Displaying items by tag: prior general

Solemnity of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

‘All tears reach heaven’

Dear Carmelite family: Happy Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel!

Once again, the Solemnity of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is fast approaching. This year we recall that, on September 24, 1726, Benedict XIII extended the celebration of the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel to the whole of Christendom. We give thanks to God for all the blessings our Order has received during these eight centuries of history, especially for having a Mother to whom we can turn and who cares for us. St Thérèse of the Child Jesus, with some surprise, acknowledged this: “For I have, Blessed Virgin, two mothers to whom I can turn, one on earth and the other in Heaven, whereas you have no Mother in Heaven to love, for you are the Mother yourself.”

1. Mary fills us with gratitude. In Bethlehem, Mary wrapped her Son in swaddling clothes (cf. Lk 2:12). That gesture reminds us that Jesus, as well as being true God and true man, was cared for and loved from the moment of his birth. In Sacred Scripture, “being wrapped in swaddling clothes” is a sign of protection and maternal love: “When I was born […] the first thing I did, like everyone else, was to cry. I was brought up with tender care and swaddling clothes …” (Wis 7:3–4); on the contrary, nakedness, “not being wrapped in swaddling clothes,” indicates vulnerability and helplessness: “No one took an interest in her […] No one bathed her, nor rubbed her with salt, nor wrapped her in swaddling clothes […] they abandoned her…” (cf. Ezek 16:4–5). How difficult it is to care for the lives of others without first, with gratitude, recognising one’s own as a miracle and an undeserved gift! Kierkegaard noted that gratitude is, apart from being the noblest feeling that can spring from the human heart, the “deepest spiritual response to the gift of one’s own existence.” Gratitude is, in fact, a good gauge for measuring our human and spiritual quality. Grateful people make everything easy and a blessing; instead of complaining about what they lack, they value what they have; they shun facile criticism and gossip... Mary, our Mother, teaches us to make our lives a Magnificat, a song of thanksgiving.

2. Mary clothes us in light. The Carmelite Order was founded in the Holy Land at the end of the 12th century. Amidst great danger, we were forced to migrate to Europe. To whom do we turn in the midst of adversity and tribulation? To our Mother. She defended us. We celebrate with joy the 775th anniversary–according to Carmelite tradition–of the presentation of the Holy Scapular to Saint Simon Stock. This is not an amulet that guarantees our salvation, but a sacramental that reminds us of our responsibility to wear the garment of baptism. A very special garment, made of linen, which, according to Scripture, represents the “good works” of the saints (cf. Rev 19:8). Linen is extracted from a plant, which must be beaten, again and again, until it is softened and the whiteness of its fibres is extracted. The Holy Scapular is a suit of armor that defends us from the blows (like the linen) that we receive in the battles of this life. Mary defends us and shows us how to persevere in always doing good. As a Hebrew epitaph once prayed: “A good deed done on earth causes a thread of light to be born in heaven. Many good deeds done on earth cause many threads of light to be born in heaven. For what purpose? To weave and knit together a garment. A garment of light that gives glory to the Master of all works.” Mary earnestly teaches us to clothe ourselves in this armor (cf. Rule 19), woven from many “threads of light”: mercy, gentleness, peace, justice, forgiveness, joy, hope, love, etc.

3. Mary clothes us in humanity. On the May 25, Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, was published, addressing the protection of human dignity in the age of artificial intelligence. He has asked the whole Church to read and reflect upon it. In the face of the growing link between technology, power and violence, a new civilisation of love is proposed to us as an alternative. Pope Leo XIV invites us to invoke Mary, Mother of Life, who looks upon us with mercy. We could cite many testimonies that would compel us to bow down before the suffering of the innocent: those who struggle to find work and make ends meet; those who emigrate from their countries without access to education and healthcare; war, famine, broken love. One example is sufficient. It is that of a prominent figure in French culture, Emmanuel Mounier, the believing philosopher, who felt the weight of his young daughter’s irreversible illness, as she lived in a vegetative state:

As I approached this silent cradle, I felt as though I were approaching an altar, a sacred place where God spoke through a sign. A piercing and profound sadness; profound, yet light and transfigured. And, around it, a sense of adoration… I have no other word for it. Never have I known so intensely what prayer is as when I spoke to that forehead which gave no reply, when my eyes ventured towards that lost gaze that looked towards the infinite behind me. Mystery… and it can only be a mystery of goodness. One must dare to say: a grace too lofty, a living host among us, silent as the Host, resplendent as She… – Mounier says to his wife –: For how many months did we wish she would die if she was going to remain like this! But… is this not mere bourgeois sentimentality? What does “being unhappy” mean to her? Who can assure us that she is? Who knows if we are not being asked to keep and adore this host among us…? My little Françoise, to me you are the very image of faith [Letter to Paulette Mounier, 1964, 671].

