Canonisation of Kuriakose Elias Chavara

On 23 November 2014, the Feast of Christ the King, Pope Francis will canonise six blesseds and inscribe them in the roll call of Saints. One of these will be the Carmelite priest: Kuriakose Elias Chavara. The National Shrine of Saint Jude has a beautiful icon of this future Saint (pictured).

In 2004 a fire broke out in the Shrine Chapel destroying the murals which once hung there and damaging much of the other artwork. Happily, the windows and ceramics could be repaired, but the murals had to be replaced.

The decision was made to install icons depicting saints inspired by the Carmelite Rule of Saint Albert, in commemoration of the 8th centenary of the Carmelite Rule in 2007. The icons were written by Sister Petra Clare, a Benedictine hermit living in Scotland.

Fr Chavara was a priest and the founder of the Congregation of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate. He is remembered for his solid leadership and is recognised for having saved the Church in Kerala from a schism in 1861.

Matt Betts

Thoughts from our Chaplain - Christ the King

This Sunday, we will be celebrating the Feast of Christ the King. What comes into our minds when we hear the word King?  I always imagine a palace, the fine robes and the crown jewels, a royal court peopled by the rich and the good. I suspect that most people would think the same or similar. What about Christ the King?  His palace was a stable in Bethlehem; his fine robes were a used cloak thrown round his shoulders as the soldiers mocked him; his crown jewels were a twisted wreath of thorns; his court was a gathering of fishermen and tax collectors - the outcasts of society.

This is hardly what the people of Israel expected of their Messiah, as they flocked to him full of hopes and anticipation for the downfall of the Roman authorities.  Unfortunately they had totally misunderstood what this kingship of the Messiah was to be.  He was to be the ‘servant king’, the suffering servant of Isaiah and his kingdom was to be ‘not of this world’ (Jn 18:36).  He is to be a Shepherd King caring for his flock. He is to be a healing king, a pastor who searches for and finds his lost sheep. This is to be a king who is filled with compassion who is even willing to die for the welfare of his flock.  Unlike the king they expect, He takes the cloak, wears the thorns and arrayed in the jewel-like blood of his scourging, he walks to his destiny carrying the instrument of his death.

As we celebrate this Feast, maybe we can ask ourselves, each and every one of us, how can I follow this King?  Well the way He teaches is to be like Him, to be compassionate, to care for the needy, feed the hungry, clothe the poor, support the outcasts and stand up for those deprived of justice.  These are steps we take towards his Kingdom, by becoming each day, a little more Christ-like.

Fr Michael Manning, O.Carm - Chaplain to the National Shrine of Saint Jude

Help us through the Giving Machine this Christmas

Are you purchasing presents for your friends and family online? If so, you could help raise money for the National Shrine of Saint Jude and the Order of Carmelites every time you make a purchase – at no cost to you! All you need to do is sign up to our Giving Machine page, here, and add the National Shrine of Saint Jude as one of your beneficiaries. 

Or, alternatively, you can send us an email to newsletter@stjudeshrine.org.uk, and we'll do it for you!

You can then shop via the Giving Machine at any of the 400+ top on-line shops who have teamed up with them. Each of those shops then gives a donation to the Shrine, so we can support the Carmelites for many years to come. All those who join up with the Giving Machine and add the Shrine will be entered into a draw to win some gifts from the Shrine. Thank you

THANK YOU to our 44 friends who have already signed up!

Thoughts from our Chaplain - Feast of Saint Jude

It is now a week since the Feast of Saint Jude, and at the Shrine we are more or less back to normal. This was my first Feast weekend since I came here in August, and I was very nervous about the whole thing.  What would happen if there was chaos and everything that could go wrong went wrong? However, I should not have worried, as I was to experience something quite special during the Feast.

At about 8.30 on Saturday morning, we gathered and made the final preparations for the day, which included lighting all the 700+ candles that had been pre-ordered to be burnt over the feast days. Hardly had we finished this, and the first pilgrim groups started to arrive. A few cars; followed by a mini bus; followed by coaches, and soon the Shrine, church and ground were full of pilgrims coming to pay their respects to Saint Jude, asking for intercessions through their petitions.

Threading my way through the Carmel Hall and talking to people as I went, I was suddenly made aware of the importance of Saint Jude in people's lives. It is very easy to think and talk about the devotion people have for a particular saint and to dismiss it as meeting a particular psychological need or some sort of lack of theological maturity. Spend time at a pilgrimage site such as the National Shrine of Saint Jude during such celebrations, and you will see the fallacy of such an attitude. Bringing our needs to Saint Jude is an expression of one of the oldest traditions in the Church; that of intercession to God. It has nothing to do with 'worshipping' the particular saint, but a recognition of the intercession of that saint.

Saint Jude travelled with Jesus and the rest of the disciples, and heard first-hand the teachings of our Lord. He heard Jesus insist that the law was part of the compassionate love of God, which was expressed so deeply in His covenant with His people. This teaching of Good News Saint Jude made his life's work and passed it on to those he met. Confident in this we turn to Jude and ask him to intercede for us out of and through this intimate relationship he has to his kinsman Jesus.

Over this weekend I saw countless examples of this confidence in Saint Jude, and listened to the stories of prayers. This is what I take with me as I reflect on the Feast weekend.

May Saint Jude continue to intercede for all of us with our living God.

In Carmel, 

Fr Michael Manning, O.Carm.

Photo of the month - November 2014

God the Father - a stained glass window in the Shrine.

The stained glass windows were installed about 1957 and were also executed by Richard Joseph King. This series of windows can be compared to similar windows made for the Church of Swinford in Mayo in the 1950s. The artist also did a picture of Our Lady of Mount Carmel for the Carmelite Church in Aberystwyth.

The hand of God raised in blessing with the sceptre across his left shoulder. He is surrounded by rays. God is presented as a King, but also with a cloud or halo in the shape of a triangle, traditional symbols of God the Father and of the Trinity. Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end are seen on the left. The Father created the earth and water, moon and stars, Adam and Eve. Moses and the Ten Commandments. The serpent and the cross may be a reference to the bronze serpent on the staff of the time of Moses, and to the Garden of Eden as shown by Adam and Eve and the tree of knowledge. It also refers to Christ overcoming evil. Water is seen coming from the rock, again a reference to Moses. There are links between the Old and the New Testament. The artist has used reds and pinks especially in the garments of God.

Feast of Saint Jude celebrations - 2014 - Thank you

Thank you to all those who visited us during the Feast celebrations - it was great to see you all.

Hundreds of pilgrims attended each of the three Saint Jude Celebration days. Pilgrims lit candles, took part in Masses, were anointed with St. Jude's Oil, and venerated a relic of the Apostle.

© Johan Bergström-Allen / www.carmelite.org

More photos of the weekend can be viewed here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/gbcarmelite/sets/72157648949763836

Congratulations, Father Paul

Fr Paul con-celebrating his first Mass with Fr Tony Lester (Prior Provincial) and Archbishop Peter Smith (Southwark)

At the weekend, our brother Paul Jenkins was ordained priest by Archbishop Peter Smith at Aylesford Priory. Please keep him in your prayers. The photo below shows Fr Paul at his first concelebrated Mass at his ordination. 

THANK YOU to all the supporters of the National Shrine of Saint Jude who have made Paul's training possible. It is YOUR support, through your donations and prayers, which enable the Carmelites to minister in Britain and beyond. GOD BLESS YOU FOR YOUR GENEROSITY. If you would like to help us further, please visit our online shop (http://tinyurl.com/perbzlo) where you can purchase gifts from the Shrine, or you can make a donation. THANK YOU.