December 25, 2007

The Discalced Carmelite Friars

of the Province of St. Joseph wish all our families, friends and benefactors a very blessed and joyous Christmas.

Remember that the Christmas season continues on the liturgical calendar until January 13, 2008.

December 17, 2007

O Wisdom, you came forth from the mouth of the Most High and, reaching from beginning to end, you ordered all things mightily and sweetly. Come, and teach us the way of prudence.

O Antiphon for December 17

During the final days of advent each Friar makes a personal Day of Recollection (hermit day) in preparation for Christmas. Each night, in keeping with ancient tradition, the Friars process with the statue of the Child Jesus to the cell of the Friar who is beginning his Day of Recollection. Singing the Veni Emmanuel and the Ave Maria, the community prays for a grace-filled day for their brother.

December 14, 2007

Solemn Profession of

Bro. Ramiro of Christ on the Cross, OCD

Today, at the International Carmelite College (Teresianum) in Rome, Italy, our brother, Ramiro Casale of Christ on the Cross, professed his Solemn and Perpetual Profession in the hands of our Superior General and in the presence of our Provincial Superior. Along with eleven other Carmelite Brothers from around the world, Bro. Ramiro professed the evangelical counsels of Poverty, Chastity and Poverty for life.

Along with Fr. Provincial, Gerald Werner, representing our Province and attending the ceremony was Bro. Thomas Reeves, OCD and Theresa Thomas, OCDS. Members of Bro. Ramiro's family from Mexico were also present.

Bro. Ramiro is presently in his final year of Theological studies at the Teresianum. He is expected to return to the Province this summer.

December 14, 2007

Solemnity of Our Holy Father

Saint John of the Cross

"Endeavor to remain always in the presence of God, either real, imaginative, or unitive insofar as is permitted by your works."

Saint John of the Cross

Degrees of Perfection

Happy Feastday

Fr. John (Melka) of the Cross, OCD

December 1, 2007

Diaconate Ordination of

Bro. Salvador Roman, OCD

On Saturday, December 1, 2007, Bro. Salvador Roman was ordained a Transitional Deacon by Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas (Bishop of Tucson) at St. Margaret Mary Church, Tucson, Arizona.

November 27, 2007

Fr. Adam and Postulants Richard and Marinello visit our sisters at the

Carmel of Reno, Nevada.

November 19, 2007

St. Raphael Kalinowski, OCD

born: September 1, 1835
professed: November 27, 1881
ordained: January 15, 1882
died: Novmeber 15, 1907
feastday: November 19




Centenary of the death of St. Raphael Kalinowski, OCD

Letter from Fr General Luis Aróstegui to the Provinces of Krakow and Warsaw on the First Centenary of the death of St Raphael Kalinowski (1907-2007)


Dear Brothers and Sisters of the Teresian Carmel,

This present year, 2007, is the one hundredth anniversary of the death of St Raphael of St Joseph, (Józef Kalinowski), and you are celebrating it in a fruitful manner by different cultural and spiritual events. I would like to unite myself to your celebrations by means of this letter to you, the contents of which will be made known to the whole Order.

Raphael Kalinowski, a Carmelite in heart and mind, was born at Vilna on 1st September 1835 and returned to the house of the God of life on 15th November 1907 at Wadowice. He was inscribed in the list of saints by the then Holy Father, John Paul II, on 17th November 1991 during the Eucharist celebrated in St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. His sanctity, confirmed by the Church, is the guarantee that the Saint found and realized in full the mission entrusted to him by Divine Providence. For us, this signifies that, while taking into account perhaps errors and obstacles, we can and ought to have the faith that it is possible for us to reach the goal that the Lord has kindly marked out for us and renews.

The saints are accessible to us at every moment without limits of time and place. But anniversary commemorations take on special importance when the community turns its gaze on the saint and allows itself to be inspired and queried by him, welcoming the questions that apply to one’s own identity and mission.

