Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel

Theme: To be born anew with Mary

Today, we celebrate two special events, the feast of our Lady of Mt. Carmel, and our being born anew in Christ with Mary.

Our Constitutions tell us that Carmel looks on Mary as its Lady and Mother, Protector and Trusted Friend, and Model and Ideal of its life of consecration. Indeed having Mary in the midst of our communities, we are drawn much closer to His Son Jesus, our beloved.

In the Scriptures, only a few accounts are told about Mary. Nevertheless, when contemplated upon, these short stories bring inspiration, hope and example from which one can draw what and how it is to be born anew. For example the event of the Annunciation in the Gospel of Luke, Mary through her fiat allows life to spring forth from her. And I believe this is first and foremost what it means to be born anew with Mary – allowing ourselves to be channels of God’s grace were new life would gush forth. That is incarnating once again the Jesus in us.

Being born anew with Mary:

When one becomes bridge of peace and reconciliation, one is being born anew.
When one forgives and risks to love and trust again – one is being born anew.
When one affords to smile and celebrate life in the midst of challenges and difficulties – one is being born anew.
When one is able to die to one’s self, letting go of one’s selfish desires, going beyond one’s comfort zone for the greater good of all – one is being born anew.
Above all, when one is able to live courageously yet humbly placing one’s trust in the hands of the compassionate and ever faithful God so that others who come to her/his influence fully live and grow in faith and love, then one is truly being born anew.


Just like Mary in today’s Gospel who steadfastly stand at the foot of her Son in Calvary. It is he witnessing that revived and reunited the Disciples of Christ that eventually recreated and renewed them in faith, love and courage.

Are we born anew?

Let us ask the special grace to be born anew through the intercession of Mary, our Mother and our Lady of Mt. Carmel.

Liturgists: Sr. Sherna Advincula, C.M. and Sr. Amelita Berso, C.M.

Novena to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel - Ninth Day

Theme: Mary reconciles, recreates, celebrates

The late Cardinal Jaime Sin said: “A mother always unites.” Mary, true to her role, reconciles us to God and to one another. There are many apparitions that attest to this. For instance, the shrine of the Virgin of Lourdes in France has been known to be a pilgrimage site for many people who are searching for healing not only of sick bodies but even more, sick souls.

Nowadays, people come from broken relationship in varying degrees and stages of their lives. All seek for reconciliation. Certainly this most gentle mother will not delay her intercession with God for the relationship to be patched up or for someone who goes astray to be back in God’s fold.

For us Carmelite Missionaries, who are witnesses of communion, we look up to Mary and her witness to be reconciled in our relationship with our Beloved through fostering our relationship with each other. All along the reconciliation, we recreate our relationship into something better.

With Mary, we are enabled to be what we are meant to be: a community of love. Thus there is a reason for us to celebrate like Mary and with Mary. Let us proclaim the greatness of our Lord and rejoice with all our heart in God’s saving mercy and the wonders He has done in our life.


Liturgist: Sr. Olivia Uy, C.M.

Novena to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel - Eight Day

Theme: Mary, Exemplar of Community Living


The Wedding at Cana

Let me refresh to you an incident in the life of Mary when she was at Cana. There was a wedding. During that celebration, they ran out of wine. And Mary went to Jesus and told him that they ran out of wine. Jesus hesitated because his time has not yet come. She did not mind it, she believed in his Son, and she told the servants to follow whatever Jesus will tell them to do.

At that moment Jesus did his first miracle. He turned the water into wine.

There are two aspects here that exemplified how it is to live in community. One is real concern for the well being of others and the other is total trust in God. If these two go together, miracles can happen.

They said that miracles do happen to people who will make it happen. Think of an incident in community life; a moment when you were really concern of the well being of others and you were helpless to do anything about it and entrusted everything to God. Did a miracle happen? If not, les us ask ourselves, is my concern genuine and selfless? Is my trust in God strong and unwavering? We needed this in community life.


The Canticle of Mary

In the famous Canticle of Mary, we see the outburst of Mary’s joy. Mary was boasting not about herself but of what God did to her. She was favored by God and she did not hide her feelings. She let it out through a song.

Joy is an important aspect in community life. And joy is multiplied by the number of people you share it with. The treasures that we actually kept in our hearts are the moments of joy we share together. A few days ago we enjoyed so much looking at the talents of the children in all their innocence singing “I love you honey…” What really give us joy are not expensive things or success that tomorrow will not be remembered anymore but what we received from the Lord and are shared with others. We have God given talents to sing, to cook, to recite, to dance, to write, to play the guitar, etc.

