O.Carm
Lectio Divina September, 2026
Opening Prayer
Almighty God,
every good thing comes from You. Fill our hearts with love for You, increase our faith, and by Your constant care protect the good You have given us.
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.
Celebrating At Home - 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time
The Kingdom of God in Everyday Life
(Matthew 14:13-21)
This week’s Gospel is the beginning of a new section of St Matthew’s Gospel which talks about the Kingdom of God on earth and the Church as a visible sign of the Kingdom.
The Kingdom is found where human beings are. It is deeply enfolded and immersed in the world of human experience: hunger, fear, disease, the sound of sheer silence, celebration, joy, hope, forgiveness, mercy, justice, in hearing and keeping the word of God. The kingdom is made present especially when human needs are responded to and transformed with the life of God.
In today’s Gospel, we encounter several human situations: Jesus’ own need to grieve the death of John the Baptist; a large group of distressed people who search him out; a large group of hungry people; a group of disciples in training.
Jesus is moved with compassion for the crowd in spite of his own grief. As evening approaches, the disciples want to send the people away, but Jesus wants to feed them. He invites the disciples into a moment of reflection, training them to have confidence, to show initiative, to be leaders.
Jesus uses the common Jewish meal ritual of blessing, breaking and giving to feed the crowd with just five loaves and two fish. By working with Jesus and entrusting him with the little they have, the huge crowd is fed. What, at first, seemed so inadequate became more than enough.
Like Jesus, the disciple has to learn how to touch the world of human need with the transforming life of God.
Like the huge crowd we can be oblivious to God’s action revealed in the goodness of other people.
Sometimes we, too, need to lift up our heads to see what is really happening and recognise how many times in the ordinary circumstances of life God favours us with moments of grace. God continually invites us to see what is really going on and how extraordinary the ordinary can be when we see with God’s eyes.
Maltese Celebrate 150 Years of Anastasju Cuschieri
Maltese Honor 150th Anniversary of Carmelite Anastasju Cuschieri
On July 27, 2026, the Maltese Carmelite Province in conjunction with the Akkademja tal-Malti (Academy of the Maltese Language) commemorated the 150th anniversary of the birth of Carmelite priest, Anastasio Cuschieri (1876-1962). July 27 also marked the 64th anniversary of his death and funeral.
Fr. Cuschieri studied philosophy and theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and resided at St Albert’s International College (CISA). He was a close friend of Hubertus Driessen, O. Carm. and acquainted also through him with St Titus Brandsma. As a philosopher, he held the Chair of Logic, Aesthetics and Ethics at the Royal University of Malta (1902-1939). He also served as a Senator, elected to Parliament, pitching him against the Protestant British colonial government of Malta. His political commitment had a pronounced social edge. Cuschieri was instrumental in the promotion of the Maltese Language during the local language question, defending the Maltese language both with persuasive arguments and the writing of fine poetry in the Maltese language. This gained him the title of “Il-Poeta tal-Kelma Maltija” (The Poet of the Maltese Language). His poetry also is marked by Marian lyricism gaining him the title of “Il-Poeta tal-Madonna” (Our Lady’s Poet).
The commemoration opened with a speech by the president of the Akkademja, Dr. Sergio Grech. The speech focused on “Communication: A Powerful tool in Anastasju Cuschieri.” Daniel Attard and Rita Saliba, members of the Council of the Akkademja, recited some of his celebrated poems, while violinist Elena Muscat graced the evening with classic musical pieces.
Fr. Charlò Camilleri, O. Carm., associate professor at the Faculty of Theology, Deputy Dean and Senator within the University of Malta, as Member of the Akkademja tal-Malti, serving also on its council, delivered the main speech: “The Spirit, Duty, and the Rights of the Weak: The Dream of Anastasio Cuschieri for a Strong Democracy in the Light of Christian Civilization.” Finally, the Carmelite provincial, Fr. Charles Mallia, and Grech, the president of the Akkademja, placed floral wreaths on Cuschieri’s grave, in the cloister of the Carmelite Church in Mdina.
Lectio Divina August, 2026
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.
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
Edizioni Carmelitane offers an incredible collection of writings, speeches, and letters by Tito Brandsma, the Carmelites’ most recent saint, including a play, a professional television production on DVD, and books in various languages.
St. Joachim and St. Anne, Protectors of the Order
26 July 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. In the Byzantine rite the 25 of July reminds us the dedication in Constantinople of a Basilica in honour of Saint Anne.
