Letter of the Prior General on the Solemnity of Our Lady of Mount Carmel 2018

Message from Fernando Millán Romeral, O.Carm., Prior General

Letter to the Carmelite Family for the Celebration of the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel – July 16, 2018

Fr. Fernando Millán Romeral, O. Carm., Prior General of the Carmelites

Fr. Fernando Millán Romeral, Prior GeneralDear brothers and sisters of the Carmelite Family:

The solemnity of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is approaching and — like every year — I would like to send you my most cordial fraternal greetings on our patronal feast, in which we remember Mary under the beloved title of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. We commemorate Our Mother and Sister, the Domina loci (mistress of the place) that is at the center of our lives and that inspires and encourages us to live our Carmelite charism at the service of the Gospel, of the people of God and of all humanity.

During this time, the Church is preparing with a series of different initiatives for the XV Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which will deal with the theme “the youth, faith and vocational discernment,” to be held in Rome in October of this year. The intention is that, through various methods, the voice of young people may reach the Synod, so that it is not just an assembly “over” them, but also one in which their opinions, their impressions, their doubts and their illusions can be heard in the synodal assembly.

Likewise, in January 2019 World Youth Day (WYD) will take place in Panama, which — as on other occasions — will gather thousands of young people from different continents in a festive, prayerful and celebratory atmosphere. Our Order will be present at this ecclesial event, as it has been doing since 2008 in Sydney (Madrid 2011, Rio de Janeiro 2013 and Krakow 2016), through a “Carmelite day” that we will celebrate in collaboration with our Discalced Carmelite brothers. Logically (as has happened in each WYD) the majority of those present will be young people from the closest countries and, therefore, our brothers from El Salvador, together with the Province of Central America of the Discalced Carmelites, are those who are preparing this meeting where — God willing — I hope to accompany the young Carmelites as I have been doing in the previous World Youth Days.

Undoubtedly, both events remind us of the importance of young people for the present and the future of the Church. For this reason, I would like to ask you, first of all, to bear in mind this intention in the novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, in your celebrations and in your preaching that will take place during these days of preparation for the feast. [article continues...]


Photo of Fernando Millán Romeral, O.Carm: By Jtthoc - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0 Wikimedia

ARTICLE SOURCE: Carmelites website