Just as the One Catholic Church is the fount of inexhaustible riches, the one Carmel has given birth to an inexhaustible wealth of charisms. I was reminded yesterday on Social Media of the Carmelite Sisters of the Divine Heart of Jesus, founded by a German Protestant convert in 1891. Blessed Maria-Teresa of St Joseph (1855-1938), daughter of a Protestant pastor, lost her job working with persons with mental disabilities on her reception into the Catholic Church in 1888 but a mere three years later founded the new Order. As a convert from Protestantism myself I am amazed at the speed with which she must have assimilated her new faith. The charism of the Order focussed on poor and neglected children, families and individuals who had left the Church, immigrants, and the aged. I read that it was ‘aggregated’ to the Discalced Carmelites in 1904; I do not know what this means but it sounds impressive (I must investigate). We surely need Catholic people today who can work with the huge multitudes of those who have left the Church.
Intercessions:
Chris, in intensive care
S, a baby emerging from a complex heart operation
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