The experience and teaching of Christ Jesus, concerning the dignity of human persons and their eternal destiny to life in the communion of the Holy Trinity, represents for the Church, for all of us, the enduring basis underlying the changeable events of humanity. It is a life that realizes itself in the mission to transform and improve the world, both physical and spiritual, so that it might become an inviting place for the growth of humanity in communion.

"We cannot doubt that God, in his mercy, has assigned to everyone a duty to be accomplished in this world. If you want to become a saint, to become perfect, carry out faithfully your duties” - wrote St Raphael Kalinowski.

During his hard life, he did not have freely at his disposition ready replies to the questions that assailed him, on the value of the suffering caused by his deportation to Siberia and separation from those he loved, for the profound crisis of faith that excluded him from the life of the Church for a certain period of his life, on the excruciating human fates he experienced in exile and elsewhere, on the future of his own nation. Far from surrendering to passivity, he sought light in intimacy and events and remained listening for signs and voices.

This humble attitude of listening allowed him to glimpse the challenges that stood out in his life, in which he gradually found help from God as light and energy for good, as well as the deep interior thrust to do good to many people, to help those who had lost their way, to comfort the desperate, to reawaken dignity by means of education, to share what little he had.
St Raphael Kalinowski was a born educator. He was instinctively so in the workplace and in deportation, and afterwards as a private tutor, then in the Minor Seminary at Wadowice, which he founded. This attitude of his, together with a spontaneous welcoming quality and the empathy he possessed in accompanying the human and spiritual growth of people, we see deeply developing itself in his devotion to the sacrament of penance and spiritual direction. He felt himself the custodian of divine mercy and therefore received penitents with affection, gentleness and zeal.

In the events of his life, he experienced in many ways the division among Christians and the sad lot of those who were discriminated against and persecuted. He felt this division as “the greatest enemy of our society”. He entered Carmel to serve Christ and to work for unity of the Church, an intention that was his constant companion right to the end. God in his goodness "will still permit me, by his grace, to work through the Carmel of Our Lady for unity of the Church”. “Sacred unity! Holy union! At present this same word fills the heart with pain, but at the same time it set light to the flame of hope”.

I wish to underline with pleasure that he had at heart the restoration of the Polish province of the Order, which had been so flourishing in the past, and which also was the origin of the Lithuanian province. It was therefore necessary to encourage new foundations. But a true and deep restoration meant for him nothing less than regaining the memory of the past. For this reason he set out to search for and save these documents and to publish the chronicles of some of the monasteries and convents. In the same way he saw the need for Carmel and its spirituality to take root and above all to draw near to the spiritual needs of people, to present the events and the more famous figures of the Polish Carmel. Modestly, he is a representative of the Order’s tradition of printing. Along the same lines, among many other initiatives, he organized the Secular Order and confraternities for the laity.

It is well-known that, as a mature young man, he was a patriot of his homeland that had been wiped from the list of nations. He was against the shedding of blood, because he was convinced that his country “had need of sweat rather than the shedding of blood; already too much had been poured out”. He actively collaborated in the insurrection, with the intention of saving human life. For this he was arrested, condemned to capital punishment which was mitigated to ten years of forced labor in Siberia. I make mention of these well-known facts to record simply his human and evangelical attitude, and the fact he never renounced his convictions on what was just regarding the rights of people, a conviction that included yearning for the union of the people, and above all, yearning for communion with God in prayer and in eternity.

His was a dramatic life: for the external events in which he took part, and none the less for the interior journey of the Saint. His activity, manifold and zealous, his commitment to others, faithful and caring right to the end, found its source and mysterious unity in the Eucharist and the sacrament of reconciliation, in filial devotion to Mary and continuously in silent prayer.
To fulfil one’s own mission in life, there is a need to listen to the voice, born of a Christian conscience, in the midst of the social, cultural and religious situations of our own concrete life. Then, for certain, mission cannot be separated from suffering, from the capacity of spiritual sacrifice. This capacity is the measure of the authenticity of our sentiments and our proposals. In every case, this should be a suffering that is assimilated and made peaceful in prayer.
I nourish the hope that, in our world of rapid and deep change, and of dissension and drama, the awareness and prayerful meditation of the message of St Raphael Kalinowski would represent for us a stimulus for accepting and verifying, with truth and joy, our call to the tradition of Carmel. His courage in searching, his perseverance, his ability to relate with comprehension and compassion, his attentiveness to surrounding needs, the natural union of contemplation and action are some of the characteristics of what he hands down to us.

