IlPescara: Montesilvano protagonista delle Giornate Fai di Primavera, visitatori alla scoperta della Stella Maris

Montesilvano protagonista delle Giornate Fai di Primavera, con numerosi visitatori che nel fine settimana hanno preso parte agli itinerari organizzati sul territorio, tra cui la riscoperta della Stella Maris, recentemente restaurata e restituita alla comunità.Tra i luoghi più visitati proprio...

Montesilvano is the protagonist of the Fai’s Spring Days, visitors discovering the Stella Maris.

Montesilvano was a protagonist of the FAI’s Spring Days, with numerous visitors who participated in the organized itineraries throughout the territory over the weekend, including the rediscovery of Stella Maris, recently restored and returned to the community. Among the most visited places…

#Montesilvano #SpringDays #StellaMaris

https://www.ilpescara.it/cronaca/montesilvano/montesilvano-giornate-fai-stella-maris.html

Quote of the day, 15 May: Elias Friedman, O.C.D.

In 1990, the Teresianum journal published Fr. Elias Friedman’s first-hand account of the internal Arab refugees who found shelter with the Discalced Carmelite friars during the 1948 war in Haifa. As violence spread and the city’s Christian population dwindled, Stella Maris Monastery became a refuge of peace and prayer.

Father Elias writes:

“On 29 November 1947, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a resolution recommending the partition of Palestine into an Arab state, a Jewish state and a corpus separatum for Jerusalem. The immediate effect was to aggravate the military tension between Jews and Arabs as the two parties jostled for position in view of the approaching termination of the British Mandate.“

Photos from the LIFE magazine archives illustrate Fr. Elias Friedman’s documentation.

Father Elias carefully noted that:

In 1944, Haifa’s population was 128,000:

• 52% Jewish, the rest mostly Christian and Muslim.
• The Discalced Carmelites’ parish, Saint Joseph Church, had around 4,000 families.

After the violence in 1948:

• By 1948, Haifa’s population had dropped to 98,284—of whom 94,718 were Jewish.
• Membership at Saint Joseph’s parish fell to just 500 families.

By the time Father Elias wrote in 1990:

• Parish membership had “risen slowly, so that at the time of writing, the number of parishioners stands at +/- 1,500.”

Beginning in January 1948, Catholics in Haifa began seeking refuge at the Monastery of the Carmelite Fathers—today known as Stella Maris—on the promontory of Mount Carmel.

The first to arrive were four religious from the Christian Brothers school. Father Elias writes:

“On the 10 January 1948, a car-bomb, planted by Arabs, exploded in the town. In consequence, four religious from the Christian Brothers school sought refuge in the monastery, feeling their lives to be in danger.“

Soon they were followed by Arab families—“desperately in search of shelter.”

Responding to the dramatic circumstances of the time, Fr. Thomas, O.C.D., the monastery’s vicar, convoked a conventual chapter. The friars resolved to open the monastery to internal refugees from strife-torn Haifa. Fr. Elias recounts:

“It was question of giving them temporary permission to occupy the first floor, which had once served to lodge pilgrims; the upper floor would be reserved for the religious. The refugees then began to settle into the rooms and corridors of the space allotted to them, the overflow spilling into the grounds around the monastery.“

Fr. John, O.C.D., a Maltese friar, was appointed to oversee the care of the refugees. He remained in that role until April, when he was replaced by Fr. Clemente Casinelli, O.C.D.

“Fr. Clemente was to display rare qualities of initiative and decision.“

When he arrived, he found the first floor of the monastery filled with men, women, and children. The majority were Catholics, along with a few Greek-Orthodox families and one Muslim family—the Sabas. The overflow, as Fr. Elias noted, spilled into the monastery grounds.

Fr. Clemente had only recently arrived from El-Muhraqa, the site of Elijah’s sacrifice, where he had been serving as Superior. In 1948 he assumed the role of Procurator in Haifa, taking over from Fr. John. With his arrival, the administration of the monastery’s refugee program began to change.

“Fr. Clemente discovered the first floor of the monastery to be filled with men, women and children. They were mostly Catholics, some three or four families were Greek-Orthodox, and one family was Muslim (the Sabas). The overflow spilled into the grounds of the monastery.“

But with so many people arriving daily, space quickly ran out. Fr. Clemente made a decision that drew strong opposition from within the Carmelite community: he housed several families in the cemetery across from the monastery.

