We greet everyone a most blessed and  happy new year 2017.  Full of promise and hope, we journey on, confident of God's abiding presence and loving care as always.

Looking back, last October 2016, we were so touched by the kindness and generosity of the seven members of the Knights of Columbus of the Holy Savior Parish in Clinton, MS with Allen Scott at the helm.  Maureen, the wife of Al Scott also joined the group.  Armed with water powered jet, they spent the day brushing and cleaning all the statues as well as some pavements in our monastery compound. What a great way to prepare for All Saints' Day.  They came back last January to construct a beautiful and sturdy wooden ramp in front of our monastery gift shop and they also promised to replace the existing one at the back. We have been planning to have them for the longest time but for some reasons these were not given priority.

November 1st came and we all trooped to St. Joseph Cemetery at Gluckstadt, a good 30-minute car ride through the interstate, to offer prayers and flowers to the 11 deceased members of our community.  November was also a busy month for Sr. Dona and staff in our gift shop as they replenished and upgraded some stocks for the Fall to Christmas season.  We really appreciate the patronage of the locals for the successful turn-out.   Thanksgiving Day was also special for all of us as we thanked the Good Lord for His many graces and blessings and for the loving presence and camaraderie of the sisters through the ups and downs of community living.

As we are really in need of more sisters to join our community, the arrival of Sr. Pauline last December 5, another Filipina sister,  was an answered prayer.  Her presence has not only helped enliven our liturgy with her simple organ accompaniment but also gave us extra joy with her "interesting" dishes prepared in our humble kitchen. She will soon be assisting Sr. Dona in giving the gift shop a more "modern and upgraded" way of managing it and dealing with customers.

Bishop Joseph Kopacz was the Main Celebrant for our 5:30 pm Christmas Vigil Mass which was also attended by a sizable crowd.  Afterwards, we shared a simple agape for "noche buena" and got acquainted with him as it was his first time to be with the community.  We were so blessed to have him with us even for a short while.  As we celebrated the Birth of Jesus, the happiest time of the year, we also exchanged gifts and cheers not only with one another but also with our families and friends via social media especially for our sisters who came from the Philippines.  The wonders of internet in connecting people globally!!  Our joy was short-lived however when we received news from the Philippines about the hospitalization of Vangie, the biological sister of our Prioress, Mother Mary Jane. She had to go home to be with her sister who eventually passed away after a few days.  May we commend the eternal repose of Vangie to your prayers.

To welcome the New Year, we took turns praying before the Blessed sacrament until midnight.  This prepared us interiorly for the community retreat and visitation conducted by Fr. Ralph Reyes that followed.  Filled with renewed and "extraordinary energy" we started sprucing up every nook and cranny of the monastery but we also realized it would still be a very long while to finish them all.

We were on retreat when we received the sad news of Father John Michael's massive heart attack which proved fatal.  Fr. Ralph Reyes had to leave for Marylake abruptly while we continued our retreat in private.  He returned a few days after the funeral for the visitation, a graced occasion to remind us of the essentials of the Teresian way of life.

Last January 21, our monastery chapel provided a venue for the funeral Mass of Mildred Wilkinson, the wife of our long time benefactor, Roy Wilkinson.  Our way of thanking the family for their loving support and kindness to us all through these years as we also share in their grief.

 We look forward to our general meeting with Father General in April at St. Louis. That'll be all for now. A happy Valentine's Day to everyone.

We are blessed by your prayers

Merry Christmas to all!

Thank you so much for your prayers.  You prayed for my daughter, Leslie. 

On what was her death bed and after 2 months in a coma, she is alive and kicking and we are blessed by your prayers.  I have also asked you to pray for D who has cancer of the mouth and is on feeding tubes.  He is fine young man and has a young family at home.  Bless him with your prayers.

Almost 50 years ago, you prayed for me.  I was given 6 months to live and had 3 small babies.  I prayed that God would let me raise my children and through your prayers, I did raise my babies.  They are all fine adults now and they too believe in prayer.

God bless you all and again Merry Christmas!

Thank you

#GivingTuesday

#iGiveCatholic in Advance!

Welcome to #iGiveCatholic on #GivingTuesday! 

