On February 11, 2022, the Fr. Giampiero Molinari, delegate of the Italian province for the nuns, presided at the Triennial Elections of SS. Concezione Monastery in Sutri, Italy.

The results of the elective chapter were as follows:

Prioress | Priora | Priora:  
Suor M. Martina del Sacro Cuore, O. Carm.

1st Councilor  | 1ª Consejera | 1° Consigliera:
Suor Teresa Lupo di Gesù Bambino, O. Carm.

2nd Councilor | 2ª Consejera  | 2° Consigliera: 
Suor Francesca R. Gargano della Redenzione, O. Carm.

Formator | Formadora | Formatrice:
Suor M. Martina del Sacro Cuore, O. Carm.

Treasurer | Ecónoma  | Economa: 
Suor Teresa di Gesú Bambino, O. Carm.

Sacristan | Sacristán | Sacrestana:
Suor M. Alessandra del Cuore Gesú, O. Carm.

On February 9, 2022, Bishop Romá Casanova, apostolic administrator of Solsona, presided at the Triennial Elections of the Monastary of Amor Diví in Tàrrega, Spain.

The results of the elective chapter were as follows:

Prioress | Priora | Priora:  
Hna. M^a. Caterina Loko Mwovi, O. Carm.

1st Councilor  | 1ª Consejera | 1° Consigliera:
Hna. M^a Estrella Lavado Chavero, O. Carm.

2nd Councilor | 2ª Consejera  | 2° Consigliera: 
Hna. M^a Elva Pupuche Odar, O. Carm.

Treasurer | Ecónoma  | Economa: 
Hna. M^a Estrella Lavado Chavero, O. Carm.

Initium Novitiatus
22-01-22  Fábio Victor Vilela Dantas (Flum)
22-01-22  José Afonso Barbosa Filho (Flum)
22-01-22  José Marques de Oliveira (Flum)
22-01-22  Marcos de Sousa Abreu (Flum)
22-01-22  Paulo Victor Queiroz Soares (Flum)
23-01-22  João Gabriel de Souza Vianna (Par) Graciosa, Brasil
23-01-22  João Victor de Campos Tomé (Par) Graciosa, Brasil
24-01-22  Caio Daniel dos Santos Nogueira (PERN) São Cristovão, Brasil
24-01-22  Jadelson da Silva Junior (PERN) São Cristovão, Brasil
24-01-22  João Victor de Paiva Carvalho da Silva (PERN) São Cristovão, Brasil
24-01-22  Mateus Bero da Silva (PERN) São Cristovão, Brasil
24-01-22  Cristian Ariel Julio Prada (It-Col) São Cristovão, Brasil
24-01-22  Jeiner Duvan Santiago Bayoa (IT-Col) São Cristovão, Brasil
24-01-22  Julio Grabriel Delgado Manzano (Cat-Ven) São Cristovão, Brasil
01-02-22  Gabriel Wilson Dupad (STSA) Bhavan, Kannur, Kerala, India
01-02-22  Paul Niral Nayak (STSA) Bhavan, Kannur, Kerala, India
01-02-22  Carlos Sushant Majhi (STSA) Bhavan, Kannur, Kerala, India
01-02-22  James Juburaj Baliar Singh (STSA) Bhavan, Kannur, Kerala, India
01-02-22  Francis Bavanasi Ajay Kumar (STSA) Bhavan, Kannur, Kerala, India
01-02-22  Joseph Adlin Pinherio (STSA) Bhavan, Kannur, Kerala, India
01-02-22  Alphonse Akash (STSA) Bhavan, Kannur, Kerala, India

