All posts by Anne Tschanz

Cloistered life, News

Letter Announcing Closing of the Carmelite Monastery – Hague, ND

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J.M. ♰ J.T.                                                                                   April 2019

Carmel of the Holy Face of Jesus Discalced Carmelite Nuns
2051 91st. St. SE
Hague, ND 58542
Phone: 701-336-7907

Dear Friends and Benefactors of Carmel,

Praised be Jesus Christ! When we first came to the Diocese of Bismarck 5 years ago, we enthusiastically set about arranging things so that we could remain for at least 100 years and all of you have been so supportive and generous in helping us. One of the first things we did was to establish the boundaries of our enclosure area which is very important to cloistered contemplative religious. A privacy fence and a chain link fence were put up and many trees were donated and planted. With all the proper permissions we began planning for a monastery that would house all the nuns that would soon be entering. We even obtained 2 mobile homes — one to temporarily serve as a Novitiate and one for a Guest House. God was blessing these efforts and we thought that God was answering the prayer that all of you have been saying with us for the permanent establishment of the Carmel of the Holy Face of Jesus.

Yet, a very short time ago, we have been faced with the possibility that maybe the answer to this prayer is no — such are the mysterious designs of God’s Will. We are not obliged to understand why things turn out the way they do but just to cooperate with them when His Will becomes apparent. So it is with great sadness that we are writing to inform you of the decision that has been made by our Superiors to close the Carmel of the Holy Face of Jesus. (The voice of our superiors is a most sure sign of the Will of God.) We do not have the required minimum number of nuns to remain open. With the Instruction for contemplative nuns (Cor Orans) which was issued from our Superiors in Rome in May of 2018, the minimum number of Professed Sisters required in order to be able to have a Novitiate and receive new members is 5. We have only 4 and our Monastery in Alexandria, South Dakota (from which we originally came) does not have any other Sisters to send to us. It is on this account that we are having to return to South Dakota.

Though the closing of the Carmel of the Holy Face of Jesus comes as a great disappointment to us and to all of you, we need to rely totally on our Faith in God that He is working some marvelous wonders of sanctity through this sudden turn of events. Trusting in the Goodness of God who has provided so bountifully for us these past 5 years, we cannot stop trusting Him now. Trusting in the Lord does not mean that if we pray the right prayer long enough and fervently enough that God will change His mind and let us stay. Trusting in God means believing that God is working through these circumstances to accomplish His loving plan for each one of us and that obeying our superiors will be the best thing for us… even if we don’t understand right now why it has to happen this way. Fortunately, as you have heard from us many times before, our main objective in establishing a monastery here was not just to build a monastic structure for ourselves – we have wanted to build faith in the hearts of individuals, of families and of parishes throughout the diocese of Bismarck and all of you who write and call from across the United States and beyond. This has been our main goal and we will continue to strive to fulfill it just the same, but from a different geographical location. There are no state boundaries where God’s love is concerned. You will ever have a special place in our hearts and prayers. We cannot but marvel at the bounteous Providence of God that we have experienced through the goodness and kindness of each one of you from the very day of our arrival in Hague up to this present moment, and we ask our most loving Father to abundantly reward each one, filling you to overflowing with His choicest blessings, as indeed we know He will.

There are, of course, a number of practical matters that must be taken care of in this process:

1) Mass stipends: Many people have sent us requests for Masses and our remaining time here will not be sufficient to have them all offered in our Chapel. Any Masses that are left will either be entrusted to our Chaplain, Fr. Leonard Eckroth, or sent to the priest at the Bismarck mission in Kenya.

2) Perpetual Enrollments: Those who have been enrolled in the perpetual prayers of the Sisters of the Carmel of the Holy Face of Jesus will now be added to the enrollment register in the Monastery of Our Mother of Mercy & St. Joseph in Alexandria, S.D., to which we will be returning. Please be assured that those perpetual prayers WILL CONTINUE to be offered!

3) Donated items: If anyone has donated something to the Carmel of the Holy Face of Jesus which is of sentimental value to themselves and they would wish these items to remain in a convent here in North Dakota please contact us as soon as possible, no later than June 15th. (701-336-7907) All those who have generously given to us will now be considered benefactors of our Sisters in Alexandria as well and will remain in our grateful prayers.

