PD Report

My dear Carmelites,

As a new year begins, I pray you are blessed with much grace this year of Our Lord 2008. God willing, I will resign as your Provincial Delegate at our provincial chapter at the end of May. By then all our canonical communities should have new councils. I was pleased to appoint Dorothy Mansen of our Dallas community, Gloria Guajardo of San Antonio, and Henrietta Albright of Baton Rouge to our Provincial Council to replace Amelia Wilken of Sioux City Iowa, Gerald Alford of Lafayette LA, and Pascal Alfano of our New Orleans community, who are resigning. We had planned to have the new provincial Councillors elected, but ended up with only three nominees who were willing to serve, so our Father Provincial, Fr. Gregory, gave permission on Dec 17th to dispense with the election process and appoint these three, which I did on Dec 19th. “Please extend my congratulations to them, as well as my gratitude for their willingness to serve. Thanks also to our retiring PC members. May God's blessing be with you and all of the members of the Provincial Council as we wind down this triennium and gear up for the next three years.” [Vy. Rev. Fr. Gregory Ross, OCD]

Alabama

Madison Study Group received visitation on the 2nd and 3rd of March by Provincial Councillor Pascal Alfano OCDS. This picture was taken after Mass: President Bobby Pearson, a guest, visitor Susan Parker who is discerning, Formation Director Donna Lowe, Mary Kay Beard (in back), Robbie Hayes, Valerie Cygon (in wheel chair), Pascal, Assistant Fr. Jose, Pauline Rizzo, Lou Rizzo, and Fr. George Costigan.

Fr. Adam Gonzales OCD gave the Birmingham retreat this year on the theme of Elizabeth of the Trinity. Father Adam is a newly ordained Carmelite from California. The retreat was held at Casa Maria Retreat House run by the Sister Servants of the Eternal Word in Irondale, AL. It lasted from April 13-15 and the Birmingham community was joined by members of our Study Group in Madison and the isolated Gareri brothers in Huntsville among others.

Mobile hosted their annual Carmelite retreat at the Visitation Sisters retreat house from October 5-7, and were joined by members from Jackson and Madison. Retreat Master John Grennon OCD is provincial delegate to the Secular Order of the Midwest and Florida. Father John co-hosted the National Council, and Provincial Councils at Holy Hill in November 2006. A most gracious host.

At the concluding Mass of the retreat, Father received the Definitive Promise of Mobile’s faithful secretary, Maureen Caine on Sunday October 7th. Director of Formation Linda Savarese [left] presented Maureen [right]. The setting for this profession is the chapel of the Visitation Nuns where our Mobile community holds their annual retreats. It was built in 1894, and has been restored beautifully by these contemplative Nuns.

Arkansas

Shown here at the visitation of Little Rock, President Ronnie Adams greets the Zebra Lady, provincial visitator Nancy Thompson from Cedar Rapids Iowa. Fr. John Michael came into town from Marylake to join the community for their visitation on Saturday, September 8th at our Discalced Carmelite Nuns' monastery on 32nd Street.

Louisiana

Jeff DeBlanc died on Thanksgiving morning at Lafayette General Medical Center. Jefferson Joseph DeBlanc was a founding member of our Carmelite community of Mary, Beloved of the Trinity in New Iberia. He was a retired Colonel of the Marine Corps, and received from President Harry Truman the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1946 at the White House. Jeff spent World War II in the Pacific theater, first in the Navy, then in the Marine Corps. His Medal was given for an act of bravery on Jan 31, 1943 when he abandoned hope of returning to his base by shooting down enemy planes. He was the last, living World War II Medal of Honor recipient from the state of Louisiana. Jeff was buried at St. Michael Cemetery in St. Martinville, with a full military honors. Jeff, with his wife Louise, was professed a Carmelite on 07-May-82, and made his Definitive Promise in 1985. Louise preceded her husband in death in 2005. Jeff was born on 15-Feb-21 in Lockport LA, making him 86 when he died. His funeral at St Martin de Tours in St. Martinville was presided over by his son, Fr. Jeff DeBlanc Jr., and served by his grandson, Seminarian Michael DeBlanc. Jeff is the first Carmelite of our province to be honored with an obituary in a national publication of the status of Time Magazine. We reprint below the photograph by Nick del Calzo and text as both appeared in Time’s “Milestones”:

Jefferson DeBlanc Sr. protected his fellow aces by shooting down five Japanese warplanes during a mission over the Sol­omon Islands —even though his own plane was nearly out of gas and he knew he could not make it back to base. He swam eight miles to an island, where one indigenous tribe traded him to another — which helped ferry him to safety— for a 10-lb. sack of rice. DeBlanc was awarded the Medal of Honor, the Purple Heart and other decorations. He was 86.

