The Great Silence

The period of solitude beginning of the Great Silence (in speech and action), which continues until the end of Morning Prayer the next day.

Each day begins typically for dawn prayers. There’s Mass, breakfast, a few hours of work—gardening, cooking, cleaning, and making altar breads. Then Prayers before lunch, siesta, three more sets of prayers, and then, from approximately 8-9 pm, “the Great Silence”.

Right from the beginning, as per the early rule by St Albert of Jerusalem, a Carmelite remained in separate cells or huts and observed vows of silence, seclusion and abstinence. Though Carmelites need not observe silence as strictly at other times, St. Albert advised them not to indulge “in a great deal of talk.”

An atmosphere of silence and solitude is essential to our life of prayer. In solitude, we learn to surrender to the work of God.

It was this silence that was one of the main things about Carmel that attracted st Elizabeth of the Trinity so much. “The life of a Carmelite is silence,” she writes, “so she loves that above all!

Silence is maintained throughout the day with the exception of two periods of recreation.

The great silence is called by our holy Fathers the holy and sacred silence. All the Religious Orders have consecrated it to the communion of the soul with God.

Ancient Egypt

Dear DLL Jesus,

From today I have started reading the ancient Egyptian history and yes, it is extremely interesting!

I know most of it and the names of the vassal kings and places are quite familiar!

I am enjoying it!

Friars

The word Friar comes from the Latin word frater through French frère, which means “brother”. A friar is member of any of certain religious orders of men, especially the four mendicant orders (Augustinians, Carmelites, Dominicans and Franciscans).

Friars are special monks that do a service to a community and that lead a simple life. A friar is similar to a monk. Friars are like monks in that they are devoted to a religious life. The difference is that a friar lives and works among regular people in society, while a monk lives in a secluded, self-sufficient group of monks. They arose in the medieval era where monastic orders remained rooted in place.

Carmelite Friars are devoted to Mary and serve God through prayer, community and fraternity. The Carmelite friars while following a contemplative life also engage in the promotion of spirituality through their retreat centres, parishes and churches.

The friars are the oldest continually-surviving branch of the Carmelite Family and are called "active contemplatives". As Teresian Carmelites, these men strive to live a zealous life of allegiance to Jesus for the salvation of souls.

Japan

Dear DLL Jesus,

I went to Japan through the pages of its history!🤗

But couldn't find what I was looking for! None of the characters excited me!

I wanted to know about the Tea Ceremony and the cherry blossoms but nothing was there on these two! I guess I will have to study about these separately! May be I should try reading Japanese literature!

Joseph

St. Joseph is the patron of the universal Roman Catholic Church. Today we celebrate the memoria of St. Joseph the Worker.

First appearing in the gospels of Matthew and Luke, St. Joseph is Jesus' earthly father and the Virgin Mary's husband. St. Joseph is also the patron saint of families, fathers, expectant mothers (pregnant women), travellers, immigrants, house sellers and buyers.

He lived in the 1st century in Nazareth, Galilee, and the region of Palestine.

We know St. Joseph was a man of faith, obedient to whatever God asked of him without knowing the outcome. True to his life, St. Joseph is called a just man. He was a person of faith in God and in other fellow human beings.

Everything we know about the husband of Mary and the foster father of Jesus comes from Scripture.

We celebrate two feast days for Joseph: March 19 for Joseph the Husband of Mary and May 1 for Joseph the Worker.

During the Eucharist, Fr Lancy said that we all are workers in the kingdom of God - we all need to work to build His kingdom!

Death Date‎: ‎c. 1

Fontiveros

Fontiveros is a municipality in Spain in the Ávila province. It comprises an area of approximately 40 square kilometres. This small place has sentimental attachment for the Carmelites because our Holy father St. John of the Cross (Juan de Yepes Álvarez) was born in Fontiveros in 1542 on June 24 (St. John Baptist's Day).

His father (Gonzalo de Yepes ) was from the moneyed class and had been a reasonably well-off merchant. He belonged to a wealthy family of silk merchants. However, on a business trip to Fontiveros, he met and fell in love with Catalina Alvarez, a poor seamstress. His family disowned both of them.

Faith

 “Now FAITH is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1)

Faith is the fuel of the Christian life. Christian faith is confidence in Jesus Christ that Jesus is with me and He is for me. He is my Saviour, Lord, and God.

We Carmelites walk in faith, hope and love of God as did Mary and all the saints who have gone before us. Even though prayer is the first duty of a Carmelite, we believe that to be genuine, prayer must be supported by faith and hope, made radiant by charity.

The first Carmelites sought also to “put on the armour of God,” as they lived an intense life of faith, hope and charity.