Dear Friend of Carmel,
.
As mentioned in another newsletter, we continue to use a cagey
maneuver to reduce the number of power outages these days. All one has
to do is to fill every available container with water beforehand, and presto,
one's worries are over, maybe. Stumbling over these filled containers in
between acts, while the sun is shining in full brightness, almost seems
worth the advantage.
.The rose garden outside our
kitchen window and runway is a beauty to behold. We had such an overwhelming
response to this project that now we are running out of space. We even
had to engage a sod cutter to make room. It made us recall the day we first
planted that grass and all that has happened since. The grass grew, and
we have grown with it. Each morning, usually very early, we are greeted
with roses on the kitchen counter, usually placed there by our eldest member.
It does something to the heart to watch a rose unfold petal by petal. Truly,
no rose was ever born to blush unseen.
.
Right in the middle of writing this letter, we were given a huge
double rainbow that spanned the entire
sky and came so low to earth that it touched Highway Old 61. In our Honey
For The Heart, there is a quote that says: Even a faint rainbow is a rainbow.
This one, however, continued to get brighter and brighter. Such a sign
of hope makes everything grow! Shakespeare writes that "we have a
daily beauty in our lives." He must have had Eldridge in mind when
he said that.
.
One of our Sisters, while
doing business over the phone, was put on hold with all that lovely background
music. "She knows how much I love my tractor," the song went.
Yes, we love our tractor (very much so when it works,) our sod cutter,
the neighbor who helped us run it, our weed eater and all the mulch generated
that makes our garden so abundant. By the way, did you know that monarchs
feed on milkweed plants? We placed a little fence around a few of them
so that our butterflies would be able to find a resting place. We didn't
tell the farmers we did this, however.
.
This year, we are celebrating the 750th
Anniversary of the giving of the scapular to St. Simon Stock, as
legend has it. Do you remember your First Holy Communion when you were
given one of these? In case your own has worn a bit thin, we will send
you another, at no charge. Simply Email us your address. As mentioned in
our current Journey and the Joy, everyone longs to be clothed with heaven
and to have the experience of being protected. The scapular is also a sign
of God's faithful covenant which carries the promise that we will never
be alone.
.
Dear Friend, may the summer be good to
you and may you be clothed with Heaven, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, and all
the Saints. As always, we are here for you. Know that we are
praying for you even before you ask.
.
Your Carmelites, Eldridge,
Iowa
.
Carmelite Monastery
17937 250th Street
Eldridge, Iowa 52748 - 9425
...
O Source of Carmel's
inspiration,
from you we learn how to
prayeveryday life.We pray our joys, our sorrows, our new ideas, our disappointments, and all our changed plans.Having tasted heaven's abiding senseof hope and optimism,we pray all your desires within us, yet to be fulfilled.O Gentle Companion of All Our Concerns,grant that all our becomings may be something new -- something more,
something that never existed before.
We place this cause in your hands.
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, pray for us. (Three Hail Marys)
...