Our debt to the OMI

We Carmelites in England and Wales have particular reason to be grateful to the Frenchman St Eugene de Mazenod (1782-1861 – feast day today).  We have been enjoying the facilities at Wistaston Retreat Centre near Crewe for a few years now, and this very fine Centre is run by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, founded by St Eugene.  (Incidentally, the OMI also run the Catholic parish in Holyhead on the Isle of Anglesey.)  St Eugene initially started his work as a missionary enterprise in Provence in 1816 when France was dealing with the traumas of a Revolution that had subjected the Church to persecution.  We have another connection to the OMI because the very first premises of the newborn OMI community in 1816 were in a former Carmel in Aix-en-Provence. The Carmelites had been driven out of the country by the Revolutionaries and the male branch was not restored until 1839.  May God bless the Oblates!

 Intercessions

Cancer: Brian Davis, Bernard (and wife Angela caring for him), Jacqui, Fr Jon Bielowski (Plymouth Diocese), Catherine, Alex (43 with five children), Sister Daranee Teapthong, Theresa K

Brian (recovering from Pneumonia)

Kevin (heart attack)

William Gove (recovering from stroke)

Illness:  Katy Keeling

Siena, Elara – sick children

David OCDS – housebound

Grace – troubling ailments, job difficulties, family (deceased mother and health of father)

Mark – brain infection

Michael, Kira – vulnerable youngsters

Defence of the unborn and the elderly

We are asked to pray for the Diocese of Chiang Mai and Northern Thailand, as the Northern Mission celebrates its centenary. The process of selecting a new bishop continues.