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1) Opening prayer
Lord, God of our fathers,
you brought Saint Teresa Benedicta
to the fullness of the science of the cross
at the hour of her martyrdom.
Fill us with that same knowledge;
and, through her intercession,
allow us always to seek after you, the supreme truth,
and to remain faithful until death to the covenant of love
ratified in the blood of your Son
for the salvation of all men and women.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord.
• Matthew 25, 1ª: The beginning: “At that time”. The parable begins with these two words: “At that time”. It is a question of the coming of the Son of Man (cfr. Mt 24, 37). Nobody knows when this day, this time will come, “not even the angels in Heaven nor the Son himself, but only the Father” (Mt 24, 36). The fortune tellers will not succeed in giving an estimate. The Son of Man will come as a surprise, when people less expect him (Mt 24, 44). It can be today, it can be tomorrow, that is why the last warning of the parable of the ten Virgins is: “Keep watch!” The ten girls should be prepared for any thing which may happen. When the Nazi Policemen knocked at the door of the Monastery of the Carmelite Sisters of Echt in the Province of Limburgia, in the Netherlands, Edith Stein, Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, was prepared. She took on the Cross and followed the way to martyrdom in the extermination camp out of love for God and for her people. She was one of the prudent virgins of the parable.
• Matthew 25, 1b-4: The ten virgins ready to wait for the bridegroom. The parable begins like this: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like this: ten wedding attendants took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom”. It is a question of the girls who have to accompany the bridegroom to the wedding feast. Because of this, they have to take the lamps with them, to light the way, and also to render the feast more joyful with more light. Five of them were prudent and five were foolish. This difference is seen in the way in which they prepare themselves for the role that they have to carry out. Together with the lighted lamps, the prudent ones had taken some oil in reserve, preparing themselves in this way for anything which could happen. The foolish ones took only the lamps and they did not think to take some oil in reserve with them.
• Matthew 25, 5-7: The unforeseen delay of the arrival of the bridegroom. The bridegroom was late. He had not indicated precisely the hour of his arrival. While waiting the attendants went to sleep. But the lamps continue to burn and use the oil until gradually they turned off. Suddenly, in the middle of the night, there was a cry: “Look! The bridegroom! Go out and meet him!” All the attendants woke up, and began to prepare their lamps which were burning out. They had to put in some of the oil they had brought in reserve so that the lamps would not burn out.
• Matthew 25, 8-9: The different reactions before the delay of the bridegroom. It is only now that the foolish attendants become aware that they should have brought some oil in reserve with them. They went to ask the prudent ones: “Give us some of your oil, our lamps are going out”. The prudent ones could not respond to this request, because at that moment what was important was not for the prudent ones to share their oil with the foolish ones, but that they would be ready to accompany the bridegroom to the place of the feast. For this reason they advised them: “You had better go to those who sell it and buy some for yourselves”.
• Matthew 25, 10-12: The fate of the prudent attendants and that of the foolish ones. The foolish ones followed the advice of the prudent ones and went to buy some oil. During their brief absence the bridegroom arrived and the prudent ones were able to accompany him and to enter together with him to the wedding feast. But the door was closed behind them. When the others arrived, they knocked at the door and said: “Lord, Lord, open the door for us!” and they received the response: “In truth I tell you, I do not know you”.
• Matthew 25, 13: The final recommendation of Jesus for all of us. The story of this parable is very simple and the lesson is evident: “So stay awake and watch, because you do not know either the day or the hour”. The moral of the story: do not be superficial, look beyond the present moment, and try to discover the call of God even in the smallest things of life, even the oil which may be lacking in the small light or lamp.
• Do you know the life of Saint Edith Stein, Teresa Benedicta of the Cross?
his praise continually on my lips.
I will praise Yahweh from my heart;
let the humble hear and rejoice. (Ps 34,1-2)
1) Opening prayer
Almighty and ever-living God,
your Spirit made us Your children,
confident to call You Father.
Increase Your Spirit within us
and bring us to our promised inheritance.
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.
2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 17:22-27
As Jesus and his disciples were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is to be handed over to men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day." And they were overwhelmed with grief. When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax approached Peter and said, "Does not your teacher pay the temple tax?" "Yes," he said. When he came into the house, before he had time to speak, Jesus asked him, "What is your opinion, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take tolls or census tax? From their subjects or from foreigners?" When he said, "From foreigners," Jesus said to him, "Then the subjects are exempt. But that we may not offend them, go to the sea, drop in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up. Open its mouth and you will find a coin worth twice the temple tax. Give that to them for me and for you."
