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***With zeal I am zealous for the Lord, God of Hosts.***

Greetings in Carmel Alex,
Sorry about the delay. My wife decdided she wanted to buy a puppy (Labradoodle ?) and the breeder was about an hour and a half or more away.

The Rule of St. Pachomius is very powerful and beautiful. I sure our brothers and sisters will appreciate it. I appreciate the icon of the Law Giver St. Albert of Jerusalem. I am using it for my picture on my profile.

I take it you are still in favor of the "ICCBF" designation, then?


So far, my friend, it seems to be a very small Abbey. You, James, and I as far as I know. We must all pray harder.
Pray without ceasing...Michael ICCBF

I guess we are the Abbey of the Tres Carmelites of ByzCath.

Still praying.

james

ps- I should say that I was evangelizing some trout between 7:30am & 2:00pm, came home with 4 who listened.

Friend James ICCBF,
I trust you used a fly and fly rod to evangelize those trout or else I'd have to say you seduced them.

More prayers should help, they always seem to.

Michael ICCBF

Brother Michael,

I must confess those lovely rainbows were lured by bubblegum & lemon frost power bait(and prayers)on spinning tackle.

The fly fishing gear was @ home , this lake is more in tune to those bass guys.

james

Dear Brother James ICCBF,
I'll have to do some serious praying for you. Three Our Fathers and three Hail Marys . Just kidding!

Pray without ceasing...MIchael ICCBF

N.B. New puppy in the house. My response time might be slower for a while.

Dear Abbot Michael,

My best advice on the puppy is to get him to sleep in a crate or play-pen - that really house-breaks them in no time.

I did that with my Pomeranian puppy, although it did take some dogged determination at first . . .

Alex

I'm here, reading and praying...

I do ask for prayers though. I tend to start out all excited and gun-ho, and then turn lukewarm as time goes on. This is the reason I knew I couldn't make it as an isolate.

And about the Scapular...I was enrolled with my first Scapular back in 1990 and a few years later was given permission to wear the medal, which I have worn ever since. Is it necessary for me to go back to the Brown Scapular now?

Vie

I am just reading and watching for the time being. I know the Carmelites and others started out in the East. However, many of those orders have been Latinized for centuries, and their Eastern attributes have faded into the background. I am interested in seeing where all this goes and how it develops. If it doesn't turn into "Latin Devotions 101" I may show more interest as time goes by.

Friend Ladyhawke1017,
Absloutely not. The Provincial Delegate of a province in America told me many years ago, when I asked the same question, "Quite diffinitely no. The Holy Father and the Order of the Ancient Observance have both mitigated the wearing of the cloth scapular for those who have a need to wear the medal. Wearing the cloth is a good thing for those who can and a medal is a good thing for those who can't. We can't try to be holier than the Holy Father."

Each medal must be blessed, however. I'm praying that you will recieve t and answer the Call.
Pray without ceasing... Michael ICCBF

Dear Alex,

I like that..."dogged determination". Las night wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. I usually sleep on the floor next to a new puppy's kennel for a couple of months but I'm getting to old for that.

Pray without ceasing....Michael

Dear byzanTN,
If it does than I will have let down not only you but those who have already joined. The whole purpose of being on the Byzantine Forum is NOT to Latinize the ICC as you put it. Take a look at some of the posts that our friend Alex has been good enough to share with us as further proof. We'll all be praying for you, but it is you who must receive the Call and accept it.
Pray without ceasing. May the Glorious Theotokos, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel spread her mantle of protection over you.

Pray without ceasing...Michael ICCBF

Dear Charles,

I once wrote a letter to the Melkite Archbishop Raya about the Carmelites and he wrote back to me to say that in the Middle East he had both Latin and Greek Catholic Carmelites under his jurisdiction.

I like to think that this internet Carmel has room enough for all traditions and can serve as a model for ecumenism in prayer, each according to his or her own tradition.

What I find impressive about the Latin Carmelites is how they are making overt efforts to recover their origins on Mt Carmel, beginning not only with the Eastern hermits who were there, but also with the Jewish hermits and prophets from the time of Sts Elias and Eliseus.

You raise the all important issue of how an Eastern Carmel should express itself within an Eastern framework.

And there are no pat answers to that.

Personally, I see in the scapular a symbol of the Protection of the Mother of God.

In fact, the Latin Carmelites have many pictures of their own version of the Protection, i.e. with Our Lady standing and extending her arms covering Carmelites with her Mantle.

The idea of going to a mountain to be alone with God is also very Eastern and Mt Carmel is a symbol of our striving to attain the peak of communion with God through Christ in the Spirit.

Fr. Elias also once indicated that the three Stars on the crest of Mt Carmel originally symbolized the three Stars on the forehead and shoulders of the Mother of God in the Eastern icons that represent that she is Ever-Virgin "before, during and after" the birth of Christ.

The spirituality of Mt Carmel essentially takes its inspiration from that of St Elias - and he belongs to both East and West!

I sincerely hope you do decide to join us and enrich us with your personal reflections on Eastern prayer and spirituality - something you do so well already!

With respect,

Alex
ICCBF

To all souls who feel Called to this Carmel:

I'd like you to read the quote below. This is from my friend and brother Alex ICCBF who, as usual, can express my thoughts much more eloquently that I.
Our goal is to find souls to bring honor and glory to the Theotokos under her title of Our Lady Of Mount Carmel; and through her intercession and, in immitation of Her and the Saints of Carmel, to bring praise, adoration and thanksgiving to the Holy, Mighty and Imortal One and to seek His Face in prayer. Each according to his or her own tradition.

Pray without ceasing...Michael ICCBF

James, <><



Mary Jo

To all souls who feel Called to Carmel:

In a previous post I brought to your attention days with special significants to Carmelites. Some souls choose to fast and or abstain (each according to his or her own tradition , or to make other appropiate sacrifices on the eve of such days. I have no idea how I could have been so careless as to have left out the Feast of St. Albert the Law Giver, Patriarch of Jerusalem, on Sept. 17. I just now realized my mistake and so this post. Mea Culpa, three times.

For those souls who celebrate Pentecost today and for those of our brothers and sisters who celebrate Pentecost (I'm afraid I only know the RC term)) in the weeks ahead may the Holy Paraclete infuse your entire being body, soul and mind; steel you to the will of the Holy, Mighty, Imortal One, and aid you in your prayers that you might see the Face of God.

Pray without ceasing... Michael ICCBF