Divine Mercy in the Light of Mt. Carmel

Divine Mercy image at Vilnius, Lithuania

Catholics all over the world celebrate the first Sunday after Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday, after our Lord Jesus appeared to St. Faustina Kowalska to spread the devotion of the Divine Mercy throughout the world. As we celebrate and glorify God for this important feast day, let us reflect on the words shared by some of our great Carmelite saints on the aspect of mercy.

So dearly does His Majesty love us that He will reward our love for our neighbor by increasing the love which we bear to Himself, and that is a thousand ways. - St. Teresa of Avila

We can never have too much confidence in the good God who is so powerful and so merciful. We obtain from Him as much as we hope for. 

The guest of our soul knows our misery; He comes to find an empty tent within us--that is all He asks.

- St. Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face

Oh Lord, my life and my strength, one of the greatest of the divine mercies which you have bestowed upon me is to deign to invite a creature so sinful and ungrateful as I am to love Your majesty. In Your presence the heavenly seraphim veil their faces, dazzled by the splendor of the of the divinity and the fire of Your love. I am honored by the liberality and the same time impelled to love You in return for Your love and for the desire that you have to unite me to Your heart, that sweet refuge to which I long to fly that I may find repose therein. – Ven. John of Jesus Mary, Divine Intimacy 

When one gets to know God, when in the silence of prayer He overshadows our soul with a ray of His infinite beauty; when He overshadows our mind with His wisdom and power; when He inflames us with His goodness and mercy; then everything on earth is seen with sadness. - St. Teresa of Jesus of the Andes

No matter how earnestly beginners in all their actions and passions practice the mortification of self, they will never be able to do so entirely--far from it--until God accomplishes it in them passively by means of the purgation of this night. - St. John of the Cross, Dark Night of the Soul

Isang Pagninilay sa Poong Mahal

Source: YouTube

Sa gitna ng ingay nakita Kita

Duguan at pagod sa pagpapasan ng dala.

Ako ma’y banyaga, nakaramdam ng awa.

Sa kalupitang dinanas mo sa kamay ng mga may gawa.

(Source: Passion of the Christ movie)

 Nawala sa paningin ko ang imahe ng Iyong pagdurusa

Naiwan naman ang bakas ng pawis at dugo sa natuyong lupa

Sinunod ko ang kalbaryo ngunit makipot ang daang ito

Natatanging lungkot at pighati nasa puso ko.

Sino Ka at ako ay binihag Mo?

Sino ako para ako’s tawagin Mo?

Isang Hentil anupama’t wala sa lahi mo

Ngunit natali sa mga titig Mo.

Christ on the Cross by Joachim Beuckelaer

Sa tuktok ng Golgota sa ilalim ng araw

Tila naghihintay ang mga taong nakatayo sa malayo

Hindi ko maisip, di ko matanggap

Sa gitna ng ingay, tahimik Kang nakabitin, tila nagdadasal sa nagaganap.

Ang titig mo ang nangungusap ng pagibig na wagas

At sa paanan mo ang dalawang Mariang nagluluksa

Tila di batid ang gulong kabila—

Lait at poot sa mga nakapakong may sala.

Lumapit ako sa mga babaeng nagluluksa

Di upang makiramay ngunit para umusisa

Ikaw na nasa bingit ng kamatayan ay—

Magaganap ang utos ng matagal ng hinintay.

Source: YouTube

Sa isang sandal Ika’y lumingon sa ‘kin

Bumukas sa isip ko ang  propesiyang magaganap

Hindi sila, kung KAMI ang Iyong sinagip

Na sa kamatayan Mo lamang na matutupad.

Christ of St. John of the Cross by Salvador Dali

Isang malalim na buntong hininga at Ika’y napayuko

Sa kabila ng kadiliman sa puso ng lahat.

Bumukas ang telon ng langit sa mga taong marangal

Kami’y Iyong niligtas, Poong Mahal!

