Dear friends,
Lent is approaching and the Discalced Carmelite friars have especially prepared a free online Lenten retreat for you. The theme is Experiencing Divine Mercy With the Saints of Carmel.
If you have registered previously and received one of our online retreats for Advent or Lent, you do not need to register again.
But don’t hesitate to extend an invitation to your friends and acquaintances. They can subscribe for free at this website:
We suggest that you share this link with your Christian community, parish, ecclesial movement, association, or prayer group. You also can promote this initiative through social media or by printing this flyer.
Inviting others to pray through the retreat is an excellent way to evangelize and witness to your faith.
As we journey with the saints of Carmel—Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Lawrence of the Resurrection, Elizabeth of the Trinity, Teresa of the Andes, and others—we will dive into divine mercy at a new depth. These witnesses will help us to enter more profoundly into this central mystery of our faith and thus experience the grace of Easter as never before.
On Ash Wednesday (March 2) you will receive the introductory text of this retreat. Then, on each Friday of Lent, you will receive an email message with:
- a meditation on the Gospel with the works of the Carmelite Saints (St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, and others)
- a video/audio summary of the theme for the week
- brief prayer starters for each day of the week
Our weekly themes for Lent are the following:
- 1st week: Never without the Holy Spirit! – with Teresa of Avila
- 2nd week: Drawn to prayer – with John of the Cross
- 3rd week: “Let’s get started!” – with Lawrence of the Resurrection
- 4th week: Dare to be empty-handed – with Thérèse of Lisieux
- 5th week: “He has loved me exceedingly” – with Elizabeth of the Trinity
- Holy Week: Wait and watch – with Teresa of the Andes
- Easter: “Celebrating Divine Mercy”
The content will be available so that you may organize your moments of meditation during the week.
In addition, the meditations will be published weekly on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at @carmelitequotes and here on the Carmelite Quotes blog.
The retreat texts were prepared by a Discalced Carmelite friar from Paris, France, with English translations by Secular Carmelites from North America. The videos and e-mails are produced as a collaboration of the Carmelite Friars in Austria and ICS Publications, Washington.
The online retreat is free of charge. You can register or unsubscribe at any time.
If you have any difficulty in receiving the meditations, please send an email to: retreat-online@karmel.at
With this invitation to the online retreat, we extend our sincere wishes for a blessed Lent!
fr. Roberto Maria OCD
and ICS Publications, Washington DC
for the Discalced Carmelites in Austria
Featured image: Benediction of God the Father by Luca Cambiaso, c. 1565, oil on wood from the Museo Diocesano in Genoa, Italy. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Carmelite Quotes 