OCD Nuns National Meeting with Generalate

Greetings Sisters,

It has been a joy encountering so many of our sisters during this 'Emmaus' journey to St. Louis and to have our Carmelite brothers walking with us. We are grateful for this opportunity to pray together and to share what is most important in our lives as one Carmelite family.

Fr. Daniel Chowning was our main celebrant and presenter today. His homily touched on the gift of the Spirit given to us in Baptism - a gift meant to be shared to bring light and hope into our world. His first talk was entitled "The Metamorphosis of the Silkworm into a Butterfly: A Teresian Model of Formation." The second talk continued with: "Prayer as Transformation: For Whom and For What Purpose?" Both talks were excellent; challenging us to Gospel imperative of ongoing conversion. He differentiated between docility and docibilitas, which is a common word for a person who is docile and adheres freely to the will of another and collaborates easily. Docibilitas means the personal attitude to assume responsibility for one's growth that takes place in daily life. It is a positive and receptive attitude toward life, an openness of heart and mind, a willingness to allow oneself to be formed by life and others, and to learn from every situation and person, from the positive experiences in life as well as from the negative."

As many of you are aware, Sr. Mary Clare has a rather dry sense of humor, which she put to good use - turning the mundane business of making announcements into an most enjoyable experience!