The loss and finding of Jesus in the temple

In this event, Jesus decided to stay in Jerusalem without permission when his parents and all the relatives went home to Nazareth. When Mary and of course Joseph, discovered that Jesus was not with the caravan, they were so anxious and went back to look for him. She told Jesus how she felt but gave Jesus time to explain himself and then pondered in the silence of her heart the reason of his son.

This is another aspect that is important in community. There are so many times that we forget to ask permissions of the things we want to do but it should not be a cause of division in the community. Mary teaches us to give each other a chance to explain oneself and we might be surprised of the way God works through the seeming weaknesses of others.

The Visit of Mary to Elizabeth

Elizabeth was six months pregnant and Mary has just conceived. She rushed to the side of Elizabeth. Two women experiencing the same miraculous pregnancy needed each other’s company to confirm each others experience, to strengthen them from the unbelieving community, to keep their faith alive, and to inspire each other in the journey.
We needed this kind of friendship in community. A friendship that enriches ones experience of God, that keep ones faith in Him strong, a friendship that inspires to move on despite the setbacks that come along our way every now and then.

I invite you sisters to reflect on the other events in Mary’s life and discover for yourselves the rich message about community living.

The Announcement of the Angel to Mary about her mission

We also have Mary standing on the cross and Jesus giving her instruction on what to do after his death…

Even the way Mary received the visitors who went to see Jesus when he was newly born, is a great lesson for community living…

Mary is indeed exemplar of how it is to live in community. In this day of our novena we pray that like Mary we too may become source of joy, hope, love, understanding, inspiration, courage, and strength for one another in the community.

Liturgist: Sr. Rebecca Polinar, C.M.

Novena to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel- Seventh Day

Theme: Mary – Channel of Communion

As Carmelite Missionaries, we consider Mary as the Mother of the Church and model and channel of communion.

We all know that Mary is blessed among the women in Israel. She was chosen to be the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ. God has already plans for her since her conception. Do we think that Mary did not also suffer? But why did she persevere and why did we call her Channel of Communion?

If we will look back on the life of Mary particularly on how she became the Channel of Communion, we can say that even when she was just a child she was simple and prayerful. She has always the time to be with her God, to listen and to do His will. What she hears form the bottom of her heart, she lives it out and shares it to others. Her relationship with God reflects on how she deals and treats others. Being prayerful, charitable, simple and humble, Mary became the Channel of Communion. She has always a big heart to accept everybody especially the poor, the oppressed, the sick and rejected. She does not discriminate. What she hears and sees, even the most painful one, she just kept it in her heart and prayed for those who persecute her. If we try to see how Mary took the fate of her Son especially during His passion and death, we can definitely say that we did not hear anything from her. She forgives everybody sincerely without any judgment and criticism. She became the mother of the disciples of Jesus and the Mother of all. Mary is always there to help and teach us how to accept, forgive, love and be humble in order that we become united.

In our community, are we also channels of communion? What are the factors that hinder us to become one? Do we also live out our realization and reflections on the word of God daily? Or are we just deceiving ourselves and the people around us?

Sisters, we must not lose hope, Mary is here waiting for us. She is willing to help us so that we will become channels and instruments of communion. Are we willing to take the risk in letting go of our comfort zones in order to be born anew and to be channels of communion?

Liturgist: Sr. Josefina Pausal, C.M.

Novena to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel - Sixth Day

Theme: Mary - The Empowered Missionary

Liturgist: Sr. Ma. Rosa Cruza, C.M.

Novena to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel - Fifth Day

Theme: MARY, THE CONTEMPLATIVE DISCIPLE

Mary of Nazareth seems on the surface to be an ordinary Jewish woman whose life was indistinguishable from many others. She cooked, sewed and cleaned. She prayed, conversed and served the needs of her family. She won no awards and received no acclaim from the world in her day. Yet, what we see in the biblical stories of Jesus’ birth shows that Mary’s life was extraordinary.

Through God’s divine providence, Mary became the Spouse of the Holy Spirit by receiving in her womb the Son of God. In the silence of her Son’s infant life, she contemplated the astounding truths of heaven, turning them over in her mind and heart again and again. She is rightly called blessed, for she heard the voice of God and kept it. She clearly carried out the will of the Father and therefore it is a greater thing for her to be a disciple of Christ than to be His mother.

In most Masses celebrated in her honor, she is presented as one who shows us the example of a disciple, who is faithful to the words of life. She is one who by a unique gift of God was the Mother of Christ, and above all was His first and most perfect disciple. She continues to do so right through the agony of watching Him die and the ecstasy of knowing Him raised again.

