And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us." (John 1:14) "For God so loved the world..." (John 3:16a) These words of Scripture refer to a powerful gift and invitation to us, incomprehensible in its love and mercy; the Lord is offering us forgiveness of our sins – no matter how great - and is inviting us into a very deep and intimate relationship with Him, through His divine Son, Jesus. Those in the Church who are called to Carmel respond to this love and mercy in a special way. To me Carmel is Christ, as He can be known, loved, and served in the present by God's grace working through prayer - prayer being understood simply as loving God.

Carmelites seek to know, love, and serve Christ walking "among us," particularly through scripture, in the Eucharistic community of Carmelites, and in the faces of those to whom the Spirit of God leads them to serve. Essential in the life of a Carmelite is doing this through the loving and pure heart of Mary, relying at every moment on her intercession as at the wedding feast of Cana (John 2:1-11), and through the zealous spirit of Elijah, who thirsted in the present as in a desert to stand in the presence of God (1 Kings 17:1, 19:9-14).

In giving the whole human race His beloved Son as "one of us" (Gaudium et Spes 22), the Lord is inviting every human person to intimacy with Him: "Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one, and come! For see, the winter is past, the rains are over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of pruning the vines has come, and the song of the dove is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth its figs, and the vines, in bloom, give forth fragrance. Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one, and come! O my dove in the clefs of the rock, in the secret recesses of the cliff, let me see you, let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet, and you are lovely." (Song of Songs 2:10b-14) What will your response be to this divine invitation of incomprehensible love and mercy?

John Howell, O.Carm.

Significa una larga jornada de formación, sacrificio y esfuerzo para formar una familia de frailes de muchas partes del mundo, donde podemos encontrar las necesidades esenciales para sobrevivir como una familia de hermanos religiosos, comprometidos al servicio de las personas. Somos una Orden multicultural, donde aprendemos de los demás frailes Carmelitas, aceptamos a otros, y los hacemos parte de nuestra familia Carmelita. Es donde podemos encontrar la paz y la fraternidad, y un estilo de vida y compromiso con Dios y con las personas que servimos, en el trabajo, el estudio, la espiritualidad y la pastoral. Sobre todo buscamos el bien en común, teniendo en cuenta los ideales, de Santa Teresa de Ávila, San Juan de la Cruz y Santa Teresita del Niño Jesús, y dedicándonos al servicio a los demás. También tomamos en cuenta la Regla de San Alberto como modelo en nuestra vida de formación y para cumplir con nuestros deberes, y expresar el amor a María como modelo de evangelización.

Para mi estos cuatro Carmelitas tienen mucho impacto en mi vida. Dentro de mi formación he aprendido de ellos, cada vez me siento más orgulloso de formar parte de esta familia, y doy gracias a Dios por dejarme formar parte de la Orden Carmelita.

Respeto a los demás es parte fundamental del Carmelo. Es un lugar donde encontré el privilegio de hacer mis propias decisiones de lo que yo quiero hacer, y ser capaz de tener el conocimiento de la espiritualidad Carmelita y prepararme lo mejor posible para tener una madurez intelectual por medio del conocimiento con las oportunidades que me da la Orden Carmelita del Purísimo Corazón de María.

Mi formación no ha sido fácil. He tenido que luchar con varios obstáculos en mi formación, por ejemplo el idioma, mi personalidad, y otros obstáculos en mi vida personal, pero he aprendido a sobre salir y seguir adelante con la ayuda de mis hermanos Carmelitas que me conocen, especialmente con mis formadores. Durante este tiempo en la Orden Carmelita, he aprendido a seguir adelante gracias a la ayuda de mis hermanos Carmelitas.

Fabio Rojas, O.Carm.

The icon belongs to the Carmelites' basilica church in Naples, Italy. It bears the title "La Bruna," or "the dark one". It derives its title from the dark color of the flesh tones applied to Mary. This touching image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is frequently imitated in other depictions of Mary, Queen Beauty of Carmel around the world.

The style of the icon captures a certain "tenderness," in which the Mother's head lies in fond proximity to that of her Child. The Greeks nicknamed this type "the sweet kiss" icon.

The Carmelite exemplar was painted in the first half of the thirteenth century, on wood, measuring 1 by .80 meters (39 in. x 31 in.), and in accordance with Byzantine criteria for iconography.

Tradition says it came from Mount Carmel, the Carmelites' birthplace. Recently historians have claimed that Marian images of the "tenderness" style are the ones venerated from the earliest stages of the order's existence.

I was born in Salem, MA, to Mr. Richard Howell and Mrs. Clara Scotti Howell. I have four older brothers, Thomas, Richard, Jeffery, and Todd, oldest to youngest respectively. I was brought up Methodist, but I converted to Catholicism in 1999, through the intercession of Our Blessed Mother, Mary. In 2001 I met Fr. Herbert Jones, O.Carm., at St. Therese Carmelite Chapel in the Northshore Mall, Peabody, MA. He guided me from then until I entered formation with the Carmelties in 2007, and continues to play a very influential role in my life. The only organized sport I played growing up was baseball (Go Red Sox!). However, I enjoyed and continue to enjoy all types of sports. Ever since entering formation I have grown in my understanding and appreciation of the Carmelite charism, which is contemplation, community, and service; though each aspect of the charism is distinct, they form one integral whole. With God's grace I'm looking foward to continuing my journey with the Carmelites up Mt. Carmel, which is Christ our Lord!

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