“To their dismay the refugees found themselves passing the cold nights in the empty niches designed for the internment of the religious. They lamented to him, not without bitterness, how, only the night before they had slept in warm beds in their own homes, whereas now they were obliged to pass their nights in the company of the dead.”

Some friars were scandalized. They objected to what they viewed as a desecration of holy ground and demanded that the refugees be removed. The Vicar of the community issued the order for them to leave.

But Fr. Clemente refused.

“He defied him, protesting that under the circumstances, the law of charity should prevail over all other considerations.”

Fr. James, O.C.D., the Procurator General of the Order, happened to be visiting from Rome at the time. He confirmed Fr. Clemente’s decision.

Despite the overcrowding and stress, the rhythm of Catholic life did not disappear within the monastery walls. On the contrary, it deepened.

“The refugees assisted regularly at Sunday Mass. Victor and Fred Khayat set a good example by first putting their contributions into the plate and taking it around the congregation at the Offertory.”

Devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary became a daily practice.

“During the month of May, the refugees assembled for the daily prayers in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary, at 7 o’clock each evening to recite the Rosary together and attend the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.”

Amid fear, displacement, and scarcity, the cloister on Mount Carmel became for the refugees what it had always claimed to be: a place of prayer, refuge, and fidelity to Our Lady.

Postscript

Though many Christian families fled Haifa in 1948, some remained and rebuilt their lives in the city. Among them were the Khayat and Swidan families. The Khayats, once known for their orchard and their generosity to the Carmelites, left a lasting mark on the religious and civic landscape of Mount Carmel. Their Bostan, a walled garden in Wadi Siah, was gifted to the Carmelites in 1943 and later passed to the city. Even in ruins, it remains a powerful witness to the family’s faith and legacy. The Swidans, longtime grocers, continue to serve the Wadi Nisnas neighborhood through their family deli—a gathering place for the community and a quiet reminder of endurance.

Friedman, Elias. “Internal Arab refugees at the monastery of the Carmelite Fathers, Mount Carmel, Haifa (Israel).” Teresianum: Ephemerides Carmeliticae, vol. 41, no. 1, 1990, pp. 261-274.

Project, The Palestine. LIFE Magazine: Palestine 1948 — rare photo collection. medium.com, 16 May 2018, https://medium.com/@thepalestineproject/life-magazine-rare-photos-of-palestine-1948-d80e83d4929. Accessed 15 May 2019.

Wikimedia Commons has photo collections concerning historical images of Haifa, the statue of Our Lady of Chile that stands across from the monastery, and several historic images in the Stella Maris Monastery collection. Nanyang Technological University has information about accessing the LIFE Photo Archives. Our featured image comes from the LIFE Photo Archives; photographer Dmitri Kessel captures an image of the Port of Haifa in January 1948. © Time Inc. For personal non-commercial use only.

#19471949PalestineWar #CarmeliteMonastery #EliasFriedmanOCD_ #Haifa #Muslims #refugees #StellaMaris

"Stella Maris"

#stella #maris #stellamaris #seaside #flower #tiny #closeup #summer #summervibes #sunny #sunnyday☀️ #blue #atlanticocean #promenade #rocks #sea #marine #plant #photography #throwback #throwbacktuesday #tbt #bright

Pope St. John Paul II affirms that “praying for the souls in purgatory is the highest act of supernatural charity.” The Church, ever conscious of her vocation to love, has always been animated by this fraternal charity, inviting her children to pray and do penance on behalf of the faithful departed. This is expressly approved by the Bible: “It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins” (2 Mac 12:46). In response to this invitation, the Carmelite Order through the centuries of her existence, has developed a strong sense of communion with the suffering Church (the souls in purgatory).

Read More →

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/11/03/carmelite-order-and-souls-in-purgatory-carmel-holy-land/

#Carmelites #church #dead #friars #HolyLand #penance #pray #purgatory #StJohnPaulII #StellaMaris

An excellent analysis by @amygetslit of Cormac McCarthy's magnum opus: "WTF Does This Even Mean? Blood Meridian".
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDcGQATR9iRqSfSuePi66GzpA5BINkl-p

Waiting patiently for her take on "The Passenger" and "Stella Maris".

