Carmel Bulletin, 30 June 2019
The feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is celebrated on 16 July. The parish celebrates the feast day on the Sunday closest to the feast day, this year on Sunday 14 July. As a lead up to the feast day we will provide some reflections on the feast day and what it means to be a Carmelite.
Mary, the Lady of the Place
The Carmelite Order has a long and rich Marian tradition. Even before St Albert of Jerusalem wrote the Formula of Life for the hermits on Mount Carmel (from which the Carmelite Rule originates), we can read about prophets, pilgrims and crusaders coming to the mountain with a devotion to Mary as the Mother of God, and as the example for how to live a life in fellowship with Jesus. So that, by the time the hermits had established an oratory in the midst of their cells, there was a clear understanding that it would be Mary that would call them to prayer each day; the Lady of the Place. Within this small chamber, the Brothers would come to know and love her as a gentle Mother, as the Patroness who would protect them, as the Sister that walks the same faith journey as us, and as the Virgin for her purity of heart. And central to the oratory, to the heart of Mary, is her Son, Jesus.
So then, what does Mary mean to us in our lives? Our parish is well-known for its devotion to Our Lady, so where does she connect with us spiritually, how does she shape our identity, what relationship do we have with her? As members of the Carmelite Family, we are all invited to reflect on how Mary can lead us to a more fulfilling and deeper relationship with her Son.
Denis Andrew OCarm (Parish Priest)
and Paola Yevenes (Pastoral Associate)
Liturgy 