Father Robert Elias Barcelos, OCD: Our Lady of Mt Carmel Novena,Day 6

July 13, 2018 Teresa Linda, ocds Leave a comment

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That brings us to the Scapular: What is the scapular? It represents a sign of our devotion to Mary, a sign in our hearts of our belonging to our mother, who is also the Mother of God. It is a gift of ownership. The scapular is a sign of being wrapped in her mantle – the covering of protection, as a mother protects and guards her child.

When we wear the scapular, we also accept her purity, which in turn, protects us. Yet the scapular should not be worn superstitiously. Those who wear the scapular must recognize the responsibility of living out a life of purity. We must be reminded of our identity and our belonging to Jesus, through the offering of His mother.

The offering of ourselves that Mary makes to Jesus, mirrors the Mass in the Eucharist. During the Offertory, something that is initially represented as the bread and wine, becomes something new in Christ. The bread and wine represent our lives. As they are transformed into the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ, we too must be transformed, and become new, so as to be more and more united to Christ.

Everything, who we were this past week, and what we will become in this new week; everything about us must be offered to Him that we may be united to His Sacrifice, which will give new meaning into our lives. Our spiritual progress must be worked out in seeking the perfection of charity, in the practice of love.

In John 17, Jesus says, ‘Father, you have given me the gift of faith to realize I was made for you. I offer my life in union with your self-offering as a sacrifice of praise and glory to you. Use me according to your will.’ Our lives must become an act of thanksgiving to God in sacrifice. As a result, we become a part of Christ’s sacrifice in a new way.

To live the Mass is to live in His charity, so that a freshness, through the power of the Holy Spirit can come forth. Jesus says, ‘I am the vine, you are the branches.’ He is the vine, the garden of Carmel; we are His branches. We must allow ourselves to be pruned so that He may produce abundant fruit in us. Our vocation is to mirror Jesus’ love for Mary and Mary’s love for Jesus. Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

(Source: Santa Clara OCDS Meeting).

Click the image below for the Novena prayer to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, followed by: Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Mt. Saint Joseph Carmelite Monastery, San Jose, CA, Feast Day July 16

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Feast Day: July 12, Saints Zélie and Louis Martin

July 13, 2018 Teresa Linda, ocds 3 Comments

PRAYER: God of eternal love, You give us Saints Louis and Zélie Martin, the parents of St. Thérese, as an example of holiness in marriage. They remained faithful to you in all the duties and trials of life. They desired to raise their children to become saints. May their prayers and example help Christian family life blossom in our world today.

If it be Your will, grant me the grace I now ask of You, through the intercession of Saints Louis and Zélie Martin, and through Jesus Christ,our Lord. Amen.

Did you know that The Family Reliquary of Saints Therése, Louis, and Zélie, located at the Discalced Carmelite Monastery, Philadelphia

novenas, our lady of mount carmel

Father Robert Elias Barcelos, OCD: Our Lady of Mt Carmel Novena, Day 5

July 12, 2018 Teresa Linda, ocds Leave a comment

Carmelite Monastery, Cebu Philippines

What does the title, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, represent? How does this title fit and represent Mary? Our Lady is the patroness of contemplatives. Through the title of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, we seek her assistance through our contemplative lives.

Our Church has several litanies of Our Lord and of the Blessed Mother, which try to express the grandeurs of the grace of God. Contemplating and praying the litanies is like looking at a crystal, and looking at the Son and Our Lady at different angles. The Litany to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, or the Litany of Loreto, for example attempt to give us a glimpse of who Mary is in God’s eyes.

However, these litanies cannot express it all. In God’s eyes, Mary is tremendous and we can never give her more honor than the honor that Jesus gave to her. Our separated brothers and sisters have a genuine love for Our Lord, but they do not understand why we place so much importance in Mary. But as a vessel for our Lord, she surpasses every human being in purity and perfection.

