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Father Robert Elias Barcelos, OCD: The Solemnity of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

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Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Feast Day Homily by Father Robert Elias Barcelos, OCD – Mount Saint Josephs Carmelite Monastery, San Jose, CA  (2018)

NOTE: Click on the triangle to play.

(Fatima, 2017)

A PRAYER

Abba, Father. We exalt you, through Yeshua, your awesome Son, our beloved Savior, who promised that we who believe in You through Him, that supernatural wellsprings would open up inside of our souls, springing up Your infinite presence.

We exalt You, Lord. We magnify You.  In  allowing our hearts to be exposed to Your light, and coming before Your Face in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, may the impact of Your profound mercy embrace us, Lord, for You are Emmanuel, God with us. The same yesterday, right here, right now, as You are in eternity.

Lord, overwhelm us with Your love and Your truth that we may be consumed and taken ever more deeply, and closer to You. Father, I pray in Jesus, that all our guardian angels may intercede and stand watch at our side, that all the entities that are opposed to our alliance with You may be bound, diminished, and expelled.

May the Holy Spirit saturate us in all the areas we need to be instructed and loved, to find freedom and hope. I ask Saint Gabriel, the first to announce the gospel to give us His blessing, that we may experience new birth in the Word, that Jesus may be made flesh in our humanity.

With Mary, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, we magnify you.  Lord God, we come before You as our King. We ask You to come in triumph and reign. Rain down the triumph of Your Spirit. Overshadow us with the power of the Most High that we may understand how truly awesome and real, how ravishingly great you are.

Glory be to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be, world without end, AMEN.

May almighty God, bless us, protect us from evil and bring us to everlasting life.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

(SOURCE: Opening Prayer, Young Adult Retreat 2011. “The True Rebellion of Saints”)

Copyright Fr. Robert Barcelos, OCD, 2016. All Rights Reserved.

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

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

 

novenas, our lady of mount carmel

Father Robert Elias Barcelos, OCD: Our Lady of Mt Carmel Novena, Day 8

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Photo credit: The Speakroom, (Rome 2018)

In the Book of Kings, after Elijah prayed seven times, ‘the rain fell in torrents’ because of Elijah’s prayer. The Book of James chapter 5 says that there is power in prayer with faith than can move mountains, and it recalls Saint Elijah as an example of a powerhouse person of faith in prayer. James says, ‘If you have the faith in God’s promise, nothing will be impossible for you.’

‘Then the rain fell in torrents’ on the Mount of Carmel. This is a symbol of the outpouring of the Spirit in power. Yet before the outpouring, what happened? ‘The sky grew dark with clouds and storm.’ In our natural world, before the rain really comes down, it looks dark and spooky. Many times, just before a breakthrough, we need to hit rock bottom. Sometimes, when striving for the season of unprecedented favor, things get worst before they get better.

Look at the cross and resurrection. Everything escalated and there was a momentum that was building. Jesus became more and more amazing, and everyone was ready for something spectacular. The best was yet to come. But before they got there – the scandal of the cross! This totally disillusioned His followers. The persecution and the opposition became more fierce. They were expecting the best, yet the worst smacked them, as Jesus suffered before them. So too in our lives. There’s a momentum of God acting. And just before the really big outpouring, come the dark clouds, the storms in our lives.

What seemed to be a terrible setback became a set-up for tremendous blessings. Trials were transformed into triumphs. St. Paul says, the proof that you are chosen and blessed is when you experience that surging of the Spirit inside; that holy longing for greater union with God; that deep spiritual desire springing up from within, reaching out toward eternity. Jesus says, ‘For those who believe in me, a wellspring shall flow from their heart, reaching out into eternal life.’ Saint Paul says, ‘The Spirit within you cries out, Abba! Father! My Lord, and my God!’

Jesus Christ is Lord, and to say it from the deepest part of yourself, because there has been an encounter that has brought about a conviction from experience is the proof, He says, that ‘You are blessed. You belong to me, the Lord God of hosts.’ When you are able to taste that, there are moments that are so good that you cannot help but say, ‘I never knew life could be this good. I never knew it could be this good. Somebody catch me because I’m falling in love!’ When God’s Holy Spirit comes upon us, we begin to fall in love with God.

Saint Paul says, ‘We are no longer slaves.’ We’re no longer fans of Jesus – we’re friends. We are no longer a Catholic because of culture or obligation, but because of conviction, which has brought about the most amazing celebration. You have to fan the flames and don’t let nothing or nobody stop you from being a child of God, the saint you are made to be. Harness the chariot. Get ready. It’s not going to be easy, but don’t let anything stop you from getting to the top of Mount Carmel, from living your God-given purpose.

One great Carmelite said, ‘The ascent is arduous, but the summit is bathed in sunlight.’ God bless you. Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

(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.

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

 

novenas, our lady of mount carmel

Father Robert Elias Barcelos, OCD: Our Lady of Mt Carmel Novena, Day 7

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Photo credit: The Speakroom (Rome, 2018)

In living out our vocation, we must always remember the lesson taught to us by St. Elijah’s faithfulness of prayer on the Mount of Carmel. The spirit realm precedes everything that comes to pass in the natural realm. We have to be totally convinced of God’s presence and His purpose for our life, as active in our lives.  We have to believe it in our hearts and receive it. Once that belief has taken root in our minds, and taken shape in our hearts, God’s plan for us will begin to happen.

You have to believe it here, in your heart, before it can take shape out there, in the situations of your life. We need to be ripe to receive what God has promised. There’s an appointed time. Some of us have not received the greater outpouring of the Spirit because we’re not ready for it yet.

In the Acts of the Apostles, before Pentecost, in the first chapter, Jesus says to his apostles, ‘I want you to prepare yourselves for the promise of the Father, who will come upon you with power.’ And they said, ‘Really? When is it going to happen? When are you going to do this? When are you going to do that?’ But Jesus replies, ‘Wait, hold on! It’s not for you to know times and seasons.’ They were trying to fit God into their calendar. They wanted to know the details of how God was going to do what He was going to do. Jesus says to them, ‘I promise to bless you abundantly, but not necessarily according to your expectations or schedule. You’re not going to know the time, or the season, but I will be there.’

‘I will be with you. I promise.’

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.

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

novenas, our lady of mount carmel

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

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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.

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Our Lady of Mt Carmel, Feast Day July 16

Mt. Saint Joseph Carmelite Monastery, San Jose, CA