Dear Parishioners of Mary Immaculate and Saint Rose,
July 16 is the feast day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. This is an optional memorial, so it is not required to even celebrate this day. For our diocese it is rather significant because until just recently Jefferson City was home to a community of cloistered Carmelite nuns and this is a major feast for their order.
Mount Carmel is a mountain in the Holy Land near the modern city of Haifa. It has connections to the prophets Elijah and Elisha. During the time of the Crusades when Christians had control of the Holy Land a community of hermits was founded on Mount Carmel and this order became known as the Carmelites. As the Muslims regained control of the Holy Land and the Christians were forced to leave, the spirituality and the order of the Carmelites spread to Europe. And with that, devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel began to grow within the Church.
The most well-known Carmelite devotion is the brown scapular. This was given to Saint Simon Stock. It is a part of the Carmelite habit. Lay people and priests and religious who are not a part of the Carmelite order can share in the graces of the brown scapular. It is small pieces of brown cloth on cords, one worn over the chest and the other on the back, under the clothes. On the pieces of cloth are usually embroidered an image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. The other side has the words, “Whosoever dies wearing this scapular shall not suffer eternal fire.” Now, the scapular is not something magical or superstitious. To be inducted into wearing the scapular one must promise to live a virtuous life and strive toward holiness.  The scapular is a visible reminder of taking on those responsibilities. It is about leading a life that will help one to follow our Lord Jesus Christ more closely.
Every year the Carmelite nuns would celebrate a novena for the nine days leading up to the celebration of the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. I was the leader of the novena for the last two years that it took place. There would be confession, a Mass (the nuns would lead the singing),  and there would be a talk on some aspect of Carmelite spirituality. It was an event that would pack the small Carmelite chapel, which would be filled with plants and cut flowers. Finally the number of nuns dwindled to the point that the Carmelite monastery could not be maintained and now it has become the rectory for the priests who serve at the Cathedral of Saint Joseph.
Although our diocese no longer has a Carmelite monastery, the legacy of those nuns lives on.  For half a century they prayed for the priests, religious and laity of the Diocese of Jefferson City. The effects of all those prayers continue to permeate the diocese. It reminds us all that we are called to grow in holiness. It reminds us that we are a people of prayer. It continues to point out to us the path that leads to holiness and eventually to the Heavenly Kingdom!
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us!
Msgr. Cox