Carmelite Monastery of Concord

07/29/2021

We regret to inform you that due to concerns of Covid-19 and the health of the Sisters, the wake and funeral for Sr. Gabriel of God the Father, O.C.D. (Marie Sandra Czapka) have been cancelled.

We apologize for any inconvenience and sadness this may have caused our community.

07/27/2021

Sister Gabriel of God the Father, O.C.D., (Marie Sandra Czapka) entered eternal life Saturday July 24, 2021, at Saint Joseph Residence in Manchester, New Hampshire. A Sister of the Carmelite Monastery in Concord, she was born in Philadelphia to Alma Ruth Dennison and Aslak Gabrielsen March 16, 1937 and baptized April 25, 1937. She grew up in Manayunk, Pennsylvania, worshiping at Saint John the Baptist Church.

Drawn to a life of interiority and quiet service she entered the Carmelite Monastery of Philadelphia. On March 24, 1963, which at that time was the feast of Saint Gabriel, she made her First Profession of Vows. Three years later, on April 16, she made her Solemn Profession.

The unfolding of her life in Carmel brought her to transfer in 1975 to the Carmelite Monastery of Concord, New Hampshire. Ever attentive to the needs of others, she gladly served her sisters and those who came to the Monastery for prayer, solace, and a listening ear and heart. She also had a deep penchant for what she called ‘keeping company’. She was drawn to sit very silently in Jesus’ Presence, attentive to the Mystery of his Passage from the Cross to the Tomb, to his Resurrection. Now she has entered into the fullness of his Mystery.

She was predeceased by her brothers Wayne and Carl. She is survived by one sister Astrid Binelli as well as by nieces and nephew, Karen Griffin, Lisa Gabrielsen, Andrea Dunn, Nina Heaton and Carl Joseph Gabrielsen and their families.

There will be a wake at the Carmelite Monastery, 275 Pleasant St., Concord, Friday July 30 from 2-4 p.m. and again from 6-8 p.m. The Mass of the Resurrection followed by a reception at the monastery will be celebrated Saturday July 31, at 1:00 p.m. The interment will take place Monday August 2, at 1:30 p.m. at Saint Joseph Cemetery in Bedford, New Hampshire. The Carmelite Sisters are now resting there near the little chapel on these grounds. You are welcome to accompany Sister Gabriel to her resting place.

06/09/2021

“It’s a great grace to receive the sacraments, but when God doesn’t allow it, it’s good just the same; everything is a grace” (Therese of Lisieux, Last Conversations). The end of each day is a good time to look back at all that has happened and ask God’s help to see each situation as containing grace. Such an exercise is challenging, but it will sharpen your eyes.

06/08/2021

"Let’s not wait for our neighbours to be good before we are good to them, for others to respect us before we serve them. Let’s begin with ourselves."
- Pope Francis

06/08/2021

Today is the Feast Day of Spiritual Warriors Saints Gildard and Medard ✝️ Pray for us

These two saints of France were twin brothers. They were born on the same day, consecrated bishops on the same day, and died on the same day.

Medard was Bishop of Noyon. Gildard was Bishop of Rouen. Their memories are most loving ones in northern France. Medard began the custom of crowning each year as the Rose Queen the most virtuous and holy young Catholic girl of his diocese. If it rains on the feast of Saint Medard, the loving Catholic peasants of northern France take it as a sign that it will rain for forty days more.

06/08/2021

June is a beautiful month in the Northern Hemisphere; take some time to get outside and look at the beauty around you. In the Southern Hemisphere, do the same with appreciation of the beauties of winter.

06/07/2021

06/07/2021

Anne of St. Bartholomew, virgin

Born in 1550, Anne of St. Bartholomew grew up as an orphan, tending her brothers’ sheep.

One night, Anne had a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary showing her the Discalced Carmelites’ monastery in Avila and urging her to become a nun there. Then Christ appeared, agreed with his Mother and pulled Anne by her rosary beads! Pronouncing her vows in 1572, she served the community as infirmarian and secretary to St. Teresa, who died in her arms in 1582. Later, in 1604, she was chosen to spread the Discalced Carmelite Order into France and the Low Countries. She died in Antwerp Carmel in 1626. In 1750 she was named Venerable; Pope Benedict XV beatified her in 1917.

06/07/2021

God always seeks us first, awaits us first, loves us first. He is like the flower of the almond tree; thus says the Prophet: “It blooms first” (cf. Jer 1:11-12). Although this Scipture is not directly related to the Holy Trinity, it invites us into the mystical creative trinity of Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit… the eternal fecund love given to the whole world by our God who by nature is Love. God never stops loving us and God is always inviting us to live in divine love and to blossom more and more.

06/06/2021

06/06/2021

Norbert, Bishop

Norbert was ordained to the priesthood in 1115. Like St. Boniface earlier, he preached throughout France and Germany and made many converts. With some companions, he founded the Premonstratensian Order and had several monasteries erected. As Archbishop of Magdeburg, he also led a general reform of Christian life.

At the beginning of our Christian journeys we do not know how and where God will lead us, but we do know that our journeys will be amazing so long as we do not give up.