|
Home > Our
People > Newsletter: Aspirations
> Summer 2003 edition
Summer 2003
Nuns
Ormiston Carmel
In this section: Vocations | Partying
| Wider Community | A matter of habit
ORMISTON - a Vocations Effort
In November 2002, two of the community attended a five-day Workshop for vocations
Ministers at Mt. St. Benedict Centre, Pennant Hills, organised by the National
Office of Catholic Vocations Ministry Australia. The reason for this unusual decision
was we felt need of some practical assistance in the area of vocational discernment,
psychological testing, confidentiality etc., all very delicate and important issues,
especially in this day and age.
Advertised in C.V.M.A’s excellent journal VOCNET, the Workshop was planning
to cover these as well as other subjects, in an effort to help priests and religious
involved in vocations ministry. It was to be a one-off venture, so if we wanted
to avail of what it had to offer, we needed to consider whether to participate
NOW! After much prayer, careful enquiries and consultation with Fr. Aloysius and
others, we decided to take this step — a “first” for our community
and something of an “adventure” for the two chosen — Srs. Theresa
Margaret and Matilda.
Our hopes were not disappointed and in addition to the very helpful input of the
presenters, there was also the edifying, energizing and mutually enriching experience
of meeting so many dedicated, zealous and deeply spiritual consecrated persons
(including other contemplatives, diocesan priests and one valiant layman) —
fifty of us from twenty-two Congregations and Orders, representing eight Dioceses
and all States — a gathering truly representative of all forms of the consecrated
life, with much in common and complementing one another.
To date, what we have shared with the community has been very well received and
we thank God for the opportunity to explore this fruitful initiative.
Sr. Theresa Margaret
For those interested, contact details are as follows:
Address: P.O. Box 1146, Leichhardt, NSW 2040
Tel: 02) 9550 6212 — Fax: 02) 9550 4429
E-Mail: cvmaoffice@ozvocations.catholic.org.au
Website: www.ozvocations.catholic.org.au
In this section: Vocations | Partying
| Wider Community | A matter of habit
PARTY-ING ALL DAY
This is how a young visitor to our Carmel expressed it when I told her about
a community recreation day we were planning for New Year's Day in a peaceful corner
of our grounds, close to Our Lady's grotto, where there stands a magnificent poinciana
tree - a rather significant one in our community.
It has a history, as Sr. Anne transplanted it as a tiny sapling when we moved
our monastery from an inner Brisbane suburb, to the bay-side suburb of Ormiston,
thirty-seven years ago.
It has inspired a Carol, "Christmas in Brisbane" which Sr. Dympna wrote,
and which we sing each year when we have Carols by Candlelight on the last night
of our Christmas holidays.
Its dome of green branches and clusters of orange blossoms, which forms a colourful
canopy over a dappled area of shade and sunlight below, has inspired some of Sr.
Cecilia's best photos, which Sr. Moira then creates into Greeting cards on her
computer. Truly, it is an ideal place for our New Year Day's picnic.
Finally, it reminds one of Mark's Parable of the Mustard Seed - the tiniest of
all seed which grew into the mighty tree of the Kingdom of God sheltering all
who nest in its branches. Applying this to consecrated Carmelite life, our simple
day-to-day living is likewise the tiniest of seeds, which progressively grows
and matures into an alternative way of living to that of the world and the dominant
secular culture. In its search for God alone, and its focus on love for one another,
Carmelite spirituality is, as it were, a spiritual therapy for the evils of our
time.
So I bless this high arching Poinciana tree, as it lifts up my heart and speaks
a message of hope for all human life.
Sr. Katherine
In this section: Vocations | Partying
| Wider Community | A matter of habit
ORMISTON CARMEL'S WIDER COMMUNITY
Over recent years, I have seen the attendance at weekday Masses in the Church
attached to our Carmelite Monastery at Ormiston grow from three or four daily
to now over fifty people, and signs are not wanting that the Spirit is moving
among them, bonding them into a true christian community in miniature.
