Although Carmel is best known for the call to contemplative prayer,
from the beginning St. Teresa formed "small groups of friends" to
support and encourage one another in that life of prayer. It gives an
important balance to our life. The commandment of love of neighbour is
thus lived.
"That they all may be one" (John 17)
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Sr. Mary
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of the Holy Spirit
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Just looking for someone to fill |
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this space |
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could it be you? |
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Sr.
Johann
Hi, I'm Johann. I'm the 'new girl of
the block' so far as Carmel is concerned. I came here from a missionary
congregation almost 3 years ago. It was a huge change and at times a huge
struggle to understand and live Carmelite life. Why did I do it? The simple
answer is I felt called to it (ok sometimes it does feel like being pushed -
and over a cliff at that!) Why not do some good in Africa rather than just
praying all day? was another common question. It was a difficult choice, I
loved the Congregation I was in and I loved Africa and the mission, but it was
a choice I felt I had to make. I know that I carry the reality that I left
behind within me, its part of who I am and I do feel as missionary now as I did
then.
#Top
Sr.
Marie Therese
"My true
love hath my heart and I have His,
By just exchange
one for another given;
I hold his dear,
and mine
He cannot miss,
There never was a better bargain driven.
My true love hath
my heart and I have His.
His heart in me keeps Him and me in one,
My heart in Him his thoughts and senses guides:
He loves my heart, for once it was his own,
I cherish His
because in me it bides,
My true love hath
my heart - I have His."
(Sir Philip Sidney)
What is important to my life in
Carmel is a personal friendship with Jesus. Praying for his Church and the
needs of his world. I think in a very hidden and mysterious way our prayer is
at the centre of the world because our hearts and our prayer's
are in Jesus' Heart and his Heart encompasses everyone and everything -the
whole cosmos!
#Top
Sr.
Dorothy
I was led to Carmel by convoluted
paths; however since then I have never looked back. I firmly believe that God
has called me to this life and I'm very grateful.
For me the reality of community life
with all its ups and downs is essential for my human and spiritual growth. The
community provides me with a healthy, albeit challenging, ambience where I can
best be what God wants me to be.
I believe that our life is at the
heart of the Church and as Sr. Therese discovered, her vocation and mine is
Love - 'Love in the heart of the Church.'
"There is
one thing I ask of the Lord,
for this I long
to live in the
house of the Lord
all the days of
my life,
to savour the
sweetness of the Lord,
to behold his
temple." Psalm 26
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Sr.
Marie Helen
"O Lord,
with your eyes set upon me
gently
smiling you have spoken my name.
All I long
for I found by the water,
at your
side I will seek other shores".
Little did I know that when I was
called to Carmel the "shores" would not be somewhere "out
there", but that the contemplative way of life would lead me within to
discover not only the depth of my own reality with all its beauty and sin, but
at an even deeper level, the depth of human suffering and experience.
I thank God for calling me to this way of life which is so fulfilling yet
challenging.
Prayer and the intense community life
can be difficult but I have received so much both from the Lord and my sisters
that I can never be thankful enough.
I believe that Carmel is more needed
that ever in our world where there is so much turmoil and noise - a still
centre where we can bring the joys, hopes, anxieties and sorrows of our
brothers and sisters throughout the world before the Lord to be healed and
transformed.
#Top
Sr.
Anna
an Interview
What attracted you to Carmel?
While sick I read the 'Autobiography of St. Therese' and that was the beginning
What is your favourite Scripture quote?
"this is my joy and now it is complete" John's Gospel
What do you have in Carmel that you couldn't find
anywhere else? The give and take of community life.
What do you miss most? Long walks
What are your hobbies? Painting
What is the nicest thing you do? To go
into the garden for prayer time
Do you have a favourite singer/piece of music?
Mary O'Hara and celtic harp music
If you were not a Carmelite what would you like
to be? A vet or a sailor
Any secret dreams? If I told you they
wouldn't be secret; the Lord sees that they all come true anyway.
If there was one thing that you were allowed to
do or be for just a day, what would it be? A sailor for the day, to
climb the mast and feel it filling with the strength of the wind.
Who is your favourite saint? St. Therese.
What place do you think Carmelite nuns occupy in
the Church and the world? A very important place! Prayer is deeper than
anything else, when people are at their wits end prayer is the only thing that
helps.
#Top
Sr. Anne Margaret
An Interview
What attracted you to Carmel?
The short answer would probably be: Nothing!!! I just had a
deep conviction that God was asking something of me and, put it off though I
tried, I had to come. I didn't relish the thought at all, especially the idea
of being shut up for the rest of my life with a crowd of women. However once I
was here, I experienced a deep sense that I was in the right place, that I had
come home. I realised that there was a totality about life in Carmel that
answered all the longings and needs I had been struggling with.
What is your favourite quatoation
from Scripture?
This is a hard one. There are just too many to be able to
pick one in particular.
From the Old Testament I have two which I return to often:
"Be still and know that I am God" psalm 45, which
sums up for me in some ways the life of prayer.
"The stars shone in their watches and were glad;
He called them, and they said 'here we are!'
They shone with gladness for him who made them." Baruch
3:34, which presents an image of how I would like to be!
From the New Testament:
"Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of
God in Christ Jesus our Lord." - a big help when things are difficult.
What do you like most about the life
you lead?
The opportunity and environment to really focus one's life
on God at the deepest level.
Which apsect most troubles you?
Struggling with communication and relationships and perhaps
some anxiety about the future and the present lack of vocations: a call for
deeper faith and trust?
What do you miss most?
Perhaps not having the experience of being a wife
and mother.
What do you have in Carmel that you
couldn't find anywhere else?
The support and sharing of life
with a like-minded group of women who have the same ideals although all so
different, the life in community and the building up of this together.
Any regrets?
No, unless it were that I wish I had made better use of
opportunities in the past: for growth in social skills and in study.
Who is your favourite saint?
I have no single favourite, but here are two I do admire and
turn to:
St. John the Baptist, I ask him to prepare the way in me for
the Lord to make his home.
St. Edith Stein, I find in her a sister in Carmel and
a reasonably modern example of living out our charism in life as it is.
Can you give us a quote from them?
"He must increase, I must decrease."
"It is really only one simple little truth which I have
to communicate: how to begin to live with one's hand in the hand of the
Lord." (Edith Stein)
What place do you think Carmelite
nuns occupy in the Church and in the world?
I think that Sr. Therese has as good an answer to this as
one could find:
"To be love in the heart of the Church" ... and
the world.
We have to witness to the very existence of God and the
possibility of being in a loving relationship with him. We have to strive to
live a life of love beginning with our own community, and through our prayer
bring the whole world in all its joys, sorrows and needs to the heart of God.
#Top
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Who we are
