Happy Feast of Saint Teresa of Avila

Happy feast of Saint Teresa of Avila - nun & doctor of the Church. Teresa was born in Avila in Spain in 1515. She entered the Carmelites and made great progress in the way of perfection and was granted mystical revelations. Wishing to share in the spiritual renewal of the Church of her time, she began to live her religious life more ardently and soon attracted many companions, to whom she was like a mother. She also helped in the reform of the friars, and in this had to endure great trials. She wrote books which are renowned for their depth of doctrine and which showed her own spiritual experiences. She died at Alba in 1582. After her death the reform she began eventually separated from the Carmelite Order to become the Order of Discalced Carmelites Let us pray. Father, by your Spirit you raised up St. Teresa of Jesus to show your Church the way of perfection. May her inspired teaching awaken in us a longing for true holiness. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Pictured: Teresa in an icon written by the Carmelite nuns of Ravenna, in York Carmelite Friary.

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Feast of Saint Jude - 2018

The Feast of Saint Jude celebrations take place on 27 and 28 October 2018! As you can see in our slideshow, the Feast weekend is a special celebration of Saint Jude, and is a truly spiritual time. All welcome.

Further information, here. If you can't make it, but would like us to light a candle, you can do that here.

Please share our slideshow with your friends! Saint Jude, pray for us!

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Happy Feast of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux

Shrine of the Little Flower in the church.

Happy feast of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, Carmelite nun and Doctor of the Church.

“Holiness consists simply in doing God's will, and being just what God wants us to be.”

Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, known as 'the Little Flower', was born in 1873 and died in 1897. She became a Carmelite nun when she was fifteen, and inspired many through her "Little Way" of simplicity and in the doing of small acts inspired by love.

The shrine at Faversham is rather unusual, because instead of presenting St. Thérèse, standing in isolated intercession and favour, she is linked up with Our Blessed Lady of Mount Carmel and the Holy Child. The roses which she distributes come to her from the Holy Child by favour of Our Blessed Lady. In other words, the Shrine links up St. Thérèse of Lisieux with Our Blessed Lady of Mount Carmel and the Holy Child.

Saint Thérèse, pray for us.

Why not join the society dedicated to the Little Flower? We also have a number of items for Saint Thérèse.

Our novena to the Little Flower finishes today. You can pray the novena in private, with your friends or family, or in a group. Our novena can be viewed here.

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Saint Thérèse of Lisieux - online shop offer

Celebrate the Feast Day of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux with a prayer card; medal or other item from our online shop. Order items for Saint Thérèse of Lisieux this week will receive 15% off! View items, here.

All profit from the sale of these items is used to fund our work in the UK and around the world.

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Novena to the Little Flower

The following novena recently published in Carmelite News and from the National Shrine of Saint Jude is for nine days. The novena starts on 23 September 2018 and continues until the Feast Day of Saint Thérèse. You can pray the novena in private, with your friends or family, or in a group

Remember, most gracious Little Flower, 

our Rose Queen, your wish to spend 

your time in heaven doing good upon earth. 

Full of confidence in your power 

I implore your intercession on my behalf. 

Make your special request now 

Lord Jesus Christ, who said, 

“Unless you become like little children 

you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven,” 

grant that we may imitate 

Saint Thérèse, 

in humilty and in simplicity of heart 

that we may come to share 

in her eternal reward. 

You who live with 

the Father and the Holy Spirit. 

Amen.

Saint Thérèse, pray for us. Why not join the society dedicated to the Little Flower? We also have a number of items for Saint Thérèse.

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Happy Feast of Saint Matthew

The carvings of the Twelve Apostles round the apse in the inner Shrine of Saint Jude are by Anthony Foster. The design was based on the Malmesbury Apostles. St. Paul has been substituted for Judas Iscariot.

Happy Feast Day of Saint Matthew the Apostle - fellow Apostle to Saint Jude.

Saint Matthew was among the earliest followers and apostles of Jesus. The Apostle is mentioned in Matthew 9:9 and Matthew 10:3 as a publican who, while sitting at the "receipt of custom" in Capernaum, was called to follow Jesus.

He was a first century Galilean and the son of Alpheus. His fellow Jews would have despised him because he would have been seen as collaborating with the Roman occupation force. After Jesus called him, Matthew invited him to his home for a feast. However, the Pharisees and scribes criticised Jesus for eating with a sinner and tax collector. However, Jesus responded with: "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (Mark 2:17, Luke 5:32)

Like Saint Jude, Matthew was one of the witnesses of the Resurrection and the Ascension of Jesus. Later Church fathers such as Irenaeus and Clement of Alexandria claim that Matthew preached the Gospel to the Jewish community in Judea, before going to other countries. The church hold the tradition that Matthew died as a martyr.

Saint Matthew, pray for us.

Let us pray:

O ALMIGHTY God, who by thy blessed Son didst call Matthew from the receipt of custom to be an Apostle and Evangelist: Grant us grace to forsake all covetous desires and inordinate love of riches, and to follow the same thy Son Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.

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Holy Souls Society 2018

‘It does not matter where you bury my body. All I ask of you, is that wherever you may be, you should remember me at the altar of the Lord.’ St Monica to St Augustine

For many years, the National Shrine of Saint Jude has promoted the Carmelite devotion to the souls of the departed by establishing a Dead List that is renewed each year.

The Carmelite Holy Souls Society reminds us that the Church is not confined to this world, but extends into the next as well. By praying for the dead, as we prayed for them when they were alive, we can establish a special link with the communion of saints. In a way this is a two-way street. We remember them in prayer and we ask them to pray for us. It is a helpful reminder that our brothers and sisters who die do not lose their identity, or their relationship with us. They remain the people that they are and the core of their identity is carefully reserved by God as they are transformed by God’s love and set free to love.

You may be increasingly aware of just how much unfinished business we have in life. Things we may have said or done which we shouldn’t have, and which we now cannot put right. Often, once a word leaves our mouth, we lose all control over it!

Prayer, true prayer, is always an act of love. Our Catholic Christian tradition assures us that our prayer for the Holy Souls is one of the ways in which God loves our departed brothers and sisters into life in all its fullness. It is a gift of the tenderness of God to allow us to share in this loving process."

People simply send in their lists of dead relatives and friends to be included in our prayers for the Holy Souls.

All those on your list will become members of the Carmelite Holy Souls Society for the year.

Membership includes:

1. A daily Mass for deceased relatives and friends through the year (except the three days of Holy Week);

2. A Mass each month for deceased members and benefactors;

3. A share in the Masses, prayers and good works of the whole Carmelite Order.

There is no fixed membership fee, or annual subscription: just donate what you would like to become a member. You can either do this via our online service, or by printing a form and sending it to the Shrine office.

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