Apostolate of the Little Flower Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Carmel's Madonna The Brown Scapular Sign of Carmel’s great ideal Our Lady The Contemplative Disciple St. Thérèse & St. Benedict The Little Way & Little Rule 90th Anniversary Blessing of the Cornerstone SUMMER 2019 | VOL. 87 NO. 2 PUBLISHER Fr. Luis Belmonte -Luna, OCD EDITOR Anna Migeon DESIGNER IN THIS ISSUE... Cheyenne Cisneros ADMINISTRATOR Susana Cantu PHOTOGRAPHY Carlos Ramirez 4 St. Simon Stock receives the ON THE COVER Apostolate of the Little Flower Brown Scapular (ISSN 1049-9520) is published quarterly by the Discalced Carmel- ites of the Province of St. Thérèse. Business, Editorial Accounting 5 Liturgy and Significance of and Circulation Offices: CARMELITE Discalced Carmelites of the the Solemnity of Our Lady Province of St. Thérèse SPIRITUALITY 824 Kentucky Ave of Mt. Carmel San Antonio, Texas, 78201 By Fr. Sam Anthony Morello, OCD Apostolate of the Little Flower is a non-profit publication whose pur- pose is to spread devotion to St. 8 St. Benedict and St. Thérèse Thérèse, it is a ministry of the Dis- for Today calced Carmelite Friars. By Fr. Dwight Longenecker Call (210) 735-9126 to subscribe. Postmaster: Send address changes to 10 Mysteries of the Carmelite P.O. Box 5280 Shield San Antonio, Texas 78201 By Theresa Doyle-Nelson All writers, consultants, and staff contribute to this magazine on a volunteer basis and receive no remuneration for their services. Free -lance articles are accepted in 12 Opening Mass of the 90th accord with this genre of publica- ILLUMINATING tion. Unsigned articles are attribut- Anniversary of the Basilica’s able to the editor. THE BASILICA Cornerstone Blessing All photographs of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, OCD, are used with the permission of the Office Central, Lisieux, France. PROVINCE OF 14 Report from the Discalced Carmelite Friars Province “I will spend my Heaven ST. THÉRÈSE Annual Assembly doing good upon earth.” —St. Thérèse Please consider the Discalced Car- 14 Fr. Ralph Reyes, OCD, melite Fathers of San Antonio when Celebrates 50 years as a making out your will. Discalced Carmelite Priest TAX ID #: 74-1381325 15 How Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Your legacy will live on in our Called Me on Behalf of ministries for generations. Her Son By Maria Virginia Fraguio, OCDS 2 2 Dear readers, We Carmelites dedicate July to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. With this issue, we invite you to celebrate with us our Carmelite history and to share our joy in honoring Our Blessed Mother. The first Carmelites took their name in the 12th century from Mt. Carmel, found in modern-day Haifa, Israel. Inspired by the prophet Elijah, they called themselves “Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mt. Carmel.” In the centuries since our founding, we have worked to carry on and share with the world their deep devotion to the Virgin of Carmel. The Blessed Virgin is not only the inspiration for the Carmelite Order, but also for all of us today, she is the model of virtues to reach the mount of perfection that is Jesus Christ. She is our example of discipleship, showing us how to live our relationship with her beloved Son. Like John at the foot of the Cross, let us embrace in faith the gift of Our Lady as our spiritual Mother. In this issue, you can learn more about the legacy of the Carmelites and the meaning of the Carmelite shield. We are also excited to share with you the latest news of our Province of St. Thérèse and the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Little Flower. May the Lord and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel bless you. Your support and prayers are always appreciated. Fraternally, Rev. Fr. Luis Gerardo Belmonte-Luna, OCD Pastor & Rector 3 ON THE COVER St. Simon Stock receives the Brown Scapular This window in the Basilica depicts an instance of Our ronage and protection with all Lady’s intercession on behalf of the Carmelite Order at those who are devoted to her a critical moment in its history. and who share a spiritual af- finity with the Order. We During the Crusades in the 13th century, Simon Stock, extend both our habit—the an Englishman, went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. scapular—and affiliation to There he joined a group of hermits on Mt. Carmel, fol- all. lowers of Elijah. When Muslims invaded the Holy Land, Simon fled back to England, taking the group In the Province of St. Thérèse, around 900 Discalced with him. Carmelite Secular Order (OCDS) members in 37 com- munities now share the Carmelite vocation. The Confra- The group settled there and grew, evolving from hermits