TOC Family Welcomes Final Professed Members

Seminarians from the Immaculate Conception Major Seminary (ICMAS) of the Diocese of Malolos recently participated in the ceremonies for the final profession of members and acceptance to the novitiate last March 19, 2018, Solemnity of St. Joseph, at the Carmelite Monastery of the Holy Family in Guiguinto, Bulacan. The mass was officiated by Fr. Adriand Layug, T.O.C.

Congratulations to Brothers Kirth, France and Carlo on their perpetual profession, and to all brother seminarians who have been accepted to the novitiate and aspirancy. TOC Philippines welcomes all of you.

"The scapular is a means to an end. Our end is love. Carmel is love." -Fr. Adriand Layug, T.O.C. 

May we all reach the heights of Carmel!

"Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he send forth laborers into his harvest." (Matthew 9:38, Douay Rheims version)

St. Joseph and the Carmelite Connection

The Universal Church celebrates today the feast day of St. Joseph, foster father of our Lord Jesus Christ and Patron of the Families. Other than the Blessed Mother and our Carmelite saints, St. Joseph is the unofficial patron of the Carmelite Order.

Let us recall the devotion of St. Teresa of Avila to this illustrious saint in her Autobiography:

“I took for my advocate and lord the glorious Saint Joseph and commended myself earnestly to him; and I found that this my father and lord delivered me both from this trouble and also from other and greater troubles concerning my honor and the loss of my soul, and that he gave me greater blessings than I could ask of him. I do not remember even now that I have ever asked anything of him which he has failed to grant. I am astonished at the great favors which God has bestowed on me through this blessed saint, and at the perils from which He has freed me, both in body and in soul. To other saints the Lord seems to have given grace to succor us in some of our necessities but of this glorious saint my experience is that he succors us in them all and that the Lord wishes to teach us that as He was Himself subject to him on earth (for, being His guardian and being called His father, he could command Him) just so in Heaven He still does all that he asks. This has also been the experience of other persons whom I have advised to commend themselves to him; and even to-day there are many who have great devotion to him through having newly experienced this truth.” “I wish I could persuade everyone to be devoted to this glorious saint, for I have great experience of the blessings which he can obtain from God. I have never known anyone to be truly devoted to him and render him particular services who did not notably advance in virtue, for he gives very real help to souls who commend themselves to him. For some years now, I think, I have made some request of him every year on his festival and I have always had it granted. If my petition is in any way ill directed, he directs it aright for my greater good.”

“I only beg, for the love of God, that anyone who does not believe me will put what I say to the test, and he will see by experience what great advantages come from his commending himself to this glorious patriarch and having devotion to him. Those who practice prayer should have a special affection for him always. I do not know how anyone can think of the Queen of the Angels, during the time that she suffered so much with the Child Jesus, without giving thanks to Saint Joseph for the way he helped them. If anyone cannot find a master to teach him how to pray, let him take this glorious saint as his master and he will not go astray.” (Chapter 6).

In very much the same way, way we find the powerful protection of St. Joseph in our community and in our lives.

St. Joseph, Principal Protector of the Venerable Order of Carmel, pray for us!

Source: Catholic Spiritual Direction 

Rites of Profession and Acceptance to the Novitiate and Aspirancy

Rites for temporary professed members and acceptance to the novitiate and aspirancy were held last February 24 at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Makati. The rites were administered by Fr. Marlon Berredo, OCARM.

Temporary Professed Members

• Cecilia Campos (Sacred Heart of Jesus, Makati City)
• Adolfo Bacud (Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Project 6)
• Marilou Escobar (Flos Carmeli, Bacoor, Cavite)
• Marilu Louella Cabotan (Flos Carmeli, Bacoor, Cavite)

Temporary professed members

New Novices

Rosebelle Caragay (Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Project 6)

Denver Daradar (Our Lady of the Pillar, Pilar, Las Piñas)

Mary Iphigene Daradar (Our Lady of the Pillar, Pilar, Las Piñas)

Rebecca de Dios-Valdez (Our Lady of the Pillar, Pilar, Las Piñas)

Maria Sulaila Song Medina-Babijes (Flos Carmeli, Bacoor, Cavite)

Marivic Navea (Our Lady of the Pillar, Pilar, Las Piñas)

Fr. Berredo reciting the acceptance for novices

New Aspirants

New aspirants coming from Project 6, San Marcelino and Baliuag communities receiving their blessing

Blessing of the Brown Scapulars

Sister Cecilia signs her certificate

All hearts are turned to Christ....

