O.Carm
Lectio Divina September, 2024
Opening Prayer
Lord Jesus, send your Spirit to help us to read the Scriptures with the same mind that you read them to the disciples on the way to Emmaus. In the light of the Word, written in the Bible, you helped them to discover the presence of God in the disturbing events of your sentence and death. Thus, the cross that seemed to be the end of all hope became for them the source of life and of resurrection.
Create in us silence so that we may listen to your voice in Creation and in the Scriptures, in events and in people, above all in the poor and suffering. May your word guide us so that we too, like the two disciples from Emmaus, may experience the force of your resurrection and witness to others that you are alive in our midst as source of fraternity, justice, and peace. We ask this of you, Jesus, Son of Mary, who revealed to us the Father and sent us your Spirit. Amen.
Celebrating At Home - 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time
I am the Bread of Life
(Jn 6:24-35)
Our journey through Chapter 6 of St John’s Gospel continues. Two weeks ago, Jesus showed himself the true shepherd-king, feeding the inner hunger of the people for the Word of God. Last week, Jesus fed the physical hunger of a great multitude with a simple meal of bread and fish. The people, impressed by what they saw, wanted to make him their warrior-king, one who would lead them in a revolt against the occupying Romans and satisfy their every desire. Jesus escaped into the hills.
This Sunday, the crowd has caught up with Jesus. He accuses them of looking for him only because he gave them all the bread they wanted to eat, not because they had understood that the bread was a sign of the real food Jesus was offering: himself. Jesus urges them to work for ‘food that endures to eternal life’. Working for this food means to believe in the one God has sent: Jesus himself.
The crowd asks for a sign to prove that they should believe in Jesus. After all, they say, Moses gave our ancestors bread to eat in the desert; what will you do? Their request underlines their failure to really see the sign that they had already been given. Jesus reformulates their quote from scripture: It is God who gives the true bread from heaven, the bread of God which gives life to the world. In that case, they say, give us that bread always.
Jesus replies: I am the bread of life, those who come to me will never be hungry; those who believe in me will never thirst. Jesus is real food for the hungers and thirsts of the human heart.
To be nourished by Jesus one must believe (have faith) in him. This implies a personal relationship with Jesus. Once this personal relationship has been established everything else finds its proper place and true purpose. Our relationships feed and sustain us as human beings. They are born of the food of love, compassion and forgiveness. Being in a relationship is to be drawn into communion with another person. We always draw life from those we love and those who love us. It is the same with Jesus. In order to draw life from him, to be fed by him, we have to be in loving relationship with him.
- pdf Celebrating At Home - 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time [PDF] (3.22 MB)
- default Celebrating At Home - 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time [ePub] (4.88 MB)
- pdf Celebrando en Familia - XVIII Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario (512 KB)
- pdf Celebrando in Casa - XVIII Domenica del Tempo Ordinario (509 KB)
- pdf Celebrando em família - Décimo Oitavo Domingo do Tempo Comum (509 KB)
Lectio Divina August, 2024
Opening Prayer
God our Father and protector, without you nothing is holy, nothing has value.
Guide us to everlasting life by helping us to use wisely the blessings you have given to the world.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Celebrated Around the World
July is a busy month for the Carmelite Order with celebrations of many of its saints and blesseds. The month also includes celebrations of both Our Lady of Mount Carmel and the Prophet Elijah. Each has a particular resonance with members of the Order and are celebrated in a variety of ways around the world. Here are a few of the celebrations we learned about over the past several days. We appreciate members sending a short summary as well as pictures of their celebrations.
Carmel in Albacete, Spain
From July 7 to 15, a novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmen was solemnly celebrated in the Cathedral of Albacete. Presiding and preaching the novena was Matias Tejerina, O. Carm.
There was a large crowd of the faithful and people devoted to the Virgin of Mount Carmel. There is a group of Carmelite Tertiaries and Confreres in Albacete who keep the Carmelite charism alive. They prepare the novena every year and have an oratory in the middle of the city which is open every day for prayer. Eucharist is celebrated there three times a month presided by Fr. Alfonso Herrera, O. Carm., the spiritual director of the Tertiaries. Also in Albacete is a community of Carmelite sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus who minister in the parish of San Pablo. They also lead a very active and pastorally committed group of Carmelite Laity.
Huesca, Spain
The Carmelite nuns of the Monastery of the Encarnation San Miguel in Huesca, Spain, provided a film of their celebration of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in 2024. The monastery dates to 1622. (Sor Mª Blanca de la Eucaristía Barril, O. Carm.)
