Visiting OCDS Communities

[JimR-OCDS]

Augustine,

            praise God, and congratulations!

Your Brother in Carmel
Jim

 

[Joysong]

That is wonderful news, Augustine! Congratulations and may Mary, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, with her Son Jesus, bless you always.

What name did you take?

Carole

 

[FCEGM]

Thank you for the update, Augustine. Wonderful news! God be praised!

 

[Augustine]

What name did you take?

It was clothing to the novitiate, not promises into candidacy. Or am I missing something?

 

[Augustine]

Yikes, I should’ve reviewed it before posting!

Friends,

It’s with great joy that I inform you that I’ve been clothed this last Saturday at mass in the parish where we meet monthly.

I’m humbled by receiving such a grace and I look forward to becoming a -]worthy/-] good and faithful servant of the Lord and of His Church.

Thank y’all who’ve supported me with wise words and pious prayers.

May the crucified Jesus shine His light on you.

It’s been a year in formation after visiting for about 6 months. In this period I got to know the community better, including the good, the bad and the ugly (just a little of the last two). I went through highs and lows, I looked inside and outside, but at the end of the day, I couldn’t get away from Mt. Carmel. I was always beckoned back to it, as though led by a foghorn through the fog.

I’ve also delved deeper in the charism of Carmel thanks to a proficient instructor and to a zealous formation director, realizing that it’s to be lived in first person instead of vicariously through books. Rather, now when I read the Carmelite doctors, it’s like listening to my parents and to my sister, like spending time with the family.

I’m jubilant at it all, glad to have sought the Lord in Carmel and now am confident in following His voice into it.

I’m really thankful to David, Carole and Teresa for your words of encouragement and support, in public and in private correspondence.

 

[Joysong]

Augustiine:

Quote:
Originally Posted by Joysong
What name did you take?

It was clothing to the novitiate, not promises into candidacy. Or am I missing something?

I’m just a litte surprised, Augustine. Usually at clothing one is permitted to take a name in religion. Due to Dave’s devotion to Brother Lawrence and the Eucharist, He is called, “Lawrence of the Blessed Sacrament.” My name is “Mary Carole of the Blessed Sacrament.”

Was this an oversight on the part of your community to instruct you, or did you not realize this privilege was yours to make on your clothing date?

 

[Augustine]

Was this an oversight on the part of your community to instruct you, or did you not realize this privilege was yours to make on your clothing date?

I don’t believe that it was an oversight, as at the same mass others made their first promises and only then took a name in religion. As a matter of fact, I think that it makes more sense to take a name then. As a novice, there’s a lot to discern.

Yet, I’m surprised to see that it’s not uniform across all communities or provinces…

BTW, it’s funny that you and Dave have the same “family name” in religion.

 

[JimR-OCDS]

I don’t believe that it was an oversight, as at the same mass others made their first promises and only then took a name in religion. As a matter of fact, I think that it makes more sense to take a name then. As a novice, there’s a lot to discern.

Yet, I’m surprised to see that it’s not uniform across all communities or provinces…

BTW, it’s funny that you and Dave have the same “family name” in religion.

Taking a name is optional, and neither my wife nor myself did.

Jim