Members from Pilar and Bacoor communities

We wish to congratulate all members and their families who took part in the rites and encourage everyone to continue their journey to Carmel.

A Highlight on the Women Saints of Carmel

In commemoration of the International Women’s Day that was recently celebrated last March 8, we praise and thank God for having been blessed with a number of women saints of Mt. Carmel, with two of them given the distinction as Doctors of the Church.  

St. Teresa of Avila (28 March 1515 - 4 October 1582)

Known for her strong character and extroversion, she was 14 when she lost her mother and took on the Blessed Virgin Mary as her mother. She entered the Carmelite convent in Avila after miraculously recovering from a long illness. Displeased with the seeming laxity displayed by the other sisters in the cloister, she introduced many reforms and established the Order of Discalced Carmelites. She would later be joined by another spiritual giant, St. John of the Cross. Aside from establishing several convents in Spain, she also wrote her mystical experiences and difficulties in her autobiography. She was a mater theologian of her time, her written works include the Interior Castle and The Way of Perfection. She was canonized on March 12, 1622 and was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1970--the first woman doctor of the Catholic Church.

St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi (2 April 1566 - 25 May 1607)

A contemporary of St. Teresa of Avila who was also a mystic, St. Mary Magdalene was a young child when she experienced her first mystical experience. Born to a wealthy family in Florence, Italy, she chose to enter the Carmelite monastery against her father’s wishes. Known for her austere life, she experienced raptures and ecstasies as well as long periods of spiritual dryness. She had a deep longing for reform of the Church during the tumultuous period of the Reformation. She was canonized on May 25, 1670.

St. Therese of Lisieux (2 January 1873 - 30 September 1897) 

Perhaps the most known of all the Carmelite saints, St. Therese was the youngest child of Zelie and Louis Martin (both of whom have been jointly declared saints in 2015). As a young child, she was temperamental and stubborn and suffered a nervous breakdown after the death of her mother. She recovered from this illness after the statue of Mother Mary smiled at her; but her complete conversion happened in Christmas 1886. By a special dispensation of the pope she entered the Carmelite monastery in Lisieux at 15. Her autobiography, The Story of a Soul, gave a rich account of her spiritual life, her desire for the missions, her vocation of Love, and the Little Way—a way of spiritual childhood. Canonized on 17 Mary 1925, St. Therese is the co-patroness of the missions together with Saint Francis Xavier and co-patroness of France after St. Joan of Arc. She was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by St. Pope John Paul II on October 19, 1997.

St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (12 October 1891 - 9 August 1942)

Born in Breslau, Poland to strict Jewish parents, Edith Stein was a brilliant student who became an Atheist during her teens. She finished her doctoral degree in Philosophy during a time when female students were rare. During her studies she met prominent philosopher Edmund Husserl and eventually became his assistant. Reading the autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila and underdoing a series of events led to her conversion to Catholicism and subsequent entry to the Carmelite monastery in Cologne in 1933. She took on the name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross and quickly rose to spiritual heights, ending in Auschwitz in August 1942. Among her written works include the Science of the Cross and the Finite and Eternal Being. She was canonized on 11 October 1998.

St. Elizabeth of the Holy Trinity (18 July 1880 - 9 November 1906)

Another mystic, St. Elizabeth was a gifted pianist when she entered the cloister of Mt. Carmel in Dijon, France in 1901. Called to religious life even at a young age, she was inclined towards contemplative prayer and composed the famous prayer "O My God, Trinity Whom I Adore". She was greatly influenced by another French contemporary, St. Therese of Lisieux (The Little Flower), whose autobiography she had read. She wrote several other works before succumbing to Addison's disease in 1906 at the age of 26. She was canonized on October 16, 2016.