To read more ...
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 on John Soreth (in Italian) from Edizioni Carmelitane, the Carmelites' online bookstore:
Expositio paraenetica in regulam carmelitarum: Un commento alla regola del Carmelo
Giovanna D’Aniello, O. Carm.
Il B. Jean Soreth (1394-1471). Priore generale, riformatore e maestro spirituale dell’Ordine Carmelitano
Giovanni Grosso, O. Carm.
Celebrating At Home - 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Close Encounters with the Kingdom of God
(Matthew 13:44-52)
In the Gospel, Jesus compares the Kingdom to treasure hidden in a field, to a merchant on the lookout for fine pearls and to a fisherman’s dragnet which brings in a very mixed catch.
The point of the parables is the behaviour of the people in them.
In the first parable someone stumbles across the treasure by chance. Sometimes that can happen to us, too. We are happily living our lives when, by chance, something happens or we meet someone and our lives change for ever. On reflection we discern the presence of God in that encounter.
In the second parable the Kingdom is found after a long search. It is a reassurance that those who seek always find, and those who knock on the door will always have it opened.
The third parable introduces a note of reality: the Kingdom is a mixture of all kinds of things and some sorting out is needed.
In the first two parables the joy and delight of those who find (experience) the Kingdom is obvious. It is so strong that nothing is spared in order to posses the Kingdom.
The purpose of parables is not to provide answers to questions but to get us to think.
As we know, the Kingdom of God is not a ‘thing’ or a ‘place’. It is an experience or an encounter with the life of God.
In the life and ministry of Jesus many people experienced the Kingdom through their encounter with him which brought dignity, love, forgiveness, release from illness, disability, guilt, shame and even death. Jesus made present the reign of God’s grace for people in all kinds of need.
While we are sometimes overwhelmed by the experience of the presence of God within our hearts, more often we experience the reign of God’s grace through others. These people, like Jesus, somehow make present, make real the presence and action of God especially (but not only) in our moments of need. Having experienced that, we too, want to possess, to find and hold onto, the Source which touched us so deeply and brought us hope, comfort and freedom.
The kingdom, as we are reminded in the third parable, is a mixed bag of good and rotten fish, saints and sinners. It is not the task of members of the kingdom to judge; the final sorting out belongs to God alone. In the meantime, patience and tolerance must guide the practice of those in the kingdom.
The people of the kingdom seek the things that are of real value in life. They are prepared to make great sacrifices in order to make them their own. They live their lives with virtue and wisdom and their lives are a blessing for others as they draw from their rich store of values and virtues, of wisdom and grace. They never stop seeking the things of real value, the riches of the kingdom and they never stop making God present for those around them.
Video History of the Carmelites in Zimbabwe – Part 2
Video History of the Zimbabwean Commissariat – Part 2
The second video of this excellent series produced by the Carmelites in Zimbabwe as part of their 80th anniversary celebration has been released. It is available on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWixb2EvTFw
This second part of the Commissariat’s history is entitled A Church Finds Its Voice. It covers the years 1966-1986. The story of Bishop Donal Lamont’s opposition to the racist government of Ian Smith is recalled. This included the bishop working to get the Zimbabwean Church hierarchy to speak out and stand firmly alongside the people. The Carmelites adoption of a ministry of presence with the people is recalled in some detail. The founding and ministry of the Handmaids of Our Lady of Mt Carmel and the Mount Carmel Guild for women were also presented.
Avvenire Highlights Prior General’s July 16 Reflection
Avvenire Uses Prior General’s Letter to Promote Reflection on the Meaning of July 16th
The Catholic news service Avvenire ran an article on July 15 echoing the deeper meaning of the Solemnity of Our Lady of Mount Carmel suggested by Desiderio Garcia Martínez, the prior general, in his letter to the Carmelite Family on the occasion of the Solemnity. The prior general’s letter was distributed well before the feast to provide time for reflection by the members of the Carmelite Family as well as others desiring to benefit spiritually from the feast.
The prior general reflected on the opportunity each person has to “to invoke Mary, Mother of Life, who looks upon us with mercy.” He further suggested that we remember that the scapular Carmelites wear recalls the responsibility we each have as a result of our baptism.
The article also highlights our Carmelite enclosed monastery in Biella, Italy, describing it as “an oasis of rest to renew the spirit during life’s difficult and trying moments.” Avvenire is headquartered in Milan, Italy.
The article was written by Laura Badaracchi.
The full article can be read here.
