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Discalced Carmelite Nuns

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Life in Carmel

A letter from the Carmel of St. Joseph

Dear Friends in Christ,

In this short sketch we hope to enlighten you on a well-worn question: "What do Carmelite nuns do all day?" We shall try to describe how the days are spent in our Carmel of St. Joseph in St. Agatha.

First, let us take a look at prayer and its place in the life of a Carmelite, for prayer is what Carmel is all about. In His conversation with the woman at the well, Jesus said, "If you only knew what God is offering, and Who it is that is saying to you: 'Give Me a drink,' you would have been the one to ask, and He would have given you living water." The entire life of a Carmelite is simply a practical way of responding to this desire of Our Lord to give Himself to those He loves. Prayer is her primary occupation. It introduces her into the realm of the supernatural, and renders her supple to the motions of divine grace. This intimate contact with God gives value to all her activities and makes her whole life an expression of her love for Him and for His children.

Sr. Marguerite, the extern sister, meditating before the crucifix inside the enclosure

Sr. Marguerite, the extern sister, meditating before the crucifix inside the enclosure

Each day this life of loving intimacy with Our Lord find its highest expression in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. In union with the self-oblation of the Lamb of God, the Carmelite offers herself and all creation to the glory of the Father and implores His mercy for all mankind. Throughout the day, the Divine Office is recited in choir at stipulated times, thus sanctifying and offering to God the entire day and night. The Divine Office is the official prayer of the Church and is prayed in the name of all - the entire world included. Composed of psalms and texts from Scripture, the Divine Office may be compared to the setting around a diamond - the diamond being the Mass.

Each year the Liturgy, the public worship of the Church, presents to us the Mysteries of the life of Christ and the various seasons unfold. This annual reliving of the great Mysteries of Our Redemption nourishes and strengthens the Carmelite's commitment to Christ, and her humble efforts to follow in His footsteps. Her two hours of mental prayer each day as well as her endeavour to live constantly in His Presence, draw much of their inspiration from Sacred Scripture and the Liturgy. Since her Rule commands her to "meditate day and night on the law of the Lord," her prayer life overflows into the hours spent in manual work. Here in St. Agatha many hours are spent in outdoor labor. Nature is a mirror of God's omnipotence and love, of seeming death bursting into life. The season work at our Carmel helps us to live our liturgical life - our life in Christ.

Springtime in Carmel

Our first outdoor activity as spring approaches is tapping our maple trees. Maple syrup time usually falls in Lent, and we have found it easy to correlate our spiritual life with the manual work being performed - for both are works of patience and prayer. To produce our "Old-Fashioned Maple Syrup" requires many willing hands. The sap is gathered several times a day, depending on the weather. Then a steady fire must be kept going and each "batch" quickly removed as soon as it is "just right". After straining, the syrup is bottled and carefully stored for the year's needs. Thus the long hours of work during the maple syrup season keep us constantly in contact with the Liturgy, for during Lent in the mass and the Divine Office our Mother the Church is continually urging us to let God purify us from all sin so that the new sap of His divine life can rise in our hearts at Easter. Through our patience and activity we realize more deeply the untiring effort needed on our part to cooperate with God's grace.

The beautiful mystery of the coming of spring is a wonder which we have all experienced. Here in the country especially we are surrounded by nature being reborn again. It mirrors the glorious Paschal joy - our new birth in Christ.

Spring holds a number of activities at Carmel. One of these is our bees. If the weather is warm and sunny, the bees become impatient to begin their work, and as soon as the first flowers appear they are busily humming their way to and fro. The life of the bees has much in common withour own monastic life and we find them a constant source of admiratioin and inspiration. They live in community, yet each bee wings her solitary flight from flower to flower gathering nectar and pollen for the good of all. So each carmelite nun lives her life alone with God, not for herself but for others, both within her community and beyond the monastery grounds. Like the Carmelite nun, the bee possesses nothing. Each action of the bee's life is in accordance with the law of the hive. The obedience practiced by the Carmelite nun, however, is not based on an instinctive force. It is a joyful generous giving of her will, her heart to Christ her Spouse so that He may continue His redemptive work through her. It is estimated that one bee in her lifetime gathers sufficient nectar to make less than a teaspoon of honey! Yet the little bee is never discouraged and continues her work with ardor and zeal until she is literally worn out and her wings can no longer sustain her in flight.

