O.Carm
Chapter of the Carmelite Nuns Held in Vetralla
Elective Chapter Held in Carmelite Monastery of Monte Carmelo in Vetralla, Italy
The Carmelite monastery of Monte Carmelo in Vetralla, Italy, held its Chapter of Elections on September 9, 2026.
The monastery was founded in 1669 by Carmelite nuns commonly referred to as the "Barberine." The Venerable Maria Minima Aloisia of Jesus the Nazarene (d. 1831) lived there. After the buildings were completely destroyed during the Second World War, a new monastery was established in the suburbs of the town of Vetralla. In 2021, following the suppression of the San Giovanni La Punta monastery, three nuns from that community joined the Carmel in Vetralla.
From that monastery, nuns set out to found the Carmelite monastery in San Giovanni La Punta in 1960. The body of Cardinal Domenico Tardini was buried in the church of the monastery. It was through his generosity that the purchase of the new house was possible following the war. On July 30, 1962, Pope John XXIII visited the monastery and prayed at the tomb of the cardinal.
In the original monastery, St. Paul of the Cross, founder of the Congregation of the Passion of Christ (Passionists), conducted spiritual exercises and meditations and provided spiritual guidance to the nuns. The grills behind which he spoke are still preserved in the cloister parlors of the new monastery.
The monastery is a member of the St. Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi Federation of Carmelite monasteries. The website of the monastery is: www.carmelitanevetralla.it
The nuns elected to leadership roles are:
Prioress | Priora | Priora:
Sr M Rosalia di Gesù Risorto, O. Carm.
1st Councilor | 1ª Consejera | 1ª Consigliera:
Sr Marianna di Cristo Re, O. Carm.
2nd Councilor | 2ª Consejera | 2ª Consigliera:
Sr M Rita di Gesù Cristo, O. Carm.
Treasurer | Ecónoma | Economa:
Sr M Rita di Gesù Cristo, O. Carm.
Sacristan | Sacristana | Sacrestana:
Sr Marianna di Cristo Re, O. Carm.
St. Albert of Jerusalem, Bishop and Lawgiver
September 17 | Feast
There are very few facts known about the birth of Albert. The first biographical data comes from the Canons of Mortara. Albert entered into this order around 1170. Around 1180 Albert began developing connections with the pope and the Roman curia. Between 1181 and 1183 he undertook two missions at the behest of Alexander III and Lucio III. The following year he was nominated bishop.
He was bishop of Vercelli for 20 years but continued to be involved in diplomatic activity on behalf of the popes. Some of his work was settling conflict between people or cities. But he was also very active in the area of legislation and organizational structure. He would ultimately provide these gifts in service to the hermits on Mount Carmel.
In 1204 the Canons of the Holy Sepulchre elected Albert as patriarch of Jerusalem. Pope Innocent III added the responsibilities. Of papal legate for the Holy Land and Middle East. Albert arrived in Palestine in 1206, residing at Acre since Jerusalem was occupied by the Saracens. Here too Albert became the mediator of various disputes. In fact, this role as mediator has led some to conclude that Albert became involved with the hermits on Mount Carmel because of a dispute among the members.
When exactly Albert wrote his formula vitae for the hermits is open for discussion. This document was addressed to someone named “B” which later traditions named “Brocard.” Albert becomes referred to in the Carmelite Order as “the lawgiver” for his development of a rather short document outlining the life of the hermits on Mount Carmel. Albert’s formula vitae which will eventually become the Rule of the Order.
By the 16th century Albert’s feast was celebrated on April 8. Later it was customary to celebrate his feast on September 17. There were attempts to have Albert proclaimed as a martyr but the Order continues to celebrate him as “bishop and legislator of our Order.”
Read more about the life of St. Albert ...
Read about the Carmelite Rule | Text of the Rule ...
Watch here the Reflections on St. Albert of Jerusalem with Br. Patrick Mullins O. Carm.
Watch here the Interview with Br. Patrick Mullins O. Carm, an expert on St. Albert.