Think of Mary in Scripture. There, she is depicted as trustful and pondering on the Word. When Simeon told her that a sword would pierce her heart, she remains quiet, and ‘keeps these things in her heart.’ At the foot of the crucified Christ, she ‘wept’ silently, yet she never turns her eyes away from her son. We too must be trusting, silent, obedient, and clinging to the promise of God’s presence. She is the patroness of those seeking union and quiet in God.

The meaning of the word, Carmel, is ‘The garden of God.’ Carem – el. Carem means garden, a lush orchard; el stands for Elohim. Those of you who have visited the Holy Land know that Mount Carmel is not just a single mountain. Carmel is a whole mountain range that runs alongside the Mediterranean Sea. It has the highest elevation and its soil is very rich. Lush flowers and plants can be found there, a fertile ground for life. From the time of Elijah to today, people have sought the mountain of Carmel for prayer, and to seek union with God.

Part of living the contemplative life is for our soul to be a fertile ground and soil so that our lives may bear fruit through grace. Mary is the model and guide par excellence, for this life of love and contemplation. She still had to endure the pain of obscurity and suffering, but through her life of prayer and obedience, her beauty stands out among humans as magnificent and insurpassable. We too, as followers of Christ are called to be bathed in the beauty of God’s glory. Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

(Source: May Santa Clara OCDS Meeting)

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Click the image below for the Novena prayer to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, followed by: Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be.

Our Lady of Mt Carmel, Feast Day July 16

Mt. Saint Joseph Carmelite Monastery, San Jose, CA

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Father Robert Elias Barcelos, OCD: Our Lady of Mt Carmel Novena, Day 4

July 11, 2018 Teresa Linda, ocds Leave a comment

Our Lady: Saint Clare’s Catholic Church, Santa Clara, CA

To everything, there is a season, spiritually speaking. There is a time and place when God’s place and purpose comes to pass. ‘When the appointed time had come,’ is something very specific in God’s providence that He Himself has designed. As the master architect, full of compassion in desiring us to know Him, He designates specific times and places for our purpose to take a greater shape in knowing Him – in being convinced in His love for our lives. First love Him with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength. Everything else must come second to Him.

Scripture says, ‘in the fullness of time’ – when the moment was right for it to happen, it happened. The appointed time for God to become man happened when Mary conceived Christ, through the Spirit. Mary represents the cloud Elijah saw. From the earliest times, from the first centuries of Christianity, the Fathers of the Church, the great masters of the spiritual life, interpreted the cloud Elijah saw as a type, a sign of Mary.

At the appointed time, she would conceive and give birth to the eternal Son of God, who would be the wellspring of salvation. From her womb came Jesus Christ, the fountain of life. She is that womb, that sign of hope, that the blessings of God’s unimagined mercy is upon us. She mirrors Him perfectly. Mary’s greatness is, as St. Elizabeth said at the Visitation, ‘Blessed are you, who believed, that what God promised to you would come to pass and would be fulfilled.’ In other words, ‘Way before you saw the proof, because He promised it, you believed that He could accomplish it, and you received it, you accepted it, and it began to happen!’

The Church Fathers also say that Mary conceived in her heart with faith, before she received in her body. What does that mean? First, through faith, she conceived in her heart. She heard God’s word, the gospel, God’s dream for her life. She believed it, and by her faith, she received it in her heart. Right there, she conceived in her heart. From that, came forth the conception in her body. Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us. (to be continued)

(SOURCE: Feast of OLMC, Saint Therése Church, Alhambra, CA)

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Click the image below for the Novena prayer to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, followed by: Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be.

Our Lady of Mt Carmel, Feast Day July 16

Mt. Saint Joseph Carmelite Monastery, San Jose, CA

novenas, our lady of mount carmel

Father Robert Elias Barcelos, OCD: Our Lady of Mt Carmel Novena, Day 3

July 9, 2018 Teresa Linda, ocds

The Lord God would not leave unfinished what He had started. He had brought Elijah this far, had done amazing things in his life, and was not going to leave him stranded. Once Elijah sees the sign from God, he says to his servant, ‘Harness the chariot,’ Elijah tells him, ‘Brace yourself, because the blessings will now come down.’