A growing Carmelite family

With the blessing and guidance of the Holy Spirit and the protection of Our Blessed Mother, the whole Carmelite family continues to grow--in number and in holiness.

Sources:

http://heartsawake.org/spirituality/carmelite-saints/saint-teresa-avila/

http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=208

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Teresa-of-Avila

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Magdalene_de%27_Pazzi

http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/16772/pg16772.txt

https://www.littleflower.org/therese/doctor-of-the-church/apostolic-letter-excerpts/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edith_Stein
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/who-was-elizabeth-of-the-trinity-the-story-behind-a-new-saint-86118

Prayer for the 13th TOC Provincial Convention

The “Prayer for the Provincial Convention” is to be prayed after the intercessions at the Liturgy of the Hours. The prayer was adapted from “Prayer for the Year of the Parish”.

PRAYER FOR THE PROVINCIAL CONVENTION 

Loving God, you gather us as a people of the new covenant sealed with the blood of your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.  You formed us into a community of faith, hope and love; a priestly, prophetic and kingly people. 

Humbly we ask you, make our Order of Carmel truly a communion of communities; a worshiping community, a witnessing and an evangelizing community, and a servant community. 

Guide our prior provincial, provincial delegate and lay leaders, and all those who labor for the Order, with your wisdom and love. 

Bless all the Tertiaries who compose the Third Order and the local communities, as they offer their time, talents and treasures as stewards of the graces you gifted us, for the building up of your Church. 

May the Holy Spirit enlighten, inspire and invigorate us to actively participate in the mission you entrusted to us in the Order of Carmel. May we continue to be a discerning community, reading the signs of the times and interpreting them in the light of the Gospel. 

May we truly become the leaven in society by penetrating all its strata with the Gospel and restoring its order according to the values of the Kingdom. 

And may the spirit of collaboration and co-responsibility bring us into a fuller and fruitful communion with you and with one another. 

We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen. 

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

St. Elijah, pray for us.

St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi, pray for us

St. George Preca, pray for us

Blessed Titus Brandsma, pray for us

Blessed Josefa Naval Girbes, pray for us

 

PANALANGIN PARA SA PROBINSYAL NA PAGTITIPON 

Mapagmahal na Diyos, tinipon Mo kami bilang sambayanan ng bagong tipan na tinubos ng dugo ng iyong mahal na Anak, ang aming Panginoong Hesukristo. Binuo mo kami bilang sambayanan ng pananampalataya, pag-asa at pag-ibig; isang sambayanan na naglilingkod bilang pari, propeta at hari. 

Buong pagpapakumbabang sumasamo kami, gawin Mong ang aming Orden ng Karmelo ay tunay na pinagka-isang sambayanan; isang Sambayanang sumasamba, nagpapatotoo, at nagpapahayag, at isang Sambayanang  naglilingkod.   

Gabayan Mo ng iyong karunungan at pag-ibig ang aming prior provincial, provincial delegate at mga laykong lingkod at lahat ng gumaganap sa Orden. 

Bendisyunan mo ang lahat ng laikong Karmelita na bumubuo sa Orden Tercera at local na komunidad na nag-aalay ng kanilang panahon, talino at yaman bilang tagapamahala ng mga biyayang ibinigay Mo sa amin sa pagbuo namin ng iyong Simbahan. 

Nawa ay liwanagan, pag-alabin at pasiglahin kami ng Banal na Espiritu upang aktibong makilahok sa misyon na ipinagkatiwala  mo sa amin sa Orden. Nawa ay patuloy kaming maging maalam na pamayanan, nakikita ang tanda ng panahon at binibigyan kahulugan ito sa liwanag ng Ebanghelyo. 

Maging tunay nawa kaming lebadura ng lipunan sa pamamagitan ng pagpapahayag ng Ebanghelyo sa lahat ng antas ng lipunan at pagpapanumbalik ng kaayusan alinsunod  sa kahalagahan ng Kaharian mo. At nawa ang diwa ng pakikipag-ugnayan at pagiging kabalikat sa pananagutan ay maghatid sa amin sa isang ganap at mabungang pakikipagka-isa sa Iyo at sa bawat isa. 

