Apostolate

The word apostolate comes from the Greek word "apostello", which means to send forth or to dispatch. The word came to signify in particular the active mission of the Church in the world. As Jesus sent forth his apostles on a mission, all those who follow Christ are his apostles and sent on a mission.

Vatican II teaches that the Christian vocation essentially is a calling to apostolate. Apostolate refers to each and every activity in the Church which is directed toward carrying out her mission.

The preaching apostolate was the most obvious sort of action for the early Carmelites. The Carmelite Order which has its origins on Mount Carmel in Israel is today found on all five continents and its apostolate is as diverse as that of the Church itself.

The Carmelite apostolate is a purely contemplative one – a hidden life of prayer and sacrifice.

The apostolate of the Discalced Carmelite nuns is to offer prayers and sacrifices for the intentions of all humanity.

In a broad sense, apostolate means anything that is done for the good of others, and especially, bringing other people closer to God.

Monte Caramelo

Dear DLL Jesus,

Just now I was browsing through Facebook and suddenly realized what a stupid place it is!🙃

All are doing nothing but somehow showing off themselves! There is this cousin in the US who does nothing but shows her gyming skills and then there are those who show off their culinary skills! And now because of the lockdown all the ladies are bored so they have started this saree challenge wherein one lady is tagging the other and they are all uploading their saree pics! 

Basically what I want to say is that slowly Facebook is becoming a disgusting place to be in!🙃 I too have behaved in this disgusting manner! But now I intend to stop behaving in this disgusting manner! It's a jungle out there and I don't want to be in this jungle anymore! I want to be on Mount Carmel - enjoy its resplendent beauty, savour its greenery and drink of its clean water!🤗

I want to hide inside its confines and read and read and read and write and write and write!🤗 And then read and write some more because it's chaos out there!🤗

To satiate my love for reading, I will keep reading the books from the WhatsApp group that Fr. Regan has made! Yesterday when I thanked him for all the books and just said that I won't be able to read so many books at one go, he said this beautiful thing: "We are not meant to read all. Some books choose us."

How beautiful!

So I will wait for the right books to choose me and read them one by one!🤗

And yes, I am not a jungle dweller anymore! I am a dweller of the beautiful Mount Carmel - Monte Caramelo!🥰🥰

Practice What I Write

Dear DLL Jesus,

The gospel verse which I posted just now has been on my mind since the time I read it in the morning! In fact, today I woke up with a determined determination that I will not allow any one to distract me from you today! 

Last night when I went to sleep I realized that I am being manipulated and so in the morning I decided to be good, to be always polite to everyone at home, not raise my voice anymore, be humble, speak softly and gently!🤗 

I am very sure that you want me to practice what I have been reading and writing about the Carmelite Order. The more I read and write, the more I am convinced that I need to apply all the goodness of this beautiful Order in my life! This Order is so beautiful, so rich in its history, that I cannot but fall in love with its resplendent beauty! Everything is so awesome - right from its place of origin to its founders and saints and monasteries - how happy I am to be a miniscule part of this Holy Order!

Once I had left and once I had thought of leaving it but never again will I make that mistake again! This was in early 2016 and then again in 2018 before I came to know about its history! But then I read its history and wrote an article also in the TIDINGS - since then there has been no looking back, no desire to leave it!

In fact since then I have been reading more and more and falling more and more in love with this beautiful religious Order!🤗

And like I wrote in the beginning, it's time to practice its charisms in my life!🥰

From today's gospel 🙏🏻

Avila

Ávila is a city in Spain. This place evokes sentiments for us as it is the home of our holy mother Saint Teresa of Avila. Saint Teresa was born at Avila in Castile, Spain, on 28th March 1515. She entered the Carmel of the Incarnation in Avila on 2nd November 1535. 

Avila is also famous for its Convento de San José which in English means Convent of Saint Joseph. This convent is a monastery of Discalced Carmelite nuns.

It was in Avila that Saint Teresa inaugurated the first "reformed" Carmelite convent on 24^th August, 1562.  

In modern times, Avila is famous for its medieval walls. These walls, arguably the best in Europe, were built in the 11th century as a defensive mechanism. But the walls also served to control the entrances of both people and goods to the city and guard it from outbreaks of the plague. These walls are two kilometres long, have 88 turrets and are perfectly preserved.

A city of strong mystical significance, Ávila is sometimes called the Town of Stones and Saints.

 

Life in a lockdown!

Dear DLL Jesus,

Life in the lockdown could not have been better!🤗

All the cooking is been done by momma, all the scrubbing of vessels is been done by hubby and all I am doing is writing!😂

I am doing vigorous research on the Carmelites for the blog and churning out write ups on all the key words! Today I finished researching and writing on the 'C' key words.

But though it's late in the night I am unable to sleep right now!😔 That's why this post!

Albert

The Rule of St. Albert Avogadro, the Patriarch of the Christian community in Jerusalem, is the first written document of the Carmelite Order. In it we learn about how the first hermits on Mount Carmel lived. Though the Rule was originally drawn up for the hermits living in community it is still the basis for Carmelite life. The Rule of St Albert is the original expression of the spirituality of Carmel and Carmelites throughout the world still retain and live this rule.

In 1209, the hermits asked St. Albert to draw up a rule of life for them, a rule that would constitute the beginning of the Carmelite Order. The Carmelite Rule of St. Albert of Jerusalem was given to the Brothers of the Most Blessed Virgin of Mount Carmel between 1206 and 1214. The Rule is the shortest of the rules of any consecrated life in existence, composed almost exclusively of Scriptural precepts.

Given by St. Albert, the Rule was corrected, emended and confirmed by Pope Innocent IV.

In the Rule of St. Albert, the Christian character of Carmelite spirituality is clearly expressed as living 'a life of allegiance to Jesus Christ'.

St. Albert was the local patriarch for the Catholic Church in the Holy Land from 1204-1214 AD.

The Rule can be found here:

http://www.carmelites.ie/Rule.pdf