加尔莫罗圣母，在我们兄弟姐妹们饱受煎熬的肉身中与耶稣相遇
日常生活的奔忙、探索生命意义。那些像厄里亚先知一样登上加尔莫罗山的人们的例子。为了幸福寻找天主“是如此重要和无法抑制的，以至于有人准备好了抛弃一切”。“不是我们所有人都蒙召攀登远处的高山。但我们所有人都可以在我们的心里默默地开辟一块空间，让天主的声音到达我们的心里”。帮助最有需要的人是与耶稣相遇的方式，就像十字架下的玛利亚
孟买（亚洲新闻）—爱德之家“是一个家（不是修会会院）、是一个家庭，任何有身心健康困难的大人孩子都可以得到医护”。这是为最有需要的人服务的七位修女中的一位表达的心声。“我们用爱、献身和关怀照顾这些最脆弱的。我们支持堂区团体、我们是家庭中的一个家庭。我们七名修女和二十九名无法独立自理的男女老少生活在一起。没有任何隔断，共用一间厨房。最小的只有十二岁，他刚刚来到仁爱之家时只有三个月”。
我们在此发表一位修女在七月十六日加尔莫罗圣母瞻礼之际作出的反思。
Our lives are generally quite busy: family, work, school, parish; the flurry of activities fill our days, and at times, a good part of our nights as well. Such a life involves routine worry and weariness.
What can we do? The feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel on July 16 can provide light and inspiration. This feast has its roots in the 12th century when people were questioning themselves, searching for meaning in their lives in the midst of their problems and difficulties. The answer they found was quite radical: they led everything and went to live in a special place which helped them realise what was really essential for a fulfilled life. The place was Mount Carmel, a beautiful hill overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, where the prophet Elijah, centuries ago, met and spoke with God.
This meeting with God changed his life forever, giving him strength, courage, direction and power. It answered the deep questions of his heart. The 12th century seekers followed in the footsteps of this great prophet, aware that their choice was quite demanding, drawing inspiration from a person who knew something about the meaning of life. They took Our Lady as their patroness.
This way, Mary acquired one more beautiful Title – Our Lady of Mount Carmel. It added to the garland of names her devotees weaved for her through the centuries. The feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel invites us closer to the rich experience and journey of all spiritual seekers: the prophet Elijah, the first hermits of Mount Carmel (fathers of the present Carmelites) and most of all, Mary. Looking up to them, we begin to experience joy that will not be carried away by the inconveniences of daily life.
It is in God that one finds an everlasting joy! So, our life becomes a continuous, loving and exciting search for God. This search is so important and all-consuming that some persons are ready to give up literally everything for this, spending their life forever in the silence of the cloister. The Carmelite nuns live this special call and experience that God is, in truth, everything. The feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel helps us to remember that the experience of meeting God can happen in our daily, busy lives.
Mary experienced the love of God, who longs to meet and care for us, His children. She experienced it with such strength to become His mother. Now she invites and encourages us to walk along the path of prayer, one step at me. Not all of us are called to climb up a faraway mountain; but all of us can try to make a little le space for silence in our hearts to allow the voice of the Lord to reach us.
In that interior place, we can treasure His Word, so richly gifted to us in the Liturgy, in the celebration of the Mass and in the Bible. We can enjoy the presence of Jesus strongly and effectively communicated to us through the Sacraments. We also discover that Jesus is waiting to meet us in our brothers and sisters, especially those most suffering and most forgotten. Being close to the sick, lonely, handicapped, poor, exploited, deprived… is to be like Mary, standing at the foot of the Cross. In the suffering flesh of our brothers and sisters continues the passion of Jesus.
There is a special place where the voice of the Lord resonates strongly, where we can meet him in flesh and blood. It is in our brothers and sisters. Once we hear this voice in our hearts, we will be able to find it, recognise it everywhere, sometimes in the most unexpected and difficult situations.
