SECULAR ORDER OF DISCALCED CARMELITES
England, Wales and Scotland

On this day in 1959 Sister Genevieve of the Holy Face (Celine Martin) died after sixty-three years as a Discalced Carmelite.  She was two months short of her ninetieth birthday and the last of the nine children originally born to her parents.  I always find it extraordinary that her sister St Therese died so long before her, in 1897.  That in 1959 you could still have talked to one who grew up with Therese – that seems amazing.  Therese and her family seem to belong so solidl

There is a delightful website for Carmelites out there called carmelitequotes.blog I lifted this text from there about today’s Carmelite Blessed – a fellow member of the Secular Order named   ‘Blessed Josefa Naval Girbés, who was born at Algemesi in the Archdiocese of Valencia, Spain, on December 11, 1820. As a very young woman, she consecrated herself to the Lord by a perpetual vow of chastity. Josefa’s life was simple. She stood out for her ardent love, and she made progres

I came across this prayer attributed to St Teresa of Avila, I was not familiar with it. 'Lord, grant that I may always allow myself to be guided by You, always follow Your plans, and perfectly accomplish Your Holy Will. Grant that in all things, great and small, today and all the days of my life, I may do whatever You require of me. Help me respond to the slightest prompting of Your Grace, so that I may be Your trustworthy instrument for Your honour. May Your Will be done in

I cannot do better today than reproduce today’s magnificent Second Reading from the Office of Readings, a homily from an unknown Early Church author who talks about prayer as 'hugging God in an indescribable embrace'.  I hardly need to demonstrate its relevance for us Carmelites: ‘The highest good is prayer and conversation with God, because it means that we are in God’s company and in union with him. When light enters our bodily eyes, our eyesight is sharpened; when a soul i

Today is the Feast of the Dominican Blessed Fra Angelico (1387-1455, originally named Guido di Pietro), one of the most celebrated artists in history.  ‘ Fra Angelico is probably better known as an artist than as a holy man who was already called “Beato” while he was still alive. Pope John Paul II gave this a new reality when he beatified him in 1982, observing that “He did theology by painting the beauty that shows the light of the Risen Christ in creatures”.  After his novi

I was privileged to be in the US with family members at Easter last year and we attended mass at St Patrick’s Cathedral.  It was the last Easter for Cardinal Dolan as Archbishop of New York, for he has since retired and been replaced by Archbishop Hicks.  An abiding memory of the Cardinal on that occasion is when he began jokingly and rather surprisingly ‘Now Lent is over – Thank God!’  I know some people actually look forward to Lent, but I am one of those individuals whose

I recently heard about the ‘Precious Blood of Jesus’ prayer which we are recommended to say repeatedly during the day.  It is just one sentence, Most Precious Blood of Jesus Christ, Save us and the whole world.  As a Carmelite I of course have the goal of staying close to Jesus as much as I can during the day but I realise that repeating the words of an actual prayer may help me to do that.  There are so many simple prayers that we can say in this way, for example the Jesus P

Yesterday was the Feast of St Claude de la Colombiere, confessor of St Margaret Mary Alacocque and promoter of the Sacred Heart Devotion.  Wondering about a connection between him and Carmel, I came across this by Sister Maria Elia, O.C.D.  ‘ As Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles, we have a deep devotion to the Heart of Christ and as such, we had a long-standing interest in the cause for the canonization of Blessed Claude de la Colombiere. Blessed Claud

News reaches me of an event this Summer which will be of great interest to Carmelites everywhere.  Here is the announcement: ‘ MYSTICISM: PARADISE LOST OR PROMISED LAND. John of the Cross Saint and Doctor of the Church John of the Cross was canonized on December 27, 1726. Two hundred years later, on August 24, 1926, Pius XI proclaimed him a Doctor of the Universal Church. The year 2026, therefore, marks a double centenary for the holy doctor of the Teresian Carmel. For this r

