Search Results

Let us pray with gratitude in our Carmelite hearts in Community for our new Holy Father Pope Leo XIV: Heavenly Father, You have raised Your servant, Pope Leo XIV, to the Chair of Saint Peter. Pour out Your abundant blessings upon him. Through him, guide Your pilgrim Church along the path to Heaven. Grant him wisdom to discern Your will, Courage to fulfill it, And charity to shepherd Your people with the Heart of Christ. In this time of transition, Bring peace to troubled hearts, Joy to those who suffer, And hope to the despairing. May he be a faithful successor to Saint Peter, A humble servant of Your Word, And a fearless herald of Your Divine Mercy and Truth. Strengthen him with the grace of the Holy Spirit, That he may lead the Church in unity, holiness, and fidelity. We entrust him to the maternal care of the Blessed Virgin Mary, And to the prayers of all our Carmelite Saints. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.1

November is our month to celebrate All Carmelite Saints on the 14th and all Carmelite souls on the 15th . Let us meditate on a fitting excerpt from the Works of Saint Teresa of Jesus: ‘We Belong to a Race of Saints’ All of us who wear this holy Carmelite habit are called to prayer and contemplation. This is what we were founded for. We are descended from those holy fathers of ours on Mount Carmel, those who went in search of that treasure —the priceless pearl we are talking about—in such solitude and with such contempt for the world. We must remember those holy fathers of ours who have gone before us, the hermits whose lives we are trying to imitate. We must remember our real founders, those holy fathers whose descendants we are. It was by way of poverty and humility, we know, that they came to the enjoyment of God. Regarding the beginnings of orders, I sometimes hear it said that the Lord gave greater graces to those saints who went before us because they were the foundations. Quite so, but we too must always bear in mind what it means to be the foundations for those who will come later. For if those of us who are alive now have not fallen away from what they did in the past, and those who come after us do the same, the building will always stand firm. What use is it to me for the saints of the past to have been what they were, if I come along after them and behave so badly that I leave the building in ruins because of my bad habits? For obviously those who come later don't remember those who have died years before as they do the people, they see around them. A fine state of affairs it is to insist that I am not one of the first, and do not realize what a difference there is between my life and virtues and the lives of those God has endowed with such graces! Any of you who sees your Order falling away in any respect must try to be the kind of stone the building can be rebuilt with-the Lord will help to rebuild it. For love of our Lord I beg them to remember how quickly everything comes to an end, and what a favor the Lord has done in bringing us to this Order, and what a punishment anyone who starts any kind of relaxation will deserve. They must always look at the race we are descended from—that race of holy prophets. What numbers of saints we have in heaven who have worn this habit of ours! We must have the holy audacity to aspire, with God's help, to be like them. The struggle will not last long, but the outcome will be eternal.

We are truly blessed to celebrate this year’s Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel July https://ocarm.org/en/item/5534-why-we-celebrate-our-lady-of-mount-carmel-from-the-writings-of-ludovico-saggi-o-carm 16th with Holy Mass and three Final Professions of Marilyn Baker, Dorothy Loftus-Nall and Niniek Pranoto! These three beautiful Carmelites giving their Final Promises inspire us to renew our Professions too. We recall that wearing the Scapular is a sign of consecration to Mary, the Mother of God, and is a symbol showing that we are putting on the virtues of Mary and being protected by her. Mary symbolizes for us everything that we hope for - to enter into an intimate relationship with Christ, being totally open to God's will and having our lives transformed by the Word of God. We as Carmelites have always thought of Mary as the Patroness of the Order, its Mother and Splendor. We seek to live in spiritual intimacy with her so that we can learn from her how to live as God's children. Elijah and Mary are inspirational figures for all Carmelites. They play a very important part in the life and spirituality of the Order which sees itself as belonging to Mary and looks to Elijah as our spiritual father.