His testimony is deeply moving. Let us implore the Mother and Beauty of Carmel to teach us to see God’s invisible work and to view the world from below, from the perspective of the most vulnerable. The Joys of Our Lady of Mount Carmel are very old and popular poems, composed mainly to honour the Virgin Mary. They bring together ancient stories from the Carmelite tradition: “For you are our comfort, the most powerful means. Be our loving refuge, Mother of God of Mount Carmel.” The biblical scholar Miguel Aiguani, O. Carm. (1320–1400), affirmed that Mary is an “impregnable castle,” a secure stronghold in which to take refuge when we feel that life is threatened by death. St John Chrysostom insisted that “there is no motherhood without tears.” Tears nourish the soul. God gathers those tears, as the psalmist says, in His “skin flask.” Not a single tear is lost; they all go straight to the heart of God (cf. Ps 55). Tears intercede so that the Church’s mission may be more fruitful. Weeping for the pain of our neighbor or for the rejection we have suffered has a sanctifying and restorative power.

May Our Lady, whom we proclaim Mater et Decor Carmeli, protect us and, through her heavenly intercession, grant us the strength, hope and joy we need to reflect God’s goodness as we serve humanity.

Fraternally in Carmel,

Fr. Desiderio García Martínez, O. Carm., the prior general, has the following schedule planned for the month of June 2026:

June 1–13, 2026: General Council Plenary Session.
June 15–19, 2026: PCM Province Chapter (USA).
June 20–21, 2026: Meeting of the Prior General with students from the PCM Province.
June 22, 2026: Fraternal visit to the Carmelite Monastery, Sisters of Hudson (USA).
June 23–25, 2026: Fraternal visit to Hermitage Lake Elmo (USA).
June 27–29, 2026: Carmelite Family Meeting, Iberian Region (Spain– Portugal).

Fr. Desiderio García Martínez, O. Carm., the prior general, has the following schedule planned for the month of May 2026:

May 4-8, 2026: Chapter of the Dutch Province
May 18-24, 2026: Provincial Chapter of East Indonesia
May 27-29, 2026: Assembly of the Union of General Superiors
May 30-31, 2026: Meeting of the TOC-Castellina and Florence Family

Fr Desiderio García Martínez, O. Carm. -- 2026
Easter Message from the Prior General

Dear brothers and sisters of the Carmelite Family: Christ is risen!

We joyfully celebrate the resurrection of Christ, which is the cornerstone of the Christian faith. Faith is born of a personal encounter with the Risen Christ and becomes a source of courage and freedom that leads us to proclaim to the world: Jesus is risen and lives forever!

The Midrash on Genesis recounts: “A king built a house. He then invited his friends to celebrate with a splendid feast. Everything seemed to be going well; the evening was proceeding perfectly, and everyone was happy. But as the hours passed, night fell. Then panic set in. They could not see one another, nor could they even enjoy the banquet. The king said: ‘What use is all this to me if I have no light to enjoy it?’ Then God said, ‘Let there be light, and there was light. And God saw that the light was good.’ And alongside the light there was eternal joy, an eternal feast, an eternal celebration...” (Bereshit Rabah / Gen 1:3). Christ is the Light that has conquered the darkness. With the Resurrection, the day of God enters the night of history. The Resurrection of Christ, a historical truth, is more than a mere biological reanimation of the corpse; it is the most decisive ontological leap of the human race. The Resurrection is an outpouring of love that broke the tragic bond between birth and death, transforming it into a blessed sequence: birth, death and life. God’s boundless love makes us immortal. Martín Descalzo, a Spanish writer, put it this way. “Throughout my life, I have dreamed of countless things. Now I know that… only by loving will I live forever; that the only parts of my soul that will have truly been alive will be those I devoted to loving, serving and helping others. And it’s taken me fifty years to realise it!”