Books Published by Edizioni Carmelitane on St. Albert of Jerusalem:
Celebrating St. Albert and His Rule. Rules, Devotion, Orthodoxy and Dissent
Edited by Michelle Sauer and Kevin Alban, O. Carm.
The Bollandist Dossier on St. Albert of Jerusalem
Daniel Papenbroeck, SJ | Edited and translated by Patrick Mullins, O. Carm.
St. Albert of Jerusalem and the Roots of Carmelite Spirituality
Patrick Mullins, O. Carm.
The Life of St. Albert of Jerusalem. A Documentary Biography. Part 1
Patrick Mullins, O. Carm.
The Life of St. Albert of Jerusalem. A Documentary Biography. Part 2
Patrick Mullins, O. Carm.
Albert and His Rule
Michael Mulhall, O. Carm.
A Pattern for Life. The Rule of St. Albert and the Carmelite Laity
Patrick Thomas McMahon, O. Carm.
The Carmelite Rule. Proceedings of the Lisieux Conference. 4-7 July 2005
Various Authors
Celebrating At Home - 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time
God’s Outrageous Generosity
(Matthew 20:1-16)
For many, the parable which Jesus tells in the Gospel today seems profoundly unjust. Why should those who have done little work get the same pay as those who worked all day?
Maybe the answer lies in the first reading for today: My ways are not your ways; my thoughts not your thoughts. So often in the scriptures, God seems to have a totally different way of approaching things to most of us.
The parable presents God as a landowner going out at five different times during the day to hire workers for his vineyard.
With the 6am workers he makes an agreement for one denarius for the day’s work - the usual daily wage for a labourer. The workers who come later are promised a ‘fair wage’. But when payment time comes, they get a full day’s pay even though some have worked only one hour!
Usually, the youngest and fittest would be hired first and older and weaker workers left till last. But God doesn’t seem too worried about what condition the workers are in or what time of day it is.
The last comers must have been delighted to have received their unexpected full day’s pay. For them, it was really a gift rather than a wage for time worked. The ‘early birds’ fell victim to ‘rising expectations’, thinking that they would get more.
In giving both early birds and late comers the same ‘wage’ the landowner has made them equals – all are equal beneficiaries of God’s gracious invitation to the Kingdom. And there is a place for everyone in that Kingdom, including those often left behind in the world – the poor, sick, old, disabled, etc.
Life in the Kingdom is not a reward for long hours of work. It is a gift – it cannot be earned, but is had by responding to God’s choice of us, no matter what condition we are in, whether we are an early bird or a late comer.
God’s kind of thinking and acting is often very different to human thinking and acting.
The parable can also be interpreted as a practical expression of how to love our neighbour – with generosity and compassion, without considering if they deserve our kindness or not – for the disciple of Jesus must think and act like God.
This parable fits right into the biblical idea of justice which is heavily biased in favour of the ‘have nots’ – the widows, orphans, poor, blind, lame, sinners, etc. No one is left out of the gaze of God’s care.
God’s outrageous and extravagant graciousness and generosity is so different to the often petty and exacting way in which we treat each other. God’s sense of fairness and justice is so much broader and richer than ours. That is what life in the Kingdom of God is supposed to be.
Like last Sunday, it is our awareness of God’s extraordinary kindness, patience and mercy which help us to act in the same way - to see with God’s eyes, to feel with God’s heart and to act with God’s intention.
Celebrating At Home - 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time
A Family Formed by Forgiveness - Part 2
(Matthew 18:21-35)
Today’s Gospel follows directly from last Sunday’s reading about how to deal with differences and disputes.
Peter has understood the point of last Sunday’s Gospel (forgiveness and pastoral care), but wants to know the limits – is forgiving someone seven times enough? Jesus’ reply indicates that there should be no limit to the number of times. Then he tells a parable about forgiveness and gratitude.
There is no doubt that genuine forgiveness, forgiveness ‘from the heart’, is a real challenge. The more personally we are hurt by another person the harder it is to forgive them. Forgiveness is often more a movement than a moment. Often we only come to forgiveness step by step over a long period of time.
