This month in Carmel

The warm and sunny autumnal days of the past few weeks have felt like a special blessing at a time of year when warmth and sunshine can’t be taken for granted. As we begin the month of November, however, we’re conscious that the trees must surely now shed their golden drapery and that morning frosts will soon herald a marked change in nature’s tone. This annual turn from the last remnants of summer to the starkness of winter is reflected in the liturgical year with November’s remembering of those we have lost in death. We begin with the Solemnity of All Saints on Sunday 1^st November – a rare displacement of the Sunday celebration for a feast other than one associated with Christ himself. This is followed by the Commemoration of All Souls on Monday November 2^nd. Although these two celebrations come with differing liturgical overtones – marked, for example, by the colors of the vestments – they essentially celebrate the same thing: the work of grace in human souls. On November 1^st, this work is seen as having been brought to completion in the saints who surround Christ in heaven sharing in his glory and, as Thérèse of Lisieux tells us, participating in his ongoing work of salvation. The Commemoration of All Souls reminds us that this work takes time; a whole lifetime on earth, and an unknown amount of time (should time still exist) after we have left this earth. On the November 2^nd then we pray for our loved ones; that this work of grace – of purification and healing – might be completed in them. Our faith tells us that this is a benevolent process, carried out within the compassionate mercy of God which washes from us all that does not belong to who we are meant to be in God’s loving design. For us Carmelites, we repeat this process just a couple of weeks later, rejoicing over All Carmelite Saints on November 14^th and praying for All Carmelite Souls on November 16^th. On November 22^nd the liturgical year will come to a glorious close with the Solemnity of Christ the King, before we enter the silent Advent season of waiting and watching for his return as an infant saviour at Christmas.

Such are the liturgical highlights of the month ahead, and you might imagine they would be more than enough to keep us occupied. Alas, more earthly matters are likely also to claim our attention. At some point in November we hope to be back in the first-floor rooms of the main part of the house; that means our beloved living room, library, and computer room should once again be available to us. The completion of the work on the infirmary rooms on the second floor will take more time but is at least within sight. More challenging will be the replacement of the roof on the east wing which covers our reception area and public rooms. We always knew this would need doing, but a persistent leak has required it to be bumped up the schedule. We anticipate it should be completed by the middle of the month, but we have learned to live lightly with deadlines and schedules. Meanwhile we will be keeping ourselves mentally alert with November’s Festival of Learning. Our Carmelite Rule directs us to ponder ‘the Lord’s law day and night’ (Rule, 10), reminding us of the importance of the intellectual life in our Carmelite tradition and the need to go on informing ourselves and broadening our horizons continually, well beyond the initial period of formation with which we all begin our Carmelite lives. Through the month of November then we will have a series of talks and seminars by theologians and experts in the field of spirituality. Moved by the situations we see in the world around us, our theme is ‘The Church on the Move’ and we will look at themes of displacement, migration and racism through the twin lenses of the writings of St Augustine and St John of the Cross. We are very grateful to the experts who have so generously agreed to come and share their knowledge with us, and we look forward to a stimulating month ahead. Please pray with us for all those whose lives are touched by these issues in the harsh realities of our current world.

Sister Jo