We need to celebrate the little blessings that God brings us along the way. There are times, when we pray for something very specific, and expect something great, which is fine. God wants us to have bold expectations as an expression of hope. God’s plans inspire a desire for something really bold, a magnificent blessing upon your life, based on His goodness, and you have a birthright to that. But before you get that, He prepares you by giving you smaller blessings that lead up to it. God’s actions keep you hungry for more, to keep you in a state where you are teachable, in order to train you more deeply.

When you celebrate the little blessings along the way, you have the humility to recognize, ‘I’m not experiencing the whole outpouring yet, but I have a drop. I’ve got a taste, a sign that God is acting. I might not see the full results yet, but I have enough proof to believe and be convinced that He is on the job. There are good things to come. My prayer in His name is never in vain.’

‘He gives me what I need, when I need it. Right when I thought I couldn’t hold on much longer, I see the cloud. He gives me a word in prayer. He speaks to me through scripture. He speaks to me, even through a homily, a friend, or a perfect stranger who had no idea what I was going through; who had no idea about the emotional challenge I was facing in my family; who had no idea of the question I was asking God in my mind, in the secrecy of my thoughts. And this perfect stranger says exactly what I was asking for, from God.’

That’s the cloud. That’s the cloud that encourages us to keep going because there are greater things to come. He gives us enough to keep us holding on to the next one. Even though the blessing is small, the size of a crumb, I assure you, those crumbs will eventually become a banquet upon you. The blessings will get bigger and better. The clouds will get bigger and better.

Celebrating the small things along the way also means having the the humility to say this, ‘I may not be right where I would like to be, spiritually, but I’m better. I know I’m not there yet. I know I have a lot of room for improvement. But I am better. I might not come to Mass daily, in the way I like. I might not have been able to fulfill my desire to spend a holy hour everyday, but compared to last year, I am better.’

We have to celebrate being better, and give thanks to almighty God. We have to be at peace with the process and not be restless until the end, until we have received the full fulfillment. We have to enjoy it along the way. Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us. (to be continued)

(SOURCE: Feast of OLMC 2013, Saint Therése Church, Alhambra, CA)

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Click the image below for the Novena prayer to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, followed by: Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be.

Our Lady of Mt Carmel, Feast Day July 16

Mt. Saint Joseph Carmelite Monastery, San Jose, CA

novenas, our lady of mount carmel

Father Robert Elias Barcelos, OCD: Our Lady of Mt Carmel Novena, Day 2

July 8, 2018 Teresa Linda, ocds

Fortunately, we’re not left to ourselves. In Romans 8, Saint Paul writes that when the Holy Spirit comes upon us, we will know how to pray, as we ought, according to the heart of God. The Holy Spirit begins to pray in us, but we have to keep working and be diligent at it. Eventually, the Holy Spirit will honor your efforts, and He will begin to anoint your weakness with strength. The Holy Spirit allows you to see that in and of yourself, you don’t have the strength to accomplish great things. But He says, ‘I have. I can enable you to accomplish great things.’ God teaches us how to be humble and be dependent totally on Him

How many times have you prayed that your children, your parents, or loved ones return to the Church? And you look out into the sea, to see if there is any difference in them, but there is nothing at all. Maybe they’re just as indifferent to matters of the faith, as they were before. Elijah’s example has a great deal to teach us.

In the beginning, when Elijah prayed, there were no results, but he didn’t stop. Scripture says that he kept praying seven times. Seven is a biblical symbol of perfection. He persevered in prayer, until the appointed time for him to be blessed, the time that God had ordained to begin to manifest Himself.

Elijah had to first exercise his will and put the effort and responsibility that was expected of him. When he had done his part, then God began to take over, and to fulfill the hopes of what He Himself had begun to inspire. Seven times, Elijah prayed. Scripture expresses our need to persevere in prayer. The book of Hebrews says that we need patience to do God’s will, and to see, fulfilled in us, what God promises to do. Even though Elijah did not see anything, God was listening and preparing.