4) Building Fund: We had already contracted with our architect for the design/development of phase one before we received the news that we might be returning to Alexandria, and since the decision was not yet definitive, the work proceeded as agreed upon. Thus, all “donor designated” funds that were set aside for the building project have in fact been used toward planning for that intended end. If our present situation, so different from the hoped-for results of your generous gifts, presents a difficulty for those who donated to the building project, or for any other of our donors, please contact us and we will see what we are able to do. All the remaining funds of the Carmel of the Holy Face of Jesus will now provide for us at the Monastery of Our Mother of Mercy and St. Joseph in Alexandria, SD.

5) Present correspondence: Due to the many preparations needed for our return to Alexandria (which is scheduled for late summer), we will be unable to continue our correspondence beyond necessary business. Please be assured of our continued prayers for ALL of your intentions, despite our inability to respond by letter.

6) Future correspondence: For those of you who would like to continue participating in Carmelite Novenas and in requesting prayers throughout the year, you may contact us at the following address:

Carmelite Monastery
P.O. Box 67 a
Alexandria, S.D. 57311

You may also call in prayer requests at: (605) 239-4382.

We give thanks to our Father in Heaven for the countless blessings He has showered on us during our time in North Dakota and we ask Him to continue to bless all of you for your kind charity towards us. We ask you to join us in praying daily the enclosed Prayer for Vocations to the Contemplative Life, entreating Our Blessed Savior to renew and increase the contemplative life and, thereby, His whole Mystical Body, the Church. May our good Jesus grant that through an abundant outpouring of His Holy Spirit in our day, true contemplative vocations would abound, making it possible for the Diocese of Bismarck to one day have her own contemplative monastery.

May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord make His Face to shine upon you,
and be gracious to you.
May the Lord lift up His Countenance upon you,
and give you peace.
Num. 6:24-26

Gratefully in Jesus, Mary and St. Joseph

Mother Mary Baptist of the Virgin of Carmel, O.C.D. and Community

Women's Communities

The Norbertine Sisters of Wilmington, California

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People are very familiar with the Norbertine men of St. Michael’s Abbey in Silverado California and the cloistered Norbertine Canonesses of Tehachapi California.  Lesser known are the active Norbertine Sisters who came to Wilmington, California in 2011, sent by the General House of the Congregation of Norbertine Sisters in Slovakia.

This Congregation was originally founded in 1902 in the Czech Republic by Fr. Vojtech Frejka, a Norbertine Father from the abbey of Strahov in Prague, to renew the Norbertine way of life in the region. Since cloistered religious life had been suppressed in Czechoslovakia, the first three novices were sent to a Norbertine convent in Poland for their formation. They were instructed by their novice mistress, Sister (later-Mother) Michaela Andrusikiewicz, who would become the first superior of the new Congregation and is considered their co-foundress.

In the spirit of St. Norbert, the sisters have no specific apostolate but are prepared for every good work.  Their life is centered around daily Mass, praying the divine office, and a Eucharistic holy hour. They humbly implore the Virgin Mary to teach them to be completely devoted to God and to serve His people with total dedication.

In Wilmington, they help needy families by operating a poverty program, teach at SS. Peter and Paul school, work in the bookstore, help in the sacristy, and teach Catechism and Confirmation classes.

At their convent, which is also their formation house, there are three Sisters from Slovakia: Sr. Adriana Gacikova, S.Praem., Sr. Roberta Sprlakova, S.Praem., and Sr. Benedikta Hornikova, S.Praem., with five women in formation.

For young women, the sisters have regular Days of Recollection and a monthly Holy Hour. For more information, visit: www.CongregationofNorbertineSisters.org

email: norbertinesrswilm@gmail.com

Cloistered life, News

Carmelite Monastery in Launceston, Tasmania, Joins St. Joseph Association

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The Carmelite Monastery in Launceston, Tasmania, recently received approval from the Holy See to join St Joseph’s Association of Carmelite Monasteries in the US.

The Carmels that are part of this Association choose to live a traditional interpretation of the Rule given to them by St. Teresa of Avila.

The principal aims of the Association are:

In all the member monasteries of the Association, papal enclosure is observed, the full Carmelite habit is worn, and the traditional austerity of the Order is joyfully embraced.

Sprinkled into this blog post is artwork done by one of the Carmelite nuns in Launceston, Sr. Christina Mary of the Incarnation. She was tremendously encouraged by Pope Saint John Paul II’s Letter to Artists and continued on with her artistic works after entering religious life.