To watch the video
St. Thomas Province, India
The celebration of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in St. Thomas Province (India), especially within its communities, is a deeply cherished event. Community members gather together-- in unity and reverence-- to commemorate this special occasion. Neighboring religious communities are invited, fostering bonds of friendship and solidarity. As a symbol of faith and protection, scapulars are ceremoniously distributed to everyone who attends, signifying devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel. The celebrations highlight the spiritual significance of the occasion through songs and homilies and prayers. Traditional rituals and processions enhance the solemnity and cultural richness of the event. Special meals are prepared and then shared among the gathered community, reinforcing bonds of camaraderie and fellowship. The celebrations serve not only as a religious observance but also as a joyful expression of our cultural heritage and communal identity. Ultimately, these celebrations deepen devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel and reaffirm the participants' faith and commitment. Overall, the festivities reflect a deep-seated reverence and devotion that resonate throughout the Indian province and their local communities. (Deepak Aracka, O. Carm.)
Province of Malta
The Carmelite feast in Valletta on the July 16 is a major event. Many streets are decorated. Bands march in the streets over a four day period. There is a musical concert and a fireworks display. The religious celebration includes a 2 hour Solemn Mass in the morning and an evening Mass lead by the Archbishop Scicluna. This Mass is followed by a procession with the statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
The Carmelite community also hosted a lunch with guests including the prior provincial of the Discalced Carmelites of Malta, the Canon and his wife from the Anglican Cathedral of St. Paul in Valletta, the parish priests of Valletta, the Suore Carmelitane Missionarie di S. Teresa del Bambino Gesù, two Domincans, and all the Carmelites of the Maltese Province who could attend.
General Delegation of Kenya
On July 16, 2024 the Kenyan Delegation gathered at the newly formed Carmelite community in central Kenya (the priory at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Retreat Centre). The celebration was attended by many of the faithful as well as friars, religious sisters, Third Order Carmelites, and diocesan clergy.
Before the celebration of Mass, we held with a procession carrying a five foot (152.4 cm) statue of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, to a newly constructed grotto on the property.
We continue to seek Her intercession as a Kenyan delegation especially as we continue the construction of the retreat centre to serve the people. (Daniel Kyalo, O. Carm.)
Malaga (Spain) Area
The city of Malaga in southern Spain and many of the towns and villages along the Costa del Sol celebrated Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the patron of seafarers, special festivities and processions on July 16. Even some inland towns and villages join in on the celebrations.
St. Titus Brandsma, priest and martyr
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
Special Announcement:
We are proud to announce that Volume 5 in the Titus Brandsma series is due from the printer in the coming days. This incredible collection of the writings, speeches, and letters of St. Titus Brandsma, translated into English, provides the martyr of Dachau's life story in his own words.
Edizioni Carmelitane also provides a number of other excellent publications on Carmel's most recent saint including a theatrical play, a professionally produced tv production in multiple languages, as well as books in a variety of languages.
St. Joachim and St. Anne, Protectors of the Order
July 26 | Memorial
The names of the parents of Mary are known from the apocryphal “Proto-Gospel of James” (II century). The cult to Saint Anne is documented in the East in the VI century, in the West in the X century; that of Saint Joachim in the XIV century.
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.
Read more ...
Celebrating At Home - 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
We Are Fed That We Might Feed
(Jn 6:1-15)
Unusually, our reading of St Mark’s Gospel will be interrupted for the next five weeks during which we will read the ‘Bread of Life’ passages from Chapter 6 of St John’s Gospel. These passages form a kind of meditation about who Jesus is and what is happening when we gather for Eucharist - we are being nourished by Jesus in Word and Sacrament, and we are being sent to feed and nourish one another.
In last Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus fed the crowd, hungering for the Word of God, with his teaching. This week, Jesus also feeds the crowd with bread and fish. Once again, Jesus is deeply conscious of the human needs of others. Despite there being so many, not only are all fed, but there is food left over. In the story there is a sense of super-abundance.
When God answers needs and provides for people there is never just enough; there is always more than enough.
Seeing what Jesus had done, the people think they know who Jesus is (“the prophet who is to come into the world”) and what his role should be (a king who will provide anything they want). But they have the wrong idea about Jesus’ kingship. He isn’t a national liberator, a political leader or a magician. So Jesus escapes into the hills by himself.
