Carmelite Events

Praised be Jesus Christ!  Now and forever!

 These were the words which greeted the congregation assembled at the Chapel of St. Teresa’s Motherhouse in Germantown, NY on June 4, 2011,  as eight Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm celebrated their 50, 60 and 75 years of Religious consecration to God.  The Congregation was blessed and privileged to have Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York as its Principal Celebrant. A true shepherd of his flock, exuding joy and love for the Sisters, Archbishop Dolan summarized the theme of the day in two words:  love and fidelity.  “Deep waters cannot quench love,” were the words of the Psalmist on the First Reading.  Saint Paul testifies to the supremacy of Christ from the second reading when he said, “I consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”  The Gospel spoke of the great commandment of love when Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God and your neighbor as yourself!”  These readings, according to the Archbishop, give credence to the life of religious consecration our Carmelite Sisters lived for 50, 60 and 75 years, and the life of love and fidelity they and other religious men and women continue to live every day.   The Archbishop thanked the Carmelite Sisters for their loving service of the aged and infirm and emphatically affirms the importance of the Congregation’s charism in the life of the Universal Church and in the Church of New York, in particular.

The Concelebrants were Friars of the Carmelite Order (Saint Elias Province, NY): Very Rev. Mario Esposito, O.Carm, Very Rev. Michael Kissane, O.Carm, and Rev. John Horan, O.Carm.  Other invited priests were:  Rev. Joseph Finch, Rev. Msgr. Drake Shafer, Rev. Msgr. Charles P. Coen, Rev. Patrick Buckley, Rev. Xavier Santiago, Rev. William Gorman and Rev. James Cruz, as Master of Ceremonies.

Our 75^th Jubilarians:  Sr. Benigna Consolata, O.Carm and Sr. Mary Gabriel, O.Carm

Our 60^th Jubilarian:  Sr. Mary Robert of the Infant Jesus, O.Carm

Our 50^th Jubilarians:  Sr. M. Titus Joseph, O.Carm, Sr. M. Jacqueline Joseph, O.Carm, Sr. M. Virginia Joseph, O.Carm, Sr. Barbara Francis Higgins, O,Carm, and  Sr. M. Lois Joseph, O.Carm.

 The celebration was not without some emotion and tears.  As everyone present listened, Sr. Mary Gabriel, who is one of the early members of the Congregation, mustered the best of her efforts to pronounce the vows which she uttered to Jesus more than 75 years ago.  The Congregation broke into laughter when the Archbishop, addressing Sr. Mary Robert’s long pause to compose herself, said “You’re not having second thoughts now, are you?”  It was truly a remarkable and heartwarming experience for all present.  Our Jubilarians, among many others, are truly the Congregation’s wealth and treasure!  We love and we thank you!

 The celebration continued in Carmel Hall for a special luncheon in “Avila style” followed by line dancing for all ages!

Socials

        

        

       

        

Congregational Choir

    

Archbishop Timothy Dolan Arrives For Jubilee

         

     

Jubilee Mass

     

     

     

       

       

     

 Gathering After Mass with Archbishop Dolan, Clergy & Jubilarians

      

       

     

Jubilee luncheon at Carmel Hall

      

     

     

     

  

Passion Sunday, commonly known as Palm Sunday, marks the entry of Jesus into the holy city Jerusalem.  It also ushers in the holiest of days in the liturgical calendar as the Universal Church celebrates the Passion and Death of our Lord Jesus Christ on Holy Thursday and Good Friday, and celebrate with great joy Jesus' Resurrection at the Easter Vigil of Holy Saturday.  The Carmelite Sisters join you in prayer as we accompany Jesus in these three days of suffering which wrought our salvation.                   

The following article on Sr. Patrick Michael, O.Carm, was published in The Bronx Times Reporter Complimentary edition, February 24, 2011, under “25 Bronx Influential Women 2011.”

 SISTER PATRICK MICHAEL

“Every team needs a good leader”

By Patrick Rocchio

 

 A great deal of teamwork went into building the new St. Patrick’s Home for the Aged some years back.  Every team needs a good captain, and for that effort and many others at the Home, Sister Patrick Michael is the go to person. 

Sister Patrick Michael, a Carmelite Sister for the Aged and Infirm, put together the group that rebuilt the elder care facility off Moshulu Parkway on Van Cortlandt Park South in the 1980’s, after taking over as administrator.  The opening of the home’s modern facilities in 1989, which included a blessing by John Cardinal O’Connor a Dixieland band welcoming 220 residents, was a crowning achievement in Sister Patrick Michael’s life of service to God by serving the aged.  That service dates back to even before she joined the Catholic religious order for women in 1957.  Work on rebuilding the home got off the ground when she arrived at St. Patrick’s Home for the Aged in 1984.  She credits that teamwork with members of her Order, elected officials, and the Department of Health, as much as she does her own efforts, with the successful recreation of the facility that serves the aging and patients undergoing short-term rehabilitative care.  St. Patrick’s Home is in its 80^th year of service to the community.