Launceston Carmel was founded from the Carmel in Adelaide, Australia, in June 1948 in the town of Longford, Tasmania. (Do you know that Australia was originally called by the early explorers “the Great South Land of the Holy Spirit”?)

The community moved to the present monastery built in the hills of West Launceston in April 1975 at the request of the then Archbishop Guilford Young to be nearer the priests and people. The parish priests in Launceston offer daily Mass which a small regular congregation also attend.

Carmelite Monastery
7 Cambridge St
Launceston TAS 7250
Australia
email: tascarmel1@gmail.com

Liturgical Year, News

A New Idea for a Missalette: “Sing a New Song” by Rt. Rev. Abbot Marcel Rooney, O.S.B.

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Sing A New Song, published by A-R Editions, Inc. in Middleton, Wisconsin, is a Catholic worship resource combining new music settings for the Entrance and Communion Antiphons of the Roman Missal with the Readings and Psalms of the Lectionary for Mass to provide a comprehensive and reusable resource for the Mass. The music settings are arranged and composed by Right Rev. Abbot Marcel Rooney, O.S.B. (former Abbot Primate and President of the Orate Institute), creating melodies accessible to average parishioners.

The masses are organized by the Roman Calendar, with Liturgical Years A, B, and C each represented within a separate volume. These hard-cover volumes have the benefit of being as long-lasting as the Roman Missal and Lectionary, eliminating the need for annual, soft-cover resources. The books include: The Order of Mass; music settings for the Order of Mass; antiphons, readings, and psalms for each Proper Mass; antiphons, readings, and psalms for additional masses; and over 150 selected traditional hymns

There are 4 principles upon which this new work is based:

Theological Principle   – The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (# 14) stated this: “Mother Church earnestly desires that all the faithful should be led to that full conscious, and active participation in liturgical celebrations which is demanded by the very nature of the liturgy…”

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal gives directives for the implementation of how we are to do this.  We may take as an example, the Entrance Antiphon in the Missal.  Since we have generally lacked music appropriate for the singing of this Antiphon (and it is intended to be sung, not merely recited), most liturgical leaders have fallen back on the habit of singing hymns for the Entrance to Holy Mass.  The good thing about that practice is that it succeeds oftentimes in involving many of the congregation in this opening element of Holy Mass.  But it is not the tradition of the Roman Church.  We have always reserved opening various liturgies with hymns to other liturgies, e.g., the Liturgy of the Hours.  Holy Mass always had an Antiphon and Psalm for this opening element.  This new Missalette is intended to address this lacuna of the last fifty years, and in a way that makes it possible for the largest number of people to participate as we begin Holy Mass.

Musical Principle  –  The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy of the 2nd Vatican Council stated this in #116: “The Church acknowledges Gregorian chant as especially suited to the Roman liturgy;  therefore, other things being equal, it should be given pride of place in liturgical services.”   The Antiphons in the Missalette Sing a New Song are all based in Gregorian chant.  The composer has sung the chant for decades and his musical and prayer formation has been affected by the chant very profoundly.  The reader will note that each Antiphon even has the number of the Gregorian mode in which it is composed.  The author has provided a simple set of melodies embodying the eight ancient modal melodies and it is indicated at the beginning of each Antiphon.  The cantors verses will be sung in that mode, then, maintaining the spirit of the Antiphon itself.

Pastoral Principle – As has been stated already in regard to the directives of #48 of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, the people are to pray and sing the Antiphons provided by the Church. The music composed for the Antiphons in this Missalette embody the belief that the people’s part should be kept to a small part of the original Antiphon, so that they can indeed participate fully.  The composer has had the opportunity to try out these Antiphons in  typical small town parishes, and with outstanding results, as regards the enthusiastic participation of the people, who pick up the melodies after only one or two repetitions.

Practical Principle  – It is a concern for anyone who cares about the environment, that as a normal practice our parishes, taken as a whole, are throwing away every year thousands and thousands of missalettes, and then buying new ones in time for the 1st Sunday of Advent.   One of the values of this Missalette is that the Sundays are not dated by the given year’s calendar, but by the liturgical year’s calendar.  That means that they can be used over and over again. This Missalette will be published in separate editions for the A-Year, B-Year, and C-Year.  That means that the greater part of the expense of the Missalette will be born only in the first three years a community uses them.  At the end of the year, the sacristan can box them up and save them for reuse three years later.  This will mean a very great saving for budgets, as also a saving of the environment.

