Carmelite novices at prayer in Launceston, Tasmania. PHOTO: Supplied/Archdiocese of Hobart.
The presence of the Carmelite community in Tasmania has contributed richly to the faith lives of Catholics for 75 years.
The anniversary of the establishment of the Carmelite Monastery of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is being marked with a number of special events, including a Jubilee Mass on June 17 at the Carmelite Monastery in West Launceston.
It will be a time for prayer, reflection and thanksgiving for the six founding nuns, under the leadership of Mother Mary Teresa of Jesus as Prioress, who arrived in Launceston on June 15, 1948, and those who have followed since then.
The founding six came from the Carmelite Monastery at Glen Osmond in South Australia, responding to a request from the then Archbishop of Hobart, Ernest Victor Tweedy.
They established a new Carmel in Longford and later moved to West Launceston in 1975, to be nearer to the priests and people.
“All the essential aspects of our life are the same as they were 75 years ago: a life of prayer understood and lived as intimate friendship with Christ, and lived in a delicate blending of silence and solitude, community life, manual work and recreation,” said current Prioress Mother Teresa Benedicta of the Cross OCD.
“Any charism can only be lived in the present time, so of course, life for us now involves some aspects of modern life that were not around in 1948 – computers, for example. And the type of work we do has changed insofar as we are no longer in a rural setting as at Longford where farm work was dominant. But the similarities would far outweigh the differences.”
Another constant for the enclosed order is the presence of Sr Mary of the Holy Ghost, now 94, the oldest of the community’s seven sisters. The youngest is 24.
“We are especially blessed to have one of our original foundation members still in our midst, Sr Mary of the Holy Ghost, who came on the foundation from Adelaide as a 19-year-old novice in 1948,” Mother Teresa Benedicta said.
“Sister is a wonderful inspiration to us all and a precious link with the 75-year history of our community. God willing, Sister will in turn celebrate her 75th anniversary of her religious profession of vows in December this year.”
Mother Teresa Benedicta said: “I hope the presence of Carmel in our State has helped Tasmanians to gain a deeper love for prayer and a greater faith in the power of prayer in their lives, as well as a deep sense that they are not alone on their journey of faith; we are here praying for them, supporting and encouraging them to seek intimacy with God in the midst of their busy lives, as they grow in holiness in their own vocations.”
Looking to the future, the Prioress hopes for new Carmelite vocations to grow an ever-stronger community and presence of prayer in Tasmania.
“I also hope that coming generations of Tasmanians will discover the beauty of the Carmelite charism through contact with us and that they will discover a place they can find peace and prayer here at our Launceston monastery,” she added.
This article by Wendy Shaw was published by the Archdiocese of Hobart.