Rome, 20th July 2007
Very Rev. Fr. Luis Aróstegui Gamboa, OCD - Superior General

November 6 - November 14, 2007

Novitiate Provincial Tour

It has been a custom in our community for the Novice Master to take the Novices on a "tour" of our Province. Last month, Fr. Donald and the Novices visited our houses in Mt. Angel, Oregon and Stanwood, Washington. From November 6 through November 14 they ventured south and visited Redlands & Alhambra (California) and our two parishes in Tucson, Arizona. They also visited our Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart in Alhambra, as well as our Carmelite Nuns, in Alhambra (pictured) and San Diego.

October 28, 2007

Two Priests who served in our Province are beatified

Bl. Lucas of St. Joseph (Tristany), O.C.D.
Born: December 14, 1872 Lerida, Spain
Ordained priest: May 27, 1899
Parish Assignments: Holy Cross, Morenci, AZ 1914
Assumption of BVM, Florence, AZ 1915
Holy Family (first pastor), Tucson, AZ 1915-1924
Santa Cruz, Tucson, AZ 1919
Martyred: July 20, 1936 Barcelona

Bl. Eduardo of the Child Jesus (Farré), O.C.D.
Born: April 3, 1897 Torms, Lerida, Spain

Ordained priest: June 13, 1920

Parish Assignments: Holy Family, Tucson, AZ 1926-1927,1930-1932
Santa Cruz, Tucson, AZ 1932-1933

Martyred: July 25, 1936 Montcada, Spain

32 Discalced Carmelites Friars were among the 498 Martyrs of Spain who were beatified on October 28, 2008 by Our Holy Father, Benedict XVI in St. Peter's Square. Our Vicar Provincial, Fr. Matthew Williams and Bro. David Guzman (who grew up in our Santa Cruz Parish, Tucson, AZ) joined the four members of our Province who are presently stationed in Rome to attend the beatification ceremony.

In addition to the new Carmelite Friar "Blesseds" (14 Friars from Barcelona, including one seminarian, 1 from Oveda and 16 from Toledo) there were also 5 Carmelite sisters from aggregated communities of the Order (4 Carmelite Missionaries and 1 Carmelite of Charity) who were beatified in the same ceremony.

Their feast day will be celebrated on November 6.

October 26, 2007

Vocation Day

Franciscan University

of Steubenville, Ohio

On October 26, 2007, Fr. Adam Gregory represented the community at the Vocation Fair at Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio. He was joined by Fr. Elijah Martin, OCD, Vocation Director of the Washington Province of Discalced Carmelite Friars, the Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart and the Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

October 16, 2007

Fr. Philip Sullivan, OCD, had the special blessing of celebrating Holy Mass for our Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Tepeyac (the hill of the Apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe) on OHM St. Teresa's feastday. In the above pictures, Fr. Philip is shown celebrating Mass with Fr. Jerome Karcher during their pilgrimage to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. St. Juan Diego's tilma, with the miraculous image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, can be see behind the main altar.

October 15, 2007

Solemnity of Our Holy Mother,

Saint Teresa of Jesus

While at St. Joseph's in Avila, on the vigil of Pentecost, I was in the hermitage of Nazareth reflecting upon a very great favor our Lord had granted me on that day, more or less twenty years before, when an intense spiritual impulse and fervor began which caused my faculties to be suspended. In this great recollection I heard from our Lord the following:

That I should tell the Discalced Fathers that for their part they ought to strive to observe four things and that as long as they keep them their religious order will grow, and that when they fail to do so they will be falling away from their original purpose. The first is that their leaders be in accord. The second, that though they have many houses, there be few friars in each. The third, that they speak little with seculars, but that when they do, it be for the good of these persons' souls. The fourth, that they teach by works more than by words.

