Carmelite nuns celebrate 70 years in Utah
SALT LAKE CITY — The nuns of the Carmel of the Immaculate Heart of Mary had cause for a special celebration on Oct. 2, observing not only the feast of one of their order's most widely venerated saints but also the 70th anniversary of the arrival of the Carmelites in Utah.
The celebration at the monastery in Salt Lake City included a Mass at which Bishop Oscar A. Solis presided. Concelebrants were Msgr. Colin F. Bircumshaw, vicar general; Msgr. J. Terrence Fitzgerald, vicar general emeritus; and several priests of the diocese. Deacon Lynn Johnson was the homilist. Among those who attended were members of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Cross, members of the Order of Carmel Discalced Seculars and other laity.
In his introductory remarks, Bishop Solis said the gathering was a wonderful occasion that celebrated not only the feast of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, “a saint whose life continues to inspire and encourage souls seeking to follow her ‘Little Way,’” but also the “70 years of rich fruit and countless blessings for the Church” brought by the Carmelite nuns. In addition, two of the monastery’s founding members, Sister Margaret Mary of the Sacred Heart and Sister Maureen of the Trinity, renewed their vows of obedience, chastity and poverty.
On Dec. 7, 1952, five Carmelite nuns arrived in Salt Lake City from California to begin, in the words of the order’s founder St. Theresa of Avila, “the great divine adventure,” Deacon Lynn Johnson said in his homily.
Continuing that divine adventure “was not easy then, and it is not easy today,” he added, noting that the Carmelite vocation is not for everyone, but it has assisted others in their quest for holiness.
“Carmels exist in the Church to help others learn to live a life that is centered on Jesus Christ,” the deacon said, enumerating the “gallery of holiness that the Carmelite order has given to the world: St. Theresa of Avila, who reminds us that God is on the journey with us; John of the Cross, teaching us that darkness is the preparation for great light; St. Benedicta of the Cross, the former Edith Stein, a convert from Judaism who died in Auschwitz in 1942, urging us to let go of our plans because our life belongs to God.”
He also spoke of other Carmelite saints: Father Titus Brandsma, who was recently canonized; the Martyrs of Compiègne; and St. Therese of the Child Jesus, whose feast was celebrated that day.
All Catholics are called to become saints, Deacon Johnson said, but not everyone can be like St. Bernard of Clairvaux, with his 12 steps to humility; nor are most people capable of going to all of the palaces described by St. Teresa of Avila. However, St. Therese is a model of the common vocation of all people, he said.
“Love was both her special vocation and the universal vocation common to all of us. If there is a so-called secret to the spirituality of St. Therese, I believe it is this: She saw with great insight that God has a father’s heart. And growing up in a very affectionate home, she knew that a good father helps out his little children. And seeing clearly that God is an infinitely good father, she realized that her littleness and weakness would draw down the Father’s help on her. She realized she could trust God because she was a child, she was the daughter of the Father. So, in practice we follow the example of Therese when we take any action, small or great – study, work, rest, leisure, wherever God has placed us – and we do it with love for God. That’s it. And if that sounds too simple for you, I want to share a secret with you this morning that these Carmelites and every Carmelite community in the world knows and understands: ‘God walks among the pots and the pans,’ quoting St. Teresa of Avila.”
The deacon closed his homily by thanking the nuns “for the 70 years in which you have prayed, sacrificed and remembered all of us as you knelt before the master of this house, our Eucharistic king.”
At the end of the Mass, the monastery’s abbess, Mother Therese Bui said Sr. Margaret Mary and Sr. Maureen “can still recall what it was like on the night of Dec. 7, 1952, when they first set foot on Utah soil – how they were so welcomed with so much love by the late Bishop Hunt. They felt immediately the deep bond for the people of Utah. That strong bond of love and intercessory prayer on behalf of the people of Utah has not diminished. In fact, it has increased over the years, and all of us, the younger generations, who cherish our past, will continue to carry on our mission in Utah.”
The nuns are grateful to the priests who have cared for them spiritually and for the monastery’s friends and benefactors “who help enable us to live out our contemplative vocation,” she said.
As a gesture of prayer and gratitude, those in attendance were given a rose handmade by one of the nuns.
“Each time you hold this little rose in your hand you will always be reminded to imitate the ‘Little Way’ of St. Therese,” Mother Therese said.
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