Professio Temporanea
09-01-22  Juracy Pereira dos Santos Junior (Flum) Belo Horizonte, Brasil
23-01-22  Anderson dos Santos (PERN) São Cristovão, Brasil
23-01-22  Bruno Augusto Viana (PERN) São Cristovão, Brasil
23-01-22  David dos Santos (PERN) São Cristovão, Brasil
23-01-22  Erick Henrique Alves da Silva (PERN) São Cristovão, Brasil
23-01-22  Harrison Antas dos S. Cordeiro (PERN) São Cristovão, Brasil
23-01-22  Johnny Cley B.A. de Queiroz (PERN) São Cristovão, Brasil
23-01-22  Márcio Felipe da Silva (PERN) São Cristovão, Brasil
02-02-22  Martin Thomas (STSA) Bhavan, Kannur, Kerala, India
02-02-22  Bonifus Binoj (STSA) Bhavan, Kannur, Kerala, India
02-02-22  Nuno Nixon (STSA) Bhavan, Kannur, Kerala, India
02-02-22  Ansbert Akhil (STSA) Bhavan, Kannur, Kerala, India
02-02-22  Raphael Likhen Nayak (STSA) Bhavan, Kannur, Kerala, India

Professio Solemnis
28-01-22  Santos Antolino Méndez Ramírez (PCM-ES) San Salvador, El Salvador
28-01-22  Henrry Mauricio Cienfuegos Ostorga (PCM-ES) San Salvador, El Salvador
28-01-22  Daniel Ulises González Cabrera (PCM-ES) San Salvador, El Salvador

Ordinatio Diaconalis
08-01-22  Sergio Roberto Mejia (PCM-Mex) Washington, DC, USA
29-01-22  Santos Antolino Méndez Ramírez (PCM-ES) Santa Tecla, El Salvador
29-01-22  Henrry Mauricio Cienfuegos Ostorga (PCM-ES) Santa Tecla, El Salvador
29-01-22  Daniel Ulises González Cabrera (PCM-ES) Santa Tecla, El Salvador
10-02-22  Sonobius Rua (Indo-Est) Manokwari

Ordinatio Sacerdotalis
29-01-22  Edgar Lucio Lezama (PCM-Mex) Santa Tecla, El Salvador
29-01-22  Roger Stanley Melara Mondragón (PCM-ES) Santa Tecla, El Salvador
29-01-22  José Arístides Menjívar Larios (PCM-ES) Santa Tecla, El Salvador

During his life Titus Brandsma stressed the importance of active contemplation.

Anno Brandsma was born in the Dutch province of Friesland in 1881. He joined the Carmelite Order in 1898 taking his father’s name, Titus, as his religious name. He made his First Profession in October 1899 and was ordained priest on June 17th 1905. As an academic Titus specialised in philosophy and mysticism.
He helped to found the Catholic University of Nijmegen in 1923 and later served as Rector Magnificus.
In the years before the Second World War Titus was openly critical of the Nazi ideology. During the occupation of Holland, he defended the freedom of the Press and of the Catholic Press in particular. Titus was arrested in January 1942 and sent to Dachau Concentration Camp where he was killed by lethal injection on July 26th 1942. He was beatified in 1985. 

Contemplation

During his life Titus Brandsma stressed the importance of active contemplation.
Contemplation. Some people think that it is a bizarre word, applied to strange people called the mystics.
Some think, “It’s not for me who’s dealing with the real deal of life. It’s only for those praying and living in solitude.”
Yet, Carmelites understand contemplation as an attiude of openness to God, whose presence we discover in all things. As an attiude, it can permeate any dimension of our lives, no matter what our work is.
Contemplation is for everybody!
Inspired by Elijah, “As the Lord lives in whose sight I stand”, Titus stressed the importance of living continually in the presence of God. Needing practice, it involves an awareness of staying before the face of God throughout our day. Even in a life of intense activity, each us can live in God’s presence.
It starts when we entrust ourselves to God, in whatever way God chooses to approach us. It is up to God, not up to us. It is his work in us. God is willing to touch and transform us to be like him. God wants to lead us to be united in love with him, so that we may live in his loving presence. This flow of divine love slowly and gradually changes us. It empties us of our limited and imperfect human ways of thinking, loving, and behaving, transforming them into divine ways.

Beautiful, isn’t it?!

