Carmelite Nuns Urgently Need Help

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Ave Maria

Dear Reverend Fathers,

Dear Friends & Benefactors,

Greetings from Ireland on this Feast of St. Bridget!

We are pleased to share with you Issue 22 of our newsletter which is now available on our website. https://carmelitesholyface.com/files/carmelitesholyface-newsletter-22.pdf

Please be assured of our profound gratitude for all you do and have already done for us. In return, we assure you of a share in the benefit of our daily prayers and sacrifices. While we do try to acknowledge all financial donations, which of course are much appreciated, your prayers have helped us and are helping us more than you know; and we cannot thank you sufficiently for them. May God Himself be your reward, and may the light of His Countenance shine upon you all!

In the love of the Holy Face of Jesus,

Mother Irene & Community

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Ave Maria!

               THE GREAT CARMELITE FAST BEGINS!

Dear Rev. Fathers, Friends & Benefactors,

Our Carmelite Great Fast begins today - 14th September -Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.  According to the Holy Rule of St. Albert, all Carmelites are to fast from this day until Easter Day. In our Community which is dedicated to making Reparation to the Holy Name and Face of Jesus, this fast consists of just one full meal per day. We share this information with you to give you spiritual strength because we are the praying heart of the Catholic Church and are here to offer sacrifices for you and your loved ones. Since we are all a part of the Mystical Body of Christ, we as spiritual Mothers in the Heart of the Church, choose to deny ourselves the satisfaction of material food so that God will look kindly on you, our spiritual children, and fill your life with good things (cf. Psalm 103:5). Our daily prayers and penance rise up like incense before the Throne of God for your prayer intentions. We humbly ask you in return to continue to support us by your prayers and whatever alms you can afford. Soon we shall be six Sisters in Community. This means we need to build more 10x8 ft. Cells for individual members which cost min. €3,500 each. 

May God bless and reward you and may He make His Face shine upon you and give you His peace.

In Jesus' Name

Mother Irene of the Holy Face.

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Prioress

 + Ave Maria

Dear Rev. Fathers, Friends & Benefactors

We wish to share with you a short video to show you for your spiritual edification. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbd_zbAWGB4&lc=Ugw30h9X4MQ8KGmPe4t4AaABAg We are now four Carmelite Religious present. Two more candidates will be joining us next month. More vocations means more Cells need to be built. Though these 10x8 wooden garden sheds cost minimum €2,900 each when fully converted into dwelling Cells for individual Sisters, they work out to be far cheaper than having to build an extension onto our main house. We do our best to support ourselves by the work of our hands as indeed we all must do. However, the cost of building material here in Ireland has skyrocketed. Because we have answered the call to spend all our hours in intercessory prayer and penance for you and your loved ones, we depend on your support to help us build St. Joseph's Hermitage. Please send us what you can. No donation is too small and you can be certain you will be richly rewarded both in this life and the next for your charity. In Jesus' Name, we beg God's blessing on you and your loved ones.

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AVE MARIA!

Dear Rev. Fathers, Friends & Benefactors,

It is with much joy we share the news of the growth of our Religious Community. On 25th July, two beautiful young ladies joined us to begin their formation to become Carmelite Nuns. At present there are four more young aspirants in the pipeline waiting to join us. More vocations mean more "Veronicas" to wipe and honour the Holy Face of Jesus and make reparation for all our sins. 

Because of your ongoing support, we have been able to repair the small old house on our land. It is  now serving as our Refectory, Kitchen, Library, temp. chapel, sewing room, office, and Community Room. But with the increase in candidates, we urgently need more Cells/cabins. The house is not large enough and has no bedrooms for individual nuns to sleep in it. Each Sister therefore needs a separate Cell/log cabin. These cost approx. 3,000 euro each because they are fully insulated with PVC door and window and solid fuel stove.  

Please continue to help us as best you can. We pray every day for all our Benefactors and each month a Mass is offered for your intention. May God bless and reward you and thank you again. 

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Ave Maria

Dear Friends & Benefactors,

We sincerely apologise for failing to keep you updated more regularly on the progress here. With the good weather and long daylight hours here at last, we must use every opportunity to plant this year's crops, stain our wooden Cells, work on the house, etc., It means that the office work has been somewhat neglected...However, you have not been forgotten in our prayers and sacrifices which of course is our main Work in the heart of the Church.

Since our last update, there has been much progress. Coloured cement tiles have been laid on the entire ground floor, and now that we have sealed them with a clear varnish, they look just like traditional terracotta tiles - at a fraction of the cost. Upstairs, laminate wood flooring is now in place. We did most of the work of laying it ourselves, with help from one kind volunteer. The skirting boards have also been installed, although many of them have yet to be painted. The stairs are in place, but they too have yet to be stained and varnished...

This very moment the electrician is finishing off the electrical work, and the plumber has done a great deal already.  One solid fuel stove was purchased second hand and is in good working order, while a range cooker is waiting to be installed.

The outward appearance of the house has changed little in the last 6 months, but hopefully during the summer the builder will find time to plaster it. We would love to be able to cover it with flagstone to give it a more monastic appearance, but this would likely be too costly. 

It is hopeful that we may be able to move into the house this summer. Still, there remains much work to be done in the development of St. Joseph's Hermitage. After the house, the erection of an enclosure wall is one of our most urgent needs. 

One of the largest rooms in the house will serve as a temporary chapel, but it is our hope to erect something more permanent at some time in the future, as soon as circumstances will allow. Tentative plans are even now being drawn up for that purpose. Any donations which may not be required for the house or necessary development (such as the enclosure wall) will be carefully set aside for the future chapel - which is the most important part of a monastery.