May we imitate the example of Mary, our Blessed Mother, that we, too, may be the true disciples of her Son Jesus, eagerly hearing His words and putting them into practice.

Liturgist: Sr. Virginia Dolero, C.M.

Novena to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel - Fourth Day

Theme: MARY - ICON OF CELIBATE FRIENDSHIP

Our heart is the source of who we are. Only God knows our hearts – our inward thoughts and feelings. Scripture reminds us that, “Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. When God was looking for a virgin who could give birth to His Son and nurture him as the Son of Man, he looked for someone with a pure heart. He found that kind of heart in Mary, the mother of Jesus. The fact that she was chosen for this awesome responsibility means that her devotion to God and the purity of her attitudes and behaviors are examples that we should study and emulate.

Mary is the one who, from the moment of her Immaculate Conception, most perfectly reflects the divine beauty. The relationship with Mary most holy, which for every believer stems from his or her union with Christ, is even more pronounced in our life as consecrated persons and as Carmelite Missionaries. Mary’s presence is of fundamental importance both for the spiritual life of each of us, and for the solidity, unity and progress of our community. Mary in fact is the sublime example of perfect consecration, since she belongs completely to God and is totally devoted to him. Chosen by the Lord who wished to accomplish in her the mystery of the Incarnation, she reminds us of the primacy of God’s initiative.

At the same time, having given her assent to the divine Word made flesh in her, Mary is also the model of the acceptance of grace by human creatures. Having lived with Jesus and Joseph in the hidden years of Nazareth, and present at her Son’s side at crucial moments of his public life, the BV teaches unconditional relationships and diligent service. In Mary, “the temple of the Holy Spirit,” all the splendor of the new creation shines forth. We look to her as the sublime model of personal and communitarian relationships to the Father, union with the Son and openness to the Spirit, in the knowledge that acceptance of the “virginal and humble life of Christ also means imitation of Mary’s way of life. Our Carmelite Missionary vocation implies a special reltionship with Mary. It entails a generous self-giving to her and at the same time her presence should characterize our mode of living. She should animate our existence and in a certain way models and shapes our personal prayer, our communitarian life and our apostolic service. We need to come closer to Mary, to know her better through study and meditation so that we can assimilate her life and virtues. We need to renew our Marian expressions, harmonizing and adapting it to the actual demands of our time, entrusting to her our commitment to interior life, fraternal love and apostolic service.

In Mary, we also find a Mother who is altogether unique. Indeed, if the new motherhood conferred on her at Calvary is a gift for all Christians, it has a specific value for us who have completely consecrated our lives to Christ. “Behold your mother!” Jesus words to the disciple whom he loved are particularly significant for our lives. We, like John, are called to take the BVM to ourselves, loving her and imitating her in the radical manner which befits our vocation, and experiencing in return her special motherly love. The BV shares with us the love which enables us to offer our lives everyday for Christ and to cooperate with him in the salvation of the world. Hence a filial relationship to Mary is the royal road to fidelity to one’s vocation and a most effective help for advancing in that vocation and living it fully in following Jesus Christ, her Son.

Liturgist: Sr. Rosario Fe Lorenzo, C.M.

Novena to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel - Third Day

Theme: Mary - A Truly Liberated Woman

The word liberty in the N.T. refers to the state of freedom of the believer, who is not in the grip or bondage of sin (Cf. John 8:32-36) or under the external compulsion of the law (New Westminster Dictionary of the Bible). This is what the word liberated means - freed from the grip or bondage of sin or from the external compulsion of the law.

This state of freedom from sin is attributed to Mary, firstly, because she was "conceived in the state of perfect justice, free form original sin and all its consequences and penalties, in virtue of the redemption won by Christ on the cross. In this sense, the privilege of the Immaculate Conception was the anticipated fruit of Christ's saving passion,death and resurrection" (Catholic Encyclopedia). Hence, the Church, through Pope Pius IX, based on this doctrine proclaimed Mary as the "Immaculate Conception" at the apparition to St. Bernadette. Secondly, because she is "immaculately" conceived. She is the woman prophesied in the book of Isaiah: "The virgin shall be with child, and bear a son and shall be called Emmanuel". She was then predestined to be the Mother of the God-Son Jesus which was further confirmed in Luke's Gospel that Mary, as greeted by the Archangel, "Hail full of grace! is highly favored. And the Angel continued: "The Lord is with you...behold you will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you shall name him Jesus". Therefore, what makes Mary a truly liberated woman is, namely: she was conceived without original sin, hence she is immaculate, highly favored by God and full of grace. Her freedom from sin gave her a significant role in the history of salvation, God's vessel in His saving plan.