#iGiveCatholic in Advance!

Advanced giving is now available! Schedule your gift now at your convenience. Credit cards will not be charged until #GivingTuesday, November 29th. Scheduling your gifts in advance will help the organizations you support get a good start to #iGiveCatholic and will encourage other donors to give too!

WHAT IS #IGIVECATHOLIC?

#iGiveCatholic is the first-ever online giving day for the Catholic community. It is a call to share of our blessings with the Church and those the Church helps and supports in our communities.

This year, #iGiveCatholic is being celebrated by 6 Catholic parishes in the southeast region: The Archdiocese of New Orleans, Diocese of Austin, Diocese of Baton Rouge, Diocese of Biloxi, Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, and Diocese of Jackson. 

To celebrate our unique Catholic heritage #iGiveCatholic is a giving day created to rally the Catholic community on #GivingTuesday, November 29th – a global day of giving.  Secure, tax-deductible donations will be accepted on iGiveCatholic.org during a 24-hour period, and eligible Catholic parishes, schools, ministries, and not-for-profit organizations located in the participating arch/dioceses will have the chance to receive prizes offered by our generous and giving #iGiveCatholic sponsors.

OUR GOALS: $1,500,000 FOR PARISHES, SCHOOLS, MINISTRIES, AND NOT-FOR-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS!To inspire our Catholic community to come together with giving in support of organizations that shape our souls: our parishes, schools, ministries and not-for-profit organizations.

Let's come together to share our gifts lovingly in justice with others, and return them with increase to the Lord.

SPONSORSHIP AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES:

Join us as an #iGiveCatholic Giving Day sponsor or funder. We have great opportunities for you to get involved! Email info@iGiveCatholic.org to learn more.

Saints

 

On November 29

Dear Friends of Carmel,
We deeply appreciate the love offerings you have shared with us as we also lift up to God all your intentions.
In the light of Christ, may we see the light of holiness as we adore Him with all the saints.
This month of November, we honor in a special way all the saints, both the canonized and those who are known only to God. We also rejoice with the whole Church for  the recent canonization of the new carmelite saint, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, a cloistered nun of the Carmel of Dijon in France.  She distills the essence of her spirituality in one simple prayer addressed to the   Trinity which starts with the words; "O my God, Trinity whom I adore".  For her, God is not aloof and uncaring, but a God who keeps a loving and watchful eye over the unfolding events of our lives. A God who invites us to enter into an unending exchange of love, forever flowing between the persons of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.
Likewise this month, we also remember prayerfully all the departed as we plead for the mercy of God for their consolation.  Yes, our faith affirms the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins and the resurrection to life everlasting.  Amen.
May God bless us all.
From your Carmelite Sisters of Jackson

Fall 2016

Loving greetings from Jackson!
July is a month of great devotion and thanksgiving as  devotees the world over unite to honor our Blessed Mother under the title of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.  We  had a quiet celebration with just a handful of people in attendance during our conventual mass on the solemnity of Our Lady.   Another day was alloted on a weekend, July 17, a Saturday,  for a votive mass in honor of Our Lady  so that those who were not available the previous day can join us.  It was at 7 p.m and was presided by Rev. Kevin Slattery, the vicar general of our diocese with 4  priest concelebrants and assisted by two seminarians and Carl, our ever loyal mass goer. Our secular members lead the congregation in the singing.  A sizable crowd attended the event  and we had a simple  agape in our monastery grounds  after the mass.

Earlier that month, we invited Fr. Enrique "Rique" Fuentes, a Filipino priest who is currently assigned in  a parish in Oceanside, California  to celebrate his birthday with us and to be the presider for our July 16Mass.  Since it was his first time to come over and he wanted to know more about Mississippi, there was no better way than to bring him to our local museum.  The sisters enjoyed a day off with him travelling through time in the newly restored national treasure, the Old Capitol Museum in downtown Jackson.  We relished the state of the art display of artifacts and mementos  complete with periodic taped reenactments of significant historical events of this great state.  
Also in July, one of our Filipino sisters, Sr. Cecile had to return to the Philippines because her biological sister Lucy was critically ill.   Unfortunately, Lucy eventually succumb to sepsis and passed away after  a month of Sr. Cecile' arrival. May we commend her to your prayers.   After taking care of some family matters and with permission from her community, Sr. Cecile is now back with us.
Also in the same month, we invited Sr. Pauline of Bacolod Carmel, Philippines who at the time was with her twin sister in Calgary, Canada. She came over to celebrate the solemnity of Our Lady with us and we were happy that she stayed longer.  We extended an invitation for her to join  our carmel for a few years which she and her home carmel fortunately accepted. Thanks be to God, her petition papers for her R-1 US visa as a religious worker is already approved and God willing she'll be here with us soon.

