Discalced Carmelite sisters from the Mount Carmel Monastery in Port Tobacco, Maryland. / Screenshot from EWTN News In Depth
Denver Newsroom, Jul 21, 2022 / 16:00 pm (CNA).
Nestled in the farmland of Port Tobacco, Maryland stands the oldest Carmelite monastery in America. Founded in 1790, the Mount Carmel Monastery was the first Catholic convent for religious women in the U.S. The women who live here are cloistered nuns who spend their days in prayer behind the iron gates inside their walled-off property.
While visitors are welcome to enjoy the peaceful outdoor spaces of the monastery, the chapel, and the gift shop, very few are welcome behind the walls. Bill Hoxie is one of these select few. He is the sisters’ carpenter and groundskeeper. He grew up Protestant and never thought he would end up working at a Catholic monastery, but after offering to do a project for the sisters several years ago he has been working there ever since.
“The sisters are truly in love with Jesus in a way that I’d never witnessed,” Hoxie said in an interview with EWTN News In Depth. “Of course, when you’re in love, you’re happy. So the sisters are the happiest women I’ve ever met in my life.”
“It’s a deep down happiness when you’re doing God’s will, then you’re free,” Reverend Mother Marie Bernardina, the prioress of the monastery, told Mark Irons, correspondent for EWTN News In Depth in a special interview. “You don’t have to be in the cloister to be free, but for us, that’s our calling.”
The sisters sat behind the bars of the cloister during the interview. This division symbolizes that the nuns are set apart for union with God.
Sister Dolores Peter of Jesus Crucified in the Precious Blood began her formation with the Carmelites seven years ago when she began learning more about the Brown Scapular. She is now nearing her profession of final vows.
“I just can’t even imagine wanting anything else to be honest,” she said. “We spend so much time in front of the Blessed Sacrament. It’s like the first person I see in the morning is the Lord in the tabernacle. It’s the best thing.”
The Brown Scapular can be worn by lay Catholics but has a special significance to Carmelites. Its history goes back to July 16, 1251, when the Blessed Mother presented it to St. Simon Stock, a Carmelite saint, as a sign of her protection. Under the title of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Mary is the patron saint of all Carmelites.
“To wear it, it means you pledge yourself to her and to what she stands for,” Mother Virginia Marie O’Connor said. “You pledge yourself to Christ.”
“Our life is a love affair with God, you know, with Jesus,” she added.
Reverend Mother Marie Bernardina explained, “It’s her order and we want to imitate her and her love for Jesus. She was the perfect mother, she was totally open to what God wanted and that’s what we want.”
Carmelites have time for work and recreation, but their main focus is prayer for the good of the Church and the world. Famous saints who entered the Carmelite order include St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, St. Teresa of Avila, and St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross.
“Our vocation is prayer,” Sister Dolores Peter said. “People say ‘Well yeah, but what do you do?’ I said, ‘We pray.’”
“Carmelite spirituality is, I think, something that the world badly needs today,” she added. “There’s so much clutter, so much distraction in the world.”
Hoxie wasn’t sure what was missing from his life but he found it when he started working for the sisters. Not long after, he converted to Catholicism.
“He will lead you to something better than you could imagine,” he concluded.
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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 27, 2020 / 03:00 pm (CNA).- A new report on Tuesday says that more than 40% of deaths from the new coronavirus (COVID-19) in the United States have occurred in nursing homes or assisted-living facilities.
A view of the separation wall between Israel and the Palestinian Territories from behind a window in the Comboni Sisters’ house in East Jerusalem. / Credit: Marinella Bandini
Jerusalem, Feb 17, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).
The Comboni Sisters have been living on the border of East Jerusalem since 1967. Running along the border of their property is a wall, constructed by the Israelis in 2009, dividing the village of Bethany/al-Eizariya — renowned as the site of the resurrection of Lazarus. The sisters’ residence remains on the Israeli side, while the church and the tomb of Lazarus are on the Palestinian side, on the other side of the wall.
“For us, the passage from Scripture that says ‘in Christ the wall of separation between peoples has been broken down’ is very powerful [Eph 2:14], especially when there is a physical wall in front of us that clearly indicates this separation,” Sister Anna Maria Sgaramella, provincial councilor and coordinator of the Middle East Zone for the Comboni Sisters, told CNA.
Sister Anna Maria Sgaramella, provincial council and coordinator of the Middle East Zone for the Comboni Sisters. Credit: Marinella Bandini
Sgaramella arrived in Jerusalem for the first time on Sept. 26, 2000. The very next day, the second intifada — a major uprising by Palestinians against Israeli occupation — erupted. She witnessed the siege of the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem, where she taught theology.
Later, she was transferred to Egypt, where in 2011, she witnessed the uprising known as the “Arab Spring.”
Since 2013, Sgaramella has permanently returned to Jerusalem and now faces another long and bloody conflict. “I have always been struck by the deep sense of hope and determination to move forward among the Palestinian people. With this war, I see it weaker; people are more exhausted,” she said.
