A Message From the Chair

Dear friends,
 
The Carmelite Center celebrated St. Thérèse of Lisieux on October 1^st in the student center at the Catholic University of America. In the heart of the CUA campus, the entire Carmelite community from Whitefriars Hall gathered to pray, sing and distribute hundreds of roses and prayer cards to the students passing by. Now in my second year here at CUA, I have witnessed the extraordinary interest in St. Thérèse among the many students who have read The Story of a Soul. She speaks to their life experience.  

The Carmelite Center hosted its Annual Lecture in September to celebrate the centenaries of St. John of the Cross (canonization and doctor of the Church). Jodi Bilinkoff (Professor of History, Emerita, University of North Carolina at Greensboro), Alison Weber (Professor of Spanish, Emerita, University of Virginia) and Christopher Wilson (Visiting Professor of Art History, George Washington University) offered stimulating insights into our Doctor of the Church. Prof. Weber delved into the collaboration between John of the Cross and Anne of Jesus who inspired John to revise the Spiritual Canticle and write a theological explication of the Canticle that John dedicated to Anne. The artistic representation of John of the Cross also came into focus. Prof. Bilinkoff spoke about the illustration known as “the miracle at Segovia”. The illustration (presented below) depicts Jesus holding the cross and speaking to John.
 

 
Prof. Bilinkoff explained: John asked to live and die without privilege or entitlement. Prof. Wilson further developed the relationship between John and Christ in art. He showed the painting by Cristóbal de Villalpando, St. John of the Cross in Penitence (1675-1680) to remember how John, as he gazed upon this masterpiece, heard Christ speaking to him. These lectures reminded us that Christian art speaks to our hearts.

Currently underway this month is the catechesis for the enrollment in the Carmelite Scapular. About 35 students, both undergraduate and graduate, attended last week’s first session with Br. John-Mary Winter, OCD. He reminded these young people, so adept at the use of the internet, that some information online is misleading, and his catechesis worked to correct this. On Oct 15^th, the Feast of St. Teresa of Avila, these students will have the opportunity to be enrolled in the Scapular.               

Many years ago, my mother talked about the impact that now Blessed Fulton Sheen had on her life and on the lives of many others, both Catholic and Protestant. Sheen recognized how the social media of his day (radio and television) could effectively transmit the faith. It is well known that Fulton Sheen also became a Third Order Carmelite, professing his vows in the chapel pictured below at Whitefriars Hall here in Washington, DC. Why he chose to become a Carmelite is clear in the eleven homilies that he preached on St. Thérèse of Lisieux on the hundredth anniversary of her death at our Carmelite church in the heart of Dublin, Ireland. At the conclusion of this novena, Sheen focused on how Thérèse spoke about divine mercy:

 
Our frail little Thérèse, who claimed not to have any
deep knowledge, was a deeper theologian than many of us.
For she understood this mystery I have expounded to you:
…. Let no one, therefore, ever despair of mercy. The Blood of Christ
has paid all debts if you but invoke it. And who else can ever
help us anyway?

 
Lastly, when Fr. John Welch went to the hospital in August of 2025 for what would be his final time, he left behind a manuscript that was still in process. The book has now appeared from Paulist Press with the title, Our Spiritual Journey: The Carmelite Way. As I proofed the manuscript at the request of Paulist Press, I could hear Fr. Jack’s voice speaking on every page. Like Jack himself, his final book is a gentle, warm read.


Fraternally,
Craig Morrison, O.Carm.
Chair, Center for Carmelite Studies