For information, regarding Discalced Carmelite Sisters, kindly communicate all inquiries by mail only:
Prioress, Reverend Mother Teresa of Jesus, OCD, Carmel of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
9300 Agnew Rd., Valparaiso, NE 68065.
No phone calls, please. Thank you.
(Serving Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska),  (click)  ||  For more on Women Religious (click)

ELYSBURG – Exactly 447 years to the day that St. Teresa of Jesus founded the first convent of the Carmelite reform, a solemn Mass and blessing of the enclosure of a new Carmelite community took place at the Carmel of Jesus, Mary and Joseph in Elysburg. The community of 11 Discalced Carmelite nuns arrived from Valparaiso, Neb., in April and came to the Diocese of Harrisburg due to a constant increase of vocations. This new community of Carmelites joins the Danville Carmelites and the Dominican Nuns of the Perpetual Rosary in Lancaster as the third contemplative community of nuns in the 15 counties of the Diocese of Harrisburg. The Solemn High Mass and establishment of enclosure took place on Aug. 24, the Feast of St. Bartholomew. Father Joseph Howard of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, who will serve as chaplain at the monastery, celebrated the Mass. Those present included Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades, Msgr. Timothy Thorburn, Vicar General of the Diocese of Lincoln; Father William Waltersheid, Diocesan Secretary for Clergy and Consecrated Life; and Father Neil Sullivan, Director of the Diocesan Office of Worship.

“We are grateful now to have our enclosure since the last four months have been filled with preparations and renovations to the monastery,” said Mother Stella Marie, prioress. “It will be a great gift for us to return to our solitude and to continue our work.” “We will be praying for all the people of the diocese,” she said. “We look forward to having the faithful come to our chapel for daily Mass. Please come, because you are welcome and you are welcome to leave your prayer intentions which we will offer during our Divine Office and Holy Mass.”

The Discalced Carmelite nuns will live a strictly cloistered life setting themselves apart from the world in order to dedicate themselves to God. By means of their prayers and sacrifices, they participate vitally in the redemption of the world. During the blessing of the monastery, Bishop Rhoades remarked that the nuns “enter the silence of Carmel where, in the words of John Paul, cloistered Carmelite nuns throughout the world continue to bring forth perfumed flowers of holiness, souls in love with Heaven, who with their evangelical heroism have sustained and effectively sustain the mission of the Church.”

“These daughters of Our Lady of Mount Carmel remind all of us who are so often busy with so many activities and concerns that we must give absolute priority to seeking first the kingdom of God, as Jesus taught us,” the bishop said. “Here prayer becomes life and life flourishes with prayer. In our busy world, we need the example of Carmel to remind us of the necessity of prayer, that we all need to make space in our lives for prayer, that we are all called to union with the Lord. These beloved daughters of the Church, immersed in silence and prayer, recall to all of us the absolute primacy of God. This witness is desperately needed in our increasingly secularized world.”

The ceremony ended with Bishop Rhoades locking the door to enclose the nuns in cloister. The Mass and blessing were attended by a number of faithful from the diocese, including several Discalced Carmelites from Danville, who lived at the monastery from 1961 until their move to Danville in 2008.

“Today is a great day, a great gift from God,” said Discalced Carmelite Sister Angela Pikus, of the Danville community. “It is his providence that we are in Danville, and it’s providence that the sisters that have come here are now here in the monastery.” Father William Waltershied called the nuns “a marvelous witness to a life of contemplative prayer. Their monastery will be a powerhouse of prayer. They will be praying for our diocese, our priests, all of our people in the diocese. Even though they are enclosed, they will be intimately involved in the lives of the people because they’re praying for us.”

“They witness to the value of consecrated life,” he added. “It’s wonderful to see a sign that consecrated life is still so relevant in the Church today and that it is vibrant and healthy. They really are signposts on the way to heaven because of the way in which they embrace the Gospel.”