Contemplation, then, is a dynamic element which unites prayer, living in relationship with others and the real deal of life and work.
With contemplation our prayer is no longer a lip service, it becomes contemplative, as St Teresa of Avila says, “A close sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with him who we know loves us.” Our relationships with our neighbours becomes contemplative as we are enabled to see God in our sisters and brothers with all their strengths and weaknesses and to appreciate the mystery of those with whom we share our lives. This experience of contemplation in prayer and in community compels us to seek the face of God also in the heart of the world.
This belief moves us then to lend our hands to the ones who suffer and need help. This contemplation is what Titus Brandsma firmly believes in. He summarises Carmelite life as “complete dedication to contemplation; it should be interrupted only because of necessity – when there is need to go to people and speak to them of God. Only charity toward one’s neighbour or obedience can be reasons for leaving God for the sake of God.” God can be found in the places of worship. However, if we have to go and lend our hand to our brothers and sisters in need, we still can find God there. Leaving God for the sake of God is a kind of mantra which helps us to be contemplative anywhere and anytime.

But how far did Titus go with this belief?

The answer is at the very end of his life. Fearlessly Titus fought the injustice the Nazis showed in the Netherlands. He defended the weak who were marginalized and suffered under Nazi oppression, stating bravely, “The Catholic Church does not make any differences regarding sex, race, and people!”

The consequence of this attiude was his detention. When he was in Scheveningen prison, among loneliness and brutal cold, his contemplative eyes saw God. He then wrote a prayer:

For Thou, O Jesus, art with me

I have never been so close to You.

Stay with me, with me, Jesus sweet,

Your presence makes all things good for me.

In Dachau concentration camp, when he was beaten so severely, he sang Adoro Te Devote, a hymn contemplating the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. What a contrast, as if he wanted to unite his sufferings with Christ’s!
Finally, to the agnostic nurse who would inject him with a lethal solution, cheerfully he gave his simple rosary, encouraging her to pray the last phrase of Hail Mary, “Pray for us sinners.” Titus saw in this agnostic nurse, his executioner, the presence of God. He is truly a contemplative person.

Prayer

God of peace and justice,
you open our hearts to love
and to the joy of the Gospel
even in the midst of countless forms of violence
that take away the dignity of our brothers and sisters,
fill us with your grace,
so that like Saint Titus Brandsma,
we may in tenderness see beyond the horrors of inhumanity
and contemplate your glory
that shines forth through the martyrs of every age,
and so become your authentic witnesses in the world of today.
Amen.

 Download the Leaflet 7 Contemplation  pdf here(3.48 MB)

On this day in 1945, members of the U.S. Army’s 42nd and 45th Infantry Divisions liberated approximately 30,000 prisoners at the Dachau concentration camp. Unfortunately, St. Titus Brandsma and Blessed Hilary Januszewski, prisoners in the Dachau concentration camp, died before this day of liberation.

Other Carmelites from Poland and the Netherlands were also interned in Dachau. Several also died before liberation. Others survived to continue serving our God through their service to others, deeply affected by the horrors of Dachau.

The concentration camp near Munich was opened in 1933, the first of thousands of Nazi camps. Dachau was originally used to detain political prisoners, but as the Nazi regime grew more powerful, other persecuted groups were sent there, including LGBTQ+ people, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Roma, and hundreds of thousands of Jews.

Prisoners at Dachau and dozens of nearby satellite camps were used as forced labor. Those too ill or unable to work were sent to nearby extermination camps. Fr. Hilary volunteered to take care of the prisoners in the camp dying of typhus. He himself died from the disease just a month before the Americans arrived to liberate the prison camp.

Carmelite Titus Brandsma will be canonized on May 15 as a martyr for the Catholic faith. Today, on this anniversary of liberation 77 years ago, we humbly pray asking for another day of liberation for all those who are today victims of war and hatred around the world:

God of peace and justice,
you open our hearts to love
and to the joy of the Gospel
even in the midst of countless forms of violence
that take away the dignity of our brothers and sisters,
fill us with your grace,
so that like Saint Titus Brandsma,
we may in tenderness see beyond the horrors of inhumanity
and contemplate your glory
that shines forth through the martyrs of every age,
and so become your authentic witnesses in the world of today.
Amen.

