Article: The Carmelite Vocation

by Thomas Mcginnis, O.Carm

We often read in books and hear in lectures about the various schools of spirituality within the Catholic Church. We are told, for example, that the Dominican school is distinguished by its emphasis upon the intellectual element in the spiritual life; the Franciscan school, by a similar emphasis upon the affective element. The existence of such schools may at first sight appear strange; yet serious consideration will tell us that the oft-quoted words of St. Augustine apply not only to individual souls, but as well to individual religious orders, individual pious congregations, individual nations: “some follow this path; others, another”. READ MORE

Mission Bound (2nd time Around!)

Our Senior Novices are packed and ready to go to their Mission Houses!  All four are bubbling with excitement as they go their separate ways to their second mission experience.  Sr. Maureen Paul can't wait to depart for Garvey Manor in Hollidaysburg, PA. Sr. Luke Mary is headed to Little Flower Manor in Wilkes-Barre, PA.  Sr. Hope Therese will be flying out early in the morning to Kahl Home in Davenport, IA and Sr. Mary Catherine also leaves on Pentecost Sunday for Mother Angeline McCrory Manor in Columbus, OH .  The Avila Sisters will certainly miss them but we have in our midst our Canonical Novices, Sr. Pia Ignatius and Sr. Julie Michael, who will certainly keep the Sisters entertained until the Fabulous Four returns!  Go Sisters!

A special Jubilee Mass was held today, June 7th, for our Sisters celebrating their 25th, 50th, 60th, 70th and 75th religious jubilees!  Most Reverend Raymond Chappetto, D.D., Auxiliary Bishop of Brooklyn was the principal celebrant.  After Mass, the Sisters, Priests and invited guests continued the celebrations with food, music and dancing in Carmel Hall.  Bishop Chappetto posed with our six Novices and also gave our four Senior Novices his blessing as they leave for their individual assignments.

                                 (L-R): Sr. Pia Ignatius, Sr. Julie Michael, Sr. Luke Mary, Bishop Chappetto, Sr. Hope Therese,
                                                                            Sr. Mary Catherine & Sr. Maureen Paul

                                                              Our Senior Novices with Bishop Chappetto

                                                                            Blessing for the Journey ....

                                                                        ... And a few words of wisdom

                                                                         Sr. Pia Ignatius and Sr. Maureen Paul

Picture Collage

FUN IN THE SUN!

A VISIT & A PRAYER

My Mission Experience in Carmel Richmond

Sr. Hope Therese, O.Carm.

My first six week mission experience was at Carmel Richmond Health Care & Rehabilitation Center in Staten Island.  It is a six floor facility with 300 beds.  I had the pleasure of working in PACE, their adult day care program, and activities.  PACE stands for (Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly.)  In general the participants of the PACE program were more physically able than the residents of the nursing home, but had cognitive issues and/or developmental disabilities.  In PACE I assisted by serving meals, cleaning tables and helping with their activities.  The activities in PACE were usually more geared toward using cognitive skills.  For example, a game where the participants had to make many little words using the letters of a longer word. 

The participants were very welcoming, kind and appreciative of the care they were receiving and the staff was very dedicated, patient and compassionate.  Activities in the nursing home, as usual, were enjoyable for the residents and me.  There were many games, including a fishing game where they tossed a beanbag in a certain section of a box to catch the biggest fish, a horse racing game where the horses were moved ahead the same number of tiles that came up on dice the residents tossed, and of course Bingo.  Karaoke was also a lot of fun for everyone. 

Living in the convent there with nine other wonderful Sisters was also a pleasure.

All of the Sisters were so kind and hospitable in the true spirit of Mother Angeline.  They were always so good at making sure the pantry was always stocked with my favorite food and snacks.  I was always invited and welcome to join the Sisters in whatever they were doing at night for recreation whether it was television, exercise, or games.

 Every experience I have in a nursing home really brings home for me the value and sanctity of human life.  We live in a culture where human life, especially at the beginning and end stages, is considered by many to be expendable.  Every life is a miracle and a precious gift from God.  Everyone has a purpose.  God has a unique plan for everyone He brings into existence and they must be alive to carry it out.  Everyone has the ability to give and to receive love.  This is our purpose even if the ways we carry it out might be different. 