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For inquiries, kindly communicate by mail:

Reverend Mother, Discalced Carmelite Sisters, Elysburg
70 Monastery Road
Elysburg PA 17824-9697
U.S.A.

The Brown Scapular

The Marian Life

Thoughts by St. Therese of the Little Flower

St. Madre Maravillas

Updates & Photos

OCTOBER 2000 UPDATE 

Hello to all,

I'm sorry it's been so long since the last update. A lot has happened since the last update was sent. A portion of the monastery is nearing completion. They have been painting and trimming this week, and tomorrow they will begin laying the floor tiles. This small portion of the monastery will be completed and ready for the Sisters to occupy it in mid November. Construction will continue on the rest of the monastery and the expected completion date is sometime during the summer of 2001. This will be a tremendous accomplishment for the Steve Lucas (foreman) and his workers. Trying to complete a portion of the project while leaving the rest until later was no small task. The block work and roofing continues on the rest of the structure. The second well was being dug today. The caretaker's residence is nearing completion. All that remains for it is painting, staining and floor coverings.

I went out and purchased a digital camera, so I'll be able to send more photos, more often. The file size for the photos I'm attaching is about 50-60K. Hopefully they will download a little faster that the last ones. Now I will be able to send you photos of the new seminary that is being constructed also. St. Gregory the Great Seminary in Seward, NE has completed their construction project and they are having their dedication ceremony on Nov. 19th. (My sister Mary is the secretary). Some of you have had the pleasure of seeing the seminary and meeting my sister. I'm sure you'll enjoy seeing the photos. It's a very impressive structure.

As always, keep the Sisters and builders in your prayers.

May the peace of Christ be with you all,

Bob & Susan

    (click buttons to view larger image)

Greetings from Valparaiso, 

It's a very exciting time here with the Sisters. Friday, Sept 8th, Gina and Stephanie entered the Carmel as postulants. Gina & Stephanie arrived Wednesday with their parents, Vincent and Guadalupe . The girls are very excited to enter. They are from Las Vegas and are entering together. Imagine that, sister Sisters. They have a brother Vincent that did not make the trip. Please pray for them as they begin their life as Carmelites, and for their parents and families. All of you know what they are going through right now. You know what prayers they need. Since Susan and I have not experienced this event like you have, we can only imagine all the thoughts and feelings that one goes through. Please let us know what we need to do or provide to families that are staying with us during such an important time in their lives. Construction is proceeding rapidly as usual. They are putting the roof on the portion of the monastery that will be completed first.. Work has begun on the bell tower and back wall of the chapel. The arches in the courtyard are nearly complete. In-floor heating is installed and floors are being poured in about 1/4 of the monastery. They are still saying that the Sisters will be able to move in to a portion of the monastery in the middle of November. Please pray for the workers. They are all working extremely hard to meet the projected completion dates. I will try to send the photos one at a time. My e-mail provider has been having trouble sending the large messages with several photos attached.
May the Peace of Christ be with you all,
Bob & Susan

AUGUST UPDATE:  (click buttons to view larger image)

Construction is moving along rapidly as usual.  Plumbing and electrical rough-ins are well under way.   The cloister walk arches are being constructed.  It's possible that they may be putting the roof on the southern half of the monastery next week.  The basement floor is ready to pour.  As of today (August 15), the perimeter walls of the structure are complete.  They are finishing the inner walls of the North courtyard this week and should be starting on the chapel walls soon.  The main floor of the caretaker's house is completely framed and they will be putting the roof on by the end of this week.  The pace is almost dizzying.  Please pray for the Sisters and the workers.  The workers are putting in some intense hours trying to meet deadlines.   Sunday evening when we went up to check things out, there were men working on the storm sewer drains at 4 p.m.  Tonight when we went up there, men were still working at 8 p.m.  The weather is hot and dry now, but here in Nebraska that can all change in a matter of hours.  They're working awful hard to get as much done as possible when the weather is good.

May the peace of Christ be with all of you,
Bob and Susan

Photographs taken July  7, 2000 by MIC  (In the beginning ...)

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