Dear Ones-
It is always joyful to come together in community to celebrate our call to Carmel, to share our journey of faith, and most especially to pray together in meditation/contemplation and Holy Mass. As always, we are richly blessed with the wisdom, prayer, and experience of our Spiritual Assistant, Fr. Doug Lorig, ocds. I have been wanting to post his most recent homilies for some time, so I thought I would post the ones that Fr. Doug gave us during our Masses of June, July, and August as a community. These are based upon my own notes, so if there are any gaps, holes, or incorrect statements that I misunderstood I take full responsibility!
June: "It is What it is..."
It is natural for life to destabilize. Despite this, we are called to be a joy-filled people. Jesus says, "Don't worry. Be happy!"
What do we do when no grace is coming and one is placed in complete darkness?
1. A zealous person is one who is intensely seeking God above all else. This person will face trials and withstand them. S/he will face spiritual death. How firmly we stand will be measured. When we are transformed during this death it is a gift. We must face this death in order to prove our love and desire for God. If we are not shaken, our faith will overcome this death.
God initiates this and has His purpose in this. Are we going to walk away?
2. Other tragedies: a. Health, job, financial crisis: where is your faith? You must deal with this emotionally. b. Death in the family- esp. parents or a child. c. Cultural disappointments
3 pieces to get you through and pull yourself together:
1. Acceptance: Accept the fact that it happened. Don't go crying, 'Why me?' It is what it is. We must ask for determination and perseverance.
2. Pray: We can vocally pray, "Help me to walk through this crisis, Lord."
3. Do what reason dictates: Accept what sounds judgement tells you to do. Pray about this. Sometimes the Holy Spirit will lead to an unexpected and seemingly illogical direction. Always do what He tells you and what you discern.
4. Keep spiritual goals simple. If it is too difficult you will become discouraged, and it will result in sadness, depression, or spiritual rebellion.
July 16, 2011 Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel
Fr. Doug noted that our community has been praying the Rosary of Our Lady of Sorrows for the summer. Although this is a great feast within our order, he wants us to focus on Our Lady's sorrows and has three more to add:
8th Sorrow: The Great Schism: Division due to pride and power. In 1054 the official split occurred between East and West. 3 demands were made by Rome. All were to be excommunicated for three different reasons:
1. change in Creed regarding the Holy Spirit
2. No married priests
3. No yeast in the bread
Here is a bit of background: The Great Schism of 1054 was the split between the Eastern and Western Christian Churches. In 1054, relations between the Greek speaking Eastern of the Byzantine empire and the Latin speaking Western traditions within the Christian Church reached a terminal crisis. This crisis led to the separation between the Eastern and Western churches and is referred to as the Great Schism of 1054. The Christian Church split along doctrinal, theological, linguistic, political, and geographic lines. The split, the Great Schism of 1054, led to the development of the modern Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches.
9th Sorrow: Jansenism: redefines God and is a direct lie stating that God can't stand the sight of you and most are predestined to eternal damnation. St. Therese presented the antithesis of this and eternal truth of God's Divine Love by saying, "He loves you to madness."
10th Sorrow: Ethnic divisions throughout the world. There was a weeping icon of Our Lady in Chicago. The Bishop went to visit alone and asked why She was crying. She responded that it is due to the fact that all these different ethnic groups call her 'Mother' and yet kill each other. The divisions between tribe, language, etc. are bringing death, hatred and destruction amongst her children. (See http://stnicholasalbanianchicago.org/blessedvirgin.html and http://www.visionsofjesuschrist.com/weeping48.htm)
Fr. Doug concluded by stating, 'Only love climbs Mt. Carmel.' then all divisions disappear.
I will post our August homily from yesterday soon.
Peace and Love,
Candida