To learn more about Sing A New Song, call Lance Ottman at 608-203-2569. Or click here.

 

 

News

Holy Resurrection Monastery Welcomed as a New Affiliate!

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Holy Resurrection Monastery is a self-governing monastery sui juris under Catholic Canon Law.  There are currently five stavrophore (fully professed) monks, together with four rassophores (novices), and one postulant.  In 2011 they relocated from California to a monastery in the village of Saint Nazianz, Wisconsin (the town is named after one of the greatest Eastern saints, St. Gregory the Theologian, known in the West as St. Gregory Nazianzen).

Here, they strive to live the monastic life of prayer, work, and hospitality while contributing to the spiritual lives of their friends and neighbors (whether Eastern or Western Christians), especially through dedication to practical ecumenism. Abbot Nicholas is also responsible for overseeing the nuns of Holy Theophany Monastery, a dependency of Holy Resurrection Monastery.

In early 1995, several faithful Byzantine men came together and were initially received by His Grace, Bishop George (Kuzma), Eparch of the Ruthenian Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Van Nuys, California.  In 2005, at their request and with the approval of the Holy See, they were received under the holy omoforion (jurisdiction) of His Grace, Bishop John Michael (Botean), Eparch of the Romanian Catholic Eparchy of St. George in Canton, Ohio.  Bishop John Michael’s diocese covers the entire territorial United States and was recently extended to include some Romanian Catholic communities in Canada.

Speaking of Abbot Nicholas, he gives excellent reflections on what the Eastern churches can bring to the West.  Here is a sample from one of his homilies:

“…about the Byzantine Tradition I can say this. Mystery for us is not about just what we do in church, it is how we see everything, how we see reality. Every Christian is part of the hidden life of the Sacred Trinity. Every Christian is a mystic. Being a mystic means being a liturgical being, nothing more. Everything we do is, or ought to be, at least wrapped in the mystery of the direct experience of God. I can’t say this enough . . this sense of mystery is not just a feature of how we do church or how we do mass or how we do liturgy. It colors even how we see sin . . . not so much as a moral crime, but as a failure to worship, not the exercise of a defiant human will in opposition to God, not an exercise of freedom, but a failure to be who we deep down in our hearts want to be.”

Their liturgical services (Divine Liturgy as well as the Divine Office) are in English with some Greek, Romanian, and Slavonic sprinkled throughout. Visitors are welcome to come on private retreats alone, as couples, or in small groups.

Holy Resurrection Monastery
300 S 2nd Ave
PO Box 276
St. Nazianz, WI 54232
Telephone: (920) 881-4009
Email:  monks@hrmonline.org

News, Women's Communities

Sister Servants of the Eternal Word – New Affiliate!

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The Sister Servants of the Eternal Word are a new community of religious women in Irondale, Alabama, founded by Mother Mary Gabriel in 1987 with the apostolate of retreats and catechesis.  Before founding their community, Mother Mary Gabriel was a Dominican Sister of the Congregation of St. Cecilia in Nashville, Tennessee.  She taught and administered schools at both the elementary and high school levels and served as vicar of her community, all of which prepared her for the joys and the crosses that are inevitable when beginning a new foundation.

Recognizing that there is a great need in our time for catechesis and also for places that foster greater union with Our Lord through prayer, their community presents retreats in their Casa Maria Retreat House, offering formation in the Catholic Faith within the context of beautiful liturgies and Eucharistic devotion.  The truths of the Faith are authentically taught and ample opportunities are offered for reception of the sacraments and prayer, including daily Mass and the Rosary, as well as time for private prayer.  They also operate a bookstore, providing educational and inspirational Catholic materials and religious items.

The members of the community wear the habit as a visible sign of consecration and as a witness to the life of poverty.  Their habit reflects their Franciscan and Dominican heritage, consisting of a long white tunic with a brown cape, scapular, and veil.  They wear a rope cincture with three knots on their right side symbolizing their three vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience (as worn by St. Francis) and a fifteen-decade rosary at their left side in honor of the Dominican tradition of praying the Holy Rosary.  They also wear a crucifix on a cord around their necks, so that, as Mother Mary Gabriel has said, “No one can look at us without thinking of Christ.”