This happened in the year 1579. And because it is very true, I sign it with my name:

Teresa of Jesus

October 13, 2007

On October 13, 2007, Fr. Adam Gregory Gonzales joined other Vocation Directors and representatives from some 25 religious orders at the

Diocese of San Jose Vocation Fair.

October 8, 2007

On October 8, 2007, the two members of our Province who are studying theology at the International Carmelite College (The Teresianum), in Rome, began their semester along with Discalced Carmelite Friars from around the world. Can you spot

Bro. Ramiro and Bro. Juan Elias in the sea of brown?

October 2, 2007

Mount Saint Joseph threatened by fire

During the afternoon on the feast of the Guardian Angels, our cook noticed smoke coming from behind the monastery. As the Prior was being alerted the San Jose Fire Department was already arriving in our parking lot. Apparently, a car fire on Clayton Road started the blaze which burned around 15 acres of our hillside and came within a few feet of the garage and back of the monastery. Due to the bravery, efficiency and quick work of the San Jose Fire Department and the California Department of Forestry the fire was contained and extinguished within a few anxious hours. We praise and give give thanks to God, today, for preserving this monastery and for the safety of his servants. (Thanks to our guardian angels, too!)

October 1, 2007

Feast of St. Therese of the Child Jesus

"O Jesus, why can't I tell all little souls how unspeakable is Your condescension? I feel that if you found a soul weaker and littler than mine, which is impossible, You would be pleased to grant it still greater favors, provided it abandoned itself with total confidence to Your Infinite Mercy. But why do I desire to communicate Your secrets of Love, O Jesus, for was it not You alone who taught them to me, and can You not reveal them to others? Yes, I know it, and I beg you to do it. I beg you to cast Your Divine Glance upon a great number of little souls. I beg You to choose a legion of little Victims worthy of your LOVE!"

St. Therese

Story of a Soul (manuscript B)

Happy Feastday to:

Fr. Kevin of St. Therese of the Child Jesus

Fr. Cyprian of St. Therese of the Child Jesus

Fr. James of St. Therese of the Child Jesus

Fr. Donald of St. Therese

Fr. Adam Gregory of St. Therese

September 29. 2007

Fr. Christopher, LaRocca, OCD,

is preaching the Novena in honor of St. Therese at the Carmel of Cristo Rey, San Francisco, CA. Fr. Christopher is the Rector and Student Master at the

St. Elijah House of Studies in Mt. Angel, OR.

Fr. Christopher is pictured here with our novices and postulants.

September 24, 2007

While attending a conference in Miami, Florida, Bro. James Zakowicz visited with our Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart who staff St. Theresa School (Coral Gables) and Archbishop Coleman F. Carroll High School (Miami).

September 16, 2007

Tridentine Mass at St. Therese Church

On September 16, 2007, our parishoners at St. Therese Church in Alhambra, California, had the opportunity to attend the Tridentine Mass. Approximately 400 people attended. This traditional Mass will be celebrated at St. Therese Church every 3rd, 4th & 5th Sundays of each month. St. Therese Church was founded by the Anglo-Irish Province of Discalced Carmelite Friars in 1924 and became the first foundation of the California-Arizona Province.

http://sts-alh.org/sttheresechurch/index.htm

September 14, 2007

50 years a Carmelite Nun

Today at the Carmelite Monastery at Carmel-by-the-Sea, California,

Fr. Provincial, Gerald Werner, OCD, presided at the Golden Jubilee Liturgy for

Sr. Marie-Cecile of Jesus Crucified, OCD.

Fr. Donald Kinney, OCD, was the homilist.

Carmel of Our Lady and St. Therese

Carmel-by-the-Sea, California

http://carmelitesistersbythesea.net/homepage.htm

September 13, 2007

Within Evening Prayer Fr. Gerald Werner, Provincial Superior, received two men into our Postulancy: Mr. Richard Castillo (right), of Mammoth Lakes, California and Mr. Marinello Saguin (left), of Los Angeles, California.

