St. Teresa of Jesus and John of the Cross Community

St. Therese House of Prayer, Carmel of the Holy Spirit, Subic, Zambales

OCDS-Subic 2012

Members of the St. Teresa of Jesus and John of the Cross Community.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

New Technology for Formation in Portuguese Carmels

Portugal (21-06-2012).- “Prayer and the Life of Prayer” was the theme for a course of Formation given to the Association of Discalced Carmelites of Our Lady of Fatima by Fr. Gabriel Castro OCD from the Burgos Province.

Perhaps the most important novelty of the course was in the method used. It was held simultaneously for eight monasteries of our Sisters using Skype. The six monasteries that form the Association shared the course with two other monasteries that had been invited to take part. In all, more than 80 Nuns were able to enjoy the series of lectures, thanks to this new technology.


Fr. Gabriel based his talks about prayer and the life of prayer on the traditions of Sts. Teresa and John of the Cross. The entire course was considered a great success, which comes as no surprise, given Fr. Gabriel’s vast experience as a Retreat Director and his skills in communicating. Fr. Thomas Alvarez was also present for the final conference.


Although it was a “Skype baptism” for the chief lecturer, it proved to be a very positive experience. This method of communication has the advantage of being able to address any number of Sisters while availing of different speakers, without the need of having to move from our home base.


This is not the first time that the Order has availed of videoconference to provide Formation courses for Carmelite Nuns. It has already been employed in Argentina with great success and the participation of over a dozen communities. Similar courses have been held for one or two Carmels in Spain.

Source:

Communicationes - Information Service of the Disclaced Carmelite Curia

Friday, June 1, 2012

Carmelite saints among the patrons of World Youth Day 2013

Rio de Janeiro-Brazil (01-06-2012).- Next year’s World Youth Day, to be celebrated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, will have among its patrons and intercessors two Carmelite Saints, according to Bishop Orani João Tempesta’s public announcement in the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rock located in that capital city.

Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, French Discalced Carmelite and patroness of missions, will share the patronage of World Youth Day 2013 in Rio de Janeiro (WYD Rio2013) together with four other saints, among who is Blessed John Paul II, who inspired this type of event.


Together with the patrons, the names of 13 intercessors or proposed role models for the youth of this WYD were made known. Among them is the Chilean Discalced Carmelite, Saint Teresa of Jesus of Los Andes.


The first WYD to have patrons was World Youth Day 2002, in Toronto, Canada. Since then, in every WYD a Carmelite saint has joined the ranks of the patrons. Saint Thérèse was present in Toronto, Sydney, and in the upcoming Rio de Janeiro WYD. In Cologne in 2005, Benedict XVI presented Saint Teresa of Jesus and Edith Stein as models of the Christian way. In the last event in Madrid in 2012, Saint John of the Cross and Saint Teresa of Jesus were also among the patrons of the Day.

Source:

Communicationes - Information Service of the Discalced Carmelite Curia 

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