Others must seek god
but you must find him.
others must serve God
but you must adhere to him[.]
others must believe in god[,]
know, love, & honour him,
but you must taste, understand,
know, & injoy him.

Mother Mary Margaret of the Angels Brent, O.C.D.

Carmel in America had its genesis only a few years after St. Teresa established the first monastery of the reform, San José in Avila, Spain.

In 1570, two remarkable women, [Venerable] Anne de Lobera and Anne Garcia, entered the Carmel of San José. They were destined to carry the Teresian heritage and spirit into France, then to Flanders in the Spanish Netherlands. From Flanders nearly two centuries later, a small group of Carmelites (three Americans, one Englishwoman) would set out for Maryland to found the first Carmel in the United States.

Anne of St. Bartholomew followed them to Flanders in 1611, taking up residence in Mons, a foundation of the Carmel at Brussels. At this time Venerable Anne of Jesus was making preparations to found in Antwerp. Anne of St. Bartholomew was sent there as the first prioress in 1612, taking with her Ann of the Ascension Worsley, the first Englishwoman to become a Teresian Carmelite. The religious persecution in their homeland had sent many English Catholics across the channel. A number of these settled in the Lowlands. From their ranks came numerous vocations to the Carmelite life.

In her turn, Ann of the Ascension was sent from Mechlin where she had gone to help establish a new monastery, to found the Carmel of Englishwomen at Hopland-Antwerp.

Another Ann, Ann of Our Lady Harcourt, became the first prioress of the English Carmel at Hoogstraeten founded from Hopland-Antwerp in 1678. Although her death followed only a few weeks after she took office, the final stepping stone to America had been put in place.

So it was that Mary Brent (1734–84) and Ann Matthews (1734–1800), like seven other Anglo-American women in the eighteenth century, left Southern Maryland and crossed the Atlantic Ocean to fulfill their desire of becoming Carmelites.

Discalced Carmelite Nuns, Association of Mary, Queen of Carmel

Introduction

Note: The Discalced Carmelite General Curia shares the following news item: “With immense joy, we share with you the official announcement that Pope Francis will preside at the ceremony of beatification of Venerable Anne of Jesus in the Archdiocese of Malines-Brussels on Sunday 29 September 2024. Anne of Jesus is one of the cornerstones of the entire successful history of the Teresian Reform. She was born on 25 November 1545 in Medina del Campo (Spain) and died on 4 March 1621 in Brussels (Belgium). Her 76 years of life are among the outstanding factors in the initial establishment and the later transmission of the Teresian charism to succeeding generations. The first period of her life is marked by the fact that she shared intimately in the final 12 years of St. Teresa’s life. Those years were decisive in establishing the spirit and identity of the Order. The later years of her life were characterized by some courageous decisions on her part and by a flourishing expansion of the Teresian Reform in France and Flanders” (Communicationes, no. 400, June 2024).

Dickinson, CJ & FitzGerald, C 1990, The Carmelite adventure: Clare Joseph Dickinson’s journal of a trip to America, and other documents, Carmelite Sisters, Baltimore MD.

Mary Queen of Carmel, A 1990, Carmel in the United States of America, 1790-1990, Queen’s Press, Eugene, Oregon.

Featured image: This AI image of a 1790 sailing vessel landing on the coast of Maryland was generated in Adobe Express, using Adobe Firefly technology. The Betsy Ross flag is seen in the background. Image credit: Carmelite Quotes / Adobe Express (All rights reserved)

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/07/03/lobera-4july/

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