No matter what challenges a person will face or is facing, God’s grace makes everything work for the good of his divine plan.  Everything exists and happens for a reason.  God is all powerful, all knowing and all loving.  In fact he is full of wisdom, love, mercy, kindness and everything good.  How could we not trust a God like that? 

If you observe nature you will see that everything comes from something and everything goes somewhere.  Flowers release seeds that become more flowers.  Birds lay eggs that become more birds.  A river has beginning and an end, but its flow is never-ending.  The sun rises just as surely as it sets.  Logic dictates that the being that created the birds, flowers, rivers, and sun has a similar plan for us, his greatest creation.  Nothing God creates ever truly goes out of existence, but is renewed somehow.  We must believe the same of every human soul.  We were created as eternal beings.  Ultimately we are meant to spend that eternity with our creator in heaven.  If nature is any indication, what a beautiful place that must be! 

A SISTER'S PAGE: The Glorious Saint Joseph

                                                                 Sister Julie & Sister Ambrose


Devotion to St. Joseph was a hallmark of St. Teresa of Avila. Teresa attributed her miraculous cure to Saint Joseph. When she was living in the Incarnation Convent in Avila, she was struck with an ailment that left her half-dead. She was paralyzed and was presumed dead at one point. They even had a gravesite all ready for her! She petitioned St. Joseph and her prayers were answered. Her paralysis was cured and she was able to walk again even though her health had always been fragile after that. Saint Joseph is an example of a life so hidden and yet so pleasing to God. The Holy Gospels do not record for us a word he uttered. But what the Gospels show is that Joseph was a doer of God's Will. He was always on the go, always on the move, to do God's bidding- waking up from the dream to journey to Bethlehem for the census, fleeing to Egypt with Mary and the Infant Jesus to escape Herod and his murderous band and journeying back to Nazareth at God's command after Herod had died. These were important events but nothing was recorded of Joseph's account or words. Even in the life of the Holy Family, the Gospel writers did not deem it necessary to give an account of the life in Nazareth. The only indication we have that Joseph was respected and known in the local community is the passage where the townspeople were figuring out the source of Jesus' power, "How did this man come by this wisdom and the miracles? Is not this the carpenter's son?" (Matthew 13:54-55).

 Saint Teresa had this to say about St. Joseph:

"I took for my advocate and lord the glorious Saint Joseph and commended myself earnestly to him; and I found that this my father and lord delivered me both from this trouble and also from other and greater troubles concerning my honor and the loss of my soul, and that he gave me greater blessings than I could ask of him. I do not remember even now that I have ever asked anything of him which he has failed to grant. I am astonished at the great favors which God has bestowed on me through this blessed saint, and at the perils from which He has freed me, both in body and in soul. To other saints the Lord seems to have given grace to succor us in some of our necessities but of this glorious saint my experience is that he succors us in them all and that the Lord wishes to teach us that as He was Himself subject to him on earth (for, being His guardian and being called His father, he could command Him) just so in Heaven He still does all that he asks. This has also been the experience of other persons whom I have advised to commend themselves to him; and even to-day there are many who have great devotion to him through having newly experienced this truth." "I wish I could persuade everyone to be devoted to this glorious saint, for I have great experience of the blessings which he can obtain from God. I have never known anyone to be truly devoted to him and render him particular services who did not notably advance in virtue, for he gives very real help to souls who commend themselves to him. For some years now, I think, I have made some request of him every year on his festival and I have always had it granted. If my petition is in any way ill directed, he directs it aright for my greater good... I only beg, for the love of God, that anyone who does not believe me will put what I say to the test, and he will see by experience what great advantages come from his commending himself to this glorious patriarch and having devotion to him. Those who practice prayer should have a special affection for him always. I do not know how anyone can think of the Queen of the Angels, during the time that she suffered so much with the Child Jesus, without giving thanks to Saint Joseph for the way he helped them. If anyone cannot find a master to teach him how to pray, let him take this glorious saint as his master and he will not go astray." (Autobiography, Chapter 6).

by Sister Helena of Mary, O.Carm.

Mission Experience

Our three novices are back at Saint Teresa's Motherhouse eager to share stories and pictures from their Mission experience.  Sr. Mary Catherine, Sr. Luke Mary and Sr. Maureen arrived yesterday, March 14th, while Sr. Hope Therese is expected to return on the 23rd.  By all accounts, they had a wonderful experience with residents and staff, and they have the photos to prove it!

