{"id":127643,"date":"2015-07-14T07:45:45","date_gmt":"2015-07-14T12:45:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.austincnm.com\/?p=127643"},"modified":"2015-07-16T10:20:23","modified_gmt":"2015-07-16T15:20:23","slug":"mary-sister-of-the-carmelite-soul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/07\/mary-sister-of-the-carmelite-soul\/","title":{"rendered":"Mary, Sister of the Carmelite Soul"},"content":{"rendered":"

We are holding hands as we walk together along a rocky path on a hot July evening. We are talking about this and that. She asks me questions, listens thoughtfully as I talk about my life. She has a lot going on too, these days, and she unburdens her heart to me about her work, about her children. I squeeze her hand and we pray together as tears gather in her eyes. I know she works hard for her children, and prays constantly for their needs, for their good, for their souls. I am glad she will talk to me about things that concern her, that she finds my company a comfort at times. We lapse into comfortable silence.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

She gathers up the brown skirt of her habit a little as we reach an incline, and I smile that she is barefoot like me. Of course she is.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0People say we resemble one another, especially around the eyes. All of Carmel shares the family resemblance to Mary, our sister, as we share everything else with her.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel<\/p><\/div>\n

Some might say that ours is a curious Marian devotion, this Carmelite love of Mary not only as mother and queen, but as sister.<\/p>\n

Carmelite Marian devotion is primarily about the imitation of Mary. \u00a0We see ourselves as “the other Mary,” and we view our Carmelite life of prayer and simplicity of heart as a reflection of the interior life she lived and still lives.<\/p>\n

More than reflecting on Mary, we tend to simply see through her eyes, to love Jesus with her heart, to share in her hidden work in the world; the silent drawing of her Immaculate Heart of all peoples toward her Son.<\/p>\n

Siblings share confidences, and understand each other in a special way. They tell each other everything. In intimacy and cooperation with Mary, we receive a double portion of Christ’s spirit, because she magnifies the Lord, and together with her, we treasure His words and His life continually in our hearts, in union with her.<\/p>\n

\u00a0A sister can share our lives, walk beside us, trust in us, and we in her. <\/span><\/p>\n

Mary doesn’t have to knock; she practically lives at our house. When she comes over, she might even fold some of our laundry with us.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We are always welcome at Mary’s house, too. We are allowed to pick the roses in her garden. She doesn’t mind.<\/p>\n

\"Gloire<\/a>

photo by Fr. Gregory Ross, O.C.D.<\/p><\/div>\n

Living with her as a sister keeps us in touch with the precious, pure humanity of Mary. It keeps her close by our side, walking with us in a familiar, loving way.<\/p>\n

We are less likely to only look up to her, but more likely to unconsciously reflect her- maybe around the eyes, yes, certainly in our ways, surely in the joyful depth of our inner lives in Christ.<\/p>\n

As we walk, I notice more and more that there are many others around us. I recognize that it is the craggy path of the ascent of Mt. Carmel we travel with our many brothers and sisters, following Jesus with Mary, our sister, in our midst. She is smiling, enjoying the company, glad we are following her Son all together.<\/em><\/p>\n

As the feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel approaches, the family of Carmel invites you to love Mary like a sister.<\/p>\n

\n

If you’ll be her brother
\nShe’ll kiss you like a sister
\nShe’ll even be your mother for now…<\/p>\n

I will be her brother
\nKiss her like a sister
\nCome and be my mother forever.<\/p>\n

~ Sixpence None the Richer from their song, \u00a0“Sister Mother”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"Ruins<\/a>

Ruins of the chapel of the original Carmelites on Mt. Carmel. “St. Mary’s”<\/p><\/div>\n

* The feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel is July 16<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We are holding hands as we walk together along a rocky path on a hot July evening. We are talking about this and that. She asks me questions, listens thoughtfully as I talk about my life. She has a lot going on too, these days, and she unburdens her heart to me about her work,… [Read More]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":155,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[90],"tags":[1807,51,50,2137,101,74,849,859],"class_list":["post-127643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-faith-blog","tag-carmelite","tag-catholicism","tag-faith","tag-feast-of-mary","tag-mary","tag-prayer","tag-scapular","tag-spirituality","entry","has-post-thumbnail"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":155538,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/10\/friendship-with-mary-teresian-prayer-and-the-rosary\/","url_meta":{"origin":127643,"position":0},"title":"Friendship with Mary: Teresian Prayer and the Rosary","author":"Shawn Rain Chapman","date":"October 6, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 The rosary has been a part of my spiritual life since I learned it from my first husband, Blaze, during our courtship, years before I was ever Catholic (or Christian at all.) It became a natural part of my daily life over the years and has grown and changed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"rosary made by Shawna Marcontel","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/IMG_1177-e1444105559518-127x190.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":484820,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2017\/10\/carmelized-fatima-clips\/","url_meta":{"origin":127643,"position":1},"title":"Carmelized Fatima Clips","author":"Shawn Rain Chapman","date":"October 10, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"During the final apparition of Fatima Mary appeared briefly in the brown habit of Carmel, or as \"Our Lady of Mt. Carmel,\" a silent witness to Carmelite spirituality and the order's special and unique relationship with her. Carmel is a Marian order. Our devotion to Mary is intimate and deep.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/il_340x270.296458468.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":993175,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2018\/07\/crowd-funding-hail-marys\/","url_meta":{"origin":127643,"position":2},"title":"Crowd Funding Hail Marys","author":"Shawn Rain Chapman","date":"July 8, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"After a week of losing sleep over the suffering of little children taken from their parents at the border, many days of speaking out and also of sending what money I could to organizations trying to help these separated families, I texted to one of my sisters in Carmel, still\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/36470683_2019920664715679_3544778840310022144_n-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":120372,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/06\/easy-green-reflection-ordinary-time\/","url_meta":{"origin":127643,"position":3},"title":"Easy Green: A Reflection on Ordinary Time","author":"Shawn Rain Chapman","date":"June 16, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"My daughter, Maire, got in trouble at her Catholic middle school for wearing green nail polish, which was against the rules. (Only clear or light pink nail polish allowed, if I remember right.) When asked about her indiscretion, she said, \u201cIt\u2019s for Ordinary Time!\u201d I laughed hearing about that. At\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","block_context":{"text":"Faith","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/faith-blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"circular-liturgical-calendar","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/circular-liturgical-calendar.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":318602,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2016\/11\/keeping-the-inner-peace-on-election-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":127643,"position":4},"title":"Keeping the (inner) peace on election day","author":"Shawn Rain Chapman","date":"November 8, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I messaged a friend the other day,\u00a0\"How ARE we going to keep calm on election day?\"\u00a0She wrote back: \"I'm going to be drinking!\u00a0You don't drink,\u00a0so you shall have to pray, I suppose. :P\" I do plan to pray a lot, in whatever way I can, but most of all, I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"peace","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/13640906_1199925920058556_7426082387165639649_o-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":131065,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/07\/the-garment-of-grace\/","url_meta":{"origin":127643,"position":5},"title":"The Garment of Grace","author":"Adam Shaivitz","date":"July 22, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"On the Brown Scapular around my neck it reads, \"Whosoever dies wearing this Scapular shall not suffer eternal fire.\" What a promise Our Lady of Mount Carmel made to St. Simon Stock in 1251! \u00a0 On July 16, 2015, the Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, more than 50\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","block_context":{"text":"Faith","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/faith-blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/-rudvz-h4hAY\/VauhEwLC_mI\/AAAAAAAACPs\/PL85FZCMt5U\/s500\/Photo%25252020150719080712117.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/155"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127643"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127643\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}