Author: ocd web master

Discalced Carmelites arrived in Egypt in 1926, the year after the canonization of St. Therese.  Today St. Therese’s Basilica is the venue for unity and communion for the different Rites, both for Coptic and Orthodox Catholics and even for Muslims who frequent it, as well as non-aligned women and some men who come just to pray there.  It is a sign of the ecumenism that derives from the person of Therese who won over the hearts of everyone with her simplicity and love.

The Carmelites in Egypt wanted to celebrate and remember the 150 years from the birth of St. Therese (1873-2023) with various initiatives.  Every month they had a Conference on different aspects of her teaching.  They also came up with the novel idea of launching a painting competition on the theme “St. Therese of the Child Jesus and Egypt”. Some fine Coptic Iconographic artists took part and there were prizes for the top 3 winners. All the icons will remain on permanent exhibition in the Basilica as visible signs of Egyptians’ love for little St. Therese and of the love that the Saint of the Roses has for Egypt.

 

On the weekend 24-26 November, the first Carmelite Congress for Couples was held in Mesa de los Santos (Santander).  The theme for the Congress was “My only concern is to love”.  It was a time of fraternal/sisterly sharing, meetings, prayer and concretion of dreams, while it also provided us with an extra stimulus to continue in our efforts to assist these couples.  33 couples attended the weekend from 5 different locations where we Carmelites are present:-  the Peregrinas Community for Couples (Cucuta), the Betania Community for Couples (St. Teresita, Bogota), the Pastoral Familiar Community (St. Pius X, Bogota), the  Alianza Community for Couples (Cali) and the Galilea Community for Couples (Bucaramanga).

The formation sessions and structures of the weekend were organized by Mrs. Angela Maria Sierra from the Javeriana University of Bogota and by three Carmelites, Frs. Fredy Garzon, Eliber Salcedo and Jorge Mario Naranjo.

We thank God for having allowed us to share this first Congress and for the results that it will produce.

 

The OCDS of Goa and Karnataka provinces held a three-day conference at Margao after a two-year absence due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “Walking in Love”, was the theme which ruled the three-day conference.

The conference was attended by 92 Secular Carmelites from eight Communities of the Secular Discalced Carmelite Order in Goa and Karnataka Provinces. The attendees converged to celebrate the Triennial OCDS conference at Lar de Santa Terezinha, Margao, from Nov 10–12. The theme “Walking in Love” was selected to honour the jubilee year 2023 of Saint Therese, her 150th Birth Anniversary and the Centenary of Beatification.

Our Father Provincial and Several Carmelites, supported by the Presidents and Spiritual Assistants of the host community, together attended and facilitated the three-day programme.

 

The OCDS in Reunion Island was founded in 1989.  The community was canonically erected on 13 April 2004 and now numbers 19.  Our Island is in the Indian Ocean and is part of the OCD Commissariat of Madagascar.  We hold our meetings either in the Convent of the Carmelite Fathers or at the Monastery of the Carmelite Nuns in Les Avirons.  We try to go on Retreats once or twice every year and have an enjoyable annual picnic!  It is a great joy for us to be part of the great Carmelite family.  We also feel united with you, OCDS members of the whole world.  Our Carmelite and Teresian formation continually reminds us that we all share the same charism and that we blossom where we are.

 

A three day Formation Meeting for members of the Discalced Carmelite Secular Order of the Cracow Province was concluded in Wadowice on Sunday 19 November 2023.  The theme for the meeting was “Called to the service of the Church in a Carmelite community”.

There were more than 40 participants, from 15 different communities of the OCDS.  These are at different stages of their formation: some awaiting admission and others who will make final promises in the coming weeks or months.

The Provincial Council sought to assist the group in coming to a clearer understanding of what it means to commit oneself to Carmel, where, looking towards Christ, they permit themselves to be moulded in the Carmelite spirit, individually and in community.  They become a fine group of souls seeking their Loved One.

The intellectual formation at the meeting was complemented by common liturgical prayer: the Eucharist, Liturgy of the Hours, silent prayer and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

The participants were also able to visit the Shrine of St. Joseph, the cell where St. Raphael Kalinowski lived and ended his life, as well as the choir of the monastery.

 

Sixteen Secular Carmelite Aspirants from a newly formed group in Limerick (Ireland) took their First Promises on September 2nd, 2023. The group, which comprises twenty members, at various stages of formation, is under the spiritual guidance of Fr. Vincent O’Hara OCD, Prior of Clarendon Street, Dublin. The group held its inaugural meeting on the zoom platform in August 2020.  It was a joyous occasion when the members could finally come together in person, initially, briefly, in October 2021, and finally long term in the Spring of 2022.

The monthly meetings which are held at the excellent location of the St. John Bosco Centre, Limerick. are very well attended. The spirit of Carmel is key to the formation i.e. prayer, silence and contemplation in an atmosphere of mutual friendship and love. The meetings, which are preceded by a shared time of quiet prayer in the adjoining chapel, include presentations, study of the Carmelite Doctors, sharing, and recreation.

