Five young Carmelites recently made their first profession of vows as Carmelites. Fr Paul Cahill (Prior Provincial) received the vows during mass in Hera, Timor-Leste on 7 December.
Brothers Samuel Lopes, João Batista Caunan, Alipio Godinho, Antonio Junias Da Gloria and Lucas Dos Santos Martins made their vows in the presence of other Carmelites, family and friends.
We warmly congratulate these young brothers and welcome their commitment to the next stage of their Carmelite journey! See photos of the ceremony.
On Monday 10 December Fr Paul Cahill (Prior Provincial) formally received Januario Maria Soares, Calisto Pereira Rodrigues, Pedro Rodrigues Ximenes, Aleixo Coli De Deus, Zebedeu de Jesus Vidigal, Donanciano Batistuta da Costa Alin, and Gaudencio do Rosario into the Novitiate at Hera, Timor-Leste. For the past 2 years these young men have been preparing to become novices in our community at Fatuhada in Dili. During the ceremony they received the Carmelite habit and were entrusted to the care of Fr Bruce Clark, Novice Director. We warmly welcome these brothers as they begin the Novitiate – a special year of learning more about the Carmelite journey of transformation. See photos of the ceremony.
Led by Fr Paul Sireh OCarm a group of 30, including 11 new pilgrims, walked the Ninth Annual 45 km pilgrimage in the beautiful Yarra Valley. The pilgrimage, organized by The Carmelite Centre Melbourne, took place over 3 days along the rail trail from Lilydale to the Carmelite Sancta Sophia Meditation Community in Warburton.
Following a commissioning liturgy led by Fr Hugh Brown OCarm and Fr Paul Sireh OCarm at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Middle Park on Sunday 4 November, the group began the walk on Friday 9 November in Lilydale.
At our recent Donors' Mass and High Tea our young Carmelites said a big 'Thank You' in words and song to our donors who support them in their studies. Over 60 people attended the Mass and High Tea at St Joseph's Church and Hall in Port Melbourne. Frs Paul Cahill (Prior Provincial) and Paul Sireh celebrated the Mass. Our young Timorese Carmelites studying in Australia sang during the Mass. At High Tea, they sang a special song of thanksgiving for the generosity of our donors. Br Matthew Tonini, on behalf of all the students, thanked the donors and spoke about what their contributions made possible.
The 2019 edition of the Carmelite Liturgical Guide is now available.
The Guide integrates the Carmelite Liturgical Calendar with the liturgical calendars of Australia and Timor-Leste to provide a guide to the Seasons, Solemnities, Feasts, Memorials and Carmelite celebrations for every day of the year.
Download the Guide
Today Carmelites are joining with other religious across Australia to acknowledge survivors of abuse within the Catholic Church and all those who have been hurt by that abuse. Underpinning this, is a clear promise for a better, safer future.
A special liturgy for this National Day of Sorrow and Promise is being held in the Whitefriars College Chapel, Donvale. Fr Paul Cahill (Prior Provincial of the Carmelites in Australia & Timor-Leste) is the celebrant. Other local communities of Carmelites are also commemorating this special day. pdf You can download the liturgy here .
Welcome to the latest issue of our newsletter.
The Carmelites continue to grow
It takes a whole community to make a difference
New Church for the people of Zumalai
Deepening our ties with Timor-Leste
The Advent Season, moving towards Christmas, calls us to give prayerful attention to baby Jesus and his mother Mary. Peter Thomas, member of the JPIC Team, provides us with a reflection on Mary of Nazareth, the young girl and woman invited by God to fulfil this sacred role.
The vocation to pursue justice is not simply an individual task. It is a call for all of us to work with others to humanize and shape the institutions that touch so many people. Justice in the world can best be carried forward as members of a community called to be the “leaven” of the gospel.
Archbishop Oscar Romero of San Salvador, an icon of justice for the poor and oppressed, will be canonised on 14 October.
Over 800 people are now following us on Instagram. Through Instagram and our Facebook page we share our news, spirituality and prayer with people from very diverse backgrounds including 23,000 people in Timor-Leste. Together with our Facebook page we are now in touch with over 127,000 people each week.
Find us at facebook.com/CarmelitesAET and instagram.com/carmelitesaet and click on ‘follow’ so you can see all our posts in your news feed. See our 800 followers Instagram post here.