September 13, 2007

During Evening Prayer, Fr. Gerald Werner, Provincial Superior, invested Postulant Charles Nawodylo in the holy habit of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Charles was given the religious name: Bro. Charles of Jesus and Mary.

September 8, 2007

Birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Queen and Beauty of Carmel

20 of our Friars celebrate Profession anniversaries today:

Fr. Reginald – 62 years
Fr. Ailbe – 60 years
Fr. David – 52 years
Fr. Colm – 51 years
Fr. John of the Cross – 50 years
Fr. Albert – 48 years
Fr. Gilbert – 32 years
Fr. Stephen – 29 years
Fr. Donald – 25 years
Fr. Thomas – 24 years
Fr. Matthew – 24 years
Fr. Richard Classen – 22 years
Fr. Jan – 20 years
Fr. Christopher – 19 years
Bro. Michael – 16 years
Fr. Fernando – 15 years
Fr. Adam Gregory – 9 years
Fr. Laurence – 9 years
Fr. Mario – 9 years

Fr. Jose Luis - 9 years

August 31, 2007

August 31, 2007 - September 2, 2007,

Carmelite Friars

and

Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart

promote Religious Vocations and Carmelite Spirituality at SCRC Catholic Renewal Convention, Anaheim, California.

August 5, 2007

Fr. Philip Sullivan, OCD, celebrates his First Mass of Thanksgiving at the Carmel of St. Teresa, Alhambra, California.

August 4, 2007

On August 4, 2007 Bro. Philip of Our Lady of Guadalupe, OCD (Sullivan) was ordained to the Priesthood of Jesus Christ by Bishop Gabino Zavala at St. Therese Church, Alhambra, California.

August 3, 2007

Bro. Salvador Professes his Solemn and Perpetual Vows of Poverty, Chastity and Obedience

Bro. Salvador with his parents, Salvador and Elvira Roman
On August 4, 2007, Bro. Salvador of Our Lady of Refuge, OCD (Roman), made his Solemn Profession of Vows for life into the hands of Fr. Provincial Gerald Werner, OCD. The ceremony took place within the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass at our parish in Alhambra, California

July 16, 2007

Several of our Friars complete Novenas, today, to Our Lady of Mount Carmel at the Carmel of Lafayette, Louisiana; Carmel of Valparaiso, Nebraska; Carmel of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California; and the Carmel of Santa Clara, California.

This statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel holds historical significance for our Province. It was originally commissioned for our second California foundation (Encino) and is now venerated in our chapel at Mt. St. Joseph (San Jose, California).

June 30, 2007

Carmelite Fathers, Brothers and Sisters participate in Family Vocation Fair at

Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Alta Loma, California.

June 21, 2007

Bro. Juan Elias Medina of the Trinity

leaves for Genoa, Italy,

to study Italian before going on to Rome

where he will begin his Theological Studies.

June 15 - 18, 2007

Some 20 Friars (Brothers and Priests) join nearly 300 Secular Carmelite at the OCDS Congress in Bellevue, Washington

May 27, 2007

Fr. Laurence Poncini celebrates his First Mass of Thanksgiving at the Carmel of Santa Clara

May 26, 2007

Bro. Laurence Poncini of the Holy Family is ordained a priest by Bishop McGrath of San Jose. Fr. Laurence is pictured after the ordination ceremony with his brother, Fr. John Poncini, and his parents, Louis and Yvonne Poncini.

May 19, 2007

Four of our Brothers graduate from Mount Angel Seminary. Bro. Philip Sullivan earns a Master of Divinity degree; Bro. James Zakowicz earns a Master of Art in Theology and a Master of Divinity; Bro. Salvador Roman earns a Master of Divinity; and Bro. Juan Elias Medina earns a Bachelor of Art with a major in Philosophy.

May 12, 2007

Bro. Thomas Reeves of Jesus and Mary and Bro. Robert Barcelos of Divine Mercy are ordained deacons by Archbishop Vlazny in Portland, Oregon.

May 2, 2007

Fr. Pascal's body is received at Mt. St. Joseph for Vigil, Mass of Christian Burial and Internment in the Monastery cemetary.