What was the first sign of hope? Elijah’s servant says, ‘Now there is a cloud, and it is as small as a man’s hand rising from the sea.’ That was the first sign. Something was happening. Elijah knew that it would be so, and that is why he persevered, but now, God was acting.

For the first time in the natural world, Elijah sees the sign of God acting. An assignment is coming to pass. The blessings are now at hand. The season has come.

Notice the size of the sign. ‘A small hand’ in comparison to the broad sea. A cloud the size of a person’s hand arising from the sea is practically a mist. It seems so insignificant. Sometimes, the signs of God’s presence, in comparison to the problem, might not seem to be a reason for hope.

Notice Elijah’s response to this seemingly insignificant sign. Though the sign would not have meant anything to anyone else, Elias knew what God was saying through this sign. He knew exactly what it meant. He was convinced that it was God’s way of saying, ‘I am with you. Do not give up, and you will see great things.’

He saw what God promised coming to pass, and he acted on it, with full confidence, that God would not leave His work undone. Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us. (to be continued)

(SOURCE: Feast of OLMC 2013, Saint Therése Church, Alhambra, CA)

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Click the image below for the Novena prayer to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, followed by: Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be.

novenas, our lady of mount carmel

Father Robert Elias Barcelos, OCD: Our Lady of Mt Carmel Novena, Day 1

July 7, 2018 Teresa Linda, ocds 2 Comments

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After Easter and Christmas, for Carmelites, the most important day is the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Mary of Mount Carmel represents that beauty of what we’re made for and what God is capable of accomplishing in our lives. Sacred Scripture celebrated the beauty of Mount Carmel in thirty different places in the Old Testament. There, we see the prophet Elijah, defending the purity of faith in God. Elijah bowed down to the ground. His body language expressed his disposition of heart, his humility.

Through Christ, humility is the doorway to recovery and breakthrough from anything that keeps us as slaves; anything that has control over us, but we don’t have control over it. The first stage of the Twelve Steps in healing from addiction is recognizing that you can’t heal yourself. That’s humility. Spiritually, we have to recognize that we cannot save ourselves, nor be a saint by ourselves. We just can’t do it. Elijah recognized that and he bowed down to the ground.

In the first letter of St. Peter, he writes, ‘bow down before God’s mighty hand, and in due time, He will raise you up.’ Jesus says, ‘Whoever humbles himself, shall be exalted.’ That’s what Our Lady of Mount Carmel exhibits, the human person exalted in fullness of grace. That’s who Mary was.

We all have a hunger and longing to know God more profoundly in love. However, there was no human being who lived as perfectly as Our Lady did. Jesus was not simply a human being; he was a divine person who took on human nature. But among humanity, there was no one more beautiful than Mary, and her union with God, through faith. Even she – bowed humbly to the Lord. Even she – recognized her lowliness before Him, and that she was nothing without Him.

Elijah prayed, and the results weren’t immediate. He bowed down to the ground, prayed fervently, and asked his servant to look, if he could see anything. The servant went out to the cliff on Mount Carmel, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, but saw nothing. ‘There was nothing at all.’

Have you ever prayed your heart out, gone out to see the signs and results of that prayer, only to find nothing? ‘There was nothing at all,’ was what Elijah faced. A great man like him faced those dry times, those spiritual seasons of drought, when it seemed like God was not answering his prayers. It was as if God were checked out on vacation and couldn’t be found. There was no sign to express that God was listening. But Elijah did not stop praying.

Have you ever prayed, and felt like something just wasn’t right, that you were distracted or dry? Of course you have, that’s part of our human condition. Scripture says that we don’t know how to pray as we ought, so don’t get discouraged. You’re not doing anything wrong, but without God’s help and intervention, and left to ourselves, that is bound to be the outcome. Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us. (to be continued)

(SOURCE: Feast of OLMC, Saint Therése Church, Alhambra, CA)

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Click the image below for the Novena prayer to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, followed by: Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be.

