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SECULAR ORDER OF DISCALCED CARMELITES
England, Wales and Scotland
cpblamires
14 minutes ago1 min read
A celebrity convert
Recently I have been reading about Eve Lavalliere (1866-1929). A website tells us that ‘For years, Eve Lavalliere was the toast of...
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cpblamires
23 hours ago1 min read
Why not become fire?
A friend sent me this delightful quotation from one of the Desert Fathers. Abba Lot came to Abba Joseph and said: Father, according as I...
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cpblamires
2 days ago1 min read
A celebration at the Priory
The Feast of St John of the Cross was celebrated appropriately on Saturday at the OCD Priory on Boars Hill outside Oxford. There was an...
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cpblamires
5 days ago1 min read
Freedom of the Spirit
At a recent Carmelite meeting we were discussing the future structure of our meetings. One of our number observed that in (Secular)...
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cpblamires
6 days ago2 min read
Carmel and Guadalupe
On today’s Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, I reproduce a few lines from an article about the Carmelite presence at the shrine in Mexico. ...
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cpblamires
7 days ago1 min read
Heart speaks to heart
When I was in my late teens, I took a turn inwards, I became introspective and self-critical. I lost that confidence and spontaneity...
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cpblamires
Dec 101 min read
The power of the little way
I have been reading more about the legendary French singer Edith Piaf (said to be one of the most celebrated performers of the 20th...
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cpblamires
Dec 91 min read
Carmelite without knowing it
I have been looking recently at the story of Dorothy Day (1897-1980), the well-known American convert journalist and social activist who...
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cpblamires
Dec 61 min read
The Rewards of detachment
At a Carmelite meeting last night we focussed on the theme of detachment. We were looking at Chapter 8 in The Way of Perfection. This...
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cpblamires
Dec 52 min read
'Everything is grace'
My attention was drawn to this seemingly innocuous saying of St Therese many years ago before I became a Carmelite. Now it is part of...
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cpblamires
Dec 41 min read
Holy Pictures
My first discovery of today’s Saint, John Damascene (675/676-749) came when I was pondering the claims of the Catholic Church in my...
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cpblamires
Dec 31 min read
Day Retreats?
At our OCDS National Council meeting yesterday, the possibility of organising day retreats was raised. We currently organise week-long...
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cpblamires
Dec 21 min read
Our retreats
Today we have the OCDS National Council Meeting online. The National Council is composed of the National President, Annette Goulden, and...
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cpblamires
Nov 291 min read
A miracle of littleness
Everything about her is a miracle. This slip of a girl only ever once travelled any distance outside her home territory of Normandy to...
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cpblamires
Nov 281 min read
The power of the Virtual
Tonight our Virtual Carmel meets. These monthly internet Seculars sessions are so much part of my routine now that it is easy to forget...
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cpblamires
Nov 271 min read
The Divine Infant
I am lifting today’s blog from one published by Bishop Erik Varden of Trondheim the other day. He is a Cistercian monk who used to be...
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cpblamires
Nov 262 min read
The God of surprises
Yesterday I blogged about pilgrimages and the wholly unexpected graces I had received from them. It’s actually a feature of life that...
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cpblamires
Nov 251 min read
Therese and pilgrimage
I have just heard about a pilgrimage to Lisieux to be held next May and I am pondering joining it. After all, it will be the centenary...
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cpblamires
Nov 221 min read
Catholics and stress
I was in the Post Office a few months ago and I picked up a leaflet about Meditation Classes. I wasn’t surprised to see that it was a...
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cpblamires
Nov 211 min read
Just as I am
I came across this quote from the renowned Swiss theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905-1988). ‘ W hat you are is God’s gift to you. W...
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