Mary,Mother of Carmel- TOC Community

30/09/2026

17/09/2026

𝐒𝐄𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟕 | 𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐔𝐌 𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐒 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐔𝐌
Feast of St. Albert of Jerusalem, Bishop and Lawgiver of Carmel

Lord God,
through St Albert of Jerusalem
you have given us a Rule of life
according to your Gospel
to help us attain perfect love.
Through his prayers
may we always live in allegiance to Jesus Christ
and serve faithfully until death
him who lives and reigns
with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
One God, for ever and ever.
- Amen.

Photo shot by Fotographia Sagrada

14/09/2026

Instructional Video for the 8th Centenary of the Papal Approval of ...

14/09/2026

🕊️ Peter wanted to know where forgiveness could end. Jesus gave him no stopping point.

In The Way of Perfection, Saint Teresa of Avila listens closely to the words of the Our Father: not “as we will forgive,” but “as we forgive.” The mercy we ask from God cannot be separated from the mercy we extend to others.

Teresa knows how difficult forgiveness can be. Yet she also sees it as an act of love so precious to the Father that Jesus placed it at the heart of the prayer he taught us.

🔗https://twp.ai/9Ob6Ok

14/09/2026

BE IN THE KNOW | Five Things to Know About the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is celebrated every September 14. It invites us to look beyond the Cross as an instrument of death and recognize it as the sign of Christ’s victory and our salvation.

1️⃣ The Cross is the instrument of our salvation.

Jesus transformed the Cross from an instrument of torture into the place where He offered Himself completely for the salvation of humanity. “We preach Christ crucified.” (1 Cor 1:23)

2️⃣ We do not worship the wood—we worship Christ.

Catholics honor the Cross because it represents the sacrifice of Jesus. The honor given to the Cross ultimately points to the One who died upon it.

3️⃣ The Cross reveals God’s love.

The Cross shows us how far God’s love goes: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son.” (Jn 3:16) The Cross is not a sign of God’s defeat, but of His self-giving love.

4️⃣ Christians are called to carry their own crosses.

Jesus says, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Mt 16:24) Our sufferings, sacrifices, and struggles can become opportunities to unite ourselves with Christ.

5️⃣ The Cross leads to resurrection.

The Christian story does not end on Calvary. The Cross leads to the empty tomb. Through Christ’s death and Resurrection, suffering and death do not have the final word.

✝️ The Cross is not something we simply look at—it is something we live.
When we make the Sign of the Cross, we proclaim our faith in the Christ who loved us “to the end.” (Jn 13:1)

Ave Crux, Spes Unica — Hail, O Cross, our only hope!

©️Fr.ACPerezSchP (2026)
Follow for more👇God bless!🙏

14/09/2026

Saint Edith Stein explains how obedience to God frees the human will from bo***ge and leads it, through the following of Christ, back to true freedom.

14/09/2026

✝️ Saint Edith Stein explains how obedience to God frees the human will from bo***ge and leads it, through the following of Christ, back to true freedom.

🔗 https://twp.ai/9Ob7SB

14/09/2026

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.”