--Time Magazine obituary, 10-Dec-07, p. 31.

Mississippi

Camille Gloria Durkin made her profession on 15-Jul-07 at a special Mass for the feast of Our Lady of Mt Carmel in her parish church, St Mary’s Basilica in Natchez. Fr. Leopold Keffler OFMConv., who comes home every year during the summer for his vacation received her First Promise and gave a homily on the importance of the Evangelical Counsels in the lives of all the Faithful, with particular emphasis on those laity who are members of Secular Orders. A substantial number of parishioners attended in addition to Camille's family and invited guests, as there had been a notice in the parish bulletin explaining the celebration. We believe that at least 80 people received the Eucharist.

There was a supper reception following the Mass. The original intention was to use the Basilica's social hall, which is in the basement. Unfortunately that was the day the Parish staff found a water leak, and the city cut off the water. This meant that there was no water to any of the church complex. We therefore moved the reception [literally picked up the decorations and food and moved them] to Camille's parents' home. At least 60 people attended the reception.

Tennessee

Provincial councillor Gerald Alford made visitation of Knoxville October 20-21, posed here with the council: George Quinter, President Mark Calvert, Ghislaine Miller, and Formation Director Jan Hicks. On 05-Nov-07, I appointed George Quinter [left] president following the resignation of Mark Calvert. Mark has been president of this group since they began. He has been a wonderful president, but decided it was time for a change in leadership. At the last visitation, a ballot was taken of the members and Councillor George was their selection. The provincial council approved, and I was happy to appoint him the new leader of this Study Group.

Georgia

Fr. Desmond Ohankwere MSP, a native Nigerian, has served as Assistant to our Savanah Group since 2005. Father has now been selected as Regional Superior and will need to move to the regional headquarters in Houston. Our eyes now turn to the next priest to serve at St Benedict the Moor Church for someone to replace Fr. Desmond. Congratulations Father on your new office. We wish you well and thank you for serving our order these past three years.

Texas

I appointed Councillor Margaret Yong president of St Therese Study Group in Houston following Chris Woods’ resignation. Alice Adler was appointed Councillor on 21-Nov-07. Chris remains chairman of our Houston 2008 Congress.

In August 2005, Provincial Councillor Gerald Alford made visitation of our Study Group in McAllen, recommending to the provincial council, canonical status. In March 2006, I wrote the bishop requesting his permission to establish them as a canonical entity in his diocese. On 13-Jun-07, Bishop Raymundo Peña gave permission to found a canonical Carmelite community in the diocese of Brownsville. I then asked the local council to choose a patron and a church in which to file the canonical papers. They chose Blessed Miriam of Jesus Crucified, and Holy Spirit parish in McAllen. I requested canonical status from Rome on Nov 14th, and Fr. Aloysius from Singapore secured the Fr. General’s permission on that very same day. I flew down to Harlingen on Friday Dec. 7th, and we celebrated the Mass of their community’s establishment on Saturday, the feast of the Immaculate Conception. The first picture shows Councillor Jesus Campos reading the Constitutions dealing with canonical establishment. In the next picture I give the canonical decree from Rome to president Lucia Dominguez. In the third picture, I pose with the founders of the community: Rosalinda Ramirez, Lucy Dominguez & Cyndi Bujanda. God bless all of you who have labored and prayed so faithfully these last six years in building up a fine vibrant Carmelite community.

On the Saturday after Christmas, Dec. 29th, one of our novices died. Margaret East of our New Caney community had been fighting lung cancer since this picture was taken last September at Fr. Patrick Segrue’s retreat at Deer Trail. Margaret was born 05-Oct-32, and was clothed in the large scapular in New Caney on 11-Jun-06. Formation Director Georgina Torres writes, “She was a very devoted true Carmelite. She loves her community very much.” President Margaret Nunez writes, “She is our first member of our community that is taken to heaven to be with Our Beloved Lord and Our Blessed Mother. She was indeed ready to go; but; alas; we were not so eager to see her leave this earth or us. Margaret had only been with our community for a short period of time, but, left a large hole in our hearts. She will be greatly missed in our community.” Margaret was buried in Lufkin, Texas.

