Funeral of Sr "Mieke" Maria of the Sacred Heart

The funeral of our Sr. "Mieke" Maria will take place tomorrow, 16 October, at 10:30 AM in the Troostbasilica. It will be presided by our Carmelite confessor, Rev. Fr. Paul De Bois, with concelebrating priests. She will be buried in the cemetery in Vilvoorde.

This evening we had a Prayer Vigil at the old Sisters" Choir in the basilica. There were around 15 faithful who joined us, including our own parish priest, Rev. Fr. Geert Aelbrecht, another priest fromHasselt and a couple of friends from Leopoldsburg.

The passing away of our dear Sr Mieke didnt prevent us from celebrating joyfully the Solemnity of our holy Mother, St .Teresa, for we truly believe  in our hearts that she is now enjoying eternal bliss in heaven, with all the angels and Saints, marvelling at the grandeur of God!

 "Let nothing disturb you, nothing frightens you, all things are passing, God never changes. Patience attains all things. Who has God wants nothing. God alone suffices!" our holy Mother said.

A blessed feast of our holy Mother, St Teresa, our valiant foundress and mother!

Sr. Maria of the Sacred Heart +

Today, October 10,  our dear Sr. Maria of the Sacred Heart, whom we fondly call " Sr. Mieke", was fetched by our Divine Bridegroom and Our Blessed Mother, in a very intimate encounter early in the morning. She radiated peace, joy and serenity... As we laid her mortal remains for viewing, a smile was painted on her face. She is now enjoying eternal bliss with Jesus, Mother Mary, St. Joseph, all the angels and Saints! She will celebrate with them on Sunday, 13 October, her 83rd birthday!

Her funeral will take place on Wednesday, October 17. More details will still be announced later...

Congratulations , Sr. Marie Paul Thérèse!

Paraliturgy in the Novitiate in the evening of Oct 1

 

 

On Oct 1, 2013, feast of S. Therese, our junior-professed novice, Sr. Marie Paul Therese, made her second renewal of Vows in the hands of Reverend Mother Prioress, after the Holy Mass.  May we recommend her to your holy prayer that she may persevere in this contemplative life in Carmel to which God has called her.

In the evening of the same day, the community were invited to the Novitiate for a simple paraliturgy, wherein we shared with one another, how Little Therese practiced  the different virtues during her lifetime especially in Carmel.

 

 

Feast of St. Therese

450 Teresian Reform

450TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE TERESIAN REFORM Message of the Superior General Communicationes ROMA-ITALIA (19-08-2012).- This year we celebrate an anniversary of particular significance: the 24th of August will see the completion of 450 years since the foundation of St. Joseph’s in Avila, and therefore too, since the beginning of Teresa’s reform.To read the entire message and other related events you may visit the website of the OCD Generalate in Rome www.carmelitaniscalzi.com. Vatican City, (VIS) - The holy father, Pope Benedict XVI has also sent a message to Bishop Jesus Garcia Burillo of Avila, Spain, to mark the 450th anniversary of the foundation of the Monastery of St. Joseph and the beginning of the Carmelite reform by St. Teresa of Avila. The message, ample extracts of which are given below, is dated 16 July. "The reform of the Carmelite Order, the anniversary of which fills us with inner joy, arose from prayer and tends towards prayer. In promoting a radical return to the original Rule and abandoning the mitigated Rule, St. Teresa of Jesus sought to create a form of life which favoured a personal encounter with the Lord, finding 'a place where we can be alone and look upon Him present within us. Nor need we feel strange in the presence of so kind a Guest'". "St. Teresa presented a new way of being Carmelite in a world which was also new.

Reopening of the Troostbasilica

On 18 March, was the Troostbasilica reopened to the public (after 2 and a haf years of the interior restoration). The significant event was marked by a solemn concelebrated Mass with Godfried Cardinal Danneels as the main celebrant. There were 14 concelebrating priests and around 400 people who joined in the celebration. Some had to sit in the verrijzenispandwhere they could follow the Mass through a large screen. We will try to publish an excert of the beautiful and touching of the homily of the Cardinal when we get hold of the copy.

The most touching parts were the re-enthronement of the miraculous image of Our Lady of Consolation and the moment of Adoration after the blessing of the new altar-tabernacle while the choir was singing Ave Verum.

More photos to follow...

Please our apology for the delay in updating our blog. We had problem in accessing our blog account. Thank you for your understanding and patience! A blessed lenten season

Blessng of our new devotional room

Fr. Paul De Bois blessing the new devotional room

Chanting the Litany to Our Lady

On 30 September after the 11:30 Mass, our Carmelite confessor, Fr. Paul De Bois, blessed our new devotional room at the entrance of the Troostbasilica. The Sisters led the chanting of the Litany to Our Lady while in procession from the inside chapel to this area followed our daily church goers. After praying the blessing, Father sprinkle the room with holy water then everyone laid down his/her votive candle. From this day on, the people can already pass through the basilica to the inside chapel for daily Mass, Rosary and the Divine Office.