A New Carmelite Monastery {And a video!}

Source: Fairfield Carmelites

Hello friends!!

I am very happy to share with you two websites I found recently and the exciting news that a new Carmelite monastery is being established in Australia!!

The Carmelite Monastery of Jesus, Mary and Joseph is currently being established in the southern region of the Diocese of Wilcannia Forbes in NSW, Australia.

It will be a Papally enclosed Discalced Carmelite community in which the cloistered nuns live lives of solitude, prayer, and sacrifice in communion with the Roman Catholic Church and approved by their Diocesan Bishop, the Most Reverend Columba Macbeth-Green OSPPE DD.

Full information about the new foundation is available on their website: carmeljmj.org.au

See the new monastery's Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/CarmelJMJAus/?hc_location=ufi

Secondly, I wanted to share with you this absolutely beautiful video from the Carmel of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph in Fairfield, PA.  It's incredible.  Enjoy!!

You can visit the Fairfield Carmel website at the following link: http://fairfieldcarmelites.org/

Please keep these beautiful nuns in your prayers.  God bless you and keep you!

Video: Why a Nun? Answers from the Saints and Scripture

Hello friends!

A couple of days ago, I came across this beautiful video of quotes put together by a young woman before she visited the Carmel of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph in NE.  Many of the quotes resonated with me.  I wanted to share this with you and I hope you enjoy!

In corde Mariae,

Sarah

The Crown of Thorns

From the St. Benedict Center: 

Traditionally, each Friday in Lent is dedicated in a special way to some aspect of the Passion. This first friday in Lent is dedicated to the Crown of Thorns.

Dear Lord, I am grieved when I consider Your sad condition when You wore the Crown of Thorns upon Your Holy Head.

I desire to withdraw the thorns by offering to the Eternal Father the merits of Your Wounds for the salvation of sinners. I wish to unite my actions to the merits of Your Most Holy Crown, so that they may gain many merits, as You have promised. Amen.

I was looking though Pinterest to find an image to go with this post and there are many deep and beautiful images of Our Dear Lord crowned with thorns.  But then, some are so very realistic and striking.  But what really inspired this blog post was a related pin.  Among all of the bloody, anguished pictures of Jesus suffering, was an image of the sweet, innocent, and pure Christ Child.  Words can't describe what contemplation brings to my mind, so I'd just like to share some of my favorite beautiful images side-by-side.

 He loves you so much that he was whipped and crowned, suffered and died for love of you.  Let us try to endure our comparatively small pains and trials with love in return.  I pray you all have a blessed Lent.  Let us contemplate the love and suffering of Our Good Jesus this holy season.

God bless you!

Trust In God

I just bought this traditional calendar of Saints from the Sisters, Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary for 2018!  It's absolutely beautiful containing images from the day to day lives of the sisters paired with quotes from the Saints.

January's quote has become my theme for this month and especially this week.

"May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be." ~St. Therese of Liseux

Not only is it wonderful that this calendar is starting off the year with a Carmelite, one of my Confirmation Saints, and favorite Saint, St. Therese, but this particular quote really applies to what I'm going through right now.  I'm anxious and impatient.  I want to go out into the world and do something.  I know I need to do what God wants, but I haven't figured out what that is yet!  I need to get my driver's license and then a job, but since I can't drive myself to do those things, God is teaching me dependence, patience, and contentment.  This quote reminds me that what I'm doing today, is what God wants me to do.  I'm at home doing chores, taking care of my family who are all sick with the terrible flu, and helping with the local Students for Life group.  It is certainly not easy to wait for God to show me His will.  It is rather difficult.  I want to be able to know if I'm going to college or entering a religious community next year, but that is not what God has in mind.  So for now, I'm waiting on His timing (still a little impatiently).

Always trust our Good God, my friends.  Trust that if you obey your parents, teachers, and directors, if you listen to His voice, then He will show you what you are supposed to do and where you are supposed to be.

Of course, doing the right thing will not always be easy.  Even this discontentment is a possible indication that you're doing the right thing.  A wise friend told me recently that if you are following what God wants you to do, the devil will not be pleased and will attack you.  The devil doesn't try to drag down sinners, as they are already in his clutches, but he will try to distract you and make you despair.  Don't despair.  Trust God always.

Today, I Choose...

I decided to cross post this from my other blog...

Today, I choose to be good. 

I choose to be kind.

I choose to love.

I choose to strive for Heaven.

Every day we must make this choice.

It is not an easy choice.

We may make mistakes.

We may fall into sin.

But each day, each hour, each moment, we must start anew and choose to follow Jesus.

"Then Jesus said to his disciples: If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." ~Matthew 16:24 DRB

This will not be easy.  It will not always be fun.  But this is what Our Lord has called us to do each and every day.  Let us start each and every day, especially in this new year, with our morning offering.  Let us make Jesus our first thought in the morning.  Remember, that today is a totally new day.  We can choose this day to start fresh and avoid sin.  

The Morning Offering

O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer You my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day for all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart, in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, in reparation for my sins, for the intentions of all my family and friends, and in particular for the intentions of our Holy Father. Amen.

This doesn't mean we will be perfect each day we choose to be good.  It doesn't mean all of our day will be without sin or sorrow.  But this is just a way to help us strive for perfection.  We must make an active effort to follow Jesus.  If we make mistakes, we must turn to Him with a contrite heart, confess our sins, and start again.  Jesus will help us.  We are a fallen race and so are attracted towards sin.  But with the Grace of God, we can strive to rise above our human nature and strive to reach the divine.

Today, choose to follow Jesus!