--Fr. John Michael OCD, prov, delg.

F.A.Q.

Q. When we pray the Office of the Dead for a deceased member, do we pray it in place of the Office of the day or in addition to it? [Sharon Schulte of St Louis]

A. Dear Sharon, Thanks for your question. It’s a good question and one easily answered. We pray the monthly Office for our Deceased in place of the Office of the day. The way you have been doing this is the correct way to pray our monthly Office of the Dead. You choose a day of the month that is liturgically free: either a ferial day with no saint to be commemorated or at least an optional memorial. If the day is an obligatory Memorial, then the office of that saint must be said. And of course the same applies to all feasts and solemnities whose proper offices must be prayed on that day.

I want to also note that Advent, Lent and Easter are privileged seasons: the proper office of the day should be said during these times, even if it means not saying the Office for the Deceased that month. I’m sure you must have noticed in our Carmelite monasteries that our traditonal Saturday Mass & Office of Our Lady, is not said during these privileged seasons either.

The only time I can think of when you might pray the Office of the Dead in addition to the office of the day, would be if you wanted to pray that office for some friend or family member on their anniversary which falls each year on a feast or obligatory Memorial.

--Fr. John Michael Payne OCD, prov. delg.

PC Report

REPORT FROM THE PROVINCIAL COUNCIL
January 2008

As our communities turn their attention to elections, we pray that those approached to serve will recognize how important service is within our communities. Without our councils, meetings would not be so organized… discernments would not happen… retreats wouldn’t happen… and all sorts of important things would not happen! But they do because the council looks after the “spiritual growth and well-being of the community” (Sec. XVI.8). We’ve sometimes heard people say “but I’m not worthy to be a council member”. It’s not about worthiness. Anyone who’s ever served on a council knows that it’s not about prestige, it’s about service and often involves some hard work. After all, discernment is hard work and certainly not easy when a council has to tell someone that they do not have the vocation. So…don’t worry about whether you are worthy or not… if someone has nominated you, then you are more than worthy to serve!

With that in mind, we’d like to take this opportunity before they roll out of office to thank all our council members of the past three years for their dedicated service to their communities. We know some of our councils have had some pretty difficult situations to deal with in this triennium and we really appreciate everyone’s efforts in resolving them.

Speaking of elections, we were a bit disappointed in how few nominations we received for the Provincial Council elections. We received six nominations and after some discernment on the part of the nominees, ended up with only three candidates to fill the three open slots. So, we petitioned Fr. Provincial for postulation to appoint these three candidates since there seemed no reason to hold elections. We certainly hope that in three years, more people will be nominated for the Provincial Council and able to serve.

There was only one visitation in the past few months. Pascal visited the Conyers, GA community and some of us are a touch envious that he got to say at the Cistercian monastery. In January, Elizabeth is scheduled to visit one of our Houston communities. Gerald is still trying to get to Topeka and with that, we will have visited all the communities in our province over the past three years. What an accomplishment! As you will remember, our Provincial Delegate, Fr. John Michael, was only able to visit a few communities each year so many of our communities had not had a formal visitation in many, many years. We have learned so much about our province in the course of these visitations. You’ve seen some of what we’ve learned in the various “special issues” of the Flos Carmeli where we’ve focused on a particular topic. If you check our provincial website, we’ve posted all sorts of stuff that we’ve come across that we felt would be helpful in light of what we’ve learned. The best part has been the opportunity to meet so many wonderful people. We wax a bit eloquently about this since soon Amelia, Gerald, and Pascal will complete their term of service on the Provincial Council… but not until the end of May… so we do still have some work for them to do. Do not think that having visited all our communities at least once in the past three years, we’re done… we are not… the Provincial Council will continue to visit all our communities at least once every three years as part of our service to the province. Not only is this helpful to our communities (or so we’ve been hearing!) but it is also helpful to us for having a good feel for the people we serve.

Finally, we ask that you do hold all our communities and our friars and nuns in prayer as everyone holds elections this spring. The friars will be holding their Provincial Chapter in San Antonio on May 26-June 6. The OCDS Provincial Council with its new members will have their annual meeting over the weekend of May 31 and meet with the chapter friars on Tuesday, June 3rd.

