Carmelite Student Friars Communication Group

13/10/2026

08/10/2026

24/09/2026

“Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” (Mark 9:35)

The Philippine Carmelite Province of St. Titus Brandsma joyfully invites you to witness the Ordination to the Sacred Order of Deacons of our brothers:

Br. Nelson Bongon Anciano, Jr., O.Carm.

Br. Brandon Pasco Bahayanan, O.Carm.

Br. Alvin Ramos Evangelista, O.Carm.

through the laying on of hands and the prayer of consecration by
The Most Rev. Ruben C. Labajo, D.D., Bishop of the Diocese of Prosperidad.

The event is scheduled at 9 a.m. on October 8, 2026 at the Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish, San Francisco, Agusan del Sur

Let us accompany our brothers in prayer as they respond fully to the call of Christ and dedicate their lives in service to God and to His Church.

17/09/2026

17/09/2026

SEPT 17: Reflection from the Prior Provincial on the Feast Day of St. Albert of Jerusalem and the Gospel of Matthew (MT 20:25-28)

Today is the feast day of our lawgiver, St. Albert Avogrado, the Patriarch of Jerusalem. He was a trusted advisor of Pope Innocent III, being a wise and diplomatic person.

St. Albert is valuable to us Carmelites because, in the formula for living which he wrote between 1206–1214, he gathered the individual holy lay hermits on Mount Carmel into a community. They were persons who left the luxuries of the world to live a life of poverty and simplicity, to faithfully follow the life of Jesus — from individual hermits to a community of hermits with Mary as their patroness. St. Albert wrote a “formula vitae” (rule of life) that is strong in prayer, community, and service.

Today’s Gospel, which is the last part of the narrative of the request of the sons of Zebedee, talks about the critique of worldly power and authority, that secular political models are not suited not only to the disciples of the Lord but also are not appropriate in the Kingdom of God, and are not suited as well for us Carmelites.

Instead, Jesus offers the proper power of a disciple, that is, free service, voluntary slavery, and not to be served but to serve. Here, Jesus makes Himself the model of humble service of a community as a leadership style, a direct contrast to the usual hunger for power, domination and money, which should not be so among us Carmelites. In fact, the service and leadership style Jesus proposed is to give one’s own life as ransom for many.

May this Gospel we have today inspire us to follow the service and leadership style of Jesus. And as Carmelites, may we be inspired especially today to read and reflect on the “formula vitae” of St. Albert again, not only for us to be connected intimately to the hermits of Mount Carmel in the early 1200s, but also that we may be found wise and trustworthy in our world and ministries today.

Fr. Roberto Noel Rosas. O.Carm.
Prior Provincial
Philippine Carmelite Province

(Image from ocarm.org)

13/09/2026

𝐃𝐈𝐃 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖?

Did you know that the 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐲 𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 on September 14 traditionally marks the beginning of the Carmelite Great Fast? This practice comes from the Rule of St. Albert, the rule given to the first Carmelites on Mount Carmel. The Rule says: “𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒅𝒂𝒚, 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕 𝑺𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒚, 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑬𝒙𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑯𝒐𝒍𝒚 𝑪𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝑬𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑫𝒂𝒚, 𝒖𝒏𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒓 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏, 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒔𝒕; 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒔 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒍𝒂𝒘.”

For the early Carmelites, this was a long period of fasting that extended from September 14 until Easter. It was not simply about eating less. Fasting was part of their way of living a life centered on prayer, simplicity, self-discipline, and seeking God. The Rule reminds us that bodily discipline should lead to a deeper spiritual discipline. The purpose is not to make life difficult for its own sake, but to help us become freer to follow Christ.

It is significant that the fast begins with the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The Cross is at the very heart of our Christian vocation. Jesus tells us, “𝑾𝒉𝒐𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒚 𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇, 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒖𝒑 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒎𝒆” (Mark 8:34). For Carmelites, taking up the Cross means learning to die to sin, selfishness, excessive attachments, and anything that keeps us from loving God and our brothers and sisters.

The Cross also teaches us that what appears to be defeat can become victory in Christ. The Cross was once an instrument of suffering and death, but through the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus, it became the sign of our salvation. When we look at the Cross, we are reminded that Christ does not simply ask us to endure our difficulties. He invites us to unite our lives and sacrifices with His own.

The traditional Carmelite Great Fast, therefore, gives us an opportunity to ask ourselves what we need to let go of. It may not always be food. It could be unnecessary comforts, excessive entertainment, anger, pride, unhealthy attachments, or habits that take us away from prayer and from the people around us. The real question is not simply, “𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗜 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘂𝗽?” but “𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝗜 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲?”

As Carmelites, the Exaltation of the Holy Cross invites us to return to the spirit of our Rule and to rediscover the value of prayer, discipline, simplicity, and self-denial. The Cross reminds us that following Christ has a cost, but it also leads to life. May this season help us carry our crosses faithfully and unite ourselves more closely with Christ, who has redeemed the world through His Holy Cross.

“𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝗱𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂, 𝗢 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗲 𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂, 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗯𝘆 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝘆 𝗖𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱.”