Blogger leaves Marylake. Well that's all folks. I pray God brings me back to Marylake before I die, but for the present He, the Provincial Council, (and presumably the Holy Spirit) has led me to Dallas where I will be Parochial vicar of Santa Maria del Carmen church for the next three years. Date of departure/arrival was set for the feast of the prophet Elijah July 20th. It was the anniversary date of my 47th year as a professed Carmelite friar. In Dallas we celebrated the occasion with a dinner at my favorite seafood place: La Calle Doce, which appropriately enough is located on 12th Street in Oak Cliff.

On the feast of Our Lady of Mt Carmel, we celebrated the profession of our two novices, Brad Wagner and Jorge Morales. They received the Carmelite habit on the vigil of Our Lady’s feast last year. The year of a Carmelite’s novitiate is a year of testing and discernment. It has been compared to the military boot camp. It is not physically intense, because the purpose is not to build up the body, but it can be stressful in other aspects since the purpose is to build up the soul. Jesus said whoever wanted to follow him had to give up many things that are very dear to us: mother, father, brother, sister, riches, and in the end even life itself. Saint John of the Cross writes a lot about attachments. Each novice arrives at Marylake with baggage: some with more than others. Stuff we carry around with us. Some we don’t really need but are afraid to get rid of. Some we carry by force of habit whether we need it or not, whether it’s helpful to us or not. So during the year of novitiate the novice discerns with his master what to keep and develop, and what to discard. The discarding process is rarely peaceful since so many of us are attached to doing what we want, when we want and doing it how we want it done.

The vows Brother Brad and Brother Jorge took last Saturday were vows of Poverty, Chastity and Obedience. Most young men think the vow of chastity is the hardest to keep. They soon find out obedience is even harder, for it involves the surrender of our will to another. Poverty is expected. Just because it is expected, doesn’t mean it is any easier to embrace. The story is told of one Brother who, when given a new assignment by his superior, loaded up a U-Haul van with books, furniture, and even the kitchen sink. Well it was really a darkroom sink, but a sink nonetheless. Another priest involved in the same transfer from one Carmelite house to another, went to his new assignment with only one suitcase. We all immediately praised the priest and condemned the Brother until we found out the priest cost the house to which he was sent a small fortune by expecting them to buy him replacements of all the things he had left behind… including a new sink for the bathroom.

Brother Bradley of Christ of King was the first to offer his vows to our Father Provincial, Luis Joaquin Castañeda. Brother was known as “Alberto” during his novitiate, but decided to keep his baptismal name Bradley as a professed religious. He was born in Cuidad Juarez, Chihuahua in 1975, but moved across the border when he was very young and grew up in this country. His mother lives in Los Angeles and he has two sisters in Dallas. His parents nor siblings could not come to Marylake for his profession because of a illness in the family.

Brother Jorge Maria del Cordero de Dios then offered his vows to the Provincial. Jorge was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1981. He has served military duty in the United States navy, and found the Carmelite order in San Antonio where he helped our Fathers there run the basilica of the Little Flower. His mother flew in from Puerto Rico to be with her son as he took his vows. Jorge’s sister is a Hawthorne Domincan who came down from upstate New York to be part of the ceremony. She took one of the readings of the Mass and led the Intercessions. Jorge’s Mom brought up the gifts along with Robert Pilkington, our caretaker’s son who lives at Marylake and has spent all week getting the grounds cleaned and mowed for the occasion. This was the first multiple profession we have celebrated since 1998 when Brother Joseph Le and his companions were professed. Brother Joseph can be seen sitting in the first pew on the left next to Brother Bernard. Both have now joined the Marylake community, as our two newly professed will transfer to San Antonio to begin their studies for the priesthood.

The Carmelite order operates on a triennial time table. What this means is that every three years, we gather at a Provincial Chapter to elect our new superiors and assign our personnel. Last month we held our chapter in San Antonio and made personnel changes at Marylake. The new superior will be Fr. Sam Anthony Morello. Fr. John Magdalene will be his right hand man. Fr. Raphael, due to his age, is allowed to stay. Once you turn 70 you have the privilege of letting the new superiors know at what house in our province you’d like to be stationed. The superiors don’t have to give you that, but you can ask, they will listen, and in Raphael’s case, they granted his wish. Fr. John Michael will be going to Santa Maria parish in Dallas TX, Fr. Marion will be going to our basilica in San Antonio, and the two novices who will make their vows on July 16 will be entering our house of studies in San Antonio. Before leaving for the “four corners of the world” I gathered our “ideal community” together for a photo. This is the “old” community: Fr. Marion, Br. Jorge, Fr. John Magdalene, John Michael, Fr. Raphael and Br. Bradley (the novice Alberto).