Provincial Council:
Pascal Alfano, Gerald Alford, Elizabeth Korves, Nancy Thompson, and Amelia Wilken

Secretary's report

Letter from Pat Darby
Provincial Secretary for the Central Jurisdiction

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

As we prepare to bid farewell to our outgoing councils, thanking them for their service, please join me in welcoming our new ones and praying that these next years will be ones of growth in our vocation and love for each other.

Let us ask God to send the Holy Spirit into our Province and bless us all with grace-filled elections. We ask this through the intercession of our Blessed Mother, Patroness of our Order.

Included in the printed edition of this newsletter is the form "2008-2011 Community Councils and Officers" on page 1.

PLEASE USE THIS FORM TO REPORT YOUR NEW COUNCILS AND MAIL IT TO THE CENTRAL OFFICE.

It is very important to include all the information on your Treasurers as I find that I correspond with them frequently and need all of the information requested.

ANNUAL DUES INFORMATION
Community Members $30
Isolates $30
Aspirants $12
Individual Subscribers $18

You may pro-rate these when necessary; however, please be very clear as to what you are paying.

IMPORTANT!
When sending in your community dues for the year, please state your Community Name and City where you meet.

Isolates:
You are to collect their dues and include those $$ amounts in your total check. Isolates should be listed by name and full address, and will be added to the subscription list and their newsletters will be mailed from the Central Office.

REMINDER:
Your Annual Financial Statement should accompany your check for Annual Dues and letter listing Isolates.

PLEASE MAKE YOUR CHECKS PAYABLE TO "OCDS"

and mail to the Central Office
Pat Darby, ocds
315 N. Greenville Avenue #1214
Allen, TX 75002-9146
Email Address: jmjtj33@aol.com
Phone: 214 495-0597

I prefer to receive communications from you by email, as I check my computer every day and am in and out during the day; however, if you do not have a computer, please feel free to call me and if I'm not in, I'll return your call.

My Thanks to those Communities who sent in Membership Rosters. That is very helpful, so include it if you can.

And let us all remember to PRAY FOR VOCATIONS! Our Friars need more help!!

Let us pray for each other that we grow in, as our Holy Mother teaches, Humility, Detachment, and Charity!

Today is the Solemnity of Epiphany and so I will close with this prayer from the Word Among Us:
"Jesus just as the Wise Men did, I kneel before you, gazing on your glory in the Eucharist. May I become a tabernacle of your mercy, shining your light everywhere I go."

Happy New Year!
Your Sister in Carmel,
Pat Darby, ocds Provincial Secretary

Starting a Community

Guidelines for Group in Discernment
and its Mentoring Community

Individuals wishing to form a Group in Discernment recognized by the Order can do so only with the permission of the Provincial Council. This permission will be contingent upon their being under the guidance of an established community willing to be mentors of their development. The principle applies that "communities form communities"; individuals do not form communities.

Process:

If a canonical community wishes to start a new OCDS group due to the need to reduce its size or because there are enough OCDS in a nearby geographic location to warrant a new group, the Provincial Council (PC) will assign the canonical community to help oversee the new group in discernment.

1. Once permission has been sought by the mentoring community and received from the Provincial Council (Sec. XV. 1, Statutes) a group may be formed under the PC’s supervision, whose goal is to focus on what it means to be Discalced Carmelite Secular in terms of its personal and communal responsibilities, under the guidance and with the support of a Mentoring Community (MC). This group, called a Group in Discernment (GID), shall be the first stage in the process of becoming a canonically established OCDS community.

2. The MC council shall be involved in identifying a coordinator and formator for the GID whose appointment will be made by the PC. If it has some members who are already members of the Order (First or Definitive Promise) then the coordinator and/or formator normally would be chosen from those more experienced members. The coordinator would normally be a member of the new group, but the formator may be a member of the MC, at least initially, if none of the GID members are discerned ready to assume the role. [p 10-11]

3. The level of support initially needed by the GID shall be discerned and agreed upon by the MC council and the PC. If the new group is close enough to the MC, they might be required to attend a specified number of the meetings of the MC for the sake of observation and discernment. In all cases, members of the GID have their formation monitored by the council of the MC in conjunction with the appointed coordinator and formator. As a Group in Discernment, it is important that the members receive formation on the specific vocation of the Carmelite Secular in addition to formation on Carmelite spirituality. As a foundation, the GID shall normally complete together the Aspirancy formation program found in Statute XXI.

