Carmelite monastery in Holladay a special pilgrimage site

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HOLLADAY — As part of the local celebrations of the Jubilee Year of Hope, Bishop Oscar A. Solis designated five churches across the Diocese of Salt Lake City as pilgrimage sites, where the faithful may visit throughout the year to strengthen their faith and receive the special graces granted to pilgrims. These churches are the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City, Saint George in St. George, St. Francis of Assisi in Orem and Notre Dame de Lourdes in Price. In addition to these five sites, Bishop Solis granted the Carmel of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Holladay, a cloistered Carmelite monastery, three days as a pilgrimage site.

The three days are July 16, the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and Oct. 8-9, the Jubilee of Consecrated Life. On these days, the Carmelites will host pilgrims on their spiritual journey, offering Mass, Confessions and the opportunity to venerate the monastery’s almost 200 first-class relics.

In response to a request for an interview about the monastery serving as a pilgrimage site, the Carmelites wrote a letter, the full text of which follows.

During a visit in 2010, Pope Benedict XVI told a cloistered community of nuns: “The contemplative way of life … places you, as a living and vital member, in the heart of the Lord’s Mystical Body, which is the Church,” echoing St. Therese when she exclaimed: “In the heart of the Church, my Mother, I shall be love.” What a profound and beautiful image! Pope Benedict went on to say: “the holy desire that the Kingdom of God be established in the heart of every man is identified with prayer itself.” And so “beyond the personal moments of prayer,” in all they do, the nuns were exhorted to let their heart “be guided by the desire to love God.” This love which enlarges their hearts to enable them “to accept God himself,” that can only be filled by God alone, is “the horizon of the earthly pilgrimage.”

Guided by the love of God through prayer, we cloistered Carmelite nuns have been treading faithfully inside the enclosure this “horizon of the earthly pilgrimage” toward a deeper encounter with God. This, indeed, is the pilgrimage all Catholics are encouraged to take, especially during this Jubilee year of Hope.

In this Holy Year, many graces are offered to her children by Holy Mother Church, one of which is the grace of obtaining the plenary indulgence for our sins. In order to obtain this grace, the conditions of making a pilgrimage to designated sites, praying for the intentions of our Holy Father, and doing works of mercy have to be fulfilled. For us cloistered Carmelite nuns, who observed Papal enclosure, we are blessed to be spiritually united to the needs of the Church and our Holy Father through our prayers and sacrifices without having to leave our monastery to visit designated pilgrimage sites. However, we would like to offer all those who visit and pray in our chapel on the Solemnity of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel an opportunity to obtain the plenary indulgence. And so, we sought permission from the Bishop for our Carmelite chapel to be a designated pilgrimage site on the Solemnity of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, which is July 16. We were thrilled when our wish was granted. What a great privilege for our humble Carmelite chapel. For us, it is like a taste of heaven on earth. Since we can’t make a pilgrimage to Rome, Rome comes to our humble chapel to bless us and forgive us our sins, opening us up to a deeper encounter with God. God is always waiting for us in the deepest recesses of our souls, wanting to possess us completely for Himself and for us to possess Him fully in all our capacity in the eternal embrace of Love. This encounter is what we wish upon all those who visit and pray in our chapel on July 16. The Sacrament of Reconciliation, or Confession, was instituted to reconcile us to God because of our sins, and is one of the gateways leading us to this encounter.

Please know that a priest will be available to hear confessions from 4 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. on July 16. The Mass will be at 7:30 p.m. with Bishop Solis presiding. Not only that, our Salt Lake Carmelite chapel was also granted permission to be a designated pilgrimage site on October 8 and 9 as these are days of universal jubilee for Consecrated Religious. Masses will be at 6:30 p.m. with Confessions available from 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. on both days.

As we go on these spiritual pilgrimages during this Jubilee year of Hope, let us be mindful of where we place our hope. Hope is one of the three theological virtues of our Christian faith. Along with charity and faith, hope helps build up the foundation of our spiritual life, our relationship with God. It has always been important, but even more so in this time and age when we human beings have put our trust in earthly things, we have turned to idol worship and what they represent. We have called what is good evil and what is evil good. We must put our hope in God and not in anything that is not of God. So, in this Jubilee year, let us pray for the gift of wisdom as we place our hope in God and in God alone, we find true joy and peace. Let us continue treading through this earthly pilgrimage, with the help of our Blessed Mother, and our hope in God, enkindled by graces bestowed upon us by Holy Mother Church. Let us return to the heart of Christ and dwell in His love through prayers and sacrifices, with that, we will be in our Father’s house and we will find heaven on earth right here in this valley of tears.

WHAT: Year of Hope Special Pilgrimage 

WHEN: Wednesday, July 16 

All are invited.

Confessions will be offered 4-6:30 p.m. Rosary at 7 p.m. Mass with Bishop Oscar A. Solis presiding will be at 7:30 p.m.

The Carmel also will serve as a pilgrimage site Wednesday-Thursday, Oct. 8-9. Mass will be at 6:30 p.m. each night with Confessions available from 4:30 p.m.- 6:30 p.m.