 “I like decisions to be made from teamwork so everyone understands the situation and comes to a conclusion,” Sr. Patrick Michael said.  “I don’t like to work alone.”  That philosophy has served her well in ever changing and evolving landscape in elder care.  Sr. Patrick Michael sees this work as an everyday part of her service to God by fulfilling her Order’s mission to serve the elderly and infirm.  It is not just her coworkers and fellow Sisters that have helped her to run the massive facility for over 25 years, but her devotion to God.  “For 54 years I have been blessed in my religious vocation, have never looked back, and enjoy and love my religious life,” Sr. Patrick Michael said.  Sr. Patrick Michael credits blessings from God with allowing the facility to make a seamless transition when the new building opened, and to continue to operate successfully and grow in the years since.  Today, it serves 40 more residents than it did when Sister took over.

 Patrick Michael is a daughter of the Bronx.  She was originally baptized as Anna Marie Kane at St. Anselm’s Parish in 1937.  Some of her earliest and fondest memories of growing up were her father taking her and her brother Michael to St. Mary’s park on his day off, and of her mother making the trip out to Orchard Beach on the bus with her two children in summer months.  As a teenager, she made care packages for cancer patients at St. Simon Stock Parish on Valentine Avenue and East 182^nd Street.  The packages went to many different hospitals, places that included The House of Calvary, which later became Calvary Hospital.  After that experience, and a summer job working with Catholic nuns as a camp consoler, she felt that God was calling her to be of service.  She graduated at St. Vincent Ferrer School and Thorpe Secretarial School School, and took a job working at Duvernoy Bakery at Madison Avenue and East 65^th Street in Manhattan.  There she met two other young women, Peggy Nice and Catherine Raymond, now Sister Joseph Catherine of the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm.  It was meeting those two young ladies that would alter her destiny.  “They were the instruments that God placed in my life, as they asked me to volunteer at Mt. Carmel Home, an elderly residence on the west side of Manhattan,” Sr. Patrick Michael remembered.  “Peggy and Catherine were already volunteering, and through their constant encouragement to volunteer, I went with them to Mount Carmel Home and loved it.”

 She presented herself to the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm, founded by religious leader Mother M. Angeline Teresa McCrory, a nun who was superior of a Little Sister of the Poor convent in the Bronx when she founded the Order in 1929.  McCrory believed that old age strikes all people and that more should be done to care for people in the autumn of their years.  Sister Patrick Michael has worked in healthcare since completing her religious formation in 1963.  That year she began training as a licensed practical nurse at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Yonkers, NY while residing at St. Patrick’s Home.  In a bitter-sweet move, she left the Bronx in 1966 for Ferncliff Nursing Center in Rhinebeck, NY and after that, many other positions.  “In those days, they transferred us from home to home,” Patrick Michael recalled.  In 1972, after obtaining an administrator’s license from Babson College, she became an assistant administrator at homes in Brooklyn, upstate New York, and Massachusetts, where she learned the nuts and bolts of what makes a place like St. Patrick’s Home for the Aged run.

 Today, she directs and coordinates all services and departments at the Home.  She delights in the fact that her work has benefited the lives of the aged, created jobs and opportunities for people from the Bronx that enrich their lives, and continued on her own spiritual path toward growing closer to God while promoting justice for all.

 “By being born and working in the Bronx, there is a special place in my heart at St. Patrick’s Home with the beloved residents,” Sr. Patrick Michael stated.  She is planning events at the Home in the upcoming year as it celebrates its 80^th anniversary, serving the people of the borough since 1931.

The Carmelite Sisters congratulate Sr. Mary Vianney Dinh who has become a United States citizen as of April 7, 2011!  Sr. Mary Vianney was born in Vietnam.  Sister immigrated to Canada along with her family.  She joined our Congregation in 2001 and professed Final Vows in 2009.  Sr. Mary Vianney is currently stationed in St. Patrick’s Manor in Framingham, MA.  Congratulations Sr. Mary Vianney and many more graces to come! Read Sr. Mary Vianney's Vocation Story