A s we celebrate the Feasts of St. Thérèse of the Infant Jesus and the Holy Face and St. Teresa of Jesus this October, let us meditate on the message of Pope Leo XIV to our Order in September at the General Meeting in Indonesia: “Indeed, the call to ‘have some sort of work to do’ (Carmelite Rule, 20) holds profound significance in your ministry, inviting you to embody Christ's loving gaze, which embraces each person with mercy and tenderness. Whether through preaching retreats, spiritual accompaniment, parish work, or educating youth, I pray that the band of charity in your communities bears witness to the gift of unity, especially in those parts of society fractured by division and polarization. With these sentiments, I entrust the General Chapter to the intercession of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, under whose mantle you find protection and peace, and I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing to all in the Order as a pledge of wisdom, joy and peace in the Lord.” --- From the Vatican, 5 August 2025. Our Community lives the Carmelite Rule 20 “have some sort of work to do” as demonstrated this last Memorial of our Lady of Sorrows by providing catechesis of the Brown Scapular and enrollment in the Confraternity of the Brown Scapular to all Catholics in the Rochester Community. Three beautiful ladies were enrolled (see above image). We are very grateful for Melissa who manages St. James Coffee. As your Directress I’m very grateful for Deacon Randy and the Lay Carmelites in our Community who participated witnessing their holy, prayerful presence to our newly enrolled.

Dear Lay Carmelites,  Our Holy Father Pope Francis has passed onto the House of the Father on the Easter Monday of the Angel.  Regina Caeli  V. Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia.  R. For He whom you did merit to bear, alleluia.  V. Has risen, as He said, alleluia.  As we mourn in hope, let our hearts pray for Pope Francis in gratitude for his beautiful model of the merciful Father, the simplicity of Christ and his life of service to our Catholic Church. Let us also recall that on May 5th we celebrate the Feast of Saint Angelus. Here is a Carmelite shield of the  Ancient Observance in the image. The palm and the lily signify the first saints of the order: St. Angelus of  Sicily (signified by the palm of martyrdom) and St. Albert of Trapani (signified by the lily):  Six pieces of spiritual armor are described in the rule of the Order; the cincture is the symbol of purity, indispensable for one who desires to reach the holy mountain of the vision of God: "Blessed are the pure of  heart, for they shall see God". The corselet which protects the vital parts of the body represents good thoughts: "Holy thoughts will protect you". The breastplate which covers the whole body represents justice, a well-regulated life, the observance of the commandments and duties of  daily life.   The shield is faith; for a living faith is the best safeguard for the spiritual life. The helmet symbolizes hope,  confidence in God, which gives us the right to walk with freedom and confidence. Finally, the sword  indicates conversation with God which as a double edge blade comes to our aid and defends us in all our  difficulties.

As Lay Carmelites we are grateful for this 2025 Jubilee Year! We will enter the Lent of 2025 next week. During Lent on March 19th, we will commemorate the Solemnity of our Principal Protector of our Community, Saint Joseph. This celebration has profound Biblical roots; Joseph is the last Patriarch who receives the communications of the Lord through the humble way of dreams [cf. Gn 28, 12-14; Mt 1, 20-24]. Like the ancient Joseph, he is an upright and faithful man [Mt 1, 19] whom God had placed as guardian of his household. He connects Jesus, the Messianic King, to the descent of David [Mt 1, 1-16; Lk 3, 23-38]. Joseph, Spouse of Mary and foster father, guide of the Holy Family in their flight to and return from Egypt, retracing the way of the Exodus [Gn 37; 50, 22-26; Mt 2, 13-21]. The liturgical feast of the Saint Patriarch already appeared in the Carmelite Order in the second half of the XV century. In 1680 the General Chapter unanimously elected Saint Joseph as the principal protector of the Order. In 1847 Pius IX declared him as Patron of the Universal Church and John XXIII inserted his name in the Roman Canon. 1 1 https://ocarm.org/en/item/100-st-joseph-principal-protector-of-the-order

