In the Christmas Season we celebrate God's greatest gift to us - the Incarnation of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. He promised to leave his Peace with us. Yet, do we find that peace we yearn for in our hearts and in this world? In fact, Jesus said, his Peace is not of this world. So, Peace is not the absence of war, but the tranquility of order under the work of justice and the effect of charity. Earthly peace is the image and fruit of the Peace of Christ. (CCC 2304-2305). Jesus Christ, the Truth, is the source of peace. Before his redeeming death on the Cross, he gave us his Spirit of Peace. Till the end of time, his Spirit unceasingly teaches and guides us to enter into Christ’s peace.
At every Eucharistic celebration we pray that God will grant his Church unity and peace in the world and to order our days in peace. When we unite our will with God's will, as in “Our Lord's Prayer” that Jesus taught us, and are reconciled with God, ourselves and others, we shall find peace in our hearts and minds. Then we shall be joyful peacemakers, vessels that bring peace to the world. In union with the prayer and desire of Jesus Christ and our heavenly Mother, the Queen of Peace, we pray: Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me!
Our community began the year 2024 with a prayerful study of the beautiful pastoral letter: “Seeking the Kingdom of God Above and Beyond All Other Things,” written by our dedicated shepherd, Most Reverend Francis Leo, Metropolitan Archbishop of Toronto to the People of God in his Archdiocese. This theological, spiritual and pastoral meditation clearly pointed out to us the Christian way to live and how to attain Christ's Peace.
On the occasion of the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, commemorating his one-year anniversary of being installed as the Metropolitan Archbishop of Toronto, Archbishop Francis Leo invited the People of God in the Archdiocese to consecrate themselves to our Blessed Mother. Knowing the profound significance and benefits of a true Marian devotion, our community made a 33 days retreat according to Fr. Michael Gaitley's book before we united ourselves with the faithful of the Archdiocese in itsTriduum preparation for Marian consecration on April 8. Armed and protected by our heavenly Mother, we consecrate ourselves to Our Lady as her instruments of Christ's peace on earth.
This year, the New France that included parts of Canada and the United States, celebrated the 400th anniversary of the first consecration to St. Joseph, who is the Patron Saint of our country Canada. On his feast day, March 19, we commemorated this occasion with great devotion in gratitude for the many blessings he bestowed upon our Carmel.
This year we continue to attend the weekly online Bible study by our resident Chaplain Reverend Fr. Dominic Borg, OCD. Now we have begun the Book of Jeremiah after the Pauline letters. We are influenced by Fr. Dominic's love for the Scriptures because we can only know and love Jesus Christ, the Word of God, through the word of God. May his zeal that drives him to the many ministries even in his retirement bear abundant fruits!
This winter Reverend Fr. Kevin Belgrave from the St. Augustine’s Seminary in Toronto came to visit us with ten seminarians and deacons. It was a blessing for us to meet our future priests and to assure them of our prayerful support, as they got a rare glimpse of our cloistered life in the parlor.
On February 2nd, our community shared the great joy of our postulant Eunike who received the holy habit of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and became Sr. Eunike Damaryanti of the Divine Infant Jesus, OCD. May God grant her the grace of perseverance as she grows in the love of God and of her vocation.
On June 1, we had the great blessing of witnessing Sr. Angela Thomas of the Cross make her Solemn Profession of Vows and Veiling at the St. Andrew Kim Korean parish, with Most Reverend Metropolitan Archbishop Francis Leo presiding, and the presence of many priests, deacon, families, friends, benefactors and parishioners.
In 2024, our Sr. Teresa celebrated 60 years in religious life. On her 85th birthday in March we entertained her with a medley of songs with the theme on the Infant Jesus and our Carmelite Saints. We share her joy and gratitude for the many prayers and well wishes that her friends and family, near and far, gave her!
On October 4, our Archbishop Francis Leo presided over our community’s triennial elections. Thanks to the Holy Spirit, our young Canadian-born Sr. Lisa of the Divine Mercy was elected as our new Mother Superior. Her Council includes Sr. Miranda, Sr. Therese and Sr. Teresa. Sr. Therese, our former Mother, is the only surviving foundresses that in 1992 came from Hong Kong to Canada. Having lovingly and selflessly nurtured and toiled for our community for over three decades, she finally could pass her torch onto our new generation of sisters. In a less burdened way, we shall continue to depend on her wise and motherly presence.
Praised be to our God, our Sisters’ hard work bore much fruit! Our garden yielded much vegetables on our table and our 30 colonies of bees made us a superabundance of honey for fundraising and our own consumption. We even use honey to make jams as delicious gifts!
We are deeply grateful to our friends for their generous support of our summer and fall honey sale at the parishes. Our honey is now available for purchase on our website.
We had public celebrations on the Solemnity of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and on the Feast of St. Therese. Many friends came and worshipped with us. As always, we preceded our Carmelite feasts with a nine-day Novena during which we pray for the needs of our Church and the intentions of our families, friends and benefactors in gratitude for their support for our vocation.
This December 8, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, will be a day of great exultation because Pope Francis will elevate our Metropolitan Archbishop Francis Leo to the College of Cardinals in Rome. We rejoice that our beloved shepherd's extraordinary gifts and holiness are recognized and put to service for the universal Church. May Mother Mary bless her devoted son and make fruitful his new ministry!
As the Church concludes 2024, the Year of Prayer, in preparation for the Jubilee Year of 2025, we unite ourselves to Jesus' prayer that his Peace shall reign in our hearts and in the world. We pray that you and all your loved ones experience the joy that comes with Christ's Peace in this Christmas Season and in the New Year!