The members owe a huge debt of gratitude to Fr. Vincent O’Hara OCD for his encouragement, support and guidance. On September 2nd, he presided over the Mass at which the group made their First Promises. Afterwards light refreshments were served.

This XV Latin American Congress of Spirituality, entitled “The importance and influence of St. Therese of the Child Jesus in the Synodal Church” was held from the 20th to 24th of November 2023.  In attendance was the greater part of the Discalced Carmelite Circumscriptions of Latin America and the Caribbean Islands, as well as representatives of the huge Teresian Carmelite family present in our continent.

We paid particular attention to this holy Discalced Carmelite, St. Therese, our sister, a mature fruit of the family founded by St. Teresa of Jesus, and whose spiritual master was St. John of the Cross.  We examined her life from various perspectives, seeking inspirations to continue living our own faith from the riches of her teaching.

Our meeting of formation and fraternal sharing was held in the context of the 150th anniversary of Therese’s birth, 100 years after her Beatification and during the two-years in which UNESCO nominated her as an influential woman in the fields of education and culture.

 

At the end of October a formation course for formators was held at the Teresian Centre (of the Congo Commissariat).  The theme for the meeting was: Formation in the intercultural era.  It was conducted by Brothers Valentin Ntumba from the Congo ( biblical and anthropological prospective) and A.M. Zachary Igirukwayo from Burundi ((theological and charismatic prospective).

With both realistic and prophetic courage the OCD Superiors of French-speaking Africa and Madagascar chose formation in this intercultural era as the theme for the formation of their formators.  As a sequel to this course we must now appropriate and begin to promote interculture in educational settings.  This could result, for example, in

  1. transversal understanding and appreciation of the various cultures involved, leading to better understanding of and interaction with each other;
  2. learning to recognize the different languages and to appreciate what is fundamentally human in every language;
  3. re-establishing affectivity in the formation process so as to overcome intellectulalism and assimilation tendencies and to promote evaluation processes that include “intercultural competence”;
  4. to be open to diversity and to include a missionary prospective in the formation programme.

 

  1. CICLA of Latin America has requested our Commissariat to host the experience of a Second Noviciate 2023 and it will take place in the Formation Community 0f St. Joseph of the Americas. We have welcomed 9 students from CICLA and 2 from the Washington Province.
  2. The 4 parishes of Santiago de los Caballeros, Saint Teresa’s, Saint  John of the Cross and Las Mercedes ended the month of July, Our Lady of Mount Carmel’s month, with a pilgrimage to the monastery of our OCD Nuns in Bani.
  3. From 31 July to 4 August we gathered in the Casa de la Altagracia en las Americas for our usual Retreat.  Victor Manuel Henao OCD from the Colombian Province accompanied us.
  4. On Saturday 5 August, again with Fr. Victor Manuel, we celebrated a meeting of the Christian Family in the Parish of Saint Jude Thaddeus and honoured the centenary of St. Therese of the Child Jesus.
  5. The community from the House of Formation of Las Americas  (hosting the Second Noviciate, as above), met with our OCD Nuns of Bani.

 

 

The OCDS on the island of Maurice has a solid foundation. The community of “Saint Therese of the Child Jesus of the Holy face” has been canonically established since 1983. Its members meet regularly and pay special attention to their life of prayer, fraternity, and initial and ongoing formation.

Last month, they had their annual retreat with Mons. Denis Wiehe, bishop emeritus of Seychelles, who accompanies them spiritually. They received the General Delegate for the OCDS, Fr. Ramiro Casale, OCD, for a fraternal visit. The community publishes La Colombe, a magazine in which its members share spiritual topics.

Through their life of prayer and apostolate, the OCDS in Maurice are happy to serve the Carmelite Order, their diocese and the universal Church.

On October 16, Hawaii’s Carmelite monastery celebrated its 50th year with a Mass celebrated by Bishop Larry Silva and the sisters’ families, friends and supporters.

Fifty years ago, on Oct. 25, 1973, seven Carmelite nuns left their monastery in Hong Kong, to answer Jesus’ invitation to found Hawaii’s Carmel of the Holy Trinity. The present celebration also marked the Golden Jubilee of the one surviving member of those seven sisters who founded the monastery: Sister Agnella Iu.

Toward the end of Mass, Bishop Silva blessed the six urns containing the ashes of the pioneer nuns, displayed on a simple table against the back wall of the nuns’ chapel. After Mass small memento bags holding prayer cards, a scapular and a bracelet rosary were presented to attendees.

 

25 years of Carmelite presence

On 28 October 2023, the Carmelite Friars celebrated 25 years of Carmelite presence in South Africa, recalling that the first two friars arrived in Johannesburg on June 13, 1998. Initially, they resided in a facility provided by the Cloistered Sisters in their compound. Today, the Carmelites have two communities, one in Benoni and the other in Cape Town.

