Saint of the Week

Memorial this week:    
July 16
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel

Mount Carmel in Palestine was a holy place hundreds of years before Christ. There, the Old Testament prophet Elijah lived, and challenged the prophets of the pagan god, Baal to a contest where the power of God was manifest.

Later, in the early centuries of Christianity, people who desired to pray and deepen their spiritual life settled on the slopes of Mount Carmel. In the 12^th century, hermits living there erected a chapel dedicated to Our Lady and by the 13^th century they were known as the “Brothers of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

“The Carmelite brothers and sisters of our time are their descendants and today is their feast day. This Order embraces an ascetic life of poverty and contemplative spirituality. Many saints were Carmelites:  St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Therese of the Child Jesus, and St. Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein).