Pope St. John Paul II affirms that “praying for the souls in purgatory is the highest act of supernatural charity.” The Church, ever conscious of her vocation to love, has always been animated by this fraternal charity, inviting her children to pray and do penance on behalf of the faithful departed. This is expressly approved…
St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus is well known among Catholics and non-Catholics alike. Acknowledged as the greatest saint of modern times by Pope St. Pius X, she continues to inspire a great number of the faithful through her simple and accessible approach to spirituality. If a word could capture the significance of St. Thérèse…
The prophet Elijah has been known in Carmel since the beginning as our ideal and model of inspiration, both in terms of contemplation (or silent prayer) and apostolic zeal. In iconography he is represented with the Latin inscription on his sword: «zelo zelatus sum pro Domino Deo exercituum», that is: «I burn with zeal for…
The origin of the procession dates to 1914 (during the First World War). During the month of November, the Ottoman authorities appeared in the Stella Maris monastery (Mount Carmel), notifying the religious men that in three hours they had to leave the monastery, because it was going to be taken up by the Ottoman army.…
On May 16, the Carmelites celebrate the feast of St. Simon Stock. A chapel has been built in his memory near the end of the Cross at «Stella Maris» monastery’s compound. As we already know, this St. Simon received from our Lady of Mount Carmel her scapular as a sign of protection for the Carmelites.…
Before speaking about the prophet Elisha, we should speak about the biblical prophetic reality and of his spiritual mentor: the prophet Elijah. Prophesy could be understood as the capacity to foretell what is going to happen in the future. There are, written documents, from almost 3000 years before C. E. concerning prophetic activity in the…
Our meeting of this morning, in the garden of God (the Carmel/Kerem-El), walking together with the Lord: Discalced Carmelite friars, Discalced Carmelite nuns and laymen consecrated in the Secular Carmel, who today, in the liturgical memory of Palm Sunday, triumphantly enters Jerusalem to consummate his Easter. Encountering and creative hope, in which our mother Theresa…
For some years the need for restoration of the internal paintings of the dome of Stella Maris had been seen. The construction project was supposed to start in 2020 but was delayed by 3 years due to the pandemic. Now, finally, the time has come. The restoration was carried out by Stefania who, having come…
Saint John of the Cross was born in 1542 in Fontiveros (Avila), from a very poor family. He was orphaned of father, being very young. He lived through the economic crisis of the 2nd part of the 16th century. That poverty has forced his family into a rural exodus. His mother lived on public charity,…
