During the month of October the country experienced dramatic market swings. Many of us of the baby boomer generation saw our savings melt before our eyes like a popsicle left in the sun. Crises come and go. They are a part of life.

Parents of Saint Therese BeatifiedBy: Father Terrence Cyr, O.Carm.

Sunday, October 19th, Mission Sunday in the Church’s liturgical calendar, fell this year on a gloriously beautiful and sunny fall day in Lisieux, France. This day will be remembered, not for the weather, but for the solemn celebration of the beatification of the parents of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus.

Saint Boniface Celebrates 150 years
By: Father Jerry Williams, O.Carm.

On Sunday, October 19th, 2008, the parish community of Saint Boniface Church in Scipio, Kansas, celebrated the 150th anniversary of its foundation. During the latter part of the 1840s, Jesuits John Shoemaker and Paul Ponziglione started many missions in the eastern part of Kansas. One of the most prominent among them was along the Pottawatomie Creek, which served the Native American people there.

Whitefriars Students Participate in Outdoor Leadership School
By: Brother Tony Mazurkiewicz, O.Carm.

While the development of leadership is an implicit aspect of our initial formation program, for three days in early August fourteen men in initial formation along with director Quinn Conners, O.Carm., engaged in three days of formal leadership training under the auspices of the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS).

Carmelites Join Call to Reaffirm Human Rights for All
By: Father William Harry, O.Carm.

Representatives from four branches of the Carmelite Family and five different Carmelite provinces participated in the 61st Annual DPI/NGO Conference at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France, on September 3-5, 2008. The event celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights.

In Search of a Carmelite Heart
By: Father John Horan, O.Carm.

In many cultures people gather at the village well to exchange news. There they catch up on what is happening in the village or beyond. The bulletin board at Whitefriars Hall in Washington, DC, where I am privileged to live serves as a type of village well for me.

“A Catholic education is a ticket out of the ghetto”
By: Kathleen Anderson

Growing concern about falling enrollment in inner-city Catholic schools has been on Father Tracy’s mind for a while. Working with the Catholic Education Foundation in Los Angeles and a core team of like-minded priests, they brought 81 pastors and parish administrators together on October 1st to address this issue head-on.

Celebrating the 800th Year of the Rule of Saint Albert
By: Father Gregory Houck, O.Carm.

800 years—it is not often that something lasts this long. The Carmelites have just ended a yearlong celebration of the 800th anniversary of the Order that began with the Feast of Saint Albert of Jerusalem on September 17th of 2007 and ended on the same feast day one year later. Saint Albert had been asked by those first hermits living on Mount Carmel to write a Formula of Life so they could lead a more structured and more organized religious way of life.

Building Homes and Challenging the Culture of Consumerism
By: Father David Blanchard, O.Carm.

Natividad Melendez is a beggar. Over forty years ago, while serving as a soldier in the Armed Forces of El Salvador, he lost his right leg in an explosion. Dismissed from the army, he could no longer work. Like all poor men and women in El Salvador, he had no social security and no health benefits. His medical attention depended on the public health system which was virtually non-existent. His leg stump healed badly and he took up begging as a way to stay alive.

The Role of Eggplant in the Formation Process
By: Father David Blanchard, O.Carm.

September and October are hurricane season in Central America. El Salvador is on the western coast of the Isthmus and we do not usually get the winds, but the rain is another thing altogether. October has been particularly hard for us at our Carmelite House of Studies, Xiberta Center, here in El Salvador. Early in the month we were hit with three hurricanes.

Crespi High School Dedicates New Facility
By: Sal Lema

At four in the afternoon, on Saturday, August 16, 2008, an hour before the Mass and dedication ceremonies were to begin, the building was abuzz with workers. Janitors were twice sweeping the new floors; caterers were uncovering a huge layer cake and filling the flowing fountain with champagne. The musicians were setting up their instruments and performing mike checks....