July brings two events for Carmelite monastery

Intermountain Catholic

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Nuns at the Carmel of the Immaculate Heart of Mary prepare candy for a Mother's Day fundraiser. The candy is also sold at the annual Carmelite Fair, the primary fundraiser for the monastery, which was established in 1952 by the Carmelite Sisters OCD of Alhambra, Calif. IC file photo

HOLLADAY — On July 16, the nuns of the Carmelite monastery in Holladay will open their chapel to the public for the annual Mass and rosary on the feast day of their patron saint, Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

The Carmelite order was founded in the Middle Ages by hermits living on Mount Carmel in Israel; they dedicated their chapel to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

"In the old days, before we had evening Mass, we just had benediction," said Mother Maureen Goodwin, the Holladay monastery’s mother superior, "but now people come for the rosary and the Mass."

The monastery’s 10 nuns spend their days in contemplation and prayer. They pray for the needs of the Church and especially the diocese; their lives are basically the same as that lived by Saint Therese 100 years ago in the Lisieux Carmel. Although the Carmelites are cloistered, their impact can be great: in 1997 Pope John Paul II named the Little Flower a Doctor of the Church because of her profound writings.

Christ is at the center of the nuns’ life of prayer, said the Most Rev. John C. Wester, Bishop of Salt Lake City. "We feel the effects of their prayers, and they are a constant reminder in our diocese of the importance of making Christ the center of our existence."

The Carmelites depend upon contributions from the community to maintain the monastery, although the nuns make candy to sell at fundraisers and also bake Communion wafers.

"We couldn’t live on the income from the altar breads," Mother Maureen said. "That’s our service to the diocese, really. The Carmelite Fair (held each September) is our main fundraiser to keep us going."

For many years, Sister Mary Joseph Whipperman was the nun most associated with the fair; she was the monastery’s extern sister until her death in 2010.

This year, in Sr. Mary Joseph’s memory, Tom Catrow of Tom Catrow Catering is organizing a fundraising dinner to benefit the monastery. The dinner will be July 14, just one day before the second anniversary of Sr. Mary Joseph’s death.

Catrow used to help Sr. Mary Joseph with the monastery garden. "She told wonderful stories," he said, adding that she knew his parents and was well-versed in the history of the Diocese of Salt Lake City.

"The nuns have touched so many different people in so many wonderful ways," he said. "They pray for all of us, and they do it all the time. My mom was very, very sick a few years ago and I know that with their prayers she made it out of it for a while. It’s just so nice to know those nuns are praying for us, and through prayer they can do so much."

Last winter, Catrow heard that the nuns were having trouble with some health care expenses, and "I just thought that was baloney, so I talked to a few of Sr. Mary Joseph’s friends and said, ‘Hey, what if we tried to raise some money for health care to make sure that they have what they need?’" he said.

With the help of some of Sr. Mary Joseph’s friends and the Knights of Columbus, Catrow has organized the dinner and silent auction.

"It will be a fun time for people who knew her," he said. "There are a lot of stories, and I have a few myself. We’re just going to raise money and let Mother Maureen do whatever she wants with it."