A SALUTATION TO OUR LADY

Consecration of the Order of Mount Carmel to the Virgin Mary

Father General of the Order of Mount Carmel of the Ancient Observance

Virgin Mary, Mother and beauty of Carmel,

Here we are, your Carmelite sons and daughters, at your feet,

to experience your motherly love

which always leads us to your Son, Jesus.

Your tender gaze speaks to us of the light and beauty of the Most Blessed Trinity.

Your motherly love consoles and strengthens our hearts,

as experienced by the little shepherds one hundred years ago,

when they contemplated you and heard from your lips

the sweet message from Heaven.

Here we are, gathered together from various countries,

attracted by the splendour of light

which envelopes and embraces  us as children.

In your presence, we want to thank you

for all the demonstrations which you have given us of your motherly love

through the centuries from the very beginnings of your beloved Carmelite family:

your holy scapular has become the most visible sign of your protection

and of your faithful presence,

which we experience so much in our personal lives,

in the life of our families

and in our contemplative, apostolic, missionary, fraternal communities.

Father General of the Order of the Teresian Carmel

Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima and Mother of the Carmelites,

Immaculate Virgin, dressed all in white

and image of the Most Blessed Trinity:

Here we come to consecrate to you,

the life, vocation and mission of all whom you have called

to savour today and always

the most fragrant fruits of the Mount of Perfection which is Christ.

Our Mother and Sister, our Guide and Star

who accompanies and guides us in the tempestuous seas of our lives:

be our help and support in our luminous days and through the dark nights;

be the most beautiful reflection of God’s tenderness and mercy towards us

We praise you for all the wonders which the Lord,

through your mediation, has carried out in the history of sanctification

of so many sons and daughters of Carmel;

We give you thanks for the gentle fragrance of your virtues,

which has filled the garden of Carmel and the whole Church

and continues to attract so many sons and daughters to this family consecrated to you.

With you, Mother, we can more easily reach Jesus and the heart of God, the Father,

this dwelling place of love, the Father’s abode which is the the Blessed Trinity!

EVERYONE

We beg you, dearest Mother, to continue to rest your gaze over all of us,

over the Church and the whole of humanity,

to cover us with the mantle of your maternal protection

and to strengthen us in the pilgrimage of faith.

Be a gentle strength in our weakness

and teach us always to respond to the delicate touch of the Spirit

with perfect docility.

Teach us the way you love and serve and to keep everything your Son reveals to us in our hearts.

With you, we want to be attentive to the Word

and like you, to build our lives according to the will of the Father.

We ask you, Oh Mother, to give us your silence,

that silence which dwelt in you and through which the Word became fruitful,

so that we can sow hope in our families and in our communities

and carry the Light which is your Son, Jesus, into the world.

Adorn our hearts with your graces and virtues

so that we may be more like your Son,

who calls us unceasingly to build Heaven on earth

and to anticipate the beauty, greatness and hidden treasures in time

which you, Our Lady of Mount Carmel,

contemplate and live eternally in the glory of the Father,

of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

 International Marian Congress

Fátima, 15^th – 17^th September 2017

(Translated by Chantal Haigh OCDS)