Christ is Mine and All for Me
Dear Family Members, Friends, and Benefactors,
Greetings from Lake Elmo!
It has been since last fall that you have heard from us. We did not forget about you and are pleased to share a couple of updates with you concerning the chapel construction project. Construction continued over the winter, although at a slower pace, in the interior of the Chapel. Please see the construction updates below for more details.
We are still in need of additional funds as we move into the next phase of our building project. If you are able, please consider a gift to the monastery chapel by making a donation or by joining the Brick Legacy Guild. We remain grateful for your faith-filled support! Your brothers in Carmel will continue to hold you up in our prayers especially as we enter the season of Lent, which is a time of greater prayer and sacrifice for the whole Church. God reward and bless you for all your kindnesses to us.
Included in this post are a couple of articles in which we continue the narrative of Elijah the prophet and explore advice on the spiritual life from St. John of the Cross in his Sayings of Light and Love. We hope you enjoy it!
In this post you will find:
A Letter from the Prior of the Hermitage:
Light for the Way, Love for the Wayfaring - “Christ is Mine and All for Me”
Prayer Corner - Elijah, Prophet of Carmel - “The Return of Elijah”
Construction Updates
Blessings and Peace,
The Carmelite Hermits
A Letter from the Prior of the Hermitage:
Dear Friends and Benefactors,
The Lenten spring has come, the time for spiritual renewal. Let us purify our hearts and our minds by undertaking the works of prayer, almsgiving, and asceticism. Lent is the time in which the Church asks us to pray with greater fervor, to give alms more abundantly, and to undertake some degree of fasting and abstinence from meat on Fridays.
However, Lent is too often thought of as “giving up” rather than as “giving to.” Most of all we want to give our hearts to God in order to deepen our friendship with Him and to participate in His life more abundantly. Jesus said that He had come to give life, and to give it more abundantly. To receive the life of Jesus, we must also give Him our lives. The most important form of giving to Christ in Lent is prayer, spending time with the One who loves us. This is how St. Teresa defined prayer; it is a conversation with the One who loves us.
Traditionally, Lent also included almsgiving, that is, charitable giving to worthy causes. We humbly ask that you might consider our monastery in your charitable giving this Lent. As you know, we are in the process of constructing our public chapel, and we are in need of further funds to be able to complete this beautiful structure which will help us, and all who visit us, to enter more deeply into that spiritual communion and conversation with God which we call prayer. We are always grateful to you for your financial support, and we remember you daily in our prayers.
According to the discipline of the Catholic Church, Lent also includes two days of moderate fasting (Ash Wednesday and Good Friday) as well as abstinence from meat on Fridays. These ascetical practices are much reduced from those offered up by our Catholic ancestors. If we offer less in terms of quantity, there is no reason why we should offer less in terms of quality. Joyfully accepting these small penances, in a spirit of sincere repentance for our past failures, make even small sacrifices pleasing to God. It is ironic that, at a time when fasting and abstinence are at a low ebb among Christians, the medical profession has demonstrated the health benefits of both of them.
Let us begin the fast with joy! Let us prepare ourselves for spiritual labor. Let us rejoice in the Spirit and persevere in prayer with love that we may celebrate the Passion of Christ with sincere gratitude and rejoice at his holy Resurrection!
Sincerely,
Fr. John Mary Burns, O Carm
Light for the Way, Love for the Wayfaring
“Christ is Mine and All for Me”
If you could ask for anything from God, what would it be? Did you know that you could ask him for it All? At least this is what John of the Cross teaches us in his famous “Prayer of a Soul taken with Love.” We cannot continue our meditations on the Sayings of Light and Love without spending some time commenting on this celebrated prayer. The prayer captures a moment of loving flight in God. John of the Cross, in these powerful "supplications of the heart," describes the exultation of a soul in God through love. They represent on some level the ultimate desire of anyone who is traveling on the path of prayer. Along the Way, we all hope for a taste of this kind of love. We pray to be taken with love. Are you wondering if Christ is enough for you? Is Jesus your All? In this article you will find an answer to these questions.
Prayer Corner
- Elijah, Prophet of Carmel -
“The Return of Elijah”
The drought in the land of Israel has stretched out for some time - for three years in fact. Perhaps after so much time and all the hardship the drought has caused, King Ahab will be ready to listen and be more docile to Elijah and his call to conversion. The word of the Lord comes to the prophet. God commands him: "Go, present yourself to Ahab…" It is a mission of mercy. God now takes the initiative, extending steadfast love to his people.
The return of Elijah signals God's return to his people. God withdrew the gift of rain to punish the infidelity of Israel. Now God desires to relieve that suffering. The Lord makes himself present in the return of his prophet in the northern kingdom of Israel. Read how Elijah comes as much needed relief for the people of God.
Construction Update
- February 1, 2025 -
Work Continues in the Interior of the Chapel: Boilers in the Mechanical Room, Concrete Flooring is Poured, Metal Decking is Installed over the Apses, and more…
- March 4, 2025 -
Concrete is poured for the flooring in the Chapel.