3) Reflection
• The five verses of today’s Gospel speak about two very different themes between them. (a) The second announcement of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus (Mt 17:22-23); and (b) they report Jesus’ conversation with Peter about paying the taxes and the dues to the temple (Mt 17:24-27).
• Matthew 17:22-23: The prediction of the death and resurrection of Jesus. The first prediction (Mt 16:21) had produced a strong reaction in Peter, who did not want to know anything about suffering nor the cross. Jesus had answered just as strongly: “Get behind Me, Satan!” (Mt 16:23). Here, in the second prediction, the reaction of the disciples is less strong, less aggressive. The prediction produces sadness. It seems that now they begin to understand that the cross forms part of the journey. The proximity of the death and the suffering weigh heavily on them, giving rise to a great discouragement. Even if Jesus tries to help them, the resistance of centuries against the idea of a crucified Messiah, was much greater.
• Matthew 17:24-25a: The question which the tax collectors ask Peter concerning the taxes. When they reached Capernaum, the tax collector of the taxes of the Temple asks Peter, “Does your Master not pay the half-shekel for the Temple?” Peter answered: “Yes.” From the time of Nehemiah (V Century BC), the Jews who had returned from the Babylonian exile committed themselves solemnly in the Assembly to pay the various taxes and dues in order to allow the Temple to continue to function and to take care of the maintenance both of the priestly service and of the building of the Temple. (Neh 10:33-40). From what we can see from Peter’s response, Jesus paid the taxes like any other Jew.
• Matthew 17:25b-26: Jesus’ question to Peter concerning the taxes. The conversation between Jesus and Peter is very strange. When they reach home, Jesus asked, “ Simon, what is your opinion? From whom do earthly kings take toll or tribute? From their sons or from foreigners?” Peter responds, “From foreigners.” And Jesus says, “Therefore, the sons are exempt!” Probably, here we can see a discussion among the Christian Jews before the destruction of the Temple in the year 70. They asked themselves if they had to continue to pay the taxes of the Temple, as they did before. By Jesus’ response they discover that they are not obliged to pay this tax: “The sons are exempt!” The sons are the Christians, but even if they are not obliged to pay, the recommendation of Jesus is to pay in order not to cause scandal.
• Matthew 17:27: The conclusion of the conversation on the paying of the tax. The solution which Jesus gives to this situation is even stranger. He tells Peter, “However, so that we shall not be the downfall of others, go to the lake and cast a hook: take the first fish that rises, open its mouth and there you will find a shekel; take it and give it to them for Me and for yourself.” This was a strange miracle, strange as that of the 2000 pigs which rushed down into the sea (Mk 5:13). Whichever is the interpretation of this miraculous fact, this way of resolving the problem suggests that it is a question that is not too important for Jesus.
4) Personal questions
• The suffering of the Cross discourages and saddens the disciples. Has this ever happened in your life?
• How do you interpret the episode of the coin found in the mouth of the fish?
• What is the significance of using a fish here? Is there meaning to this that would be lost if it were just a matter of finding or having a coin instead?
5) Concluding Prayer
Praise Yahweh from the heavens,
praise Him in the heights.
Praise Him, all His angels,
praise Him, all His host! (Ps 148:1-2)
1) Opening prayer
Father of everlasting goodness,
our origin and guide,
be close to us
and hear the prayers of all who praise You.
Forgive our sins and restore us to life.
Keep us safe in Your love.
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.
2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 15:1-2,10-14
Some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands when they eat a meal." He summoned the crowd and said to them, "Hear and understand. It is not what enters one's mouth that defiles the man; but what comes out of the mouth is what defiles one." Then his disciples approached and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?" He said in reply, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit."
3) Reflection
• Today’s Gospel presents the discussion of Jesus with the Pharisees regarding what is pure and impure. The text speaks about the use and religious customs of that time, it speaks about the Pharisees who taught these uses and customs to the people and it also speaks about the instructions which Jesus gives regarding these uses and customs, many of which had already lost their significance. Here in the 15th chapter, Jesus helps the people and the disciples to better understand this very important theme concerning purity and the law of purity.
• Matthew 15:1-2: The Pharisees criticize the behavior of Jesus’ disciples. Some Pharisees and doctors of the Law came to Jesus and asked, “Why do Your disciples break away from the tradition of the elder? They eat without washing their hands!” They pretend to be interested in knowing the reason for the behavior of the disciples. In reality, they criticize Jesus because He allows His disciples to break the norms of purity. There are three points which merit our attention: (a) The scribes are from Jerusalem, the capital. They have come to observe what Jesus does. (b) The disciples do not wash their hands before eating! Living with Jesus gives them the courage to break the norms which tradition imposed upon people, but which no longer had any sense for life. (c) The washing of hands continues even now to be an important norm of hygiene, but had assumed for them a religious significance which served to control and discriminate against people.