In next Sunday’s Gospel Jesus will explain what this sign of feeding the multitude is really about. As we begin this meditation on Jesus, the Bread of Life, our thoughts also turn to how we can be living bread for each other; how we can feed and nourish with the kinds of bread that do not perish: truth, justice, love, kindness, compassion, honesty, integrity, faith, hope and forgiveness.
What words can we speak, what actions can we do that not only feed bodies, but which also feed hearts hungry for comfort, hope, forgiveness, justice, mercy, acceptance and love? How can we be the ‘bread of God’ in our world today?
The ‘food’ is entrusted to us. We are fed that we might feed one another.
- pdf Celebrating At Home - 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time [PDF] (3.42 MB)
- default Celebrating At Home - 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time [ePub] (4.86 MB)
- pdf Celebrando en Familia - XVII Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario (495 KB)
- pdf Celebrando in Casa - XVII Domenica del Tempo Ordinario (524 KB)
- pdf Celebrando em família - Décimo Sétimo Domingo do Tempo Comum (487 KB)
Blessed John Soreth, priest
July 24 | Memorial
John Soreth was unflagging in his efforts at renewal, during what was an especially critical period for both the Church and the Order. He dedicated himself entirely to the reform of the Order, travelling across Europe, making canonical visitations and promoting a more faithful observance of religious life both in the older Provinces and convents and in the Mantuan Reformed Congregation.
He was instrumental in the development of the Lay Carmelite Third Order.
Read more ...
Books Available on John Soreth (in Italian):
Il B. Jean Soreth (1394-1471). Priore generale, riformatore e maestro spirituale dell’Ordine Carmelitano
Giovanni Grosso, O. Carm.
Expositio paraenetica in regulam carmelitarum: Un commento alla regola del Carmelo
Giovanna D’Aniello, O. Carm.
St. Elijah, prophet
July 20 | Solemnity
Elijah made himself available for God's work and was sent into various situations to proclaim God's word.
From Elijah, Carmelites learn to listen for the voice of God in the unexpected and in silence. We seek to allow the Word of God to shape our minds and our hearts so that the way we live and the things we do may be prophetic
Read more ...
Causa Nostrae Laetitiae
INITIUM NOVITIATUS
05-07-24 Frederick Ovko Owino (Kenya) Nyazura, Zimbabwe
05-07-24 Moses Mukwanha Wekesa (Kenya) Nyazura, Zimbabwe
05-07-24 Matthew Mweu Wambwa (Kenya) Nyazura, Zimbabwe
05-07-24 John Kheri Madava (Bruna-Tanzania) Nyazura, Zimbabwe
05-07-24 Faustine Innocent Nh'Umbili (Bruna-Tanzania) Nyazura, Zimbabwe
05-07-24 Ansbert Protace Mulaly (Bruna-Tanzania) Nyazura, Zimbabwe
05-07-24 Felicino Abgalao Massango (Pern-Moz) Nyazura, Zimbabwe
05-07-24 Juvencio Eusco Alvesta (Pern-Moz) Nyazura, Zimbabwe
05-07-24 Gabriel Tomas Congolo (Pern-Moz) Nyazura, Zimbabwe
05-07-24 Sulyvan Amalio Jaime (Pern-Moz) Nyazura, Zimbabwe
05-07-24 Simbarashe Matenza (Hib-Zim) Nyazura, Zimbabwe
05-07-24 Munashe Chimwamuchere (Hib-Zim) Nyazura, Zimbabwe
05-07-24 Kudakwashe Maposa (Hib-Zim) Nyazura, Zimbabwe
PROFESSIO TEMPORANEA
06-07-24 Sydney Mukwenha (Hib-Zim) Nyazura, Zimbabwe
06-07-24 Tallon Simbarashe Tafirenyika (Hib-Zim) Nyazura, Zimbabwe
06-07-24 Blessmore Murimambeva (Hib-Zim) Nyazura, Zimbabwe
16-07-24 Patrisius Bimasakti (Indo) Malang, Indonesia
16-07-24 Jona Dipa Manurung (Indo) Malang, Indonesia
16-07-24 Jekki Tua Sipayung (Indo) Malang, Indonesia
16-07-24 Albertus Agung Dwi Kristianto (Indo) Malang, Indonesia
16-07-24 Andreas Ferdian Ginting (Indo) Malang, Indonesia
16-07-24 Aldo Alberto Panjaitan (Indo) Malang, Indonesia
PROFESSIO SOLEMNIS
16-07-24 Bintang Parhusip (Indo) Malang, Indonesia
16-07-24 Nuryatmaja Gora Pawana (Indo) Malang, Indonesia