A view of the separation wall between Israel and the Palestinian Territories from the terrace of the Comboni Sisters’ house in East Jerusalem. The wall, constructed by the Israelis in 2009, runs along the border of their property, dividing the village of Bethany/al-Eizariya in two, believed to be the site of the miracle of the raising of Lazarus. The sisters’ residence remains on the Israeli side, while the church and the tomb of Lazarus are on the other side of the wall. Credit: Marinella Bandini
There are currently six Comboni Sisters in Jerusalem and each is involved in a specific ministry. They usually come together for morning Mass and evening vespers as well as for meetings and reflection. Their community house is open to religious individuals seeking periods of study or discernment and serves as a center of spirituality for both the congregation and the local Church. The sisters host educational workshops and spiritual exercises as well as welcome pilgrims.
The Comboni Sisters in Jerusalem in a recent photo at the Jordan River. The Comboni Sisters’ community in Jerusalem currently consists of six sisters and each is involved in a specific ministry. Credit: Photo courtesy of Sister Anna Maria Sgaramella
Sgaramella shared with CNA what it’s like to live on the border.
“With the construction of the wall, we found ourselves in the middle, between Palestinians and Israelis,” she explained. “The Palestinians attempt to bypass the wall — especially to pray at the Dome of the Rock — while the Israelis try to repel them in an endless game.”
“Being in the middle is a physical position that has also become a spiritual one,” Sgaramella continued. “We had to reflect and decided to ‘stay in the middle,’ between these two peoples, to serve as a bridge between them. By placing ourselves in the middle, we listen to the injustice faced by the Palestinians and also to the fears of Israeli families.”
For this reason, the religious community has chosen to maintain a small presence in the Palestinian area. Two sisters reside in an apartment beyond the wall, about 100 feet from the Comboni Sisters’ residence.
The exterior of the Comboni Sisters’ house in East Jerusalem where the Comboni Sisters have been living since 1967. Credit: Marinella Bandini
“We desired to stay and share the lives of those people and accompany the small remaining Christian community there. Every time they need to reach the community, they have to travel 18 kilometers [about 11 miles] passing through the Israeli checkpoint,” Sgaramella explained.
The sisters do not do this simply in the spirit of altruism, explained Sgaramella, who is also involved in ecumenical and interreligious dialogue. “We understood from the beginning that being in the middle comes at a cost. It often means getting hit from both sides. On one hand, there are stones and Molotov cocktails from the Palestinians that land on our property; on the other hand, we are under the smoke of tear gas launched in response by the Israelis,” she said.
One incident happened the night of Oct. 6, just hours before the Hamas attack on Israel. Some Molotov cocktails landed on the synthetic grass in the part of the property that houses the kindergarten, causing a fire — the signs of which are still visible today. The fire destroyed the grass, playground equipment, and blackened the recently painted wall.
The exterior of the kindergarten, housed on the Comboni Sisters’ property. In the background is the separation wall that was erected on the edge of the Comboni Sisters’ property in 2009.
The kindergarten is a work that the Comboni Sisters have been carrying out since their arrival and today it serves as an important point of connection with the surrounding community. This significance has grown, especially after the construction of the wall.
“The presence of the kindergarten has never been questioned, neither with the wall nor with the war,” said Sgaramella, who is the director. The kindergarten is attended by approximately 40 children, all of whom are Muslims, divided into two classes. Formally, it is under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Ministry of Education. “It is a project that meets the needs of the people; furthermore, episodes of violence never occur during the day when the children are present,” she added.
Sister Anna Maria Sgaramella of the Comboni Sisters talks with the children in one of the kindergarten classes hosted at their home in East Jerusalem. The presence of the kindergarten has never been questioned, said Sgaramella, the director. Credit: Marinella Bandini
Every morning, the children begin with a prayer. “We tell the parents right from the start,” Sgaramella explained. “It’s a prayer of thanksgiving for what God has created, for the day, for life, a blessing for parents, neighbors, friends, and also for children who suffer. We pray for peace in the world and in this country.”
Regarding the families, she shared: “There is great trust and respect. They usually choose to send their children here, especially for moral education and English-language instruction.”
Most of the children come from East Jerusalem, but some also come from al-Eizariya. One of the two teachers, Nihal Hashmime, who is also the vice director, has to pass through the checkpoint every day to get to work.
“With the war,” the sister told CNA, “we faced some educational challenges because initially, some children were absent. The work we do with them is to impart certain values, such as peace, friendship, love, and respect for differences.”
Play is also an important aspect. “Children here do not find toy weapons, and they are not allowed to bring them from home,” Sgaramella said.
“Our attempt in education and all other activities is to break down this wall that leads to seeing the other as an enemy,” Sgaramella said. “Sometimes it is difficult to recognize the universality of salvation. We know that Jesus died for everyone, but in certain conflict-ridden contexts, it is challenging to acknowledge the other as a brother. Personally, the field of teaching theology provides me with the space to build bridges among believers. Because in every religion, there are sincere believers seeking truth.”
The icon of Our Lady of Budslau. / Vitaly Polinevsky/Catholic.by.
CNA Staff, May 11, 2021 / 13:00 pm (CNA).
A Marian icon revered by Catholics in Belarus was recovered undamaged on Tuesday following a fire at a church in the village where it has… […]
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