• The Tradition of the Elders (Mt 15:3-9). “The Tradition of the Elders” transmitted the norms which had to be observed by the people in order to attain the purity which the law demanded. The observance of the law was something very serious. An impure or unclean person could not receive the blessing promised by God to Abraham. The norms of the law of purity taught how to recover purity in order to be able to appear once again before God and to feel at ease in His presence. One could not appear before God just in any way, because God is the Holy One and the law said, “Be holy because I am Holy!” (Lev 19: 2). The norms of purity were, in reality, a prison, an enslavement (cf. Mt 23: 4). For the poor, it was practically impossible to observe them: to touch a leper, to eat with a tax collector, to eat without washing one’s hands, and so many other activities. All these things rendered the person impure, and any contact with a person contaminated the others. This is why people lived in fear, always threatened by the many impure things which threatened their life. They were obliged to live, fearing everything and everyone. Insisting on the norms of purity, the Pharisees arrived at emptying the sense of the commandments of the Law of God. Jesus gives a concrete example. They said, “A person who consecrates his goods to the Temple can no longer use those goods to help the needy. Thus, in the name of tradition, they eliminated the significance of the fourth commandment which commands the honor of father and mother (Mt 15:3-6). These people seemed to be very observant, but they were only externally so. Inwardly , the heart was far away from God! Jesus said, quoting Isaiah, “These people honor me with the lips, but their heart is far away from Me (Mt 15:7-9). The wisdom of the people no longer agreed with what was taught, and they were waiting for the Messiah to come to show them another way in which to attain purity. This hope is realized in Jesus. Through His word He purified lepers (Mk 1:40-44), cast out demons (Mk 1: 26, 39; 3:15,22, etc.), and conquered death which was the source of all impurity. Jesus touches the woman who was excluded, and she is cured (Mk 5:25-34). Without fear of being contaminated, Jesus ate with people who were considered impure (Mk 2:15-17).
• Matthew 15:10-11: Jesus opens a new way to get people close to God. He tells the crowds, “Listen and understand! What goes into the mouth does not make anyone unclean: it is what comes out of the mouth that makes someone unclean!” Jesus reverses things: What is impure does not come from outside toward inside, as the doctors of the law taught, but from inside toward outside. In this way, nobody needs to ask himself if this or that food or drink is pure or impure. Jesus places what is clean and unclean on another level, the level of ethical behavior. He opens a new path to reach God, and in this way, He realizes the deepest desire of the people: to be at peace with God. Now all of a sudden everything changes! Through faith in Jesus, it was possible to attain purity and to feel well before God, without the need to observe all those norms of the “Tradition of the Elders.” This was liberation! The Good News announced by Jesus liberates people from the defensive, from fear, and gives them back the will to live, the joy of being sons and daughters of God.
• Matthew 15:12-14: Jesus affirms again what He had already said. The disciples tell Jesus that His words have scandalized the Pharisees, because they were contrary to what the Pharisees taught the people. Because, if the people had seriously lived the new teaching of Jesus, the whole tradition of the elders would have to be abolished and the Pharisees and the doctors of the law would have lost their leadership and their source of income. Jesus’ response is clear and leaves no doubts: “Any plant My Heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled out by the roots. Leave them alone! They are blind leaders of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into the pit.” Jesus did not diminish the impact of His words and He reaffirmed what He had said before.
4) Personal questions
•Do you know any religious practice today which no longer makes any sense, but which continues to be taught? In your life are there some practices and customs which are considered sacred, and others which are not?
• By what criteria would you judge these practices? Are these criteria consistent with all of Jesus’ teaching, or just a limited passage (a single passage is easy to take out of context)?
• The Pharisees were practicing Jews, but their faith was separated from the life of the people. This is why Jesus criticizes them. And today, would Jesus criticize us? For what things?
5) Concluding Prayer
The angel of Yahweh encamps
around those who fear Him and rescues them.
Taste and see that Yahweh is good.
How blessed are those who take refuge in Him. (Ps 34:7-8)
Discalced Carmelite Renewal Course at Stella Maris, Mount Carmel, Haifa, Israel.