If members come to the GID still in formation for Promises, it will be determined by the MC council and the PC if they need to continue formation with their original program for the time being, or if the GID formator is able take up their formation. As soon as reasonably feasible all members of the GID will attend only that meeting and will be formed there by the assigned formator, under the guidance of the MC’s director of formation.

The MC council and the GID will be co-responsible for discernment of candidates. The final approval for profession is made by the MC council since only they have the canonical authority to approve professions. However, the leadership of the GID also needs to learn how to discern so they should participate in the process.

4. Once the GID is established with a stable number of members ranging from 8-12, it should begin meeting monthly and take no new members for the first year, allowing the GID time to stabilize, and for its members and the MC council to discern if the GID with its current membership has the seeds of a Carmelite community.

Carmelite Secular Groups in Discernment usually meet for 2-3 hours once a month. The purpose of these meetings is to participate in the shared study of Carmelite spirituality and explore the OCDS vocation. GID members pray the Liturgy of the Hours together that is appropriate to the time of their meeting. Conferences on the vocation and Carmelite spirituality should include time for the members to discuss the material and share their thoughts on the readings/presentation and how they see it applying in their own lives.

Once the GID formally begins to meet, if some of its members are already Isolate members of the Order or members of a canonical community, they are temporarily released from the requirements of their prior membership status and take on the requirements of this “missionary effort” as they participate fully in this discernment of a new community.

5. The GID will open a checking account for accountability with moneys collected and disbursed.

6. The GID cooperatively establishes such things as their meeting location, a schedule to best accommodate their group, roles of service needed by them (such as secretary, treasurer, prayer chain leader, liturgist, hospitality minister, etc…) and identifies people to serve in them, under the supervision of the PC and MC council. As it progresses, the GID will gradually be asked to take on more responsibility for its own administration.

7. It is recommended that a MC council representative visit the GID meeting once or twice in that first year to observe, to offer support and to encourage the members. The MC council will oversee and act as a resource to the GID coordinator and formator, and may assist the GID by inviting its members to join community retreats, offer presentations on specific topics, share formation materials, and in other ways that seem prudent, while fostering maturity and independence in the GID leadership and members.

8. Minutes of all meetings will be sent by the GID to the MC president, the PC visitator (who will meet annually with the GID), and the Provincial Delegate. Minutes shall include a listing of members in attendance and who was absent, the meeting date, time, and place. Minutes also include a very brief (paragraph or two) description of any talk given as well as the name of who gave the talk. A short summary is provided of any business conducted and descriptions of activities with names given for those in roles of service to the group.

The minutes provide important information to the MC council and PC on how the GID is progressing in Carmelite community life and identity, and helps sketch a picture of those emerging as future leaders in the group. It is preferable that these minutes be provided in electronic format.

9. Clues that the GID is progressing and maturing include the following:

a. they become less dependent upon the mentoring group
b. they are docile to and cooperative with the lawful authority over them
c. they exhibit a determination to continue toward becoming a Carmelite community
d. they are cohesive
e. they are compatible as a group
f. they want to continue on to the goal of becoming an official Carmelite community
(ref. XV. 1, Statutes)

10. The first year is a year of discernment for everyone both on an individual basis and on a group basis. This process is expected to take at least a year and might take longer depending upon circumstances. At the end of the year, a member of the Provincial Council will make a visitation which will assist the GID, its leaders and the MC council in discerning whether the group has the potential to grow in and attract others to the OCDS charism and thus is ready to be elevated to recognized Study Group status.

After a minimum one year of stability and of exhibiting the above qualities (9. a-f) and upon completing the discernment process, the GID can inform the MC council in writing of its desire to become a recognized Study Group. If the MC council concurs in the GID’s readiness, the MC council will send the GID letter of request with their own letter of recommendation to the PC and Provincial Delegate for discernment and permission. The MC council will also send the name of a spiritual assistant candidate and persons from the GID that they recommend to be named as director of formation.

11. The Provincial Delegate will appoint a spiritual assistant and a director of formation if it is determined that the GID is ready to become a recognized Study Group.

