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If you are a young woman interested in information about a vocation as a Carmelite Nun, please contact us!
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"To train means to give the ability to respond freely and maturely to a vocation for a mission within the Church and to be assigned an instrument of God's plan, of the good news of salvation of all peoples." Fr. Camilo Macisse OCD |
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From the writings of St. Teresa: "...incapable of doing all I should like in the Lord's service, and as my whole yearning was, and still is, that, as He has so many enemies and so few friends, these last should be trusty ones, I determined to do the little that was in me -- namely, to follow the evangelical counsels as perfectly as I could, and to see that these few nuns who are here should do the same, confiding in the great goodness of God, Who never fails to help those who resolve to forsake everything for His sake." ... "to give the Lord some pleasure, all of us, by busying ourselves in prayer for those who are defenders of the Church, and for the preachers and learned men who defend her, should do everything we could to aid this Lord of mine Who is so much oppressed by those to whom He has shown so much good ..." (The Way of Perfection Ch1:2) |
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| First of all, I'd have to say that it was God's call in the depths of my heart that drew me to Carmel, even though I didn't hear it too distinctly or clearly at first. It was only after I started to think of what I wanted to do with my life that I thought about the contemplative life. Actually there were many things that I wanted to do, but for some reason I kept coming back to the thought of being a Carmelite Nun. Thomas Merton introduced me to the monastic lifestyle when I read The Seven Story Mountain, and in that same book I learned who St. John of the Cross was. An interest in St. John grew and I wanted to learn more about him and his spirituality. It was really because of him that I wanted to enter Carmel. I learned about our Holy Mother, St. Teresa of Jesus, after entering the convent. . Sister Corinne Uher, O.C.D. |
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I grew up in VietNam, and came to the United States when I was 15. My family and I lived in Oklahoma. Sisters always fascinated me, my Mother said that ever since I was little, I would stare at the Sisters. Once she asked me if I wanted to be one. I said "NO!" I wanted to get married and have many children. I always liked going to Mass and the devotions to Mary, especially the rosary, but I really did not think I would like to be a Nun. In 1997, my brother took me to meet the Carmelite Nuns here in San Antonio. After visiting with them for a weekend, I began to see the world around me in a different way than before I had visited them. When I returned home to Oklahoma, I felt like somehow I no longer belonged there, my place was somewhere else, my heart was somewhere else. I asked God to let me know what I needed to do, where did I belong. I asked Him if perhaps He was calling me to enter Carmel. If this was so, then He must show me a special sign. Time passed, and soon He gave me the sign only He and I knew I was waiting for. I felt deep in my heart that this was where I would find my place. I came here to pray with my whole life, I came to be a part of a family that loves and cares about the whole world, and helps it through prayer. . Sister Maria Teresa Phan, O.C.D. |
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| After 35 years of living my religious consecration of the evangelical counsels, in trying to follow the call of our Lord, I fully realize that it was our Lord who gave me the grace and strength to answer and follow His call in order to give witness to Him. It is the Lord who has given me the grace to persevere in a life of prayer for the Church, and for the salvation of souls. Sr. Aurora Cortez, O.C.D. |
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Why Carmel? In my heart I felt that I wanted to do something to ease the loneliness and emptiness so many people seem to suffer. I found that only in Christ is there a love that can reach deep enough and stay long enough to bring peace to the world's suffering.
Carmel is a place where friendship with Christ is the center of our life. Carmel strives to live a LIFE of prayer, which means a constant, determined life of loving and being loved. As a part of the Body of Christ, I felt I could not do more to serve humanity's needs than by living such a life of love and bringing the world with me as I journey. |
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| Excerpt from "Prayer of a Soul Taken with Love " by St. John of the Cross: "Mine are the nations, the just are mine, and mine the sinners. The angels are mine, and the Mother of God, and all things are mine; and God himself is mine and for me, because Christ is mine and all for me. What do you ask, then, and seek, my soul? Yours is all of this, and all is for you. Do not engage yourself in something less or pay heed to the crumbs that fall from your Father's table. Go forth and exult in your Glory! Hide yourself in it and rejoice, and you will obtain the supplications of your heart.." |
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