Priests, religious, and lay people gather at St. Edmund’s to honour Our Lady of Mount Carmel

The B.C. Catholic



A feast instituted more than 600 years ago has a vibrant following in the Archdiocese of Vancouver.

St. Edmund’s Church in North Vancouver was packed as worshippers celebrated the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel July 16.

“Let us give thanks for a great tradition which calls us always nearer to God,” said Bishop Paul Terrio of St. Paul, Alta.

“In the Church, it’s the Carmelites who are the oldest and most constant witnesses to Mary’s maternal and motherly role in our lives. It is not surprising that the Carmelite tradition is a tradition of prayer.”

Bishop Terrio, a special guest and friend of the Carmelites, celebrated Mass on the occasion, with Discalced Carmelite Fathers Jerald D’Souza, Rudolph D’Souza, Rajesh Madtha, Steny Mascarenhas, and Alwyn Sequeira concelebrating.

In his homily, he shared insights into the Carmelite tradition and its Holy Land roots.

“A striking feature of the Palestine coast along the Mediterranean is a wooded mountain called Carmel, which means ‘garden’ or ‘vineyard’ in Hebrew,” he said.

“It was a favoured place of prayer for the great prophet Elijah, but also, upon it, dramatic acts of faith occurred.”

Among those acts was a confrontation between Elijah and 450 prophets of Baal. The prophet told Baal’s followers to sacrifice a bull on an altar and pray that their god would provide the fire. After they prayed all day and did not see a flame, Elijah prayed to God, and his own sacrifice was set ablaze.

Today’s Carmelites trace their origins to hermits who lived on that mountain hundreds of years ago.

“As the hermits developed into a religious order, the descendants of whom are our Carmelite fathers here today, dedication and devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary remained one of their identifying characteristics,” the bishop said.

The Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, instituted on July 16 between 1376 and 1385, honours the day Mary appeared to St. Simon Stock, a Carmelite monk.

“Through the centuries, Carmelites have, after the example of the Blessed Mother, prayed and prayed and taught others to pray,” Bishop Terrio said.

“For Carmelites, sons and daughters of Mary, contemplative prayer is not a matter of human triumph or achievement, but rather God’s kind gift to the heart that works to remain free and open, to receive divine love.”

Father Jerald D’Souza, pastor of St. Edmund’s, invited Carmelite priests, sisters, lay people, and friends to celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel every year and to connect to the Carmelite community.

“We are there to love you. We are there to help you. We try our best to bring you closer to God, closer to Jesus, through our prayer life.”

The Carmelite community is growing, according to Father Rudolph D’Souza, the pastor of Guardian Angels Parish in Vancouver.

It witnessed the dedication of a brand-new monastery in Deroche, B.C., last fall and already has one postulant. He also announced there are plans underway to build a life-size Way of the Cross there in six months.

“Always remember our Blessed Mother, and she will protect you wherever you are, from sickness, pain, sorrows and doubts,” he told the crowd.

“She will lead you to Christ Our Lord, Who is our Saviour forever.”