#AmyGetsLit #CormacMcCarthy #BloodMeridian #ThePassenger #StellaMaris #Literature #Books

Before I check in to Stella Maris, having listened six times (so far) to Julia Whelan, MacLeod Andrews, and Edoardo Ballerini bring these books to life, twice slowing my usual brisk listening speed in order to clearly catch every word from Cormac McCarthy, I have some questions.

#CormacMcCarthy #ThePassenger #StellaMaris #Audiobook #JuliaWhelan #MacLeodAndrews #EdoardoBallerini #Book #Literature #Physics #ParticlePhysics #Mathematics #Maths #Math #Philosophy #Psychology #ManhattenProject

Court of the University of #StAndrews in Scotland dismiss rector #StellaMaris for opposing #GazaGenocide - World Socialist Web Site

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2024/08/06/clkn-a06.html

In 1931 to solemnly commemorate the third centenary of the re-acquisition of Mount Carmel, it was decided to hold the General Chapter of the Order in the monastery on the promontory. In preparation for the event the church was once more redecorated. The Maltese lay brother, Luigi Poggi, an accomplished artist, painted the ceiling and the interior of the dome, and the walls were covered with precious marble.

The bell tower was enriched by the addition of three new bells presented by the General Definitory, the nuns of Lisieux Carmel, and the nuns of Haifa respectively. Along the road leading towards the Bay of Haifa, fourteen small chapels were erected containing reproductions of the Stations of the Cross, the work of Rafael of the Infant Jesus of the province of Catalonia, whose work was financed by benefactors in his native country.

Participating at the solemn opening of the Chapter were representatives from all the countries in which the Order was established, including America, India, Mesopotamia, Persia, Poland, Ireland, England, Austria, Bavaria, Hungary, Italy, France, Spain, and Malta. Fr. William of St. Albert was elected as General of the Order for a second term of office. The Chapter decided to place votive lamps before Our Lady’s statue to represent every province of the Order.

Because it was felt that the statue’s garments were not in accord with its ornate surroundings, it was decided to have them carved in wood. Brother Luigi Poggi, conventual on Mount Carmel, carved a copy to be enthroned temporarily, while the head and hands were sent off to Rome [in 1932].

The body was carved in Lebanese cedar, with instructions to keep the same proportions and pose as the original. In Europe, the work of restoration was entrusted to Emanuele Rieda, who finished it in less than a year.

The statue’s return to Mount Carmel was accompanied by great celebrations. In July and August, the image was displayed in the Discalced Carmelites’ Roman churches and was blessed by Pius XI on the 25th of July, 1933.

[When the statue arrived on 8 September 1933, it] was escorted by a long procession made up of civic and religious leaders, all Catholic groups in Haifa, and a group of pilgrims who had come specially from Europe. In the evening it was solemnly enthroned above the high altar in the basilica.

Father Elias Friedman, O.C.D.

Excerpts from chapters 3 and 4

Giordano, S, Salvatico, G & Maccise, C 1996, Carmel in the Holy Land: From Its Beginnings to the Present Day, Il Messaggero di Gesù Bambino, Arenzano.

Featured image: Thousands of pilgrims accompanied the Pilgrim Virgin statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel on the slow, arduous procession from Saint Joseph Latin Catholic Parish in the City of Haifa up to the Stella Maris Church and Monastery of the Discalced Carmelite friars on the promontory of Mount Carmel on 5 May 2019. It was the 100th anniversary of the procession, which began as an act of gratitude for the liberation of the city from Turkish rule at the end of the First World War. Image credit: Discalced Carmelite General Curia / Facebook (used by permission)

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/07/24/friedman-25jul33-2/

#bells #blessing #CarmelOfHaifa #CarmelOfLisieux #DiscalcedCarmelites #friars #generalChapter #Haifa #HolyLand #OurLadyOfMountCarmel #PopePiusXI #Rome #statue #StellaMaris

During the month of May, the refugees assembled for the daily prayers in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary

In 1990, the scholarly journal Teresianum published an account by noted Discalced Carmelite historian Father Elias Friedman, O.C.D. concerning the Discalced Carmelite friars’ charitable efforts to shelter refugees at Stella Maris monastery during the armed conflict in Haifa in the year 1948.

