Carmel is all Mary's

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When the original Brooklyn Carmel at St. John’s Place closed in 1996, after almost a hundred years of a silent, prayerful presence in the Diocese, a huge hole was left both in the Diocese and in the hearts of all. After the Monastery was closed, the few remaining Nuns dispersed among various Carmel’s, including the Carmel of Buffalo. Almost immediately after the Carmel of Brooklyn closed, the Bishop of Brooklyn, Bishop Thomas Dailey, contacted the Prioress of the Buffalo Carmel with an earnest request for the Carmelites to return to Brooklyn, to “re-found”, so to speak, a Carmel in the Diocese. Three Sisters from the original Brooklyn Carmel, now in the Camel of Buffalo, likewise felt a great desire to see the Carmel re-established in Brooklyn and they prayed and sacrificed unceasingly for its accomplishment.

In order to properly make the foundation, there was a need for several Sisters of mature judgment and experience, capable of all the hard work and sacrifices that making such a foundation entails. The Carmel of Buffalo contacted the Carmel of Talavera in the Diocese of Toledo, Spain for help. Rooted in the rich Teresian heritage of our Order, the Carmel of Talavera was founded in 1593, only thirteen years after the death of Our Holy Mother St. Teresa of Jesus. In the spirit of Our Holy Foundress, and with great generosity, two Sisters agreed to come, joining a third Sister from Talavera who had already transferred to the Buffalo Carmel in 1997, giving the new foundation of Brooklyn its characteristic Teresian customs and joyful spirit. The Carmel of Buffalo, with such generous assistance, both spiritually and physically, agreed to the new foundation in the year 2000, and plans for its establishment began to take shape. A property was purchased which had been a Lithuanian Franciscan Monastery and Community Center at 361 Highland Boulevard. It was an ideal location, in a quiet corner of the city, surrounded on two sides by a park, and cemetery.
 

What a joy it is to be a Carmelite...
when Jesus is loved, everything is joy!  
- St. Teresa of the Andes

There was much work needed to transform a Franciscan Friary and Community Center into a cloistered Carmel, and there were many delays due to the endless building requirements and specifications of the city. All of this took several years, while the founding Sisters remained in Buffalo, giving directions as best as possible from afar until the Monastery would be habitable. In the meantime, it seems that our Lord was pleased to answer the prayers of His spouses from the original Brooklyn Carmel, for another foundation there, and would accept the offering of their lives for its accomplishment. In the intervening years, all three Sisters from the original Brooklyn Carmel passed from this life to the arms of their Heavenly Spouse, as we piously hope. In our Lord’s providence, upon the death of each Sister, notable advancements were made in the new Carmel when the work, for various reasons, had come to a standstill. We cannot believe that this was a mere coincidence, but rather we can see the fruit of charity in the hearts of these heroic Sisters who were willing to give our Lord anything, even their very lives for the accomplishment of another Carmel, where our Lord would be able to find his delight.

Finally, the renovations were advanced enough for us to live in a section of the Monastery, thus officially beginning the foundation, while enabling us to oversee the final details. On August 6th, 2004, we tearfully said goodbye to our dear sisters in Buffalo, exchanging encouraging words and fraternal embraces, as our little, poor group of pioneering Nuns, exited the large enclosure gate in the garden. We could hear the sisters serenading us with song, “In the Heart of the Church my Mother, I shall be Love...” as we all determined “like strong men” to be cheerful, at this moment of separation, which we all felt so keenly. The six founding Nuns, five Solemn Professed and one Temporary Professed, set out in a fifteen passenger, modern day “covered wagon” accompanied by the Prioress of Buffalo, and our devoted chaplain. Joyfully anticipating our final destination, we settled down for an eight hour drive through the beautiful New York countryside. We kept our hours of mental prayer, the office, and recreation in our traveling Carmel. After reciting the Divine Mercy Chaplet that Friday afternoon, through New York City rush hour traffic, we came within a few blocks of the future Carmel, full of anticipation as to what awaited us. At a gravel turn around for trucks, we all got out and put on our white mantles, but not before we were accosted and harangued for parking illegally. Trying not to laugh, we scrambled into the van as gracefully as possible under the circumstances and hurriedly departed in order to make our destination without further hindrance. 

The Vicar General of the Diocese of Brooklyn, as well as friends and supporters of the Brooklyn Carmel, were waiting for us with a most warm welcome to the Diocese of Brooklyn. We entered the monastery singing the “Salve Regina”, praying to our Blessed Mother for special protection and guidance on all the days ahead, in our new Carmel. It was daunting to see so many white corridors and empty rooms, as we realized how much work was still needed to make the new building into a Teresian dovecot. We hurriedly cleaned and prepared for Holy Mass that very day, which according to Our Holy Mother was the moment she considered a foundation made. The first Mass was offered that evening in our makeshift Chapel in the section of the Monastery in which we would be living, (which we call the “old mansion”), and which is now our current recreation room. On August 7th, the Feast of St. Albert of Trapani, Bishop Thomas Daily visited our Carmel and offered the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, officially opening the new Brooklyn Carmel.

Several more months were needed to complete the renovations on the Chapel, transforming what had previously been a gym, into a Carmelite Church. On November 21, 2004, the Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the vigil of Christ the King, after three days of open house, and an all-night vigil of cleaning and preparation comparable to one of the accounts in the Book of Foundations, Our Chapel was officially dedicated and the enclosure was sealed, by Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, the Bishop of Brooklyn, accompanied by a great number of priests both from the Diocese of Brooklyn and the Archdiocese of New York. Passing through the cloister accompanied by the Bishop and the long procession of priests clothed in white, chanting the Litany of the Saints, we could not help but think of that heavenly choir of virgins dressed in white, which follow the Lamb “withersoever He goeth”, and this moment seemed to us a small foretaste of the joy that awaits us in the heavenly Jerusalem. As beautiful as the ceremony was however, after three months of dealing with workmen in and out of the Monastery, we all breathed a sigh of relief when the Bishop turned the key of the enclosure door, thus officially sealing the enclosure.



Since our arrival in Brooklyn, we have been overwhelmed by the generous warmth and support of the people in the Diocese. In the intervening years since the re-founding of the Brooklyn Carmel, after seeing all of the tremendous amount of work that has been accomplished, and all that yet remains, we can only say with the Psalmist, “Lord you give me joy in all that you do, it is you who have accomplished all that we have done.” May whoever reads this account make an act of thanksgiving to God for His great mercies and continue to pray for this endeavor, that it may bear fruit on the beautiful vine of Carmel, for God’s glory and the salvation of souls.
 

My mission in heaven will be to draw souls, helping them to go out of themselves to cling to God, with a spontaneous, love-filled action, and to keep them in that great interior silence which enables God to make his mark on them, to transform them into himself.

- St. Elizabeth of the Trinity