Breakfast with friends,
leadership of love
(John 21:1-19)

The readings of the Easter Season continue to unfold for us the great Easter Mystery - the enduring presence of Jesus among us and what ‘new life in Christ’ might mean.
The Gospel today recounts the third appearance of Jesus to the disciples after his resurrection. At first they don’t recognise him; then there is a huge haul of fish followed by a meal; then, in the long version of this Gospel, Peter’s commission to lead the flock in love.
It takes faith to recognise the presence of Jesus among us. Reality can be changed and good things result when we do. All the meals we share are reminders of the Eucharistic Meal which keeps us in communion with the life of the Risen Christ and with one another. Jesus continues to be nourishment and strength for the journey. Our faith is built on love.
In his dialogue with Christ, Peter reaffirms his love for him three times, reversing his triple denial of Jesus before the crucifixion. Peter is leader, but his leadership is built on his love of Christ. It is not the authority of tyranny, but of pastoral care. Peter is to ‘Feed my lambs’ - the young, the vulnerable. He is to ‘look after my sheep’ - feeding and caring for the flock, seeing to their needs.
Whenever Jesus shared a meal with his followers he opened their hearts and minds. As we continue to share in the Eucharistic Meal, Jesus continues to feed and nourish us with fresh insight, deeper understanding and greater love.

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Bartomeu Xiberta O. Carm. (1897-1967) is the author of a magisterial body of work in medieval studies that still represents a pioneering approach to the scholastic heritage of the Carmelite Order. Around 139 commentaries on the Sentences of Peter Lombard composed by Carmelites in universities and priories all over Europe survive. Many of them deserve to be further integrated into the canon of medieval thought, because they represent a rich corpus to explore in order to assess the role of the Carmelites on the global stage of the Middle Ages. This workshop aims to invite scholars to share their expertise and experience with texts produced by Carmelite authors. The goal is to praise Xiberta’s contribution, to highlight medieval Carmelite intellectual production, to identify the most preeminent authors, and to depict the doctrinal tendencies of these Carmelite scholastics.

The Thesis-Debate Projects hosted by Institute de recherche et d’histoire des textes (Paris) in collaboration with  Institutum Carmelitanum (Rome) are jointly preparing to host a workshop on Medieval Carmelite Scholastics.

Scholars and researchers interested in presenting papers at the workshop are requested to submit their proposals for adjudication, consisting of titles and abstracts (maximum 600 words) by no later than 30 October, 2022, to one of the following email addresses:

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WORKSHOP DETAILS:

Dates:            Thursday, 27^th – Saturday, 29^th April 2023

Location:      Centro Internazionale S. Alberto, Via Sforza Pallavicini, 10, 00193, Rome, Italy.  

Language:    Workshop proceedings shall be in English.

Publication:  Edizioni Carmelitane will publish a volume of the workshop presentations.

The workshop also seeks to commemorate Bartomeu Xiberta, O.Carm.’s contribution to the field and will commence with a keynote contribution on this theme.

The THESIS project, headed by Dr Monica Brinzei, is a venture that seeks to study the corpus of medieval commentaries on Peter Lombard’s Sentences composed in Paris and elsewhere between 1350-1450: http://www.thesis-project.ro/en/corpus.html

The Institutum Carmelitanum, established in 1951 under the aegis of the General Curia, is the major academic entity at the service of the Carmelite Order and has, as its main objective, the pursuit and propagation of Carmelite Research. It consists of core members and members invited on account of expertise, scholarly research and publications on a range of Carmelite topics. Publications of the Institutum include: the Vacare Deo series; Textus et Studia Historica Carmelitana; and Carmelus, a biannual review which incorporates the Bibliographia Carmelitana Annualis in each second issue.