Dear Members of the Mother Angeline Society,
Greetings to you in this mid-year issue of the Mother Angeline Society Bulletin. Between the 250th Anniversary of our beloved United States and the long-anticipated World Cup finals, it has not been a humdrum summer. As members of the Mother Angeline Society, you and your intentions have been remembered in a nine-day Novena of Masses in honor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel as part of the benefits of your membership. A recent priest jubilarian wrote to my community thanking us for a prayer enrollment on the occasion of his 25th Anniversary and stated, “Of all the gifts that I have received, none equals being remembered each day in the prayers and Masses of your Carmelite community. Daily, I know, I will receive the grace and strength of God to sustain me in my priestly ministry and life.”
I had occasion recently to spend quite a bit of time in a Carmelite Sisters Nursing and Rehabilitation facility, visiting several times a week. Being quite familiar with the Sisters and their charism, I found myself reflecting on what I saw and felt while I was there. As we had the phase of “WWJD” – what would Jesus do, I invented my own version of, “WWMAS” – what would Mother Angeline say as she watched her Carmelite daughters in their ministry in the 97th year of the foundation of the Congregation. For sure, she would experience the tremendous changes in how health care for the elderly and infirm is conducted today. But could she recognize her core values? I think Mother Angeline Teresa would answer “Yes”. I marveled at the ability of the Sisters to know absolutely everybody by name, and something of their background. What smiles and positive feelings were generated by the Sisters’ compassionate presence, kind words, little jokes and a soothing hand in a lonely or difficult moment. Mother wished the Sisters to treat each resident with the respect, care and love that would give to Our Lord, and I saw that over and over again. The atmosphere of Christ-like hospitality pervaded the whole facility. With all the diminishment the aged might experience in their bodies and minds, they certainly were not diminished in the care and personal encounters they had with the Sisters. I watched too, as the Sisters also showed respectful care for the staff, who carry much of the daily burden in the Home, while also balancing their own lives, and their work.
I saw the presence of the scapular, and moments of prayer. Many times, Mother Angeline wrote about the Eucharist, and the tabernacle as the center of a Carmelite Home. What time and effort were dedicated in that facility, led by the Sisters and their pastoral care coworkers, to make the daily Mass special, to bring people down for the Mass and back to their rooms, and to make different celebrations extra prayerful and uplifting so that Christ the Good Shepherd could minister to His elderly brothers and sisters. There was such dedication to visiting the residents and bringing them Holy Communion and a word of solace. I believe Mother Angeline would be happy to see the atmosphere of compassion, and the many acts of kindness displayed by the Sisters and all the staff, even with the real, manifold challenges of staffing and management that are part of our modern health care system. One could tell that above all in that place, the value of life and the dignity of each person were respected and demonstrated. May the work of Mother Angeline and her vision of care flourish for many years to come.
Thank you for your ongoing financial and prayerful support of the Cause for the Beatification and Canonization of Venerable Mary Angeline Teresa, O.Carm. Thank you for helping us to make Mother Angeline better known. You are always remembered in our prayers, and we know that Mary, the Mother of Carmel, will guide and protect you each day.