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Seeds of Carmel, vol 7 [1.3Mb]
Soundings from the Carmelite Monastery, Ormiston, Queensland
For Young Adults
Issue 7 (September 2003)
Our Archdiocese has recently completed a lengthy and widely consultative Synod process. In promulgating directions in the light of it’s findings, Archbishop Bathersby named at the top of the nine priorities: ‘Embracing the person and vision of Jesus Christ’. By offering special opportunities for people to deepen their knowledge of Jesus in 2004, he is hoping that more will ‘fall in love with Him.......and be fired by the sheer excitement and vitality of Christ’s vision’. This resonates with the ideals of our Carmelite Saints: Teresa’s definition of prayer has been succinctly translated as ‘falling in love with Christ’, and St. John of the Cross has been called the ‘Doctor of Divine Love’. So next year Fr. Greg Homeming will be focusing more specifically on the person of Jesus with the Young Carmelite Group.
Life is never dull in Carmel. Since our last issue we have had Ruth, a young
woman from Armidale, doing a ‘live-in’ with us. She has returned
home to continue her discernment. Sr. Cecilia, our Prioress, gave us a scare
a few months ago when she became very ill, but has recovered well after surgery.
Sr. Colette made her Solemn Profession in May, and is still radiant with joy.
Three of our sisters recently attended a Seminar on the Rule of Carmel at Varroville
Retreat Centre, along with Carmelite men and women from all over Australia,
New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. As we draw inspiration from those who have
gone before us, we are fired afresh with enthusiasm for Jesus and His Gospel.
We pray you will be too.
If you have questions, comments, stories, prayer requests, anything at all
write to us here:
Carmelite Monastery,
287 Wellington St,
Ormiston. QLD 4160.
e-mail: Click here to contact us by email
Ruth Sheridan
For
almost three years now I have been discerning a vocation to the Carmelite Order.
I felt moved to give myself to God in what I imagined to be the most complete
way possible, and after coming across the writings of St. Teresa of Avila,
it was like a key fitting into a lock: ‘She’s got the right idea!’ I
thought to myself, ‘this is meant for me too.’ And the journey
towards Carmel began.
I was fortunate to have the experience of doing a ‘live-in’ with the Carmelite sisters in Ormiston in March this year. I lived and practiced the life of a Carmelite nun for one month, after which I was advised to spend some time outside ‘in the world’ reflecting and furthering the process of discernment in the light of my experience.
In retrospect I see that it was a very valuable experience and it taught me a lot. It seems to me to be a very beneficial policy for a woman discerning her vocation to try her hand at actually living the life first. She knows what to expect, in a sense (although each new day brings something unexpected in religious life), and is able to familiarise herself with the routine of prayer and work, and more importantly, to get to know the sisters. It was a wonderful opportunity for me also to have a talk with each sister about her own journey to Carmel and her understanding and experience of the monastic and contemplative life.
Things seem so mysterious from the outside of the enclosure, but they are actually really quite ordinary on the inside. The most extraordinary thing is the reality and intensity of the divine invitation made to each sister to a deep inner life and to union with God through prayer. With St. Teresa’s intercession, I pray to accept more fully that invitation myself and be counted among her daughters in this Carmel, if that be God’s will.
| After six years of formation and prayerful discernment, our Sister Colette made her final commitment with Solemn Vows of chastity, poverty and obedience on 31 May. It was a very moving ceremony, with four Bishops, eleven Priests and a full Church of friends and relatives, including her family who travelled from Sydney, where Sr. Colette was born and lived until entering Carmel. |  |
YCG BrisbaneWeekend Retreat Winners Thanks to the generosity of a friend of our community, last March we offered a weekend at Varroville Retreat Centre, all expenses paid, to two young people, whose names were drawn from two ‘hats’. Beth Davies and Ben Pforr from the Brisbane YCG were the excited winners, and both went to Fr. Greg’s ‘Youth Retreat’ over the Palm Sunday weekend. We invited them to share something of their experience with us.
Maybe it was all the turbulence and pressure changes but on finding my room I was just overcome with joy and awe at being ‘in’ Carmel (or as ‘in’ as I may ever get!). One could feel the effect that years of prayer, love and sacrifice has had on the place. My spirit seemed to let out a great sigh at the feeling of peace and calm and the obvious presence of God. (Yours would too after having survived the hustle and bustle of plane flights and train stations that don’t seem to have signs with place names.) Throughout the retreat we got the chance to participate in the Liturgy of
the Hours with the Brothers as well as celebrate Mass each day. The Sunday
Mass was especially good as it was Palm Sunday and we got to process in the
grounds singing and waving palms. We had many talks and discussions with Father
Greg as well as one or two given by some of the YCGers in the Sydney group.
