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On this past August 2, a commemorative ceremony took place in the concentration camp of Dachau, Germany, to honor the ten Carmelites buried there, among whom were Titus Brandsma and Hilary Januszewski, beatified in 1985 and 1999 respectively. This ceremony concluded the international course of formation for Carmelite students which took place in Holland and Germany, and which Citoc-online will presently describe.

Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. I would like to send you my most cordial fraternal greetings on our patronal feast, in which we remember Mary under the beloved title of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. We commemorate Our Mother and Sister, the Domina loci (mistress of the place) that is at the center of our lives and that inspires and encourages us to live our Carmelite charism at the service of the Gospel, of the people of God and of all humanity.

On February 6, 2018, the opening of the documents of inquiry regarding the alleged miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Tito Brandsma in the Diocese of Palm Beach (Florida, USA) took place. This very simple and yet solemn act took place at the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (Congregatio Pro Causis Sanctorum), in Rome, Italy.

I want to send you an affectionate greeting with my most sincere congratulations. I hope that the feast and all the celebrations of these days (novenas, processions, religious and cultural events, etc.) will be an occasion to honor Mary under this title so popular and endearing and so dear to all of us Carmelites. May these celebrations touch our hearts, inspire our living of the charism, and transform our lives so that we become more and more faithful to the values of the Gospel.

The Lay Carmelite is called to the Family of Carmel to be deeply involved in the mission of the Church, to contribute to the transformation of the secular world. A Lay Carmelite does this by sharing in the charism of the Carmelite Order. Being a Lay Carmelite is not just a devotion added to life; it is a way of life, a vocation.