SECULAR ORDER OF DISCALCED CARMELITES
England, Wales and Scotland

I am off later this morning to Wistaston Hall, near Crewe, for the annual gathering of the OCDS National Council. This takes place over two days (I won’t be blogging tomorrow); our other meetings are online nowadays and they each last a morning. The Council is composed of the Regional Representatives, the National President, the National Treasurer, and of course Fr Matt Blake, our wonderful Delegate from the Friars. I squeeze in because, although I am no longer a Regional

On this feast day of St Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690), promoter of devotion to the Sacred Heart, I am reminded of the Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles. Their website states: ‘Rooted in the spirit of Carmel, we accompany others in their personal encounter of the healing and transformative love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus through education, retreats and healthcare.’ I learn this about the foundress of their Order, Mother Luisita, from their webs

I found this passage on our foundress, Teresa of Avila (1515-1582, feast day today) on catholicireland.net. It was written by Eugene McCaffrey OCD about her in her historical context. ‘Like ourselves, Teresa lived in the age of a great council. The Council of Trent opened in 1545 and continued intermittently till 1563. These years correspond to one of the most crucial periods in Teresa’s life – her own interior struggle to surrender herself whole-heartedly to God and her ex

Friends have been inspired recently by the Holy Face devotion. I came across these paragraphs in reference to St Therese of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face. ‘Saint Therese was introduced to the devotion by Sister Agnes of Jesus. She studied it in a personal way …. She did this principally at the time of her father’s illness. She signed her name for the first time as “Sister Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face” the day she received the habit on January 10, 1889

I was privileged last night to take part in a Zoom for UK converts to the Catholic Church. This had its origins in the magnificent ministry of the American Coming Home Network. They have produced a plethora of videos and podcasts containing a wealth of apologetics materials and inspirational conversion stories. They have helped many individuals on the way into the Church, and that includes reverts – people with a Catholic upbringing who have wandered away and subsequently

We continue to investigate the restoration of OCDS groups in Birmingham and Wolverhampton and we have some contacts who are interested - but not quite enough to launch. I tend to think that four or five persons are a basic minimum if a new group is to be established. This work requires great patience! Venues have been offered and are available as of now, but of course it is all in God’s hands. These are God’s groups and it is God’s work. ‘Everything is Grace’ said our Th

I was wondering if St John Henry Newman (1801-1890, feast day today) had any particular connection with the Carmelites and I found this online: ‘Newman … had friendly connections with the steadily growing Third Order Carmelite community in Birmingham, including his close colleague Rev. Dr. Henry Weedall, priest, president of Oscott College, first provost of the Birmingham cathedral advisory chapter, and secular or third order Carmelite. … his best friend and close collaborat

We had a happy meeting of the young Manchester OCDS group last night. Four in the group already in formation and several due to take the step in December. Such love for Our Lord evident and such enthusiasm to share. We were looking at Teresa’s Life where she talks about her early illness and her close encounter with death – they had even put wax on her eyes and prepared a grave for her, and her recovery was well-nigh miraculous. Somebody spoke about how people don’t know

I have found a reminder of how our Carmelite saints nourish the Church at large way beyond the Carmelite Order in the attractive website run by the Congregation of the Apostolic Carmel. This congregation (I have mentioned it before) was founded in Bayonne, France, by an English convert named Sophie Leeves (1823-1906 who became Mother Mary Veronica of the Passion) under the guidance of Bishop Marie Ephrem OCD. Both of these individuals moved to India and the Congregation flo

It is always a delight to encounter a Third Order saint like the Italian Franciscan St Mary Frances of the Five Wounds (1715-1791, feast day today) who devoted herself to prayer and care for the poor in Naples. As a tertiary (equivalent to 'secular' in our usage) myself, I feel some kind of kinship with other tertiaries. Moreover Mary Frances was a member of the Tertiaries of St Peter of Alcantara, a major influence on St Teresa. This man (1499-1562) performed a role among