One of the signs of our times is women's demand to be treated equal with men. And so way back in the 70's we encountered in the headlines of some journals "Women Liberation" with pictures where women were doing men's work and the men clapping their hands cheering them. Then, came the feminist movement where the pro-choice women claimed to be liberated by choosing to do away the product of their conception through abortion. And lately, women wanting to become ordained priest, which is already happening in non-Catholic Christian churches.

It was God who gave women equal right with men through the dignity He gave to Mary through God's redeeming grace. But Mary never considered herself equal with her son when she was going with Him in His public life. She was always at the background as her Son Jesus went about doing the Father's will.

We are all beneficiaries of God's redeeming grace but we cannot yet be equal with Mary in her being truly liberated until such time when God's power rests upon us as it had in Mary. Women need not assume men's work neither to get involved in feminist activities to be considered liberated. The feminine Sunday we used to observe does not even give any sense of liberation but tied us up to a meaningless practice.

We are truly liberated when we, like Mary, remain always constant and faithful in listening to God's word and putting it into practice in our daily life, in the faithful living of our consecrated life, striving always to be congruent in our behavior especially with regard to chastity since Mary our exemplar is all pure and chaste.

She is the pure virgin before giving birth, during birth and after birth. She is the woman who fixed her single-hearted love to God and to us her children and to no other love. Pure love liberates, it is always at work and is never idle; it endures till the end. This was what Mary did and does through her liberating love until now to the whole of humanity, saving it from the grip of sin, from the evil one, the devil and his evil doings.

Liturgist of the day: Sr. Isabel Gregorio, C.M.

Novena to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel - Second Day

Theme: Mary, Woman of God Centered Intimacy

"The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest."

The message of our Gospel reading today focuses on the call for intimate relationship with God and our neighbor. This is also the focus of our theme for the second day of our Novena.

Whenever we think of Mary, we remember a loving mother, simple and virtuous, chosen by God to do a magnificent role in the history of salvation.

If we go through the life of Mary in the light of the Gospels, the evangelists have consistently shown Mary as intimately centered in God.

First and foremost she is the Mother of Jesus, the Son of God. Mary is intimately bound to Jesus in the physical, psychological and spiritual sense. As a mother, she was there in all the journeys of his Son and in all His missionary endeavors; trusting, believing, loving, and caring for Him to the end. In so doing, she was deeply involved in the cause of humanity, the very cause of her Son. That's why we call on Mary for intercession. We are banking on that intimacy she has with God, to intercede for us in our time of need.

Liturgist of the day: Sr. Marivic Bucton, C.M.

Novena to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel - First Day

Theme: Life in the Spirit with Mary

None of us has ever seen the Holy Spirit, yet, like the wind, the Holy Spirit makes His presence known in tangible, sensible ways. His sanctifying intervention in the Virgin of Nazareth was a culminating moment of God's action in the history of salvation. He filled Mary with new life at the annunciation and Mary conceived the Incarnated Word. At every step in Mary's life the Spirit is present, to guide, inspire and strengthen her. With Mary, He formed Jesus in us so that others may be brought to new life in Jesus Christ, just as He filled the Apostle's with new life and they immediately gave birth to a new era through their preaching and example.

The role of the Holy Spirit in the life of Mary is a specially pertinent in our time. Her whole life was a song of love inspired by the Holy Spirit. Concretely, Mary's love for all persons that she met in her lifetime was always patient and kind; never jealous, never boastful or conceited, never rude or selfish. It took no offense and was not resentful. It was always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope and to endure whatever came. Her love never came to an end. Without love, all other gifts of the Spirit in Mary and even in us would be meaningless.

Just like Mary, let us freely and earnestly heed the interior prompting of the Holy Spirit at all times. He always gives us other signs and make us aware of his presence in us and in his action, working through our poor attempts at faith in the mission he entrusted to us. If we are willing to open our hearts and allow the Holy Spirit to take our lives, we will see extraordinary things.

Let us, therefore, turn our gazed to the Holy Spirit sent by Jesus to renew the face of the earth and strive for this union of the Holy Spirit in Mary in our souls so that they can reproduce Jesus in each one of us.

Liturgist of the day: Sr. Mary Cristina Dean, cm

Book Recipients

Here are the pictures of some of the books that Dino George sent to the Carmelite Missionaries. These books will be sent to Mt. Carmel College, Escalante, Negros and Mt.Carmel College, Agusan, Mindanao and the Institute of Spirituality in Asia, Manila through Fr. Gabriel Dolotina, OCarm.

The pictures were taken in the convent of the OCarm Fathers at #31 Acasia St., New Manila, Philippines.