The Paschal Mystery has ushered in a new era, a new world (cf. 2 Cor 5:17). Christ’s Resurrection has opened a new chapter in history, which will come to an end when all things are brought together in Christ, the one Head. Through baptism we have been buried with Christ in death so that we might rise to new life. And why rise? Let us recall Teresa of Ávila. “To rise, only to die again in the trials of love.” Only if we are risen can we give life! Alive to serve each day at work… Alive to care for our sick brothers and sisters… Alive to be sowers of justice and peace around us… This is the purpose of our lives: to rise, so that we may die again, every day, in love.” The world will believe if it sees that the Body of Christ is risen. And we are the members of the Body of Christ. Now more than ever we need an army of the risen, immune to death, to sadness, to discouragement… who heal broken hearts, comfort the afflicted, sow hope, and have a sense of humor; who recognize his presence in the Eucharist; who proclaim him as the one Lord of Life… It took only one night for the Lord to bring Israel out of Egypt; but it took forty years for the Lord to bring Egypt out of the heart of Israel.” What is there still in our lives that needs to be brought back to life?

May Mary, Mother of Mount Carmel, help us to understand this mystery of love that transforms hearts, and enable us to fully savor the joy of Easter, so that we, in turn, may share it with the men and women around us.

Fr. Desiderio García Martínez, O. Carm., the prior general, has the following schedule planned for the month of April 2026:

April 7-10, 2026: Provincial Chapter and Union of the Provinces ACV and Bética (España)
April 13-17, 2026: Provincial Chapter of the British Provine
April 18-20, 2026: Canonical Visitation of the French Delegation
April 21-24, 2026: Chapter of the General Comissary of Portugal.

OCARM-OCD General Councils Meet in Rome to Discuss a Variety of Mutual Interests

On March 12, 2026, the two General Councils, OCARM and OCD, met at the General House of the Discalced Carmelites. It was a relaxed occasion marked by fraternal dialogue. After praying the Third Hour, each member of the Council was introduced. The General Secretaries, Fr. Giampiero Molinari, O. Carm., and Angelo Lanfranchi, OCD, prepared the agenda:

1. Report on the OCARM General Chapter. (Malang, Indonesia, September 9–26, 2025). Fr. Desiderio García, O. Carm., Prior General, reported that they had just begun their six-year term and explained the title chosen to guide it: ‘You Must Do Some Work’ (R 20). Our Contemplative Fraternity DiscernsIits Mission.” Next, Fr. Rolf Nepomuk, O.Carm., General Councilor for the Americas, presented the main points of the Chapter’s final message.

2. Fr. Miguel Márquez, OCD, Prior General, outlined the themes they are working on during this six-year term: restructuring of our presences, growth and decline in certain geographic areas, collaboration and internationality, the most urgent challenges, and a review of the Constitutions of the friars and the Discalced Carmelites.

3. This year we celebrate the centenary of the proclamation of St. John of the Cross as a Doctor of the Church (1926) and the tercentenary of his canonization (1726). To mark these occasions, the Teresianum (Rome) and CITES (Ávila) are organizing an International Congress on June 22–26, 2026, titled: “Mysticism: Paradise Lost or Promised Land.” It will be available to follow online. Worksheets have also been prepared, which can be downloaded from www.carmelitaniscalzi.com for reflection and community meetings. 

4. This year we celebrate the anniversary of the bull Ut vivendi normam (January 30, 1226), which allowed the Carmelites to live according to the Formula vitae. A series of materials for community reflection is currently being developed. Fr. Richard Byrne, O.Carm., General Councilor for Europe, reported on possible initiatives that could be prepared: a joint letter from the Prior General and the General Superior, a Mass at St. Peter’s in Rome, an audience and message from the Pope, the Schola Carmelitanaat the CISA in September 2026, a special edition of Carmelus, etc.

5. Fr. Marco Chiesa, OCD, General Postulator of the OCD, presented the Latin texts (Proprium Missarum OCD – Lectionarium OCD) approved by the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. The OCARM will gratefully adopt these common texts to prepare the Proprium Missarum OCARM – Lectionarium OCARM. It was noted that the changes the Holy See is currently making to the Rite of Professions must be taken into account for the subsequent revision of the Rites of Professions specific to the OCARM and OCD Orders.

6. Work continues on a historical guide titled “Carmelite Rome.” This is a map (also available in digital format) designed to facilitate a pilgrimage to the most emblematic sites associated with Carmelite history and spirituality (Basilica of San Martino ai Monti, Church of Santa Maria Traspontina, Church of Santa Maria delle Vittorie, International Center of St. Albert, etc.).

