SECULAR ORDER OF DISCALCED CARMELITES
England, Wales and Scotland

The roots of the spirituality of French priest Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort (1673-1716 – saint of the day) were firmly embedded in the 17th century movement known as The French School of Spirituality. Its moving spirit, Cardinal de Bérulle, profoundly influenced by St Teresa, brought the reformed Carmelites from Spain into France. Historians credit the spirit of Teresa for having sparked a powerful revival of the spiritual life in that country after it had suffered terri

I spent much of the weekend at Boars Hill Carmelite Friary outside Oxford. On Saturday we had a meeting of Secular Group leaders in the Central Region – Northampton, four Oxford communities, and Romsey. The meeting was summoned by Armelle, the Region’s Representative to the National Council – her story is the first one in the ‘Stories’ section of this website. On Sunday morning there was a big outdoor mass to celebrate the recent ordination in Nigeria of two of the Friars.

When I think of St Mary Elizabeth Hesselblad (1870-1957 – feast day today) who restored the Bridgettine Order, I recall visiting Santa Brigida Convent when in Rome some years ago. This ancient building has strong connections with Sweden but came into the hands of a Polish branch of the Carmelite Order between 1889 and 1930, when it was taken over by the Bridgettine Order. During this period St Mary Elizabeth had actually visited the house at some point after her conversion

Yesterday I was having lunch in a pub with a friend who is to be received into the Church at Pentecost. The pub was festooned with St George banners and I remarked on this to the lady serving at the bar. She said that people had been complaining because so much fuss is made over St Patrick’s Day but little attention is paid to St George’s Day – which is of course today. I like to google the saint of the day with ‘Carmelites’ together and this sometimes produces interesting

Discussing the Ascent of Mount Carmel by John of the Cross with a group yesterday. I am a person who has never been in the habit of re-reading books. Once is generally enough for me. I can however read the writings of our great Carmelite saints again and again with delight. How challenging they are and yet how consoling! Always the challenge to trust more, to let go of our self-will, to let slip our tight control of our own lives, but always the accompanying reassurance

I have become aware recently of a problem that not a few Seculars have. They are serial volunteers who become involved in a whole multitude of parish activities and then their time is so squeezed that getting to our meetings becomes difficult for them. I know of no simple answer to this dilemma, but I guess it has to be taken to the Lord in prayer like other problems in daily life. One of my personal weaknesses is that in the past at least I have found it all too easy to e

Fascinated by the story of Agnes of Montepulciano (1268-1317), whose feast day is today. She was born into a noble family. After entering a Franciscan convent in Tuscany aged nine, she became superior of another convent – by special Papal dispensation – aged fifteen! ‘ On her consecration day, a shower of white crosses like flowers fluttered down on all those in the chapel and nearby, showing heaven’s favour. For twenty years, Agnes lived in Procena as a Franciscan nun an

Following on from reflections on St Bernadette yesterday, more thoughts on Carmel and Lourdes. Mother Theresa of Jesus arrived in Lourdes to found the community of the Carmel of Lourdes on July 16, 1876. It happens that 16 July (1858) was the day of the 18th and last apparition of Mary to Bernadette. And of course this same July 16 is the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Lourdes is special for me in all sorts of ways but one of the beauties of the shrine is that I find

My thoughts turn to the wonderful St Bernadette on this her feast day. She would have loved to become a Carmelite but her poor health would have made it impossible for her to cope with the austerity of the life. However, ‘there is a strong link between the Carmelites and Lourdes. The last apparition of Our Lady took place on the feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, 16th July 1858. Bernadette recalled that Our Lady looked more radiant and beautiful than ever. Due to the crowds t

Working on a talk for the John of the Cross Summit at Boars Hill Friary in July. I have chosen the theme Spiritual Surgery with St John of the Cross. I love the way that this great saint probes into the human psyche as the surgeon probes into the body, diggng out and exhibiting the hidden kinks in our nature which hold us back on our spiritual journey. One of my favourites is his analysis of ‘spiritual gluttony’. John tells us that ‘ on account of the sweetness which t

I have just come across this story of how St Therese of Lisieux came into someone’s life. ‘I suffer from bipolar disorder. Thanks to professional medical attention and medication, it has been 20 years since I have had a manic episode. However, I remember that in 1990, after ten years of normalcy, I had a manic attack which was brief, however it was followed by a period of depression that was most debilitating. Although I had struggled through dark moods before, this was part

In my capacity as OCDS Outreach representative I am the gateway for inquirers who ask about the Seculars as a result of looking at the website. It is my job to route them to the Regional Representative of the area in which they live, and that person should be able to find them a group or community near enough to where they live to be accessible. The Seculars nationally are organised into Regions for purposes of administration and mutual encouragement through annual Regional

A couple of days ago I wrote about the amazing St Julie Billiart (1751-1816) and her connection with the Carmelites, and today we have another beautiful example of a saint with a strong Carmelite association from the same era – St Magdalene of Canossa (1774-1835). Born into a wealthy family in northern Italy, at age 15 she announced she wished to become a nun. After trying out her vocation with the cloistered Carmelites , she realized her desire was to serve the needy withou

I came back from spending Easter in the US greatly heartened, for there are signs of a resurgence of interest in the faith on the part of a younger generation. I watched for myself in New York’s St Patrick’s Basilica as a large number were received into full communion with the Church. One commentator even spoke of St Joseph’s in Greenwich Village as ‘the hottest place in New York’, reporting long queues of young people wanting to attend mass. I always thought of this parti

Today is the feast day of such a truly astonishing French saint with strong Carmelite connections that I can’t resist blogging about her - St Julie Billiart (1751-1816) – because her story is so extraordinary and it is worth reading at greater length than the paragraph I normally restrict myself to. ‘ By the age of seven she had memorized the whole catechism. When she was eight, she was already gathering poor children and teaching them religion and how to read and write. Whi