Newsletter #24 - July 2020
Dear friends in Our Lady’s Auxiliary,
Greetings to everyone in this very Carmelite month. As Mary is the patroness of our Carmelite Order, we keep her feast day as a solemnity, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, on July 16th. We will be sure to have each one of you present in our prayers of thanksgiving for her protection and motherly guidance. You are showing yourselves to be her true children in your unceasing generosity to us. We have noticed that recurring donations have increased, as well as donations of dried goods and fresh produce. Sometimes our delivery room looks like a farmer’s market! Thank you, truly, for your support and love for us.
As some of you may have seen, there is a small stretch of Highway 193 between Cool and Georgetown that shows evidence of a brush fire. Last summer, a fire broke out, and was contained amazingly quickly. Trees were burned bare but the trunks and boughs were left standing, and the ground was an ashy black for awhile...This spring brought rains, weeds, and green growth. Nature is taking its course and redecorating the barren land. This is a beautiful reminder for us! Nature always makes a “comeback” so nothing is ever destroyed permanently. Whatever losses we may have endured this spring and summer, take heart – God will restore to us a hundredfold of what we have lost, in accord with His holy will.
Carmelites are notoriously good cooks, it has been said, so our community is slowly putting together a cookbook of some of our favorite recipes, illustrated by one of the nuns. This way we can share with you that the Psalmist was right, “Taste and see the goodness of the Lord” as evidenced in our simple recipes! You’ll have to tell us what you think when you try them!
We pray for everyone who has been impacted by the coronavirus or the protests; we pray for healing, wellbeing, and tranquility; may the Holy Spirit be with all of us!
You know you have a place in our hearts. Jesus said, “Abide in my love.” So please know that you always abide with us. We keep you in our prayers.
Gratefully in Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,
Mother Mary Bethany and Sisters ____________________________________________________________________________
Auxiliary News
When I wrote to you last, it was April and we were in the very depths of the pandemic. With all the social unrest that has occurred since then, and the number of Covid cases still high, it does not seem like we have made much progress. Yet I feel that there is reason to hope! In God we trust. Jesus, I trust in you. As friends keep reminding us, God has a plan, and we are not God!
Our biggest hurdle has been determining if we can do the luncheon. Unfortunately, that is not going to happen. Venues are not allowing us to assemble that many people, and our clientele is mostly over 65. Furthermore, churches are still not operating normally so selling raffle tickets and advertising for the luncheon isn’t going to work. The final nail in the coffin was the complication of trouble assembling our annual quilt due to the fact that we couldn’t get together to sew as usual. That, coupled with the difficulties in acquiring gifts for the auction or raffle. So we are faced with trying to do something totally different this year by way of fund raising.
We are looking into some sort of online auction but we don’t know how to do that. If anyone out there can help with the technical side of that, please speak up. An online auction or even a raffle is just beyond my skill level!
Short of that, we would like to thank all those who have committed to a MONTHLY DONATION directly to the Sisters. This has really been helpful for them. Their mailing address is shown above in the header if anyone else would like to do this. Another option is to think of what you might have spent at our luncheon and send them a ONE-TIME DONATION for that amount.
And, as mentioned above by Mother, the Sisters are working on a special cookbook that we would like to offer for a donation at some point this year. It will be cute, and fun to use! You can look forward to that soon!
I would also remind you of my suggestion that we try to increase our numbers by each inviting one more person to join the Auxiliary in support of the Carmelite Sisters. They can sign up online at our website.
Finally, no, the Sisters do not need any more dry goods or rice or flour. And yes, their chapel is now open to the public, but no more than 30 people at once, and please wear a mask and bring hand sanitizer. Communion will be given by hand, standing up, and not on the tongue. Mass is at 8:00 AM daily.
In Christ,
Patty MacEgan
President, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Auxiliary
www.carmeliteauxiliary.org carmelitehelpers@gmail.com