Fr. Desiderio García Martínez, O. Carm., the prior general, has the following schedule planned for the month of March 2026:

March 5-19, 2026: General Council Plenary Sessions, Rome
March 10, 2026: Participation in the Chapter of the Congregazione Suore Carmelitane Missionarie di S. Teresa del Bambino Gesù (Santa Marinella)
March 12, 2026: Meeting of the General Councils of OCARM and OCD (OCD General Curia)
March 14-15, 2026: Episcopal ordination of Fr. Joshy Pottackal, O. Carm. Mainz (Germany)
March 23-26, 2026: Provincial Chapter, Province of Catalonia (Spain)
March 27, 2026: Round table and documentary screening Pablo Mª de la Cruz, O. Carm. CEU San Pablo University (Madrid)

During January 2026, two Carmelite hermits (Father John Mary, prior and Brother Chrisopher) from the Carmelite Hermitage of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Lake Elmo, Minnesota in the USA, spent some time at the General Curia of the Order in Rome on their way to Venice, Italy. 

Their hermitage, founded on May 14, 2003, has run out of room and cannot accept any new vocations. As a result, they are building more hermitages and a larger chapel. For this purpose, the two hermits travelled to Italy in order to go to Venice and procure tesserae (glass tiles) which will be used to create the mosaics for the new chapel.

Photo: Desiderio García Martínez O. Carm., (prior general) with Fr John Mary (prior of Lake Elmo) and Brother Christopher.

Fr. Desiderio García Martínez, O. Carm., the prior general, has the following schedule planned for the month of January 2026:

January 8: Visit to the Carmelite monastery of Carpineto Romano. Meeting with Sr. M. Valentina Rita Rossin, president of the St. Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi Federation of the Order's monasteries in Italy. 
January 12-13: Meeting of the priors provincial, commissaries general, and the general delegates of Europe.
January 18-23: Provincial Chapter of the Province of Pernambuco (Brasil) 
January 25-30: Provincial Chapter of the Rio de Janeiro Province

Dear brothers and sisters of the Carmelite Family: I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in 2026! May the Child Jesus fill you with his blessings and grant you peace.                        

1. A few years ago, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI illustrated this Holy Night, which we are about to celebrate, by reminding us that anyone who tries to enter the Church of the Nativity of Jesus in Bethlehem will find that the entrance gate has been largely bricked up. Only a small opening of about one and a half metres remains. As he pointed out, “the intention was probably to better protect the church against possible attacks but, above all, to prevent horses from entering the house of God.” This is providential, because "those who wish to enter the place where Jesus was born must bow down... if we want to find the God who appeared as a Child, we must dismount from the horse of our “enlightened” reason. We must lay aside our false certainties, our intellectual pride, which sometimes prevents us from perceiving God's closeness." What is humility if not lowering oneself in order to enter through the door of faith and find God? May the Christ Child teach us to bow down before the mystery of God. Let us also pray this Christmas for those who have to live in poverty, pain, sickness and abandonment, so that through our hands, the goodness that God, with the birth of His Son, brought to the world may also reach them.

2. The Music of Silence. Entering the Sacred Space by David Steindl-Rast and Sharon Lebell is a book that a friend gave me. The authors of this book remind us that the biblical stories of Christmas are full of “angels.” In fact, they are omnipresent in our lives. Voltaire, quite sceptically, went so far as to write mockingly that “no one knew precisely where angels lived.” Our era, happily freed from understanding reality literally, no longer concerns itself with the wingspan of angels, their gender, or how many can fit on the head of a pin. We focus on the meaning of their name: angel, which, as we well know, originally means “messenger, herald.” “Beings of light,” dedicated “totally to the service of God,” and defined, above all, by the mission they carry out. Mary and Joseph, through an angel, were able to meet the Lord. In our communities there too are many “angels.” To discover them, we must pause, connect with God, and contemplate our surroundings. Those who accompany our sick brothers and sisters to the doctor; those who quietly close or open doors every day; those who take out the rubbish for collection; those who bring in the mail ...; those who smile kindly every morning... All of them are inspired by an angel. Perhaps what Voltaire did not realise is that angels dwell in the community. That is where they live!

May the Child Jesus bless us, sustain our families and all those who have been forced to be far from their loved ones, their friends and their homeland. May He strengthen our leaders in their commitment to defend life and the most vulnerable. May our communities be the new dwelling place of the angels.

Fraternally in Carmel,