    The Vocation Steering Committee of the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm sponsored a seminar entitled "Rekindling the Fire: Imparting our Zeal to the Next Generation" held on April 1 & 2, 2011 here at Saint Teresa's Motherhouse.  The seminar was also attended by other members of the Congregation.  This seminar was the first wave of our continued efforts to make vocation work a priority in the Congregation's life and ministry. We were privileged to have with us Rev. Ashley Harrington, O.Carm and Sr. Charlene Diorka, SSJ.  Additional presenters were Alycia Murtha, Kristen Leaderstorf and Nicolette Langlois, graduates of Franciscan University in Steubenville, who are currently working as Interns for the Avila Institute of Gerontology. Fr. Ashley Harrington opened the two days with the Eucharistic celebrations.   His talks during the first day of the gathering were centered on the spirituality of the religious call, the importance of remembering the initial fervor and the experiences learned throughout the spiritual journey.  He used the imagery of windows and doors.  The "window" of a religious calling opens up for many new and beautiful horizons, of a future yet to be realized, and dreams yet to be lived out.  "Get in touch with your own window experience," Fr. Ashley urged all present.  Rekindling the fire of long ago will help to warm the present.  The "door" imagery was a challenge posed to all present.  Given three examples of doors leading to life-giving choices, we were challenged to enter the one which led to adventure, hope, unity and enduring love.  Vocation work begins with getting in touch with the past to animate the present so we can move to the future with an openness to changes and the courage to take risks. Sr. Charlene Diorka, SSJ, is a member of National Vocation Religious Conference (NVRC).  Sister came to us with a wealth of wisdom gained from her experience in vocation work and knowledge of Religious life.  Sister presented us with information gathered from the recent study of Religious life in the USA (CARA Study).  She talked about the "Nature of Vocation", "Myths Vs. Facts of Religious life", "and "Best Practices", incorporating results from the study into the structure and mission of our Congregation.  Sr. Charlene was most emphatic, in saying like our Foundress Mother Angeline Teresa, that vocation work is not just the work of one or two Sisters but of all the members.  Membership matters! Alycia Murtha, Nicolette Langlois and Kristen Leaderstorf presented us with the wisdom of the younger generation.  The topics were: "Background of Young People Who May Have a Vocation", "Influences on Younger Generation", What Young People Are Seeking When They Look at Religious Life?", "Atmospheres Nurturing Vocations", "What the Carmelite Sisters Have to Offer", and "A Generation Full of Hope." The Vocation Steering Committee members had a full hour of brainstorming in smaller groups of what best practices our Community already has in place and what best practices we can develop and initiate.  It was a wonderful and grace-filled time of shared ideas, concerns, and hope for all the Sisters present.     Displayed Posters of  "Mother Angeline Teresa, Model of Vocation"   Fr. Ashley Harrington, O.Carm celebrating the Eucharist.   Kristen, Nicolette, Alycia and Sr. Maria Therese provided music for Liturgy.   Sr. Julie behind the camera.   Sr. Peter Lillian, Sr. Maria Therese, Sr. Charlene Diorka, SSJ and Sr.  Julie before the Conference.       Sisters during break-times.   Prayer Service: Imparting our zeal to the next generation. Sr. Charlene Diorka, SSJ       

  Our own Carmelite Sister, Sr. Jeanne Francis Haley, O.Carm , of St. Patrick's Residence in Naperville, Illinois made the news.  Click here for full article.

Date:  September 23-25th, 2011 Location:  Archdiocese Center at St. Thomas Seminary, 467 Bloomfield Avenue, Bloomfield, CT 06002

There are only a few weeks before the Conference and there is still time to register! Join us for a weekend devoted to bridging the gap between the generations in the Church. The weekend will begin Friday night with an Opening Mass and Social.  Saturday will include keynote addresses, Generational Healing Mass, concurrent sessions, and an evening of Eucharistic Adoration.  Sunday concludes the Conference with a keynote address, Closing Mass, and brunch.  During this Conference, participants will have the opportunity to spend time together, both in prayer and in enjoying the company of each other, drawing from the wealth of wisdom and enthusiasm of both our elders and young people.   Individual registration is $120 which includes all events and meals!  We look forward to seeing you September 23-25th!

 *Please note that the Religious discount includes all deacons!*

 Connect Conference Flyer Connect Conference Schedule Connect Conference Registration Form For a full schedule, talk descriptions, speaker bios, accommodation information, and to pray with our "Thought of the Week" visit our blog. How to Register: Send your completed Registration Form and check to:  St. Teresa's Motherhouse, C/O Special Events Office, 600 Woods Road, Germantown, NY 12526 Make checks payable to:  Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm Overnight accommodations:  Overnight accommodations at St. Thomas Seminary are $50 per person for the weekend (available upon registration and are limited).  Overflow accommodations are available at local hotels.  Click here for mor information on booking a hotel and receiving the Connect Conference discount.

   Come join the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm for an experience of a lifetime!  In just a week you will be able to impact the lives of elderly men and women, learn more about the wonderful mission of Mother M. Angeline Teresa McCrory, O.Carm, Servant of God, and grow in your faith through service to the elderly, prayer, conferences, discussions and days of reflection.  The elderly you minister to will benefit from your hope and enthusiasm.As a member of S.A.L.T Carmelite Missionaries, you will be able to interact with the nursing home/ assisted living residents in their daily activities, play games with them, sit, talk, and pray with them.  Not only that, you will be given the opportunity to spend time with the Carmelite Sisters and learn about the passion and joy they find in their ministry and in their Religious life.

For more information, call (518) 567-5586 or email  saltmissionaries@yahoo.com

S.A.L.T Brochure: SALT-Brochure.pdf  SALT-Brochure-Print.pdf

S.A.L.T Application: SALT-Application.pdf

S.A.L.T Recommendation: SALT-Recommendation.pdf