OCDS "Our Lady of Grace" Secular Discalced Carmelites

09/09/2025

07/16/2025

07/16/2025

SOLEMN FEAST OF OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL
The sacred scriptures speak of the beauty of Mount Carmel where the prophet Elijah defended the faith of Israel in the living God. There, at the beginning of the thirteenth century, under the title of “Saint Mary of Mount Carmel,” the Order of Carmelites had its formal beginning. From the fourteenth century this title, recalling the countless blessings of its patroness, began to be celebrated solemnly, first in England and then gradually throughout the whole Order. It attained its supreme place from the beginning of the seventeenth century, when the General Chapter declared it to be the principal feast of the Order, and Paul V recognized it as the feast of the Scapular Confraternity.

Prayer
Lord God,
you willed that the Order of Carmel
should be named in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
Mother of your Son.
Through her prayers, as we honor her today,
bring us to your holy Mountain,
Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

07/12/2025

St. Therese of Lisieux’s parents are the first canonized couple. Their wedding anniversary date of July 12 is their feast day.

They passed each other on a bridge one spring day — a distinguished, reserved, hardworking watchmaker who had tried and failed to become a monk and a lovely, intelligent, productive lacemaker who had been turned away by the Vincentian sisters. When St. Zélie first laid eyes on St. Louis she heard an interior voice, one that she had learned to trust, say, This is he whom I have prepared for you.

Their life together began on July 12, 1858 — a date remembered by the Church as the feast day of the first husband and wife canonized as a couple.

In their 19 happy years of marriage, Sts. Louis and Zélie ran a successful lacemaking business in Alençon, Louis having given up his trade to help his wife in hers. They had nine children, all of whom they baptized within days of their birth. When they lost four of their children, to childhood illnesses and the negligence of wet-nurses, since Zèlie was not able to breastfeed her children, they placed their hope in seeing them again in Heaven.

Louis and Zélie were very careful to raise their surviving children with virtuous habits. Zélie would pray about and examine the faults and strengths of each child and foster them into holiness.

They sought holiness through the devotions and traditions of the Church. They never worked on Sunday and were very generous with their time and money towards the poor. They always prayed for the souls of those who had died. The couple went every morning to 5:30 a.m. Mass and were very faithful to making First Friday Communion.

Both husband and wife ended their years of devotion on earth, by bearing their own crosses of great suffering.

Zélie: ‘I wish that you would not worry too much about me, and that you will be resigned to the will of God...’

After her death, Louis lived on to raise his daughters.‘It is the beauty of family life that comes nearest to Heaven.’

Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin were beatified in 2008 and canonized in 2015.Their feast day is July 12.”

06/07/2024

Scroll through these podcasts on the ICS page. They are a treasure house of Carmelite spirituality.

St. John of the Cross defines contemplation as "an inflow of God into the soul." In this episode, we discuss his teaching on how we can respond to God's invitation to contemplative prayer.

02/10/2024

OCDS Retreat in Ellicottville NY August 17, 2024. All OCDS welcome. Registration below…print out and snail mail to us.

02/07/2024

The 40 days of Lent are set aside to give yourself a chance to let God love you. Don’t let another Lent pass you by without taking advantage of exceptional digital aids out there to help deep…

02/07/2024

12/01/2023

Novena begins December 5… Pray with the Carmelites…

Please join us in praying this Novena (December 5 to December 13) and listening to reflections by Fr. Christopher LaRocca, OCD, including a final reflection on the Feast Day of John of the Cross, December 14, 2023.

12/01/2023