                                                    Sr. Luke with residents and family

 

Sr. Luke with Staff and Sr. Alice at morning report

                                                   Sr. Maureen Paul during medical rounds

 

Sisters at prayer

                                Sr. Maureen Paul with Sr. Eulaliae preparing Volunteers cards

 

Sr. Hope Therese during Stations of the Cross

 

Sr. Eulaliae, Sr. Maureen Paul & Sr. Ann taking a break

A SISTER'S PAGE: What is Vocation?

 by Sister Helena of Mary, O.Carm

                                                                           Google Image

The Feast of the Presentation we celebrate on February 2nd is also World Day of Consecrated Life.  On this day, we give thanks to God for those many men and women who heard the voice of God to give up everything and to follow the poor, obedient and chaste Jesus.  On this day, we ask God to hear the prayers of those who are still searching for Him and wondering if He is calling them to this particular vocation.

The story of Samuel and Eli in the Old Testament is an example of a vocation call.  Vocation is a word that is mostly associated with religious calling.  When one asks, "do you have a vocation?", it is very often understood in the context of "are you being called to be a Sister or Priest?"  But vocation is more than just being a Sister or Priest.  It is a particular call, to a particular lifestyle, to do a particular work.  So one can have a vocation to religious life, priestly life, or the married state.  Does this surprise you?  Did you ever think that being married is a vocation?

God created us all with a purpose in mind.  You didn't really think that you were just placed in this world for no other reason  than to exist, did you?  No. God has great plans for you and I.

Discernment is another word that gets thrown around.  If God created us for a purpose, and if we each have a place in the world, how do we find it?  How do we know the will of God in our life?  The process of finding this out, of understanding the will of God for us, is called discernment.  Simply put, it is asking the question "God, what do you want of me?"

This brings us back to the story of Samuel and many other men and women in the Bible.  In Samuel's case, this is how it happened.  Hannah was a woman who prayed hard for a child. When her prayers were answered, and she was given a boy, she promised God that he would be dedicated to His service when the time comes.  She named him Samuel and when the time came for his mother Hannah to fulfill her promise to God, she brought Samuel to the temple and presented him to the high priest, Eli.  One night, as Eli and Samuel were asleep, young Samuel heard a voice calling him, "Samuel, Samuel."  He got up and went to Eli thinking that the priest had called him.  But Eli said, "No. I didn't call you. Go back to bed."  The voice came on again with the same call, and this happened two more times.  Each time Samuel got up and Eli told him to go back to bed.  On the third time, Samuel went to Eli and said, "Did you call me. Here I am!"  Eli, with the intuition of someone who knew the ways of God advised Samuel to go back to bed and when he hears the voice again, he should respond with "Speak, Lord, your servant is listening!"  This, the child Samuel did, and God finally revealed to him his vocation of prophet.

The story of any religious vocation is always a personal one.  God calls each of us by name and no two stories are exactly alike.  Each person has different life experiences which form our image of God and how we relate to Him.  Our personalities are different and they contribute a lot to how we perceive the different realities which form our life stories.  If you listen to vocation stories, you will understand what I mean, because the differences are striking.  Some are called from a very early age- they knew very early on that they want to spend their life serving God.  Others are called late in life.  Others became religious with ease.  Others became religious 'kicking and screaming", as the saying goes, because they would not have thought of becoming one but felt an irresistible force from within them.

Despite the differences there are also some similarities.  For example, one may feel a strong attraction to a religious sister or priest.  They are attracted to the life of total belonging to God, of doing God's work, and a strong desire to give of themselves to serving other people.  Although one enjoys the amusements and pleasures the world gives, there is a sense of longing, a sense of emptiness that is not filled and satisfied by these earthly goods.  There is a strong pull to live the devotional and sacramental life, a high esteem for the celibate life and an inner attraction for the virtue of chastity.  Why is this so?  Because the life of celibacy and perpetual continence is not given to all but only to those who are chosen by God.  When one is chosen for this life, God gives the corresponding grace.