Before the statue of Our Lady in the chapel

Before the statue of Our Lady in the chapel

The days of a Carmelite nun are likewise composed of small actions seemingly very insignificant. But she knows that, as St. John of the Cross said; "The least action done out of pure love is worth more than all of the good works of the Church put together." To conclude our comparison between the hive and the monastery we want to mention the queen bee. It is well known that the queen is the center of the life of the live, stimulating each bee to do her best. If there is no queen, the harmonious activity of the hive ceases. In her entire life the Carmelite nun ever turns to Mary Immaculate, her Queen and her Mother, placing in her maternal hands herself and her work with trust and confidence. Our Blessed Mother's life too was made up of ordinary hidden tasks which, because of her pure love, were of infinite value in the eyes of God.

On our part the manual work involved in bee-keeping extends from May to October. During this time there is a routine check-up of each hive to be sure that all is well. When extracting time comes, like the bees themselves, practically the entire Carmelite community is involved. After the thin coating of wax is removed from the honey, two combs at a time are placed in a hand extractor which is turned by the sisters. The honey is then strained twice, bottled and labelled. After that, there is plenty of washing up to be done! [...]

Summertime in Carmel

As the season progresses, our thoughts turn to our garden which must be plowed, tilled, and planted. "Unless the seed is planted in the earth and dies, it cannot bring forth fruit." As "little brown roots in the ground," Carmelites must die to themselves so that God's own life might flow through them to souls in need, and to supply the Church with the supernatural strength she needs; to give to priests the strength and courage to face our modern world, bringing Christ wherever they go; to increase the number of priestly and religious vocations - labourers to gather the harvest of souls.

As spring quietly unfolds into summer, our outdoor work increases. Lawn cutting becomes practically a full time job! There is the garden to weed and cultivate and the early vegetables to gather. The flower beds are given loving attention, both for the beauty they lend to the grounds and the honor they give to Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament when they adorn His altar.

"The harvest is great. . ."

The bright days of August find us with our canning season in full swing. A number of good friends bring us garden produce which we can for winter use, along with the yield from our own garden. Besides providing for the needs of our community, we make a variety of preserves, pickles and chutneys as a supplementary means of income. Throughout the season our Extern Sister can be seen gathering wild berries and fruits along the roadsides and in the surrounding fields. Her brimming pailfuls provide many jars of jelly to be assembled into attractive gift packages. These are available at the monastery as long as the supply lasts. Each fall a special effort is made to create a variety of colorful "ready-to-deliver" packages for Christmas giving.

The colorful leaves of autumn usher in the beautiful but busy fall season. Harvest time calls to mind the necessity of prayer and penance for the spiritual harvest of souls which is our deep concern. "The harvest indeed is great but the laborers are few." So our days are spent in silent prayer as we labor - our minds and hearts united with Holy Mother Church and with our beloved Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, now gloriously reigning.

Each year, no matter how busy we may be, we always find time for our ten-day preached retreat which we spiritually relish. Then, too, each sister makes a ten-day retreat privately so that, praying and working in deeper silence and solitude, she may grow and mature in the spirit of our eremitical [hermit] vocation and renewed dedication to Christ her Beloved.

A half-hour's spiritual reading is an important part of each sister's daily spiritual nourishment. For as our Constitutions state: "Such reading is not less necessary for the support of the soul than food is for the body."

Carmel in the Wintertime

It is an old spiritual maxim that "idleness is the devil's workshop." Well, the devil would not have much room to set up shop at the carmel of St. Joseph, even in the winter months! With the outdoor seasonal work ended, more attention is given to inside tasks: extra sewing, soap-making for laundry purposes, general monastery-cleaning, and various forms of arts and crafts. Ceramics and oil painting claim the attention of many busy artists as the community occasionally gathers for a few days of intensive creative activity. Amidst line, colour and texture we search for the Eternal Beauty, hoping that our endeavours will speak a little to others of His ineffable Reality which is found in all of creation. At other times the sisters' artistic talents produce hand-painted and printed spiritual bouquet cards for special occasions and general use; silk-screened greeting cards, and other items of a creative nature. During recreation time adept fingers are often busily producing knitted and crocheted articles and colorful rugs.