The most precious times for me were those where we had the chance for quite
personal prayer in the chapel or in the grounds. It was also beautiful to hear
Father Hilary (the oldest of the brothers living at Varroville at around 90ish)
talk about his journey with the Lord. Even at his rather advanced age his vitality
of spirit, lightness of heart and hunger for Jesus were mesmerising and inspiring.
Souls like Father Hilary remind me that God’s grace is sufficient for
me. from Ben..... Hi Everyone!.... This is Ben. I was one of the lucky youth members to win a trip to Sydney: a Retreat at Varroville with Fr. Greg Homeming on the Palm Sunday weekend.
On Palm Sunday and at the conclusion of the Retreat weekend, my own personal thoughts were that I came away with a better sense of awareness of where I was and what I needed on my spiritual journey. I am personally looking forward to my next visit (God willing) and thoroughly recommend the experience to everyone. My grateful thanks to the Sisters at Ormiston and those who made it possible. If you would like more info on the YCG, or to be notified of the
next meeting, Ph: (07) 3286 1401 |
What sort of witness can Carmelites give to Christ - or anything else - if
they are enclosed? If they don’t nurse or teach or do social work, what
do they do?
As far as faith goes, contemplative life in an enclosed community is a matter
of putting one’s life on the line. In times when tangible evidence of
the existence of God seems pretty thin, the risk can appear to be enormous.
Yet the miracle is precisely in the taking of that risk: and the concrete circumstance
of it is called “community life”. The miracle is that it works
in a way that would be impossible were God not to exist.
Community life is perhaps our greatest witness in a world where division, dysfunction and disintegration are almost the norm. A glance through old photo albums of our community here, highlights a fact that can be overlooked by us, but which is remarkable in light of the family breakdown and apparent crisis of commitment which are blighting our society at the present time. The fact is this: the nuns who are living in this community today are the same ones who were so young in those photographs taken thirty, forty or even up to sixty years ago! (With each Monastery being autonomous, Carmelites will normally remain for the rest of their lives in the Community they enter). There must be something to this, some motive or reason for carrying on day after day.
The niggly truth is that God is at the heart of the matter, and there is no way around it. With other Religious Congregations who have some observable ministry, the motivation is the same, but it is possible for the casual onlooker to see them just as nice, committed people who do things for other people. With the contemplative streamlining of “apostolate” into this single aspect of simply living for God, there really is no other reason for us to opt for Religious Life at all. And this living for God is the key to long-term commitment too. For each individual’s fidelity hinges on the steadfastness of God’s love for us. Since God has come as one of us, the actual ideal is to love one another as Jesus has loved us. Translated into community life lived in common, in an enclosed monastery, where escapism is minimal and personality clashes have to be faced up to... this kind of love calls for realism and courage. But because each individual is committed to God personally, that commitment becomes the common bond between us, and the reason why community is possible at all.
That is how Carmelites witness to Christ, and enclosure even makes that witness more effective. If Christ is at the centre, unity and integration are possible - but only if Christ is at the centre. That’s our witness.
Praying with... St John of the CrossA Saint and Doctor of the Church, John of the Cross was one of the first
two Friars who joined St. Teresa’s so-called ‘Reform’ of
the Carmelite Order in the sixteenth century. His writings form an important
part of our Carmelite heritage, and the holiness of his life continues
to inspire us. One of his major works, ‘The Spiritual Canticle’ is
based on the biblical love story ‘The Song of Songs’. In
it, John sees the whole spiritual life as a ‘lover’s quest’.
God in some way ‘touches’ the ‘soul’ in a life-changing
experience. Wounded with love, the person sets out to follow her Beloved,
who has now vanished from sight. In this passage, John is speaking to you and me, who so often look anxiously for peace and fulfilment in all the wrong places. He reminds us of the beautiful reality that God is within. Not only is Jesus always intimately close, but He is loving us with the passion and longing of one whom we can call our ‘Beloved’. Now read this text slowly and try to ponder on what it means for you in your personal relationship with Jesus.
Make some time to spend with Jesus in quiet prayer, about 30 minutes. |
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Graphic version of Ormiston Carmel homepage:
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Soundings from Ormiston Carmel for Young Adults: Seeds of Carmel - no. 1 |
