Prayer

Our Life

“Each of you is to stay in his own cell, pondering the Lord’s law day and night and keeping watch in prayer.”
Carmelite Rule

A Life of Prayer

For your love is better than life

My lips will sing your praise.

Psalm 63

The call to Carmel is a call to a life of deep, personal friendship with Jesus Christ, expressed and nourished through prayer. It is an imitation of that aspect of Jesus' life when, "Rising very early before dawn, Jesus left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed." Mark 1:35.

In addition to two hours of silent, contemplative prayer, one in early morning and the other in late afternoon, our Carmelite day revolves around the Eucharist and the Liturgy of the Hours - the Divine Office - through which we embrace the whole world, presenting to the Lord it’s fears and hopes, its joys and sufferings.

The Carmelite nun lives with Jesus crucified for the salvation of the world, offering herself with Him, sharing in the mystery of His death and resurrection, and so playing her part in His redeeming work.

"It is our vocation to stand before God for all."

St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross

Silence & Solitude

"The Father spoke one Word, which was His Son, and this Word He always speaks in eternal silence, and in silence must it be heard by the soul." St John of the Cross.

Silence and solitude foster the prayerful atmosphere so typical of Carmel.

Enclosure ensures this climate of silence and recollection. Our separation 'from the world for the sake of the world' is an eloquent symbol of our radical commitment to a life of unceasing prayer and intercession.

Time spent in her cell or in the small hermitages in the garden, as well as times of retreat, allow each sister to enter more deeply into the solitude of the desert.

"Give peace to my soul, make it your Heaven,

your beloved dwelling, and your resting place."

St Elizabeth of the Trinity