One of these signs was that no sooner had Pope John Paul II declared "The
Year of the Rosary" last October, than one of the group approached the prioress
and asked if they could recite the Rosary in the Church before Mass after the
Sisters had finished reciting Morning Prayer. Providentially there is usually
time - a space of twenty minutes there - just sufficient for the Rosary (complete
with a few trimmings) to be finished before Mass commences at 7 a.m.
After this, an invitation went up in the Church porch, complete with suggested
intentions for which to offer the Rosary each day. These ranged from world peace,
refugees, family life and the sick to the Carmelite Community at Ormiston - especially
for new members. Another thoughtful touch was added by the organisers who asked
that no one use "loud voices" in reciting the Rosary, so as not to disturb
anyone wishing to pray quietly during that time. This request has been faithfully
fulfilled, and so the prayerful murmur of the Rosary is now a daily phenomenon
in our little church, helping to fulfil John Paul's dream, we hope, that through
Our Lady of the Rosary, world peace will soon become a reality.
Sr. Katherine
In this section: Vocations | Partying
| Wider Community | A matter of habit
A matter of habit
The Nuns in my Community wear Habits. Fine. Long, brown outfits; white veil
for those in "initial formation", black veils for those committed for life.
Why wear Habits at all? Some Nuns don't, some do. It is obviously about sign value
and symbolism - especially since the styles which once simply represented an identification
with the poor, have now become so outmoded as to indicate difference more than
anything else. Anyone seeing us now is much more likely to think, "Oh, a Nun",
than, "there's a poor person". I guess that's OK too.
What did worry me was another, subtler message that seemed to be implied by an
entire Community wearing the same gear, all day every day. Did this symbolise
a blurring of individual identity? After all, if all Nuns look the same, does
that mean that each one just takes on a rôle every time she puts on her
clothes in the morning, and no-one ever really gets to know her as a person?
The assumption here of course, is that "you are what you wear", and that having
the optimum choice is the only way to make a statement in the non-verbal language
of appearances. In some ways I agree with this, but there are other assumptions
at play. For instance, what's to say that a Nun doesn't have any choice, just
because she chooses the same thing every day for years on end?! Also, I wonder
just how much freedom the ordinary person has, when there's pressure to wear fashionable
styles so as to feel acceptable?
The best answer to my question about individuality came only after actually having
worn a Habit myself for some time, living with my Sisters in Community. To my
surprise, I began to realise that, exactly because we all wore the same kind of
dress, it was only possible to identify a person by actually looking at her face!
I was taken aback, because it means that others have to look at my face too, and
somehow there's a certain vulnerability in that. I'm not the shoes I wear; nor
can I hide behind a hairdo. (Incidentally, a veil is the best treatment for
a bad hair day that I've ever come across!) Now I find myself being known
for who I am, and masks are at the minimum. In this sense, the Habit is a very
good symbol for the quest of Contemplative Religious life, even if an unexpected
one.
Sr. Marie Tania, Ormiston Carmel
In this section: Vocations | Partying
| Wider Community | A matter of habit
Summer 2003 edition
Reflections of the Regional Vicar
This little reflection shares with you some experiences of my new role as
vicar.
Read this article by Aloysius Rego.
Friars
The Carmelite Friars have three houses in the Australian Region.
Box Hill - Morley - Varroville (Retreat Centre & Parish)
Nuns
Read personal sharings, community profiles, general information, jubilee news,
and lots more for the following Carmelite communities of nuns:
Bomana Carmel
Launceston Carmel
Christchurch Carmel
Goonellabah (Lismore) Carmel
Ormiston Carmel
Nedlands Carmel
Varroville Carmel
Other Sections
The Southern Cross Association
The Young Carmelite Group
Welcome to Aspirations
Download the text in
printable booklet form (Adobe Acrobat)
Download the text in the best form for
reading on-line & printing (Adobe Acrobat)
|
