Carmelite
Monastery
Carmelite
Monastery
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Kirk Edge Sheffield |
| Home | Our Vocation | Our life | Our History |
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Basing
the Carmelite life on the Constitutions of Alcala 1581 'the Treasure'
which she brought from France to England, Mother Mary of Jesus offered
us a spiritual life where all is seen through the eyes of faith. She
made practical for us the teaching found in the writings of St Teresa
of Avila and St John of the Cross, making them a living reality in our
daily life.
For Mother Mary of Jesus, prayer was not confined to certain times of the day, rather, the whole life in Carmel was a prayer. The Carmelite must direct the mind and heart continually towards God, both by the loving attention of her soul during prayer time, and equally by the intention of her will to please God in every circumstance of her daily life. This demands an absolute fidelity to the duty of the present moment, and a complete forgetfulness of herself. The Carmelite is to do this not for her sanctification only, but primarily to obtain grace for the Church, the Hierarchy, theologians, and souls in need of grace. |
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Prayer is the look of the soul at God. If the soul is suffering, the
suffering is the look." ....MOTHER MARY OF JESUS |
Mother
Mary of Jesus 1851 - 1942 |
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ST
TERESA of JESUS was born in Avila Spain in 1515. She entered a
Carmelite Convent when she was twenty one. For many years she struggled
to love God with a divided heart and only gave herself wholly to Him in
middle life. God gave her a wonderful understanding of His Presence in
the soul. She was a gifted writer and her books explaining
contemplative prayer gained her the title "Doctor of the Church".In
1562 she founded a little convent with strict enclosure where the
evangelical counsels could be lived to perfection. Her Reform spread
through Spain and all over the world. She is the Founder of the Order
of Discalced Carmelites. Our Holy Mother St Teresa is the teacher and
guide of all who belong to this Order.
"Keep your eyes on Jesus, for He never takes His eyes off you". .......ST TERESA OF JESUS |
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ST
JOHN of the Cross, John de Yepes, was born in 1542 at Fontiveros Spain
. He lived in poverty as a child and became a Carmelite in 1563. St
Teresa introduced him to her Reform and he became one of her first
Discalced Friars and faithful collaborator. He suffered from the envy
and misunderstanding of his fellow Carmelites who maligned and
imprisoned him. An outstanding poet and theologian, his clear
explanation of the soul's progress through the Nights of the Spirit
earned him the title "Doctor of the Church". His aim was to lead the
contemplative soul to the height of pure love of God.He died in 1591 .
"Put love where there is no love and you will draw out love" ..........ST. JOHN OF THE CROSS |
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ST
THERESE OF THE CHILD JESUS and of the HOLY FACE, Therese Martin was
born at Alencon, France in 1873. She entered the Carmel of Lisieux when
she was fifteen and died at twenty four years of age. She wrote the
story of her life and spiritual progress through fear and
scrupulosity to a deep understanding of the Fatherly love and
mercy of God. St Therese taught us that God does not want our great
deeds but only our trust and confidence in Him.She was
acclaimed
by Pope Pius X1 as the greatest saint of modern times and the influence
of her doctrine based, as it is on the teaching of Christ, has
had
an extraordinary impact on the People of God. Her promise to "let down
a shower of roses" after her death has been amply fulfilled by the many
miracles of grace and answers to prayer even to this day. She was
declared "Doctor of the Church" in 1997.
"Jesus does not ask great deeds but only for our love and self surrender" .......ST THERESE OF LISIEUX |