“Let Justice and Peace Flow” is the theme of this year’s Season of Creation, inspired by the words of the prophet Amos: “Let justice flow on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream” (5:24). The ecumenical phase begins on 1 September with the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, and concludes on 4 October with the feast of Saint Francis.

On the 9 days before the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (16 July), we pray for the following intentions for all those in need throughout the world. The novena can be prayed at any time of the year for these intentions or for your own asking Our Lady of Mount Carmel to intercede and pray with us. The prayers and intentions can be downloaded pdf here.

The parishioners of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, Wentworthville, have been blessed with Carmelite friars since they were appointed by Cardinal Gilroy to care for the parish in 1956.

Today, without even knowing it, the parishioners find they are living the Carmelite charisms of contemplation, community and service.

On 14 June Brs Frangelino Ximenes, Julião Dos Santos, David Soares, Estevão De Deus Gomes and Francisco Xavier Martins will make their profession of Solemn Vows (life-long commitment) in the Carmelites. The Profession Mass will be held in our community at Hera with Fr Bruce Clark (Prior Provincial) presiding.

We are less than 70 days away from World Youth Day, the largest gathering of Catholic young people. “Mary arose and went with haste” (Lk 1:39) is the theme. This year’s celebration will be held in Lisbon, the capital city of Portugal from August 1-6, 2023.

The 15th of May marks the first anniversary of the canonisation of our brother Titus Brandsma, canonised along with nine other holy men and holy women, by Pope Francis in St Peter’s Square in 2022. The memory of that celebration and the days that surrounded it still live in the minds and hearts of thousands of people all around the world. It was particularly moving for all of us who had the blessing of being in Rome when the event was taking place.

To commemorate the first anniversary of the Canonisation of St Titus Brandsma, we have created a new St Titus Brandsma Desktop Wallpaper that can be downloaded for free in 1920x1080 at:
https://carmelites.org.au/desktop-wallpaper

The final of the three Great Gospels of Lent is ours today - a Gospel story of life and freedom. Like the gospels of the last two Sundays, the dramatic story of Jesus raising his friend Lazarus from the dead is a story of love, faith and belief.

There are three different groups of believers in the story: those who believe that Jesus could have prevented Lazarus’ death (Jesus is already known to be a healer); those who came to believe in him because they see Lazarus rise, and those, like Martha, who believe in Jesus even though Lazarus died.

In this Gospel Jesus proclaims himself ‘the resurrection and the life’. We see him deeply moved by the death of his friend. We find him in earnest prayer with God. We see him full of strength as he commands Lazarus to come out of the tomb.

  pdf Celebrating At Home 5th Sunday in Lent [PDF]
default Celebrating At Home 5th Sunday in Lent [ePub]

In this Sunday’s Gospel we accompany the man who was born blind on his journey into the light. The first thing we read in the full version of this Gospel is that Jesus announces that the man is sinless – he has been born blind so that God’s glory can be seen at work in him. Then Jesus gives the blind man sight. Notice that the man didn’t ask to be healed – this is Jesus’ initiative, taking the first step and reaching out in love. That’s how Jesus approaches us, too.

pdf Celebrating At Home 4th Sunday in Lent [PDF]
default Celebrating At Home 4th Sunday in Lent [ePub]

A conference on Titus Brandsma will take place at Radboud University in Nijmegen, Netherlands on October 3-6, 2023. The program brings together scholars from various parts of the world who will present on the multi-faceted life and work of Brandsma. The number of participants is limited to 30, providing an opportunity for all to become involved in the discussions.