Hinihiling namin ito sa pamamagitan ni Kristong aming Panginoon. Amen

 

Mahal na Birhen ng Karmelo, ipanalangin mo kami

San Elias, ipanalangin mo kami

Santa Maria Magdalena de Pazzi, ipanalangin mo kami

San George Preca, ipanalangin mo kami

Beato Tito Brandsma, ipanalangin mo kami

Beata Josefa Naval Girbes, ipanalangin mo kami

Updates from the Third Order

JANUARY 2016

The Flos Carmeli House of Prayer, the first TOC property in the Philippines, has its ownership been officially transferred after securing the property title from the Land Registration Authority. The Order is forever grateful to its previous owners, Rene and Beatrice Benitez, for giving the property.

 

 

Also, on January 17, the rites of simple profession were held at the Dipolog Cathedral for the members of the St. Teresa of Jesus Community. The next day, the community joined the Sinulog fiesta in honor of the Divine Infant Jesus celebrated every 3rd Sunday of January.

 

 

 

FEBRUARY 2016 

For the month of February, there are various activities attended by the National Council of the Third Order. On Feb. 6, the Training for Formators was started. This is in preparation for the modules of formation that was laid down by the National Council after having its final revision. This is to equip the formators in transmitting the required formation to the members. On February 8, rites of novitiate, simple and solemn profession was given for the members of the Mater Carmeli TOC Community in Sta. Ignacia, Tarlac. On February 19 -22, the Training for Formators for the Bicol Region was given and the rites of admission to the Order and profession was given to the community at the parish of Our Lady of the Assumption in Guinobatan, Albay. On February 26 – 28, the National Council held its annual retreat guided by the provincial delegate, Fr. Baltazar Ronato, O.Carm. 

 

 

 

MARCH 2016 

On the feast of St. Joseph, the rites for novitiate, simple profession and solemn profession was administered to the members of the different TOC communities in the Region of St. Joseph. Rev. Fr. Rey Rivera, parish priest of St. Ildephonse Parish, Guiguinto, was also received as a novice on that day. 

 

 

 

On March 28, the seminary TOC community at the Immaculate Conception Seminary, Guiguinto, Bulacan made their renewal of promises at the Carmelite Monastery of the Holy Family. The rites were administered by the spiritual assistants of the communities. 

 

 

 

MAY 2016 

On May 14, the rite of solemn profession was administered by Rev. Fr. Baltazar Ronato, OCarm, provincial delegate, to the various TOC communities of the Region of St. Joseph. This was held at the Carmelite Monastery of the Holy Family in Guiguinto, Philippines. After the rites, a small agape was held at the formation center of the monastery. 

 

 

 

On the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity, an isolate TOC, a seminarian from the Diocese of San Fernando, La Union was received as a novice in the Third Order. Sem. Carlo Emil Boado came all the way from La Union to the Flos Carmeli House of Prayer to receive the rites. He was received in the Order by Rev. Fr. Baltazar Ronato, O.Carm.

 

 

 

Plenary Indulgence on the 450th Anniversary of the Birth of St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi

On account of the 450th anniversary of the birth of St. Mary Magdalen de’Pazzi, the Apostolic Penitentiary has granted that all Carmelite monasteries be places where people may obtain a plenary indulgence throughout this year, beginning on the 2nd of April, 2016 and ending on the 25th of May, 2017. The same applies to churches and chapels dedicated to her.

 

 

On the 2nd of April, the date of her birth in 1566, there will be a solemn opening of the centenary year in the monastery of Careggi (Florence, Italy) where her body is venerated.

TOC Rites at St. John Paul II TOC Community - UST Central Seminary

On April 28, Rev. Fr. Reynaldo Reyes from the Diocese of Pasig was accepted as a novice to the TOC by the Prior Provincial, Rev. Fr. Christian Buenafe, OCarm. Also, Sem. Kervin Roldan, TOCarm made his simple profession on the same day.