If we can pray for those who hurt us we have already taken the first step on the road to forgiveness.
Forgiveness does not imply that what a person did was OK.
The biblical idea of forgiveness is built on the awareness of God’s extraordinary compassion towards us; God’s refusal to hold our past against us - the theme of today’s first reading.
But that action of God must find its resonance in how we behave towards each other. It will only have that resonance when we experience personally God’s overwhelming love for us. That is what binds us into relationship with God and into acting towards others as God has acted towards us. That experience of God’s compassion builds a gratitude in us which enables us to forgive each other.
For the disciple of Jesus, forgiveness must be real and genuine - from the heart - and built on the awareness of God’s compassion and mercy towards us. That is why Jesus includes forgive us our debts as we have forgiven those who are in debt to us in his great prayer. If God has forgiven us, then we must forgive each other.
We don’t live our Christian lives in some kind of fantasy-land filled with pious thoughts and lovely dreams. We live it in the often harsh realities and difficult situations that human beings encounter.
How we live it will depend on the degree to which we have the same mind and heart as God.
Real life is the proving-ground of faith.
Prior General's Schedule for September 2026
Fr. Desiderio García Martínez, O. Carm., the prior general, has the following schedule planned for the month of September 2026:
August 31-September 3: Triennial Chapter of the Neapolitan Province
September 7-11: Retreat-Planning -- General Curia -- Nocera Umbra, (Italy)
September 21-25: Elective Chapter of the Commissariat of Paranà -- Brazil
Celebrating At Home - 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
A Family Formed By Forgiveness
(Matthew 18:15-20)
Chapter 18 of St Matthew’s Gospel is often referred to as the Sermon on the Church. It contains the teaching of Jesus about the life of the Christian community.
Today’s reading details a procedure for dealing with differences and disputes. It follows the Parable of the Lost Sheep which is concerned with seeking out and bringing back the one who gets lost.
In the same way, resolving disputes is not about being right and punishing an offender, but about conversion and reconciliation.
The three-stage process moves from individual dialogue to a small group trying to sort things out, to the whole community being involved in discernment and decision.
Traditionally, we have understood the words, ‘if he refuses to listen to the community, treat him like a gentile or a tax collector, to mean that the person should be expelled or excommunicated from the community.
However, Jesus was notorious for sharing meals with tax collectors and sinners and he called one of them, Matthew, into his inner circle of disciples. At the end of the Gospel, Jesus instructs the disciples not to reject the pagans but to invite them to become children of God. Excommunication doesn’t seem to fit, either, with the sentiments in the Lord’s prayer about forgiveness.
The parable of the Lost Sheep immediately before this passage seems to indicate that the church, following Jesus’ example, should never give up on any of the sheep, especially the lost ones. It has a responsibility to try to win them back.
The next verse about ‘binding and loosing’ extends to the community the power of authoritative decision-making given to Peter and the disciple-leaders in the Gospel of two Sundays ago. This decision-making follows community discussion and discernment about what is to be done. If members of the community pray and discern together about how to win back the lost one, their prayer will be heard, even if only two pray. Jesus reminds them that whenever members of the community gather in his name he is present with them.
We share a common responsibility for the lives and faith of one another and for our community as a whole. Our presence, example and prayer encourage and confirm the faith and life of Jesus among us.
Chapter of the Carmelite Sisters held in Málaga
The XXIst Ordinary General Chapter of the las Hermanas Carmelitas del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús was held in Málaga
The 21st Ordinary General Chapter of the Hermanas Carmelitas del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús began on August 2 and concluded on August 22, 2026.
The Chapter took place at their Motherhouse / Madre Asunción School in El Limonar (Málaga) under the theme of the Chapter Year: Anchored in the Heart of Jesus Christ, Forgers of Hope.
During these three weeks, representatives from communities in various countries evaluated the progress of the Congregation and discerning the organizational steps for the coming years.
