As the Carmelite community prepares to celebrate the 75th anniversary of its foundation in Tasmania, prioress Mother Teresa Benedicta of the Cross OCD has reflected on the enduring power of prayer and outlined her hopes for the future of the community. Source: Hobart Archdiocese.
The anniversary of the establishment of the Carmelite Monastery of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is being marked with a number of special events, including a Jubilee Mass on June 17 at the Carmelite Monastery in West Launceston.
It will be a time for prayer, reflection and thanksgiving for the six founding nuns, under the leadership of Mother Mary Teresa of Jesus as prioress, who arrived in Launceston on June 15, 1948, and those who have followed since then.
“All the essential aspects of our life are the same as they were 75 years ago; a life of prayer understood and lived as intimate friendship with Christ and lived in a delicate blending of silence and solitude, community life, manual work and recreation,” Mother Teresa Benedicta said.
Another constant for the enclosed order is the presence of Sr Mary of the Holy Ghost, now 94, the oldest of the community’s seven sisters. The youngest is 24.
“We are especially blessed to have one of our original foundation members still in our midst, Sr Mary of the Holy Ghost, who came on the foundation from Adelaide as a 19-year-old novice in 1948,” Mother Teresa Benedicta said.
The Carmel has provided enduring support, encouragement and prayers for the Catholic community in Tasmania.
“I hope the presence of Carmel in our state has helped Tasmanians to gain a deeper love for prayer and a greater faith in the power of prayer in their lives, as well as a deep sense that they are not alone on their journey of faith; we are here praying for them, supporting and encouraging them to seek intimacy with God in the midst of their busy lives, as they grow in holiness in their own vocations,” Mother Teresa Benedicta said.
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Carmelites a shining light of faith in Tasmania for 75 years (By Wendy Shaw, Hobart Archdiocese)
