Carmelite Street

Wednesday, 29 August 2012

Feast of the Passion of St. John the Baptist

Thought for today: This is the Feast of the Passion of St John the Baptist. He was beheaded for standing up for the truth. In our day we are not asked to lose our head. We are asked to put our head above the parapet!

Monday, 27 August 2012

Countdown to WYD 2013

Well the preparations for WYD 2013 are contimuing apace. The Rio organising committee have released the following video to help us prepare for 2013

I have been to many WYD's and have enjoyed them all. There is something awesome about young people gathering together to celebrate their faith with joy and friendship. As human beings we need inspriration and encouragement and WYD fits the bill.

Many who would like to go to Rio find themselves unable to do so because of the cost. The Carmelite Community at Aylesford Priory, together with our friends and partners, Brightlights and many of the Catholic Youth Services in the South of England would like to share a WYD experience with you here at Aylesford. Join in the joy of Rio with other young people from across the UK and beyond. See you here?

http://www.brightlights.org.uk/Brightlights/Home.html

Wednesday, 22 August 2012

Glass Full

A teacher stood before his class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he picked up a very large and empty jam jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, rocks about 2" in width. The teacher then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks.

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed it was. The teacher then picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He then asked once more if the jar was full. This time the students were sure and they eagerly shouted "YES!"

The teacher then produced two cans of beer from under the table and proceeded to pour the drinks into the jar which filled the empty space between the sand. The students laughed. "Now," said the teacher, "I want you to understand that this jar represents your life. The rocks are the important things - your family, your friends, things that, if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your home and your school. The sand is everything else, the small stuff like shopping, your ipod and your computer "If you put the sand into the jar first," the teacher said "there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you".

Pay attention to the things that can bring you true happiness. Find the time to do things as a family, talk together, eat together and, listen to one another. There will always be time to upload the latest release on your ipod. "Take care of the rocks first – the things that really matter. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and asked what the beer represented. The teacher smiled.

"I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for to share a beer with your family and friends”

The moral of this story is: Find space for the bigger things in life.

Friday, 17 August 2012

Preparing for Vows 1

The British Province of Carmelites are looking forward to the Solemn Profession of vows of their brother Ged Walsh. Over the coming weeks Br Ged will share his thoughts as he prepares for this decisive moment in his life.

My name is Brother Gerard Walsh; I am a Carmelite friar in first vows, living in our community in York, England. I am currently working in chaplaincy, dividing my time between the University of York and the York Hospital. Earlier this year I applied and was accepted for Solemn Profession of Vows, which will take place at The Friars, Aylesford in October. Here I will publically profess the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience to God within the Order of Carmelites for life. Over the next weeks I will blog how my preparation is progressing both practically and spiritually.

With the end of the academic year and my family holiday enjoyed, I have been able to devote more time to preparing for the big day in October, on the practical level I have invites to do and a booklet to prepare as well as hymns to choose. I suppose the more important of the preparation occurs more interiorly and to help facilitate this, a candidate for Solemn Profession is required to undertake 30 days retreat, in order to have the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of what God is asking of you.

The retreat can be undertaken in a variety of ways, some complete the retreat in one go, as one of our Spanish brothers has recently done in Aylesford. I have chosen to divide my time up, and have just returned from two weeks at Mount Saint Bernard Abbey, a Cistercian monastery in Leicestershire. I wanted to follow closely the timetable of the monks which is built around the Divine Office of the Church, beginning at 3.30am with the office of Vigils and ending at 7.30pm with the office of Compline. The early start was not a big problem but trying to stay awake between the Vigils and Morning Prayer at 7am did take a lot of hard work, and I admit I did doze occasionally during this time.

During the day I would meet with one of the monks were I would have the chance to discuss any issues which had occurred either during prayer or whilst I was walking in the countryside around the abbey. I was able to journal it down which helped aid the discussion. The monk would also give me a topic/area to reflect and pray with, these varied from looking at the vows to the idea of commitment and more importantly what and who I am committing to. The monastic atmosphere and especially the silence greatly contributed to me undertaking these tasks in a quiet and reflective way.

The retreat has been immensely beneficial and has left me with much to ponder over the next months leading to this important day in my life as a religious. Next week I will take part on the Provincial pilgrimage to the Marian shrine of Lourdes, France were I will help in the care of the assisted pilgrims, this will also be a time of prayer and reflection where I can place all my intentions, especially the forthcoming profession into the hands of May, the Mother of God at the shrine were she appeared to St. Bernadette some 150 years ago.