In the Office of Readings (two-year cycle) we have been thinking about the first Joseph, the Old Testament hero who was so murderously treated by his brothers.  It’s hard for us to conceive how these men could have developed such a hatred of the little brother that they should have zealously protected.  But their jealousy of their father’s affection for him seems to have burned them up.  One thing I have learned in my life is the power of this jealousy, and of course it can s

On this Feast Day of Our Lady of Lourdes, it is worth remembering that the 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 the authorities barricaded the grotto.  Therefore, the apparition took place in the meadow on the opposite side of the River Gave. There is now a Carmelite Conve

The news I reported in yesterday’s blog that the paper version of Mount Carmel is ceasing publication and the publication is being migrated online is just another illustration of the cultural shift to the internet.  This has impacted my own life profoundly.  Right up to the beginning of this century my only real hobby (apart from following a bit of sport) was second-hand bookshops.  This dated right back to my youth, when there was one of them in the middle of our town where

I have received this news about our house magazine, 'Mount Carmel'. 'After 73 years in print, Mount Carmel magazine opens digital access to all Carmelite magazine launches new website in partnership with DigiCarmel archive.   Mount Carmel will become a digital open access publication in early 2026. Established in 1953, the magazine has circulated for over 70 years as a print journal among a limited number of subscribers. For the first time, the new web portal ( MountCarmelMa

Today is the Feast of St Dorothea and I was surfing the net to find more about her, because I know that Sister Lucia of Fatima fame spent a period with the Sisters of St Dorothea.  By chance I then came across an interview with a Sister Dorothea OCD who is a Carmelite in the convent in Christchurch, New Zealand.  She explains how she became a Carmelite nun.  Here is an extract:  She recalled: 'I was at a huge... Black Sabbath rock concert... the music was pounding into me and

Somebody lent me a copy of a book called Manual of the Holy Face.  The Holy Face devotion was promoted by a Carmelite Sister, Marie de Saint Pierre of the Holy Family, who made her profession in the convent of Tours in 1841.  This book contains various materials relating to the devotion including a short life of Sister Marie de Saint Pierre.  What struck me initially in it is that it contains juxtaposed pictures of the face on the Veil of Veronica in Rome and the face on the

We don’t hear enough about the earlier Carmelite saints, in my opinion.  I came across this beautiful story about our Carmelite saint of today – St Andrew Corsini (1302-1373).  Andrew was a member of a noble Florentine family. ‘ Rather dissolute as a youth, he repented when he at seventeen his mother told him of a strange dream she had before his birth. She dreamt she had given birth to a wolf that became a lamb on entering a Carmelite church.’  That was some dream!    Andrew

We have had a ‘Going Deeper’ group in our parish for several years, but it has not flourished.  We have a couple of very devoted members who do get a lot out of it but that is not really sufficient.  We do a ninety-minute shortened version of a Secular meeting – Evening Prayer, study of a Carmelite text, silent prayer.  I thought the ‘going deeper’ title would encourage people to come who wanted to draw closer to God, to learn more of the beautiful riches of our faith, but th

One piece of good news about the internet - which of course is regularly blamed for all kinds of evils - is that it is drawing so many together for prayer.  I hear of Carmelites and others meeting online to say the rosary together, and I think that is marvellous – especially for anyone housebound, but in general for absolutely anybody.  Speaking as someone living on his own, I know how easy it is to let disciplines like the rosary slip, but if I am committed to a meeting at a

I am sometimes amazed by the rich variety of themes that can be brought together under the banner of Carmelite spirituality.  I came across this announcement of a forthcoming workshop on the website of the Mount Carmel Spiritual Centre located at Niagara Falls in Canada (This website is well worth a visit). 'Folded in Love:  A Bookbinding Journey with St. Thérèse of Lisieux This workshop is designed to immerse body, mind and soul in the creation and use of a spiritual journal

I am involved to a certain extent in mentoring, and sometimes a person in formation will ask ‘Is it all right to read this author or that author?’ I am deeply touched by the spirit of obedience that this manifests but of course being in Carmel does not mean that your reading must be restricted to Carmelite authors.  We have a special vocation to study them, but it is not exclusive.  Spiritual food can be found everywhere, even in the most unexpected places.  Carmel is a place