Overall, the progress on St. Joseph's Hermitage has been good and our hearts are full of gratitude, not only to God Who is so visibly blessing us, but also to you dear friends, since it is through you that He has done so. May He Himself be your eternal reward! 

Very gratefully yours in Jesus, Mary & Joseph,

Rev. Mother Irene & Community

Dear Friends and Benefactors,

We apologise for our slowness in posting updates to our progress on the house. Because we are few in number, we must do much of the manual labour such as cooking, gardening, painting the newely plastered walls of the house, varnishing the floor tiles etc., plus our most important work- namely our Liturgical prayer from 4.30 am. It leaves us little time to sit at a computer. We want to thank you all most sincerely for your ongoing support. Progress on the house continues. We still must pay for plumbing and electricial appliances.   

We ask for your support in this endeavor. The Nuns are intensely and sincerely grateful for every gift they receive. 

Dear Friends, Benefactors,

We want to thank you all once again for your  support both spiritual and financial. We are at the stage of putting on the first coat of paint inside the newly refurbished house. As yet there is no electricity, plumbing, flooring or permanent fittings. Due to necessity, we are still using an old shipping container to serve as an Oratory to house the Blessed Sacrament. Unfortunately the wet Irish weather is having its toll on this storage container. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1cYa597u30&lc=UgxLuPtetGKEnf4OwL94AaABAg   We depend on your ongoing support so we may be able to continue building of Saint Joseph\\'s Hermitage with a proper Oratory to house the Most Blessed Sacrament. Unlike many Vatican II Religious Congregations, we do not receive any financial support from parishes or diocese because we are firmly rooted in Holy Tradition and are faithful to the unchanging Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church. 

We shall soon be entering into the holy season of Lent. You and your loved ones will be included in our daily prayers, penance, Masses and sacrifices. 

May God bless you all and bestow on you many graces during the weeks ahead. Please share our campaign and video on social media and make our needs known.

 Your Sisters in Christ

Mother Irene & Community

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Ave Maria

Dear Reverend Fathers,

Dear Friends & Benefactors,

The February Newsletter Issue 18, is now available on our website. https://carmelitesholyface.com/files/carmelitesholyface-newsletter-18-brochure.pdf  

Thanks to your most generous contributions, we continue to make steady progress in the building of St. Joseph\'s Carmelite Hermitage.  We thank you from the bottom of our heart for your ongoing support both spiritual and temporal. We continuously give thanks to God the Father, through Our Lord Jesus Christ, for the charity He has inspired in you in helping us in all our needs. We likewise plead with Him to bless and protect you and your family in this life and the next. 

As mentioned in Newsletter Issue 17, Blessed Oil of the Holy Face and various other sacramentals are available from St. Joseph\'s Hermitage. Your generous contribution will enable us to continue in the building of Saint Joseph\'s Hermitage. We are still using an old shipping container to serve as an Oratory so your on-going support is much needed to build a small Oratory fit for the King of kings. Please share our campaign on social media. Thank you. 

May God reward you 

With the assurance of our grateful prayers, Mother Irene & Community

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HOLY FACE BLESSED OIL

  Carmelite Nuns of the Holy Face, Co. Cork. Ireland

• Inspired by the Holy Man of Tours, blessed oil burns daily before a Relic Image of the Holy Face in the Oratory of the Carmelite Nuns of the Holy Face, Rep. of Ireland. The Carmelite Nuns are a Traditional Catholic Community who follow the 1962 Breviary and Latin Rite Mass. The Nuns are especially dedicated to making Reparation to the Holy Name and the Face of Jesus. 
• The holy oil has been blessed by a Traditional Catholic priest using the old rite blessing.
• The blessed oil burns perpetually in an oil lamp before a Relic Image of the Holy Face which has touched the True Veil of Veronica in Rome. This Relic Image bears two engraved episcopal wax seals.  It hangs directly above the Tabernacle where the Most Blessed Sacrament is reserved.
• bottle with 5ml of blessed oil.
• A suggested donation of $10.50 (approx. €9.00) covers the cost of materials and international shipping.
• The blessed oil is free.
• We shall also include other light weight blessed sacramentals free of charge.

Besides the Holy Oils which the Church reserves for use in the Sacraments, the Church also recognizes the use of blessed oil by the faithful as a sacramental. The purpose of this oil is primarily for healing and protection from harm; but the oil can also be used to pray for all the blessings which the oil represents; that is, all the riches which are ours in Christ Jesus. Blessed oil may be used by the faithful to bless themselves or someone they have authority over (parents to children, husbands to wives, God-parents to God-children). Beyond this, lay people should not bless other lay people since they do not have authority over them. The simplest way of blessing with oil is to make the sign of the cross on the forehead while saying the accompanying prayers. Other parts of the body can also be blessed especially when the need for healing may be localized in one or several parts of the body. Blessed oil may also be used in cooking.

If using on another, it is advisable to inform them that you are using blessed oil, which is not the Holy Oils of the Church, and that you are not administering a Sacrament of the Church. [Only a Catholic priest has the power to administer the Sacrament of Extreme Unction.]

RECITE THE FOLLOWING PRAYER WHILE TRACING THE SIGN OF THE CROSS ON THE FOREHEAD OR OTHER AILING BODY PART OF THE ONE BEING BLESSED.

MAY THE BLESSING OF ALMIGHTY GOD
- FATHER, SON, AND HOLY GHOST -
DESCEND UPON YOU AND REMAIN WITH YOU FOREVER
AND MAY HIS HOLY FACE SHINE UPON YOU.

https://carmelitesholyface.com/