We welcomed the month of August with a ten day community retreat with Rev. Raphael Kitz, OCD.  The themes were the immensity of God's love and faithfulness  through all ages and the practice God's presence within and among us as we live our life of prayer amidst the challenges of living in community. 
The last week of August came and the state of MS and the nation at large awakened in shock with the news of the brutal murder  of two missionary sisters early in the morning of August 25 in their home in Durant. Sr. Paula of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth in Kentucky and Sr. Margaret of the School Sisters of St. Francis in Milwaukee
were both nurse practitioners who selflessly devoted their lives operating a clinic in the county to cater to the medical needs of the people in the area and beyond regardless of their ability to pay for several years already.  On August 29, the diocese of Jackson dedicated a memorial Mass  for them which was presided by the Most Reverend Joseph Kopacz at St. Peter's Cathedral.  Many symphatizers even from other religious denominations and those from out of state flocked to the cathedral to join the memorial.  All priests and consecrated men and women of  the diocese were encouraged by our Bishop to attend which we willingly complied.

Meanwhile, some sisters in our community got sick with varying kinds of respiratory infections one after another.  We are grateful to Dr. William Loper III for rendering his services gratis et amore and by the grace of God, the infections  abated.

In an effort to keep us updated, Fr. Kevin Slattery had a series of conferences with us once a week last September wherein we discussed the new apostolic constitution of Our Holy Father Pope Francis.  On the last weekend of the month, Fr. Raphael Kitz, OCD stayed with us for a few days when he came for the secular members.  He officiated in our daily conventual masses and we were delighted to hear his homilies once more.

Together with the unfolding of these events, the repair and maintenance of our monastery  specifically  the replacements of the portion of our enclosure wall which was previously damaged by a car accident, with new bricks as well as our rotten, wooden fire exit staircase with sturdy steel were also addressed.  We also had to replace the malfunctioning airconditioning unit in the kitchen and install a new one in the old prioral office.   So many things had to be done but as of now we need to wait for God's providence.

On October 1st, we celebrated the solemnity of St. Therese with a special mass with veneration of her relics and the usual blessing and distribution  of roses for the attendees.  Fr. Ralph Reyes, OCD also dropped by  on his way to Mobile, Alabama to give a retreat to the secular members over the weekend.  After which, he stayed with us for a couple of days and we were glad to hear some updates in the church and some current events in our order.

We celebrated the solemnity of our holy mother St. Teresa with a special mass with Rev. Kevin Slattery as the presider.  We were joined by a large crowd of devotees, some being new faces who just recently learned about the presence of our monastery in the area.  In his homily, Fr. Kevin emphasized the invaluable teachings of our holy mother on prayer and  it's significance in our present times.
After the mass, he requested the congregation to join in prayer for the healing of Sr. Marie.  After which he also gave her the anointing of the sick.

With Christmas just arround the corner, our kitchen is also bustling with activities as we are busy baking loads of brown breads and rum cakes for our bake sale.  Please pray with us for a large turn out of foodie lovers.

Our diocese also launched the #iGiveCatholic on #GivingTuesday, a 24 hour online fund raising drive on November 29 from 12 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. or one can opt for an advance day giving between November 18-28.   We are one of the beneficiaries.  One can visit www.iGiveCatholic.org and search for Carmelite Monastery of Jackson  to pledge.  Please  join us in prayer for generous responders to this plea. The cumulative online pledge  of a minimum of $25  can go a long way to alleviate the lives of others, in line with Our Holy Father's declaration of the extraordinary jubilee year of mercy.

See you again in our next QIC.  Lots of love and prayers from all of us.