Religious discernment is difficult and maybe painful to some because we may not want to hear what God has to say.  The first step to do is to find that inner silence, that sacred space,  to hear God speaking in the silence of our heart, and to have the openness to listen through the words of Scriptures and in spiritual direction.  Like Samuel, we say "Speak, Lord, your servant is listening!"- and really mean it!

 

Sr. Helena of Mary, O.Carm

                                        When asked how their Mission experience was going-
                                                   Sister Rebeca & Sister Julie

Anniversary Celebration At the Motherhouse

January 21, 2014 was the anniversary of our Foundress, Venerable Mary Angeline Teresa's 123rd birthday and 30 years anniversary of death.  A special Mass of Thanksgiving was celebrated at the Motherhouse with Postulants and Novices fully participating in the liturgy and social gathering. It was a great day!

                                                            Offertory Procession

                                Bishop Howard Hubbard receiving offertory gift from Sr. Rebeca

                                              Sister Julie meets the McCrory family

 

   Sister Rebeca poses with her spiritual director, Fr. Rob, a Carmelite

My Thoughts On Joy

by Sr. Hope Therese

                                                         Sr. Luke Mary & Sr. Hope Therese

These are my thoughts on the beautiful gift of joy.  Joy can come from acceptance.  I get joy from accepting there are just some things I just cannot change.  Whatever happens is meant to happen.  If it is intended for evil God will use it for good.  Anxiety or sadness over something we cannot change or control will only decrease our joy.  God is in the driver’s seat so relax and enjoy the ride.  It is also important to accept people the way they are.  There are no two people exactly alike and there never will be.  There is beauty in our differences. I cannot expect someone to always act the same way I would, or have the exact same likes and dislikes as me.  Everyone is a unique and perfect creation of God just the way he intended them to be.  Why would I want to change something it is exactly the way God wants it?  A rainbow would not be as beautiful if it were just one color.  Wouldn’t the world be boring if we were all alike?  When we accept one another’s strengths and weaknesses we are stronger as individuals and as a unified body.  So much can be accomplished when we joyfully work together.  Some people make the mistake of thinking they will be happy as long as things are the way they are.  As long as they are healthy, young, rich, or any other thing they think will make them be happy. Things can and will change.  True joy come from having faith that God’s will is being accomplished in any circumstance.  Some people make the mistake of thinking they would be happy if only things were different.  If only they had a new car, a different job, more money, or nicer clothes.  Anyone who is always waiting for the next big thing will never be truly happy.  One of the keys to being joyful is to appreciate the present moment.  Instead of focusing on what you don’t have, count your blessings.  Be joyful now!  This may seem shocking in today’s world, but life is actually not about being happy.  It is about doing the will of God which will ultimately lead to a joyful union with him in heaven.  If the Lord wills something in your life to change, he will give you the inclination and ability to change it.  If you cannot change something that bothers you offer up your suffering to God.  Take joy in knowing that there is always a purpose to your discomfort.  When there is a purpose to your suffering you may see it more as God’s gift to you than a sacrifice to him.  There is no greater gift than to be united with the suffering Christ for the sanctification of yourself or others.  A normal person may wonder what they did to deserve trials.  A holy person wonders what they did to deserve blessings.  Joy comes from seeing everything as blessing, even suffering.  No suffering lasts forever.  God’s will and ultimate plan is for all of us to be happy in heaven with him.  The only way this will not happen is if we choose to go against God’s will and do not want to be with him.  If someone prays for God’s will to be accomplished and has faith that it will, they are following the right path.  Of course joy cannot exist without love.  To me love is the willingness to sacrifice anything except your soul for the one you love because they are more important to you than yourself.  Love is sacrifice and sacrifice is the root of true joy.  No joy can compare to the joy of giving.  It is especially important for those in religious life to be joyful so we can draw others to Jesus, and perhaps even to a vocation.  In today’s society a life of sacrificial love is almost inconceivable.  Religious witnesses to joy and let people know that sacrificial love is possible and it can give them so much joy!  A pure unadulterated joy that cannot be replaced by the shallow, temporary, happiness received from material things.  It is so important for people, especially young people, to be able to see priests and religious men and women as visible witnesses of a joyful spiritual union with God.  As Religious we are called to surrender our will, possessions, and bodies to God as Jesus did. Through this sacrifice we will bring joy to our troubled world and draw others to ourselves and the way of our Lord, Jesus Christ.