The Chapter Assembly elected the Superior General and her Council, who will guide the life and mission of the Congregation over the next four years.
The General Council is composed as follows:
Sr. Ma Teresa Delgado Aguado
Superior General
Sr. Lus Marina Materano Perozo
Vicar General
Sr. Lucía María Frois Colaco
Delegate Councilor for the Africa Zone
Sr. Mercedes Espinal de Jesús
Delegate Councilor for the Caribbean Zone
Sr. María José Medina Alguacil
Delegate Councilor for the Iberian Zone
Sr. Ma Dolores Calvo López
General Treasurer
Lectio Divina September, 2026
Opening Prayer
Almighty God,
every good thing comes from You. Fill our hearts with love for You, increase our faith, and by Your constant care protect the good You have given us.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Saint Teresa Margaret Redi (OCD), Virgin
1 September Optional Memorial
St. Teresa Margaret Redi, OCD., was recognized as an intensely spiritual religious with a profound devotion to the phrase "God is love." She was also noted for her humble service to the sick.
One of the girls who had graduated from the boarding school several years before approached one of Anna Maria’s teachers to thank her for the education and the Christian formation, as she was entering the Carmelites. Anna Maria saw the deep joy on this young woman’s face and instantly knew that she, too, desired to enter the Carmelites.
In the spring of 1764, she applied to the Monastery of St. Teresa in Florence and was admitted in November. She took the name Teresa Margaret of the Sacred Heart and professed her vows in March of 1766.
Teresa was assigned the role of community nurse, and she tenderly cared for the suffering sisters in her care, particularly those experiencing mental illness. Teresa devoted herself to caring for her fellow sisters and cultivating her robust interior life. As a Carmelite sister, Teresa maintained the disposition of joy that drew her to the Order, despite rebukes and harsh treatment.
Teresa died at the age of twenty-three, on March 11, 1770, in the midst of an outbreak of a disease in the monastery. She continued caring for other ill nuns until she reached her deathbed. Teresa’s body, swollen from disease, at the time of her funeral, had miraculously been restored to its healthy form.
To read more ...
Blessed Jacques Retouret, Priest and Martyr
26 August Optional Memorial
Excerpts from the Homily of St. John Paul II at the Beatification of 110 Victims including Carmelite Jacques Retouret
Martyrdom is a special gift of the Holy Spirit: a gift for the entire Church. It finds its culmination in today’s liturgy of Beatification, in which we give special glory to God: “Te martyrum candidatus laudat exercitus.” God, who through a solemn act of the Church—Beatification—crowns their merits, at the same time reveals the gift of grace bestowed upon them, as the liturgy proclaims: “Eorum coronando merita, tua dona coronas” (Missale Romanum, Praefatio de Sanctis I).
The new Blesseds, faced with the choice of abandoning the demands of the faith or dying for it, strengthened by God’s grace, placed their own fate in His hands. The martyrs renounced defending themselves not because they held life in low esteem, but because of their total love for Jesus Christ.
9. This morning, dear Brothers and Sisters, our thoughts turn to the sixty-four French priests who died along with hundreds of others on the “pontoons of Rochefort.” As Saint Paul exhorted Timothy, they “fought the good fight of the faith.” They even endured a long ordeal for having remained faithful to their faith and to the Church. They died because they remained steadfast to the very end in affirming their close communion with Pope Pius VI.
In profound moral solitude, they were committed to maintaining a spirit of prayer. “Tormented” by hunger and thirst, they uttered not a single word of hatred toward their tormentors. Slowly, they allowed themselves to be identified with the sacrifice of Christ, which they celebrated by virtue of their ordination. Here they are, then, presented to our gaze as a living sign of the power of Christ at work in human weakness.
In the depths of their distress, they retained a sense of forgiveness. The unity of the faith and the unity of their homeland appeared to them as more important than anything else. We can therefore joyfully echo the words of Sacred Scripture: the souls of these righteous ones are in God’s hands. “They seemed to perish. Their departure was regarded as a misfortune, but they themselves are at peace.”
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