12. See XV. 2. a-b for Study Group guideline specifics.

--OCDS Provincial Council

A Note on Formation

Community and Carmelite formation

The future of the Order depends on the quality of the formation that candidates receive. It is the sacred duty of every member to be aware of and understand why community life is vital to growth. Full participation in community life provides a well-balanced formation program through the opportunities for fraternal interaction, studies, discussions, volunteering help and ongoing forbearance and forgiveness, all of which contribute to a well-balanced spirituality. Faithful attendance at the monthly meeting is a major factor in our transformation, because community provides the ideal setting for the optimum development in Christian and Carmelite growth. In addition, meeting together with like-minded people who share the same spiritual goal gives the support and encouragement necessary for a difficult journey one cannot make alone.

— "Our Journey Towards the Promises and Beyond: Requirements for Directors of Formation," by Teresa Martinez, O.C.D.S., published by the English Canadian O.C.D.S. Secretariat

Elections

Pre-election survey of ability to serve

This form is provided to inform nominating committees of members' willingness and ability to serve in the upcoming triennium.

Name: _______________

In order to facilitate the election process, we ask that you review and consider any position or positions that you would be willing to serve in during the 2008-2011 term. The Nominating Committee will then have information to help them develop the slate of candidates for the new Council, as well as an aid for the new council in assigning the other positions.

Please review Section III of the Statutes, "Community Elections," prior to the Elections.

After reviewing the following, please circle any positions you would be willing to serve in.

PRESIDENT
The President, elected from among those who have made final promises, has the duty to convoke and preside over the meetings of the community. He should show fraternal service to all the members of the community; foster a spirit of Christian and Carmelite affability, being careful to avoid any demonstration of preference for some members over others; coordinate contacts with those members of the community who because of age, illness, distance or other reasons, are not able to attend meetings; aid the Director of Formation and Spiritual Assistant in carrying out their responsibilities; in their absence, but only temporarily, he may take their place or designate another to do so from among those who have made definitive promises.

COUNCILORS
The responsibility of the three Councilors is to form with the President, the government of the community and to support the Director of Formation. Generally they are community members with definitive promises. In particular circumstances, members with first promises can serve as councilors.

The new council elects the following positions:

DIRECTOR OF FORMATION
Elected by the Council from among those who have made definitive promises, and has the responsibility of preparing the candidates for first and definitive promises. The Director works in collaboration with the Assistant and with the support of the President. In the absence of the President, the Director of Formation is his substitute for any function.

SECRETARY
Keeps up to date the register of the community, recording the elections, admissions, Promises and dismissals. The Secretary is to present the register to the Council when it meets and to the community at the time of the elections. The Secretary attends the Council meetings and records the minutes of the meeting, without the right to vote.

TREASURER
Takes charge of the administration of the funds of the community. The Treasurer is to present a report of the funds to the Council every six months, to the community and the Provincial, or Superior of the Circumscription, once a year. The local statutes are to determine how the community attends to the needs of the poor.

INFIRMARIAN
Maintain phone contact with someone who is ill, sends cards to our sick members, if someone is in the hospital, if possible visits them, sends flowers if approved by the Council. All information regarding sick members should be report to the Infirmarian.

FACILITATORS OF ASPIRANTS, OF 2-YEAR GROUP (CLOTHED), OF 3-YEAR GROUP (PROFESSED), OF DEFINITIVELY PROFESSED GROUP

From the Provincial Council, concerning upcoming elections

Outgoing councils encouraged to orient new councilors

A reminder that councils leaving office are asked to consider how to orient new council members to their duties. Newly elected members will need to know about current concerns of the council and might need training on certain council tasks, such as discernment. A rule of thumb: outgoing councilors should think back to their early days on the council, remembering areas they found confusing. These are the areas that will require orientation for the new councilors.


Preparing for elections

The Provincial Council encourages communities to review, prior to community elections, the following documents: the Constitutions, Articles 37-53, and the Provincial Statutes, Sections III and XVI.

Community members should also reflect on such questions as,

What are the current needs of the community?
Who on the ballot would be the best person to meet those needs?
Who has the gifts that will best serve this community over the next three years?

Communities are reminded that community elections are not popularity contests, about whom we like best. Rather, they are about who can best serve the needs of the community..

--OCDS Provincial Council

An Election Thought

A willingness to give of self in service to the community by accepting leadership roles is a way of putting into practice the three Evangelical Counsels: as an act of chaste love for fellow members, an act of self-emptying for the sake of the good of the community and as an expression of obedience in response to the needs of the community.

