Fairfield Carmelite of Jesus Mary and Joseph
Fairfield Carmelite of Jesus Mary and Joseph – Sister Teresita del Corazón de María, O.C.D.
Zelo zelatus sum pro Domino Deo exercituum –
“With zeal I have been zealous for the Lord God of hosts.” (prophet Elijah, Book of Kings )
Praised be Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary, His Most Holy Mother!
Foundresses: Mother Stella-Marie of Jesus, O.C.D. and Mo. Thérèse of Merciful Love, O.C.D.
Place: Fairfield, Pennsylvania – part of an unbroken monastic Tradition of Carmel from Mount Carmel in the Holy Land, to 16th Century Spain, to 17th Century Mexico, and 21st Century Valparaiso, Nebraska
Year: 2018 A.D.
Her Charism: This Carmel is a garden enclosed and a powerhouse of prayer. EVERYTHING IS PRAYER. Steeped in the rich tradition of her heritage, this Carmelite nun lives out the centuries old Rule of her Holy Founders, St. Teresa of Ávila and St. John of the Cross (16th Century). Like St. Thérèse, the Little Flower, she practices all aspects of monastic life: wearing a full habit, mental prayer, fasting, a meatless diet, enclosure, austerity, strict silence, a personal and communal pursuit of virtue, and a traditional Liturgy in Latin. She loves Jesus, and much like a homesteader of 19th Century America, she tends the fields, spins her wool, hand-stitches her holy habit, raises animals, grows her own food, and doesn’t use electricity or have running water! She even plants almond trees and names each after a saint. Living “off-grid” protects the sacred character of her enclosure and gives her a unique opportunity to grow in virtue and practice radical dependence on her own abilities and ultimately on God and His Creation. She is devoted to a life of prayer, sacrifice, simplicity and detachment. It is a life completely cloistered, set entirely apart from a noisy neurotic world that doesn’t stop talking and screaming. Here, as Christ’s Bride, she can get quiet and still enough to love Him without reserve. And the reward is new life – new life within her soul and within the heart of the Church. Carmel is a hidden womb for souls, gently beating with the pulse of the Divine Life. which radiates and reaches far beyond cloister walls. This nun’s life of solitude in the cloister is the leaven of renewal and the presence of the spirit of Christ in the world. From her Carmel, grace flows out to priests and all the Mystical Body, nourishing us and aiding us as we work out our salvation, and she offers God an excellent sacrifice of praise and produces abundant fruits of holiness. Because God’s ways are not our ways, He delights in using the little, the forgotten, and the poor. And so, this nun becomes little, hidden, and poor to allow Him to do His work in and through His “little one” revealing His tenderness, power, and glory. ☩ This Carmel monastery is being built to last a thousand years – by hand – with stone and timber. It is a story of perseverance, stability, fidelity, authenticity, and purpose. In this world of tumult, ugliness, and sadness, this monastery is an oasis of beauty which is formative, peace, and contagious joy that will not pass. ☩