Peace of Christ!
Dear Carmelite Family, relatives and friends,
Greetings
to you all at this special time of the year when our thoughts go to all
those whose lives we have touched in some way or whose kindness has
reached out to us. We are having a Christmas Novena of Masses offered
in our chapel and all your many intentions will be included. These days
of Advent are like a journey as we travel with Mary
and Joseph to Bethlehem knowing that at the end of all our preparations
we shall find “the Child lying in a manger.” The
Liturgy of these days is so rich and the hymns - many of them reaching
back centuries - express so well the longings of our hearts for the One
who is the end of all our longings. “ O Come, O Come,
Emmanuel…”
This
letter is an opportunity to share with you some of the events that have
graced this past year, even though God’s purpose may have been
somewhat obscure. The first that comes to mind is the mighty thunderstorm of
January 18th. The five o’clock bell rang for evening prayer to
the accompaniment of thunder and lightning. However we settled down to
a quiet hour with the Lord but before long doors opening and closing,
agitated whispers followed by rapid footsteps and the rattle of buckets
warned all contemplatives that action was called for. As
we ran upstairs water ran down to meet us: the rain was pouring in
through the roof of the old building (c.1880’s) where the gables
meet.. To add to the excitement, in the midst of it all the fire alarm
went off and wouldn’t stop! Eventually
the downpour ceased, allowing us to empty buckets and mop up the water.
Thankfully we don’t have carpets so with doors and windows opened
wide the floors were soon dry and thanks to “High and Dry
Ltd” a brand new roof will protect us in the future.
In
July we were privileged to welcome six young people who were taking
part in the Galilee experience, eager to discern God’s will for
their future and interested in the different paths open to them. That
same month Our Lady of Mt Carmel Mass was celebrated with the Filipino
choir whose music added much beauty to the liturgy. Also in July we met
the Dominican Sisters who had come from Australia to take part in the
“Arise” event. It was a delight
to meet these young, women, so alert to God’s call to spread His
word among all peoples, especially the young. It was also heartening to
meet the Youth Team leaders of our parishes in retreat here, and to
learn of their desire to help other young people find their place in
the Church - all signs of fresh hope. Another moving moment for us was to hear Pat Barrett and his daughter Anna Marie telling us of the Divine Mercy Congress they attended in Samoa and the enthusiastic response it received. Earlier
in the year we were privileged to have a visit from Archbishop Alipati
of Samoa who celebrated Sunday Mass with us and brought us greetings
from our Sisters in Apia. In August we had
the pleasure of welcoming the Samoan High Commissioner to New Zealand,
Asi James Blakelock and his charming wife, Helen. These
contacts not only give much pleasure to us all, and especially our
Samoan sisters, but also intensify our bonds with our daughter house in
Apia, who this year celebrated their Golden Jubilee. So
it was only natural that when the tsunami struck Samoa in October we
should feel deeply for all those involved in that disaster. Although
none of the relatives of the Sisters in Samoa or Christchurch were
injured it was impossible not to be affected by the suffering of the
people, only alleviated by their strong faith and the tremendous
support which poured in from all sides.
This
year saw the celebration of the Silver Jubilees of Sister Dorothea and
Sister Mary of the Trinity - such joyous occasions for our community as
well as families and friends of both Sisters They
were real gala days as the beautiful Jubilee Masses were followed by
afternoon tea and song and dance on the front lawn as the guests
expressed their appreciation of our two Sisters’ lives of loving
fidelity. Congratulations to those of our
young friends, including some who had been altar servers in our chapel,
who were married during the year. May these happy marriages be further
blessed with the passage of time.
Pope
Benedict’s announcement in June of the Year for Priests was
greeted with enthusiasm as an opportunity not only to pray for our
priests but to express our gratitude for their lives of loving service
to us for over 76 years. The highlight for us was the visit to our
chapel of the Icon of St John Vianney, so beautifully written by Jenny
Trolove. We were deeply moved when the
scarlet-lined doors of the wooden case opened, and there stood the Cure
of Ars, clasping his Crucifix, so humble, with his Spirit-filled eyes
gazing into ours. Although the visit was brief, the memory of those blessed moments remains with us.
On 1st October we had the joy of seeing the treasured Crucifix, focal point of our monastery garden re-erected The
corpus (terra cotta figure of the Crucified) having deteriorated beyond
repair, we were lamenting the fact to Father Vaughan Leslie during a
chance conversation when he volunteered to investigate its restoration. This led to contacting the firm of Gibson Patterns who removed the corpus and succeeded in making a
mould. The result is a beautiful fibre glass replica of the original
with a soft ivory finish able to withstand decades of exposure to the
elements.. Our sincere thanks to Mark and Matthew –aptly
named!—who so reverently reproduced this work of art. No wonder the bellbirds sang all through Spring and now the roses are a mass of blooms.
The
year also had its farewells as with regret we farewelled our parish
priest, Father Roger Yarte, in November as he left us to return to the
Philippines. His youthful bearing and simplicity of manner combined
with good humour, won him a place in our hearts, and many people have
said how much they appreciated his homilies. Thank you, Father Roger
for all you did for us. The past months
have seen a number of our friends and relatives, including our Sister
Cushla’s father, leave us for heaven. As
well as remembering them at Mass and during the Divine Office we pray
for them especially on All Souls Day when we process down to our little
cemetery and place flowers on our dear Sisters’ graves and sing
“Eternal Rest…”
Early
November found us in retreat given by emeritus Bishop Basil Meeking
whose beautiful conferences revealed to us something of “the
brightness of Revelation and the darkness of Mystery.” Also in
November a visit from Father John Kelly of the Cistercian Abbey, Kopua,
was an unexpected joy as we always feel an affinity with those leading
the monastic life. All the more so as we already knew of Father John’s devotion to St Therese from his Marist Messenger articles. When
we touched upon this he replied: “Yes - St Therese grasped the
essence of sanctity - she has something to say to everyone. And she was supremely intelligent.”
During
the year it was a joy to welcome our Carmelite visitors from Australia,
Father Greg Homeming to be followed by our own Kiwi Brother Shane
Kelleher with his nephew Jack. These were times of joyful sharing for which we are always grateful. Our
Secular Order too, is a great support and we rejoiced to see several
members come forward to make their commitments during the past year. Congratulations to all !
Now
it is time to say thank-you to our many friends, near and far, whose
kindness, expressed in countless ways, enables us to live our life of
prayer in serenity and joy. So many requests for prayer pour into us
daily so we are well aware of your needs and never cease to admire your
faith and trust in God’s loving mercy. The Star of Bethlehem leads us through the uncertainties of life to where the Christ Child in the arms of His mother awaits us. We may have little to give Him, but we can give Him our hearts...
And you can be sure that He will bless you with the fullness of His peace.
With our love and prayerful greetings,
Your Sisters in Christ,
Carmelite Monastery of Christ the King
Christchurch
December 2009