They are eagerly awaiting the completion of the fourth and final phase of their building project, which will most importantly include their long-awaited large chapel. With 20 sisters in permanent vows and 5 in temporary vows, they will welcome the larger space in which to worship Our Lord.

Mother Mary Gabriel passed on to her eternal reward on July 23rd, 2017.  When she was asked about her numerous accomplishments, studies, and her earned degrees, she simply replied, “The letters after your name are worthless without the ‘st’ [Saint] before it.“

Cloistered life, News, Women's Communities

Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey Welcomed as a New Affiliate

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The IRL is pleased to welcome Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey as a new Affiliate Member. The Abbey is a cloistered, monastic community of 20 nuns of the Cistercians of Strict Observance (Trappist), striving to follow Jesus Christ through a life of prayer, silence, simplicity and ordinary work.

The Abbey was founded in 1964 when 13 nuns left the Mount Saint Mary Abbey in Wrentham, MA, to found an new community near Dubuque, Iowa.  Situated on a bluff overlooking the  Mississippi River, the nuns support themselves though the Trappistine Creamy Caramels they make themselves and sell by mail.

Seven times a day the nuns gather in the Abbey to sing God’s praises. All of their liturgies are open to the public. Four small guest houses are available for individuals or small groups wishing to make a private retreat in a beautiful, peaceful setting.

Stay in your cell, and your cell will teach you everything.

– Sayings of the Desert Fathers

Cloistered life, News, Women's Communities

Sr. Mary Wilhelmina, OSB, first Prioress of the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, Dies at Age 95

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From the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles….
+PAX
Dear Family, Friends and Benefactors,
Mother Abbess and the Sisters humbly request your prayers for the soul of our beloved Sister Mary Wilhelmina of the Most Holy Rosary, osb (née Mary Elizabeth Lancaster) who passed away peacefully at 8:35 PM on Wednesday, May 29th, 2019 having been strengthened by the Last Sacraments and the entire community surrounding her in prayer. It seems Our Lord could not have granted a more consoling departure from the community, who loved her so dearly.
Sister became unresponsive on Saturday morning. Nevertheless, several times she joined in as best she could while the Sisters sang Marian hymns and prayed the Rosary between Sunday and Wednesday. She also briefly smiled at the Sisters gathered around her.
On May 29th, the feast of the Ascension having begun with First Vespers, the whole community assembled at 7:00 PM in Sister’s cell while Mother Abbess read to Sister Wilhelmina and all of us the various notes of assurance of prayers, along with prayer requests from family and friends. At this time Sister was not actively conscious, though it cannot be doubted that she indeed was taking all to heart. After singing some more of her favorite Marian hymns, the community chanted Compline in her cell. As Mother Abbess was giving the traditional sprinkling of holy water to the community, peacefully and without a struggle, Sister Wilhelmina breathed forth her last breath immediately after Mother Abbess blessed her with holy water, as the Sisters finished the antiphon Vidi aquam.
Sister Wilhelmina once was asked who was her favorite Benedictine saint, she replied, “St. Bede the Venerable, of course! I became a Benedictine on his feast you know.” 1300 years ago on this very feast, St. Bede the Venerable also expired peacefully as the evening Offices were being completed. Though it was Rogation Wednesday, according to Liturgical accounting he is said to have died on the Ascension, since First Vespers of this feast had been chanted, and it was an hour after sunset. Following not only in her beloved saint’s footsteps in the love of the Divine Office and our Blessed Lady, our dear Sister Wilhelmina followed him even in the manner of death.
Sister’s final words were “O Maria” on Tuesday afternoon, as the Sisters sang one of her favorite hymns: “Hail Holy Queen Enthroned Above.”
Sister Wilhelmina has long been the treasure of the community, both by right as our first Prioress and through her exemplary conduct as a Bride of Christ. We are deeply saddened at the loss of her beautiful example. Sister Wilhelmina recently celebrated her 75th anniversary of vows and her 95th birthday, so we remain deeply grateful to God for her persevering fidelity and faithful service.
Many years ago, our first chaplain asked Sister Wilhelmina “why did you become a religious?” Her instantaneous reply was: “because I was in love with Our Lord.” It could be easily said even in her declining years that she never fell out of love with Him. Let us unite in loving prayers that the love she bore for her Divine Bridegroom likewise bears her directly to His embrace.
All are invited to pay prayerful respects at the wake, which will begin immediately in the Chapter House at the Abbey until the Funeral Mass. Traditionally, a silent wake is kept so that the community may take turns praying the psalms, so we do ask that all talking cease upon entry into Chapter House on the southeast side of the church. The Funeral Mass (Requiem) will be offered in the Abbey church at 11:00 AM on Friday, May 31st. Sr. Wilhelmina will be buried at the Abbey cemetery immediately following Mass. All are welcome to the reception to follow in the basement of the Abbey Church.
Thank you for your many prayers for the soul of dear Sr. Wilhelmina, and for our entire community. May God bless and reward you all.
In Corde Mariae,
Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles