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Father Robert Elias, OCD: As certain as the dawn

June 26, 2018 Teresa Linda, ocds Leave a comment

The Tax Collector and the Pharisee, Creative Commons

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Jesus addresses the parable of the Tax Collector and the Pharisee to those who believe themselves to be most righteous, yet despise others. The Pharisee does the right things for the wrong reasons; what he does has no effect because he sees himself as more superior rather than loving. Jesus reminds us that our loving relationships must grow. Love for others is a necessary condition to truly grow in our relationship with God and our knowledge of Him.

saint thérèse of lisieux

Sister Theofila, Putri Karmel: current grace, a prophetic flow

June 26, 2018 Teresa Linda, ocds Leave a comment

Sister Theofila at Mount Saint Josephs Monastery. Photo Credit: The Speakroom

(REPOST)

The present moment is ever filled with infinite wonders. It contains more than you have the capacity to hold. Faith is the measure – believe and it will be done to you accordingly. Love also is the measure. The more the heart loves, the more it desires; and the more it desires, the more it will receive.

The will of God presents itself to us at each moment as an immense ocean that no human heart can fathom, but what the heart can receive from this ocean is equal to the measure of our faith, confidence and love. Thus, walk in the light of faith, execute His command and accomplish His will with joy and generosity each moment. We will enjoy life on earth; heaven on earth.

Holiness consists in great love as Jesus taught us and in great adherence and fidelity to God’s will. Do small things with great love. It will lead you to holiness. Our daily activities consist in doing small routine things, for faith, hope and love are the measure of all things.

Sometimes we think that holiness is only for priests, nuns and ordained people. No, holiness is for all people, as it is written in Matthew 5:48 “So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect”.

St. Therese of Lisieux (The Little Flower) said, ‘Do all things with great love and for the sake of loving God.’ If everyone of us will do the same thing as St. Therese did, we will be canonized one day.

Miracles often happen in doing small tasks. Not everyone has an opportunity to do a big task, for instance being a speaker or doing miracles during a healing service. But if we have do have that opportunity, do it for the glory of God.

Mostly, our activities consist of little things, such as cooking, washing laundry, gardening, or in ministry: arranging chairs, cleaning, preparing the food, helping in registration, and so on.

Do ordinary things with extraordinary love.

“Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love,” said Mother Teresa.“Without love, deeds, even the most brilliant, count as nothing,” wrote St. Therese of Lisieux.

God created us out of love. He invites us to share in that love. But remember, He just invites, and He doesn’t force. We are given the ability to freely choose either to accept God’s love or to reject it.

“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water that I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (Jn 4:13-14).

As St Augustine said, “You have made us for You o Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find rest in you.” Yes, we are made for God, for the Infinite, and that is why anything else that is finite, anything else except God, will never fulfill our hearts.

By encountering and experiencing God’s love personally, you are able to do little things with a great love and become a witness of God’s merciful love.

Sister Aurelia, Sister Theofila, Father Robert Elias, Sister Salverina, and Sister Jacinta. Photo credit: The Speakroom

About the author: Sister Theofila is the Prioress of the Daughters of Carmel, located in Saint Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park. Visit Daughters of Carmel website for more information. Sister Theofila gave this conference during a Charismatic Renewal event.

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Father Robert Elias, OCD: seek yourself in Me

June 19, 2018 Teresa Linda, ocds 1 Comment

Click on the triangle to listen to the audio.

During one of her locutions, Saint Teresa heard Our Lord speak the words, “Seek yourself in Me.” Saint Teresa understands these words to mean that God meets us and accepts us where we are in our lives, and our thirst and love of the truth is Someone, Yahweh moving among His people.

SOURCE: Order of Discalced Secular Carmelite (OCDS) community meeting, March 2018.

OUR MISSION is to build a Carmelite foundation for souls to bring unity, peace, beauty, and the divine mercy of the Word to the world for the healing of humanity.