As the soft white snow blankets the silent earth, the Carmelite nun turns her thoughts and her heart in joyous anticipation to the coming of Our Redeemer - the tender and lovely feast of Christmas. Throughout Advent, the Liturgy feeds and heightens this spirit of expectation, bringing it to a delightful climax and fulfilment in the celebration of the Feast Day itself. Our warm and charming monastic customs during the Christmas season help to sustain and nourish the precious grace of joy and peace which Christ through His Church so lavishly bestows on us.

Snow means work - keeping the driveways and walks clear. It also means delightful recreations! During the winter months, on Sundays and Feast days, we make use of our hills for skiing and tobogganing. Ice-skating on our homemade rink is another joyous pastime. Our Constitutions call for two hours of recreation each day. Ordinarily this time is spent doing manual work as the season demands, or in sewing, while conversing together. There is much laughter and good fun during these hours when our Carmelite family is united in joyous simplicity. And in the summer there is the occasional picnic. Our rule of silence enables each one to live her true Carmelite vocation - to dwell alone with God in a personal loving friendship. On Feast Days more time is allotted for both recreation and prayer.

Work inside the Monastery

Carmelite nuns do not just live and work outdoors. Within the monastery there is constant peaceful activity being carried on in the various offices. The kitchen (perhaps the most important office!), has often been called the "backbone of the monastery". Here simple but nourishing meals are prepared, and two kinds of bread - whole wheat and white - are baked for the community. Adjoining the kitchen is the refectory where the sisters eat their meals while hearing some part of the Holy Scripture read, as the Rule prescribes. We also have recourse to tapes. It is the task of the Refectorian to set out what is necessary for the meals and to keep the refectory clean.

Then there are the vestries (sewing-rooms) where the habits and all clothing worn by the nuns are made, and also aprons, babies' wear and other articles to be sold. There is the sacristy where everything is kept in order for the Divine Worship. The Secretary answers the mail, and the Treasurer pays the bills and balances the books each month. We must not fail to mention the Novitiate where the new aspirants [girls who have newly entered the order and are in formation], under the direction of the Mistress of Novices, are instructed and guided in the new form of Christian life which they wish to embrace.

The Extern Sister is both outer-sacristan and receptionist. Serving as the link between the cloister and the world, her duties include caring for the chapel, answering the telephone, meeting the people who come to visit our Carmel, and doing all the purchasing for the monastery. [Extern sisters are not cloistered, so they can leave the enclosure.] It is the duty of the turn sister to transmit the messages and to attend to the deliveries at the side entrance. Each sister by performing her particular work, contributes to the good of the entire community, which is under the wise and motherly guidance of our Reverend Mother Prioress.

"A unique and privileged vocation. . ."

Thus the life of a Carmelite nun is one of prayer and penance - a life of personal intimacy with Christ for the service of the Church and for all souls. In speaking of the contemplative life, the Second Vatican Council stated in the Decree on the Appropriate Renewal of the Religious Life, no. 7:

"Members of those communities which are totally dedicated to contemplation give themselves to God alone in solitude and silence and through constant prayer and ready penance. No matter how urgent may be the needs of the active apostolate, such communities will always have a distinguished part to play in Christ's Mystical body, where "all the members have not the same function" (Rom. 12:4). For they offer God a choice sacrifice of praise. They brighten God's people with the richest splendors of sanctity. By their example they motivate this people; by imparting a hidden, apostolic fruitfulness, they make this people grow. Thus they are the glory of the Church and an overflowing fountain of heavenly graces. . ."

[...] It remains with each one whom Our Lady has called to wear the habit of Carmel to humbly and gratefully recognize the liberality and the value of this gift of God, and to make every effort to fulfill her vocation. As Pope Paul VI told one of our former Father Generals during an audience: "Tell your sisters to be faithful to their vocation; theirs is a unique and privileged vocation in the Church."

So as we proceed together on our pilgrimage of faith towards our heavenly homeland, we assure you that day by day we bear all of you in our hearts.

Your humble sisters and servants in Christ,
Reverend Mother Prioress and all her daughters in Carmel

Carmel of St. Joseph, St. Agatha, Ontario

About the Discalced Carmelite Nuns | A Day with the Carmelite Nuns | Contact the Nuns

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