Women's Communities

Sisters of Mary Morning Star’s New Addition Blessed

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Catholic Herald photo/Kevin Wondrash

The Sisters of Mary Morning Star in the Diocese of Madison recently had their new addition, comprised of guest rooms, cells, a library and workroom, blessed by Msgr. James Bartylla, diocesan administrator.   With the addition, there is now enough room for 10 sisters to live at the convent.

For those who have grown up in Catholic parishes and schools without having seen a religious sister, the parish community where the sisters reside has been particularly blessed.  Monsignor Bartylla said thar there is a “sense of something that we didn’t know we needed, particularly, but know the blessing of it when it arrives.”  He also noted that the Church is Petrine and Marian, and with the sisters arrival, it helps to provide “fullness” to the Church.

The four main aspects of the charism of the Sisters of Mary Morning Star are prayer, fraternal charity, search for truth, and manual work. There are currently 250 sisters of the community throughout the world welcomed into 14  dioceses by bishops, with priories in Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Africa.

The second phase of the project is the building of a chapel ($400,000 or so in cost). For more information, please contact the sisters at 608-224-0251 or mariastella.madison@gmail.com

Cloistered life

A Carmelite Artist in Tasmania Inspired by Faith

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Those who perceive in themselves this kind of divine spark which is the artistic vocation—as poet, writer, sculptor, architect, musician, actor and so on—feel at the same time the obligation not to waste this talent but to develop it, in order to put it at the service of their neighbor and of humanity as a whole.                                                                                                             —Pope John Paul II, “Letter to Artists” (April 4, 1999)

One of the beautiful Carmelite monasteries listed on our new CloisteredLife.com website is the Discalced Carmelite Monastery of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Tasmania.  The nuns have long been receiving our magazine Religious Life and we are happy to be united with them in spirit across the ocean on our website.

Last Sunday, they hosted an art exhibition at the monastery because they have a wonderful artist-in-residence—Sr. Christina Mary, O.C.D., who entered Carmel in 1999. She comes from a family of artists and her whole upbringing was characterized by art and faith. Sister Christina graduated college with an honors degree in art and wondered if her art would distract her from living fully the Carmelite life. But her superior and novice mistress at the time realized “that God was working in and through my art and so they gave me permission to continue.”

The date chosen for the exhibition recalled St. John Paul II’s “Letter to Artists” issued on April 4, 1999, Easter Sunday, in which he said: “…my hope for all of you who are artists is that you will have an especially intense experience of creative inspiration. May the beauty which you pass on to generations still to come be such that it will stir them to wonder! Faced with the sacredness of life and of the human person, and before the marvels of the universe, wonder is the only appropriate attitude.”

Mother Teresa Benedicta of the Cross said that Sr. Christina Mary’s work continues a centuries-old tradition of nuns and monks involved in creative pursuits. “All the Sisters are encouraged to develop their gifts in creative ways,” she said, “which gives glory to God and is an extension of our prayerful pondering of the Word of God and the mysteries of Christ, and also provides relaxation and human flourishing in manifold ways.”

The Australian Carmel in Launceston was founded in June 1948 and moved to its present location in April 1975. Their life of prayer and sacrifice in solitude, in strict papal enclosure as desired by St. Teresa and given by the Church, is for the sake of the Church and the world, supported by life in community. They wear the habit of Our Lady of Mount Carmel as a sign of our consecration.

The Cloister Grounds

Sister Christina Mary accepts commissions for new paintings and  relies on photos, her imagination and the sky above to find her inspiration, though they have a great vista down the Tamar Valley in northern Tasmania. Mother Teresa Benedicta says: “Please God, it will draw people to Our Lord through the beauty of her art.”