Foundation Day!

Blessed be God in all His loving and glorious designs! 

We pray this post finds you well. Here in Carmel, we are enjoying the fall colors, and especially the rain! The woods are gorgeous right now, and we have been spending as much time outdoors as we can, admiring the fall leaves. We've also been busy putting our gardens to sleep for the winter (though, with the peacocks around, there isn't much "garden" left).

We've had a lot to celebrate recently. First of all, the months of October, November, and December are laden with feasts for Carmelite Saints, the most well known being: St. Therese on October 1st, our Holy Mother, St. Teresa of Avila, on October 15th, followed by Elizabeth of the Trinity on November 8th, and then our Holy Father, St. John of the Cross, on December 14th.

Sister Veronica--our last surviving founding sister

On October 23rd, Sister Veronica celebrated her 93rd birthday! Decorations adorned the walls and overflowed into the hallway in the Infirmary. We gathered together to celebrate that afternoon, and thoroughly enjoyed our time together.

Sister Veronica originally entered Carmel in Alhambra, California. They had many vocations at that time, so Alhambra was busy founding other Monasteries, ours being one of them. In 1957, five sisters (including Sister Veronica) arrived in Eugene, Oregon to found the Carmel of Maria Regina. This year, on November 6th (our Foundation Day), we celebrated 64 years of prayer and service to the church in the Portland Diocese!

Many more celebrations are near at hand with Advent fast approaching, and Christmas just around the corner. As we begin our transition into Advent, we are keeping you lovingly in our prayers. We wish you a blessed and grace-filled Advent season. We will share more with you very soon. May our good God bless you all!

Peace and love in Christ,

Your Sisters in Eugene Carmel