- Gerald Alford, O.C.D.S., provincial councilor

Devotion to Mary

Carmelite devotion to Mary
Father Aloysius Deeney, O.C.D., General Delegate
Jan. 1, 2008

Dear Carmelites,

Happy New Year, but more importantly, Happy Solemnity of the Mother of God.

I thought that today would be a good day to address the question of Mary in the life of Carmel in the spirit of the Constitutions of the O.C.D.S. The church begins the calendar year with a solemn act of liturgical devotion to Mary by dedicating the Mass and the Office to honor her, the Mother of our Savior and Lord.

Carmel is Marian! One of the 6 M's about which I speak often as the components of the life of a Secular Order member is the 4th one, Mary. And as many of you have either heard me say or read that I said, what makes Carmel Marian is NOT that Carmelites pray to Mary (since all Catholics do) but that Carmelites pray as Mary prayed, by meditating in our hearts (Luke 2:19, 50-51). The Constitutions recommend in Article 31, the liturgical devotion to Mary, this means celebrating her feasts in the liturgical year, as well as celebrating liturgical each Saturday of the year in her honor. There are many feasts of Our Lady throughout the year, Jan. 1, Feb. 11, March 26, Aug. 15, Dec. 8, etc. And add to that the Saturdays of the year and we have many occasions to honor her as our Constitutions urge us to do.

The last sentence of the 31st article says: "They (O.C.D.S.) will practice, in faith and love, the devotional exercises in her honor." Obviously, Carmelites practice devotions to Mary. We wear the scapular (or scapular pin). In nearly every Carmelite monastery of either friars or nuns each day, usually after Vespers, the communities recite the Litany of the Blessed Virgin, plus offer a prayer of devotion in honor of Saint Elijah, Saint Joseph, Saint Teresa and Saint John of the Cross. The church highly recommends the rosary, and many Carmelites recite the rosary faithfully or carry the rosary on their person. Personal devotional practices to Our Lady and Our Holy Parents are very much encouraged.

There is a distinction between liturgical devotion (Mass and Office) and personal devotion (all the other acts, even the rosary). The distinction is that the first is public and the second is private. The first we may speak of as required in many circumstances (as today, 1 January). No separate personal devotions are required by the church or by the order. We must promote liturgical devotion to Mary, we may SHARE personal devotions with others. The problem can sometimes happen that some people do not share but push their personal devotions on others, distracting the focus of formation or community meetings, insisting on personal revelations as almost equivalent to the message of the Gospel, spending too much time on diffusing messages that may or may not be from Mary.

As Carmelites we have the role of promoting the scapular as our specific devotion as an Order, of promoting the liturgical feasts of the year in honor of the Mother of God and our Mother. We all have the right to those devotions which express our love for Mary, but no one has the right to promote personal devotions in the name of Carmel. Again, we may share our devotion, especially by testifying to how those devotions have increased our faith, hope and love. We may share information with others, of course. If certain devotions and movements in honor of Mary are more important to persons than those Marian elements of Carmel, then I believe that indicates that those persons need to look at their membership in Carmel and, with the Council or spiritual assistant, evaluate their vocation.

Many Carmelite books and works published in the days when we used Latin ended with a monogram, LDVM: Laus Deo Virginique Mariae. Praise to God and to the Virgin Mary.

That is our life, Praising God and His Most Blessed Mother!

Aloysius Deeney OCD, genrl. delg.

Houston 08 Congress

Our Province’s 15th Regional OCDS Congress to be held from September 11 through 14 at the Omni Houston Westside. Registration fee is $245 per person if you register by May 31, 2008. After May 31, the registration fee is $275. This fee includes all of your meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) at the Congress.

A registration form was included on the last page of Winter 2008 edition of the Flos Carmeli. A registration form must be submitted for each person attending the Congress. If your spouse is accompanying you, please submit a separate form for him/her. Forms may be downloaded from the Congress website at http://www.ocdscongresshouston.com/Registration.htm

A non-refundable deposit of $125 is required with each form. Make check (or money order) payable to “OCDS Congress.” The fee balance is due when you check-in at the Congress registration table. Forms with payment are to be mailed to: OCDS Congress 2008, 1450 W Grand Parkway S, Suite G-154, Katy TX 77494. Please send any questions to: jeannice.theriot@gmail.com