This February 8th during the proclaimed Jubilee Year of our Lord 2025 we are celebrating with gratitude the Temporary Profession of Tia Meyer! On February 2nd we celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord recalling our Carmelite Catholic tradition that contemplates through Our Lady this sacred Feast known as Candlemas and the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary. As Carmelites we model our lives on the virtues of Blessed Virgin Mary. The newly-to-be Professed Tia [1] was baptized with the name Joseph. The Carmelite Blessed Mother Candlemas of Saint Joseph Feast Day is February 1st. [2]  The Feast of Josephine Bakita is on February 8th also. [3]    In our gratitude prayer for Tia, let us meditate on Candlemas/Presentation of the Lord and the role of Saint Joseph, our Community’s patron. “Saint Joseph, as the father, placed the Child in the arms of a priest, who, raising Him aloft and holding Him toward the Holy of Holies, offered Him to the Lord, and after the payment of the five shekels returned Him to His father while pronouncing the words of benediction. Our Savior submitted to this ceremony, though needing neither consecration nor sanctification. The union of His hu­manity with the Second Person of the Godhead had sanctified and united Him to God in such a manner as no sacrament or ceremony could do. Never during the time of the Old Tes­tament had such a glorious sacrifice been offered in the Temple. Its majestic grandeur shed its radiance over the sacred edifice and throughout all the earth and all times, and caused the utter poverty and inadequacy of the ancient worship to be revealed in a more brilliant light Another Abraham is here now offering his Son, but one in­comparably more just and more pleasing to God than the first Abraham. It is Saint Joseph. Hence, he has been chosen by God to be patriarch of the New Law. And if Mary and Simeon and Anna were present with Saint Joseph at this ceremony and to­gether praised God with the words:              “God is good and His mercy endures forever; we have received His mercy in the midst of His     Temple.” [Ps. 117:1; 47:10] This would have been the first Candlemas procession, and it was formed by the most venerable and holy personages in all the history of the Church.” [4] [1]  Tia: “It was St. Therese of Lisieux who led me to Carmel. On her birthday I asked her to ‘lead me with roses’ – and I promised I would follow.  I told no one about my prayer or promise. Later that year (Nov.) when Terre reached out to inquire about how my interview went for discernment into the Carmelites – I originally said ‘no’.  I felt like the time commitment (not option) and the 2X daily prayer on top of everything else was more than I wanted to commit to at the time.  Terre’s response was “Carmel is always there and always open… {she inserted a ‘Rose emoji’}.  As soon as I saw the rose, I remembered my promise to St. Therese and immediately circled back to Terre to let her know that I changed my mind. Or should I say, St. Therese spoke up and changed my mind for me. The rest is history. Carmel has been a true blessing.  I’m so grateful.” [2]   Bl. Candelaria of St Joseph (1863-1940)- Biography [3]   Mother Josephine Bakhita [4]   catholicexchange.com/st-joseph-the-presentation-of-the-child-jesus/

St. John of the Cross, whose feast we celebrate in the middle of our cold and dark Advent season, is often looked to for what he can teach us about suffering. However, in his tremendous suffering, he managed to write so profoundly of the joy brought to us by Christ. It’s a paradox we find in the lives of many great saints. Imprisoned during Advent in 1577, St. John began to write a beautiful poem about the depths of God’s love and the human journey towards union with Him. He recounts salvation history, and the mutual, selfless love of the Trinity. In the darkness of his own life, he sought the face of God and found that God was in fact seeking him, too. This poem, entitled  Romances,  is a dialogue between God the Father and God the Son, in which the Father reveals His plan to give a bride to the Son, a bride who will rejoice in His grace and fullness. [1] Here’s an excerpt, from a translation by Fr. Kieran Kavanaugh, OCD:   “Now you see, Son, that your bride was made in your image, and so far as she is like you she will suit you well; yet she is different, in her flesh, which your simple being does not have. In perfect love this law holds: that the lover become like the one he loves; for the greater their likeness the greater their delight. Surely your bride’s delight would greatly increase were she to see you like her, in her own flesh.” ( The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross,  p. 66.)   [1]   https://slmedia.org/blog/like-the-one-he-loves

Dear Lay Carmelites, As we remember that November is our month to celebrate all the Carmelite Saints on the 14th, we also recall All Carmelite souls on the 15th. Let us continue to ardently pray for peace through the intercession of all Carmelite souls. On September 28th, we celebrated a Service of the Word with Deacon Randy along with the Sisters of St. Mary of Carmel. After our Morning Prayer in their beautiful Chapel, we served the Sisters through helping to “put to safe rest for winter” the Sisters’ teardrop garden. Serving the Sisters as they live as hermits in this sacred part of God’s creation is a true privilege; really who is serving who? Let us pray and serve as Carmelites through the intercession of St Elizabeth of the Trinity on her Feast Day November 8th, for the true peace we encounter in the places where peace is lived such as the Hermits of St. Mary: O my God, Trinity whom I adore, help me forget myself entirely so to establish myself in you, unmovable and peaceful as if my soul were already in eternity. May nothing be able to trouble my peace or make me leave you, O my unchanging God, but may each minute bring me more deeply into your mystery! Grant my soul peace. Make it your heaven, your beloved dwelling and the place of your rest. May I never abandon you there, but may I be there, whole and entire, completely vigilant in my faith, entirely adoring, and wholly given over to your creative action.