A paddock outside Mathoura, near Deniliquin, in the Wilcannia-Forbes Diocese, became holy ground on the weekend as the first stage of a new Discalced Carmelite monastery was formally set in motion with a historic liturgy. Source: The Catholic Weekly.
Cardinal Mykola Bychok CSsR presided over the groundbreaking ceremony for the nuns’ future chapel and choir on Saturday, having travelled from the Extraordinary Consistory in Rome with a blessing and good wishes for the nuns and their supporters from Pope Leo XIV.
He was joined by Wilcannia-Forbes Bishop Columba Macbeth-Green OSPPE, Colleen Jreissati, representing the Jreissati family, principal patrons of the chapel, and Murray River Mayor John Harvie.
On Sunday, the Feast of the Holy Family, beneath three marquee tents erected on the site of the future chapel, Bishop Macbeth-Green celebrated a Solemn Pontifical Mass, with Cardinal Bychok presiding.
A Carmelite monastery is never just another building, but a “powerhouse of prayer,” the cardinal said in his address.
“Hidden from the world, yet at the very heart of the Church, it is a place where day and night the cry of humanity is lifted up to God.
“From these walls will rise prayers for the Church, for priests, for families, for those who suffer, for those who have lost hope, and for those who do not even know how to pray.
“The Church has always known that her strength does not come first from activity, strategy, or numbers, but from prayer – faithful, persevering, loving prayer.
“The Carmelite vocation reminds us of this truth. Through silence, sacrifice, and contemplation, the sisters share in Christ’s own offering to the Father for the salvation of the world.
“For this reason, this Carmel is a blessing not only for the Diocese of Wilcannia–Forbes, but for the entire Church in Australia. In a time of noise, haste, and uncertainty, the witness of a contemplative community speaks powerfully and prophetically.
“It tells us that God is real, that he listens, and that prayer truly changes the world.”
Bishop Macbeth-Green praised the sisters as prophets for today, interceding for the entire country from the wilderness of the Australian bush.
Stage one of the monastery, centred on erecting the chapel, is underway and the sisters are seeking benefactors to help complete the work. See elijah.org.au for details.
FULL STORY
Groundbreaking ceremony the latest milestone for Carmelite ‘powerhouse of prayer’ in rural NSW (The Catholic Weekly)