A bit of background: Fr. Elias reminds his readers that at the end of 1947 when the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a resolution “recommending the partition of Palestine into an Arab state, a Jewish state, and a corpus separatum for Jerusalem,” Jews and Arabs in the region “jostled for position in view of the approaching termination of the British Mandate.” Bloody violence ensued.

Photos from the LIFE magazine archives illustrate Fr. Elias Friedman’s documentation. Father Elias carefully noted that in 1944 the population of Haifa was 128,000, with a fair balance of Jews, Christians, and Muslims (52% Jewish); after the violence broke out in 1948 in Haifa, “of a total population of 98,284, Jews numbered 94,718.”

Before the conflict, the Discalced Carmelite Fathers’ parish in Haifa, Saint Joseph Church, had a membership of roughly 4000 families. However, the parish soon experienced a dramatic drop in membership; in 1948, only about 500 Catholic families remained. When Fr. Elias published his article in 1990, he noted that the membership had “risen slowly, so that at the time of writing, the number of parishioners stands at +/-1,500.” Haifa’s Christian population suffered immensely in 1948.

Beginning in January 1948, Catholics in Haifa began to seek secure shelter at the Monastery of the Discalced Carmelite Fathers, now known as Stella Maris, on the promontory of Mount Carmel at Haifa.

Four religious from the Christian Brothers school were the first Catholics who came to the friars asking for a place to stay. “Soon they were followed by Arab families, desperately in search of shelter.” At one point, the number of refugees at the Carmelite monastery across from the lighthouse reached a total of 521.

Father Clemente Casinelli, O.C.D. transferred to Haifa from the friars’ monastery at El-Muhraqa—the place of Elijah’s sacrifice—in April 1948 and assumed the office of Procurator. When he arrived, he found “the first floor of the monastery to be filled with men, women, and children.  They were mostly Catholics, some three or four families were Greek-Orthodox, and one family was Muslim (the Sabas). The overflow spilled into the grounds of the monastery.”

The refugees were very resourceful and contributed to one another’s well-being given the circumstances. Fr. Clemente took charge of the refugee program. He was an Italian Discalced Carmelite friar who had spent six years in a British prison camp in Lebanon during World War II for no reason other than his nationality; his harsh experiences there gave him a unique sense of initiative and compassion.

Fr. Elias notes, “the refugees assisted regularly at Sunday Mass.” A local family famed for being benefactors to the friars and their refugees “set a good example by first putting their contributions into the plate and taking it around the congregation at the Offertory.”

“During the month of May, the refugees assembled for the daily prayers in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary, at 7 o’clock each evening to recite the Rosary together and attend the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.”

Elias Friedman, O.C.D.

Internal Arab refugees at the monastery of the Carmelite Fathers, Mount Carmel, Haifa (Israel)

Friedman, Elias. “Internal Arab refugees at the monastery of the Carmelite Fathers, Mount Carmel, Haifa (Israel)”. Teresianum: Ephemerides Carmeliticae, vol. 41, no. 1, 1990, pp. 261-274.

Project, The Palestine. LIFE Magazine: Palestine 1948 — rare photo collection. medium.com, 16 May 2018, https://medium.com/@thepalestineproject/life-magazine-rare-photos-of-palestine-1948-d80e83d4929. Accessed 15 May 2019.

Wikimedia Commons has photo collections concerning historical images of Haifa, the statue of Our Lady of Chile that stands across from the monastery, and several historic images in the Stella Maris Monastery collection.

Featured image: This image of Stella Maris monastery on Mount Carmel at Haifa was captured circa 1920 by noted Palestinian photographer Madame Karimeh Abbud. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/05/28/mdj2024-ep29/

#ClementeCasinelli #DiscalcedCarmelites #EliasFriedman #friars #Israel #Mass #OurLadyOfMountCarmel #Palestine #refugees #Rosary #SaintJosephChurchHaifa #statue #StellaMaris #war