Since 2001 the Carmelites have been committed to serving the people of Timor-Leste. As an integral part of the Carmelite family, Whitefriars is committed to the opportunities to support their work. This Timor-Leste Immersion experience allows students to live in the Carmelite communities of Hera and Zumalai. Here, the students become immersed in and open to the transformative experience of living in another culture.
Two weeks ago, a group of 27 people set out to walk the beautiful Lilydale to Warburton rail trail. Amongst the group there was a range of walking experience, some who had walked hundreds of kilometres and some who were unsure of their ability but willing to try none the less.
Over three days we walked beside still waters, through groves of eucalypts, past lush farm paddocks and fragrant rose gardens, then cooled our feet in tumbling streams.
Sunday 12 November was the anniversary of the Santa Cruz massacre when more than 250 East Timorese pro-independence protestors were killed in the Santa Cruz cemetery, Dili, in 1991.
A mass was held at St Joseph’s Carmelite Church in Port Melbourne to commemorate the massacre and pray for Timor-Leste.
Fr Januario Pinto, OCarm, was the celebrant of the Mass and was joined by Fr Paul Sireh, OCarm, and members of the East Timor Student Association. Read more...
Br Matthew Tonini received the ministry of Acolyte on Sunday 5 November from Fr Paul Cahill (Prior Provincial) during Mass in the Carmelite Community Chapel at Middle Park (Vic).
Acolytes assist the priest during the celebration of the Eucharist, preparing the altar, missal and the vessels for Mass and cleaning them after Communion. They may also distribute Communion if necessary. Congratulations, Matthew!
In the past month more than 4,800 people have joined our Facebook family. Now we have 81,643 followers! Thank you for being part of our Carmelite Family. We hope that you will find here a place of reflection, prayer, inspiration and news from the Carmelites of Australia and Timor-Leste. We will continue to remember you in our Masses and prayers.
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The call to develop a sustainable economy is coming from many quarters of the globe: Pope Francis and people of faith worldwide; the United Nations; several world leaders and even some economists.
JPIC Team member Peter Thomas offers a few thoughts on this year's Australian Catholic Bishops Social Justice Statement: Everyone's Business - Developing an Inclusive and Sustainable Economy.
The new Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Zumalai parish (Timor-Leste) is gradually taking shape. Emerging from behind the existing church made of sticks and grass, the new brick and concrete church will be a welcome, permanent addition for the people of Zumalai.
Money originally donated by parishioners for a new Church disappeared during the struggle for independence in 1999 when the parish centre was ransacked.
Led by Carmelite Paul Sireh, join us for our eighth annual pilgrimage along the beautiful Lilydale Warburton Rail Trail culminating at the Sancta Sophia Meditation Centre. We rank our own pilgrimage alongside the great Christian pilgrimage destinations of Jerusalem, Rome, Santiago de Compostela and Canterbury Cathedral in England!
Friday 10 to Sunday 12 November 2017.
Earlier this year the Carmelite Family in Timor-Leste gathered for a seminar celebrating the 450th anniversary of the birth of St Mary Magdalen de'Pazzi. Born in Florence in 1566 St Mary Magdalen entered the Carmelite Convent there and became a prominent spiritual figure for the Carmelites and for Church reform.
Around 200 members of the Carmelite Family in Timor-Leste were present to hear Fr Antonio, OCD, talk about the life and writings of St Mary Magdalen.
'Let the poor speak!' Peter Thomas talks about the work of Dom Hélder Câmara, 'bishop of the slums', and Pope Francis in giving the poor a face and a voice in the church and the world.
'Both Hélder Câmara and Pope Francis are advocates of the poor. They both acknowledge charity but seem to witness to a more radical Christ-like position of being with the poor; of learning from the poor, of being in solidarity with the poor and of empowering the poor.'