ternity of the Brown Scapular is another means to par- to mendicant Carmelites who lived in several communi- ticipate in the Carmelite charism. This group formed at ties. In 1254, Simon was elected Superior General of the the Basilica in the 1930s and is open to all. Five of its Order as it wrestled with numerous challenges from members have been in the group since the 1970s, in- within and without. cluding Eloise Moran. In turmoil, Simon beseeched the Virgin Mary for a sign “The scapular is like an apron, a work habit,” Mrs. Mo- of her favor to strengthen the Order. According to tradi- ran explained. In its early days, the group used to collect tion, on July 16, 1251, he had a vision of Our Lady, who clothes, wash and mend them and give them to the poor, gave him the Brown Scapular and promised final perse- she noted. Now they hold fundraisers to support the par- verance in grace to those who remained faithful to Car- ish and meet every month for spiritual talks presented mel until death. by members or guest speakers on various topics. What is the Brown Scapular? “I belong to the parish in a more fulfilling way,” Mrs. The “scapular,” originally the word for a monk’s work Moran said. “We can see concretely the results of our apron, eventually became a symbol of a way of life and efforts to promote and continue the Carmelite Order. of Marian devotion, a sign of spiritual affiliation with We help it keep going.” the Carmelites. The Scapular today is a sacramental ap- proved since its origins by the Church. For those interested in associating with the Discalced Carmelites, any priest can confer the Brown Scapular on “The Scapular is a small sign of the great ideal of Car- an individual. Perhaps Our Lady is calling you to start a mel: intimacy with God and friendship among the disci- Confraternity of the Brown Scapular in your parish. ples,” states Fr. Sam Anthony Morello, OCD, one of our friars, in The Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel: “Devotion to Our Lady cannot be limited to prayers and Catechesis and Ritual. tributes in her honor on certain occasions, but must be- come a ‘habit,’ that is, a permanent orientation of one’s The Scapular “echoes the promise of Divine Revelation: own Christian conduct, woven of prayer and interior ‘The one who holds out to the end is the one who will life,” explained St. John Paul II, who wore the Brown see salvation’ (Matt. 24:13), and ‘Remain faithful unto Scapular himself. death and I will give you the crown of life’ (Rev. 2:10). The Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel is a This window is part of the largest window in the Basili- reminder to its wearers of the saving grace that Christ ca, which depicts several traditions of Our Lady of Mt. gained upon the cross for all: ‘All you who have been Carmel. The window was installed in memory of Fr. baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves in Joseph Cantavello, OCD, who was the Provincial Supe- him’ (Gal. 3:27).” rior of the Province of St. Thérèse. He died in a car crash in 1946 in the Texas Panhandle along with the How to take on the Scapular General of the Discalced Carmelite order and his secre- The Carmelite Order is eager to share Our Lady’s pat- tary, who were visiting from Rome. 4 4 CARMELITE SPIRITUALITY A Meditative Study of Liturgy and Significance of the Solemnity of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel By Fr. Sam Anthony Morello, OCD sea. Again, and again, his servant checks for any sign whatsoever from the Mediterranean Sea of any change July 16 honors the Virgin Mary as the Patroness of the in the weather. Finally, as if by ritual count of a com- Carmelite family. The Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel pleted watch of seven views of the scene, the youth re- demonstrates the relationship cultivated with the ports to Elijah, “There is a cloud as small as a man’s Blessed Virgin over the eight centuries of Carmelite hand rising from the sea,” or as the Latin Vulgate history. We Carmelites are happy to be known in the translates from the Greek Old Testament, the size of a Western Church as the first Order to be named after the man’s foot or heel. Virgin Mary. The Marian tradition, following St. Jerome’s Latin Vul- Our Lady of Mt. Carmel is the unique title gate translation of the text, saw that foot as a reference of Carmel's Madonna. to the book of Genesis, written in Hebrew. The Latin text, like the original Hebrew, renders God’s curse on Since the late 13th century, the Order of Carmelites has Satan as “the offspring of the woman” who celebrated a major Marian Feast as the special Solemni- would “crush the head of the Serpent.” The Virgin ty of the Order.