Our Lady of Mt Carmel Catholic Parish, Coorparoo
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Parish Advisory Council Report 2020

18/2/2021

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When the Parish Advisory Council met early in 2020 high on our agenda was the development of a strategic plan in consultation with the community so that the vibrancy and strength evident in the parish could be further developed and enriched.  In our first meeting in February, a process for engaging the community and commencing the process was determined.

By mid-March, we had received specific directions from the Archdiocese related to restrictions brought about by COVID 19. Many of these continue at time of writing. When we reached our second meeting for the year, our focus turned to the impact of the newly announced COVID restrictions. That day we received the news that churches were to close indefinitely and our focus turned to ways in which we could remain connected to the community during this time.

We quickly recognised that out focus needed to be on being church during this pandemic, with its consequent lockdowns and restrictions on gathering as a parish community. At the same time we have endeavoured to adopt a forward focus, learning from the ways we have been called to be community for one another and incorporating the best of these into a new normal for our parish community.

Our most significant response to the quickly unfolding events necessitated by the pandemic was the development of an online newsletter which continues to be emailed weekly to over 800 parishioners and others. The early newsletter included links to prayer sites and masses online with reflections from Father Wayne which were well received. Some print copies of the newsletter were also distributed to those who were not able to access it otherwise.

Face to face meetings of the Advisory Council ceased during April and May and were replaced with email conversations and resource sharing. Meetings recommenced in June prior to Masses beginning with limited numbers in July. The sacraments of first communion and confirmation were necessarily put on hold but we look forward to celebrating with families again in 2021.

On 19 July, when some restrictions on gatherings were lifted, we held a Carmel Conversation session in which the community was challenged with the question of Where to from here? We borrowed from the Parish Mission Statement in exploring how we could own the life and work of the Parish as a fully involved, outward looking, ever-evolving community in extraordinary circumstances. Using the Carmelite tenets of Prayer, Community and Service, much valuable discussion and feedback was generated and discerned. Those unable to attend the event were invited to submit online.

Carmel Care initiated a project in which a roster was developed of parishioners to regularly telephone those in the community who were isolated in some way. The St. Vincent de Paul team, with the assistance of Carmel Care, also began Mt. Carmel Place, a fortnightly drop in morning tea for those needing companionship. This has been a fine example of the Carmelite commitment to the isolated in our community. Carmel Care’s Meal Train emergency provision of meals continued throughout the year.

In September we were able to celebrate together the ordination to the deaconate of Brother Matthew Tonini. Discussions in the latter months of the year focussed on the news that we were to welcome Father Martinho as our new parish priest, and to farewell Fathers Wayne and Janu.

Using feedback from the parish gathering in July and conscious of our desire to develop a strategic direction for the parish, we determined that 2021 would be a Year of Prayer in our community. This focus began with a Taize style liturgy in Advent and will further evolve in 2021.
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We continue to discern and listen to your feedback in developing strategies to nourish and enrich the ways in which we offer opportunities for prayer, community, and service now and into a future which will inevitably be changed by our present circumstances. We are always interested to hear from you and will continue to keep you informed. Contact can be made by email to mtcarmel@bne.catholic.net.au
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Carmelite Spirituality & Charism

16/2/2021

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“Searching for peace in the chaos of my life, I happened upon a community of men who lived a simple life of prayer, living as brothers to one another, who welcomed me into their lives. They walked with me in my search. Their greatest act of service was to listen with me so that I might discover the still small voice that spoke words of a loving peace in the quiet heart.” – anon.

