business and where in my life I don’t have to be obedient to Caesar. But you tell me where you don’t have to be obedient to God. You tell me what in life is not God’s concern, what is not subject to God’s authority. The whole world belongs to God. And our whole life belongs to God. And every decision we make must be according to the will of God. The Carmelite, like Elijah, is enflamed with the spirit of God and stands for truth in the face of every obstacle. The Carmelite, like Elijah stands up for the poor, for the victims of injustice, for those who have no voice of their own with which to cry out to heaven.
Solemn “Rededication” in Olinda, Brazil, of the first Carmelite church in the American continent.
Written bySolemn “Rededication” in Olinda, Brazil, of the first Carmelite church in the American continent.
On the 5th of August of this year, the solemn rededication of the first Carmelite church in the American continent, took place in Olinda, Brasil. This church was founded by four portuguese Carmelites in 1580. The Metropolitan Archbishop of Olinda and Recife, Antonio Fernando Saburido presided at the celebration of the Eucharist. He was accompanied by five Carmelite bishops, (Vitalis Wilderink, Paolo Cardoso, Antonio Muniz, João José Costa and Wilmar Santin), by the Prior General, Fernando Millán Romeral, O.Carm., by the Councilor General for the Americas, Raul Maraví, O.Carm., the Prior Provincial of Pernambuco, Roberval Mendes Pereira, O.Carm., and a large number of Carmelites from all parts of Brazil. The Commissary General of Portugal, Agostinho Castro also took part in the celebration. He presented a relic of St. Nuno de Santa Maria, founder of the Carmelite house in Lisbon, from which the Carmelite founders in Brasil set out.
The celebration was preceded by a Triduum and by a congress on the history and significance of the Carmelite presence in Olinda. At that congress the Prior General introduced the official letter which will be addressed to the whole Carmelite Family on this occasion, with the title, “Carmel in America: past, present and future”. Furthermore, there was an official meeting with the civil authorities to whom the Carmelites expressed their gratitude for the handing over and restoration of this beautiful church, which had been in the hands of the Brazilian State since 1877 and which from now on will be the location of the residence of the Prior Provincial.
On Monday, the 6th of August, Vatican Radio broadcast an extensive interview with the Prior General and with Fr. Francisco de Sales Alencar (in Spanish and in Portuguese respectively) concerning the importance and significance of this occasion (This can be heard in Spanish at:
http://www.radiovaticana.org/spa/Articolo.asp?c=605143 and in Portuguese at
http://www.radiovaticana.org/bra/Articolo.asp?c=611019)
Finally, it is important to mention that His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI sent a brief message of congratulations via the Secretary of State in which he referred to the historical and pastoral importance of this event.