The Thanksgiving Mass was presided over by Bishop Buti Tlhagale Archbishop of Johannesburg, our Superior General  Fr Miguel Marquez OCD, the Provincial Superior Fr Silvestre D’Souza, the General Definitors Fr Philbert  Namphande and Fr Pius James D’Souza, supported by many priests and nuns. The Superior of Benoni Community, Fr Arvin Tauro, welcomed all the guests. The pioneers of the mission in South Africa, Frs. Raymond and Mari Joe, were specially honoured during the celebration.

 

 

Blessing and Inauguration of the Carmelite Monastery in Cape Town

On October 27, 2023, the Mimosa Carmelite Monastery in Cape Town was blessed and inaugurated. His Eminence Cardinal Stephen Brislin, the Superior General Fr. Miguel Marquez OCD, Fr. Silvestre D’Souza OCD Provincial of Karnataka Goa, the General Definitors Fr. Philbert Namphande OCD and Fr. Pius James D’Souza OCD  were among the numerous attendees.

Following the Mass, Cardinal Stephen Brislin blessed the Monastery, with Fr. Miguel Marquez OCD, cutting the ribbon and unveiling the plaque by Rev. Fr. Silvestre D’Souza OCD. The Cardinal, the Superior General, and the Auxiliary Bishop blessed plants of biblical saplings of two Olive plants and one Fig plant.

 

From 2 to 5 November 2023 the 37th Provincial Congress of St. Joesph’s Province of Brazil took place at the Teresian Centre of Spirituality of Sao Roque in San Paolo. This included the Assembly for elections and the regionalization of the Province.  It was a truly historic moment for the whole Province which is now composed of two Regionals: the Regional of St. John of the Cross which covers the south-east and central-west of the country and the Regional of St. Teresina for the north and north-east of Brazil.

The Congress was organized by the OCDS Provincial Council.  It included times for prayer, for fraternal sharing and other get-togethers.  The Regional Councils were organized and there were reports from the Commissions for Formation and Missions.  The participants included Fr. Emerson of Jesus, Provincial of St. Joseph’s Province, the two OCDS Delegates, Frs. Luis Fernando and Wilson Gomes, as well as Rose Lemos, OCDS, the Provincial President, and the full OCDS Provincial Council.”

The theme for the Assembly was:  “Regionalize so as to serve better”, given the work that had gone into preparing for regionalization, as had been foreseen by the particular Statutes approved by the General Curia in March 2023.

 

The friars from Australia attended their Regional Chapter along with Fr Christianus Surinono OCD, General Definitor for East Asia, and Fr. Jim Noonan OCD, the Irish Provincial. Faced with few vocations for the friars from the Region (Australia, New Zealand and Oceania) and an aging group of current friars, the Chapter had to consider seriously the future of the Regional Vicariate.

 

 

While it is tempting to see these issues as part of a general trend amongst religious orders in Australia, the friars were, however, encouraged to consider how the Discalced Carmelite charism could find new expressions. What became clear was that the venture into new expressions of being Carmelite men in Australia (and indeed the world) must honour and preserve the essence of the rich Carmelite tradition without doggedly clinging to nor rejecting our religious and spiritual heritage. There was a call to work closely and collaboratively with our neighbouring Carmelite brothers and sisters from other cultural and national traditions. And indeed there was a great hope among the friars with regard to working towards a multi-cultural, synodal and faithful Carmelite way of life that would lead others to intimacy with Christ.

 

The Carmelite Communities all over the Philippines rejoice in thanking the Lord for the gift of 100 years of God’s faithfulness and love. It started in Jaro in November  1923 when Bishop James Paul McCloskey requested the Carmelite Nuns in Vietnam to establish a Carmel in the Diocese of Jaro to pray for the clergy and the faithful.

To share the centennial graces, priests and seminarians of the Archdiocese with our nuns and the OCDS organized Carmel@100: Carmel Cares, a medical mission program for two of the nearby villages. On 7 November, the priests, religious, seminarians and various choir groups in the Archdiocese presented Carmel@100: A Prayer Concert, graced by our Father General, Very Rev. Fr. Miguel Marquez Calle, OCD and Fr. Christianus Surinono, OCD, Definitor for East Asia-Oceania, with the members of the Federation’s Centennial Assembly, friends and benefactors of Carmel.

On 9 November 2023, the celebration started around the Eucharistic table presided over by the Apostolic Nuncio, Abp. Charles John Brown, D.D.  His co-concelebrants included Abp. Jose Romeo Lazo, D.D. of Jaro, Father General, Fr. Christianus,  several Prelates including our own Abp. Rolando Tria-Tirona, OCD, Fr Rey Sotelo, our Provincial and all the friars of the Province, the clergy of the Archdiocese and several visiting priests. Countless friends of Carmel, devotees and pilgrims filled whatever empty spaces one could find in the Cathedral.