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The Carmelite Charism: Contemplation through prayer, community & service
Carmelite spirituality journeys into the human heart. There, in the depths of our heart, are all the things we long for and desire, all our joys, pains and purpose, the very mystery of our lives. Over the centuries, the charism or gift that Carmelite spirituality fosters is often described as contemplation lived out in ways of prayer, fostering hospitality and solidarity in community and living acts of loving service with those in need.​

​At the heart of Carmelite spirituality are three biblical figures: Elijah, the prophet of Mount Carmel, Mary, the mother of Jesus and woman of Mount Carmel, and Jesus, the beloved one of God. Like Elijah, Carmelites seek to live in the presence of the living God who is the way to freedom of heart. Like Mary, Carmelites foster a space and an openness of heart that we might truly hear others when they speak. Like Jesus, Carmelites strive to become the mind, heart and hands of the love of God that forgives, heals and brings about fullness of life.
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Over the 80 year history of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Primary School, Coorparoo, students, teachers and families have been invited into sharing the Carmelite spirit that is fostered in practices of stillness and silence, prayer, listening, building a welcoming and inclusive community and reaching out to those in need. As we live in these ways, we discover the gift of living Carmelite spirituality, growing in ways that fill our hearts with the joy and peace of living well as a community in the presence of the God who shares love and life with us.
Br Matthew Tonini, O.Carm.
Next time: Carmelite Prayer
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What is a Carmelite?

4/2/2021

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​Far from Mount Carmel, Coorparoo in time and place: The year 1200, just south of the crusader fortress at Acre, a dry river valley leads down from a green mountain to the sun-washed shores of the eastern Mediterranean. The head of a lean, bearded man pokes out of a natural cave. He looks at the sun. He is wearing a rough woollen cloak of alternating light and dark stripes. He says nothing, but raises his eyes to heaven in a silent prayer to God and tries to estimate from the angle of the sun how long it will be before he joins his fellow hermits in their Eucharistic worship at the makeshift chapel dedicated to the Lady of Mount Carmel, by the wadi.(1)
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Above: Carmelite hermits on Mount Carmel. Pietro Lorenzetti
These first Carmelites were seekers who stepped back and took the wide view of our shared life journey. They were on an intentional quest for meaning, purpose and ultimately for the God who is Love. On Mount Carmel – a holy place recorded in the Hebrew scriptures – they gathered as a praying community, pondering the Word of God in the Bible and seeking their simple way by following in the footsteps of Jesus.
Carmelites today in 2021, like those first Carmelites, continue living a way of life that seeks to follow the way of Jesus through practices of prayer, community and service. Here at Mount Carmel, Coorparoo, a community of Carmelite brothers, has lived in the community since 1937 accompanying the community (school and parish) in travelling the life journey of meaning and Love.
Br Matthew Tonini, O.Carm.
Next time: Carmelite Spirituality and Charism
(1) Adapted from Desert Spring in the City, 2012. Leopold Glueckert, O.Carm.
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Advent Reflections 2020

4/2/2021

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Revisit the Advent 2020 Year B Gospel Reflections written and given by parishioners and compile by Paul Asnicar.

Mt Carmel parishioners were invited to share their thoughts on the liturgical themes and readings for Advent 2020. These reflections, preserved in this booklet, also show how an extraordinary year has woven itself into our thoughts and our lives. It has been a challenging year, but these reflections show how, in the midst of these challenges, the invitation, encouragement, joy and hope that comes to us from God is not diminished.

​Click below to download.
Advent 2020 Gospel Reflections
File Size: 614 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

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    Mt Carmel Parish

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our lady of mt carmel catholic parish


312 Cavendish Road, Coorparoo, QLD, AUSTRALIA, 4151
(Office entry is via Norfolk Street)
Phone:  07 3397 1587
Email:  mtcarmel@bne.catholic.net.au

Carmelite Community
Fr Martinho Da Costa O.Carm, Parish Priest
Fr Matthew Tonini O.Carm, Associate Pastor, Prior
Fr Albino Dos Santos O.Carm, Associate Pastor
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  • Home
  • Our Parish
    • Our Mission
    • Parish History
    • The Carmelites
    • Administration & Staff
    • Parish Advisory Council
    • Safeguarding Committee
    • Finance Council
    • Parish Primary School
  • MASS TIMES
  • SACRAMENTS
  • Parish Life
    • Ministries
    • Register with our Parish
  • BULLETINS
  • Contacts & Links
    • Contact Details
    • Donations & Policies
    • Useful Links
    • Safeguarding
    • Australian Catholic Safeguarding Ltd
    • STAY CONNECTED
    • Blog