Written byThe Discalced Carmelites (OCD) are holding a renewal course for Carmelite Friars in the Spanish language, beginning at the end of November 2011 and concluding in February 2012. They have kindly left a few places for O.Carm. friars and in their letter of invitation they state: "Our aim is to place at the disposal of the whole Carmelite family Mount Carmel, the Cradle of the Order and its unique context of the Holy Bible for our spiritual renewal and nourishment. The Course will harmoniously blend the Biblical and Carmelite dimensions of the spiritual life though prayer, study, Lectio Divina and pilgrimage." Those friars interested should make contact directly with Secretariat for Formation of the Casa Generalizia dei Carmelitani Scalzi This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. For those requiring a Visa for entry to Israel they will need at least three months to receive it. Contact ought to be made immediately with the Secretariat for Formation (OCD) by those friars interested in joining this programme.
A Meeting of the Formation Directors of the Carmelite Family in Brazil
Written byFrom the 27th of June to the 2nd of July, a meeting of the formation directors, men and women, of the Carmelite Family in Brazil took place in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. The sessions were directed by Fr. Jaldemir Vitorio, S.J. and Frei Carlos Mesters, O.Carm. The theme of the meeting was, The challenge of coming under the spell of Jesus Christ and the mission of the formation director in this calling. The days were intense with formation, prayer, fraternity, and, above all, the time to take a good look at what is happening in Carmelite Formation in Brazil. The meeting was attended by members of the Carmelite Province of St. Elias, the Carmelite Province of Pernambuco, the Commissariat of Paraná, the Carmelite Missionary Sisters, the Carmelite Sisters Daughters of St. Teresa, the Carmelite Sisters of Divine Providence and the Carmelite Missionary Sisters of St. Therese of the Child Jesus.
From July 4 to 8 July around 40 members of the Carmelite Family gathered in the ODC house in Karen, Nairobi, Kenya to take part in a seminar on “Carmel and Mary:
Carmel’s Marian Spirituality and its Importance for the Church and World Today”. The participants came from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania and included OCarm. and OCD friars, OCD active sisters, OCarm. nuns and a number of lay people. The seminar was organised by Fr Steven Payne OCD, director of the Institute of Spirituality at Tangaza College, Nairobi, and led by Fr Kevin Alban O. Carm., Bursar General and lecturer in mariology in Rome and London.
Final Information regarding the Meeting of Carmelite Youth, Madrid 2011
Written byIn Villareal on the 25th of June last, the preparatory team for the Carmelite Youth Meeting met: Fr. David del Carpio, Fr. John Keating, Fr. David Oliver, Bro. Luca Sciarelli, Marco Blanquer Rodríguez, Daniel Egido Simón, María José García de la Barrera Trujillo, Pedro Marqués Cabezas, Juan José Seva Ruíz y María José Varella Monzonís, they met to decide on the final details for the meeting which will take place on the 17th of August, 2011, in Madrid, in the college of the Marianists, Calle Joaquín Turina 37, Metro Carabanchel Alto, Línea 11. The programme may be seen on the web site: www.ocarm.org/madrid2011 This meeting is intended for young people who belong to the Carmelite Order/Family: Friars, Sisters, Cloistered Nuns, Third Order a nd other lay people associated with Carmel.
As things stand, 397 young people registered by the 18th of June, along with their respective leaders, from a variety of places: Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Puerto Rico, USA, Malta and Venezuela. In order to make it possible for young men and women Carmelites to take part in this event, taking advantage of the fact that they will be attending the World Youth Day in Madrid, we have extended the period for inscription up to the 16th of July, bearing in mind that people have to inscribe through the web page, in order to ensure the fullest attendance and the best possible organisation of the meeting.
For further information or for the purpose of inscribing, consult the website: http://www.ocarm.org/madrid2011, or contact us by email at, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The Elective Chapter of the Carmelite Monastery of Seville, Spain, was held 25 June 2011. The following were elected:
- Prioress: Sr. M. de Cristo Rey Mora Pérez, O.Carm.
- 1st Councilor: Sr. Reinhild Maschke, O.Carm.
- 2nd Councilor: Sr. Milagros Cabrilla Aranda, O.Carm.
- 3rd Councilor: Sr. M. Isabel Moreno de la Torre, O.Carm.
- 4th Couniclor: Sr. Hermelinda de Mª Guadalupe Bal Pichiyá, O.Carm.
- Director of Novices: Sr. Reinhild Maschke, O.Carm.
- Treasurer: Sr. M. Isabel Moreno de la Torre, O.Carm.
- Sacristan: Sr. Blanca de Jesús Toro Sierra, O.Carm.
