Posted on 05/18/2010 5:32:11 PM PDT by markomalley
The Carmelites of Wyoming are looking to expand their present facilities, and McCrery Architects have come up an ambitious design for the Carmel. James McCrery, the architect, offers this statement: The vision for the New Carmel is for an authentically Catholic, Carmelite Monastery that embraces the French tradition of gothic architecture. This is the architecture that the Catholic Church truly owns! It developed in the 13th century in response to the strong growth of monastic life at that time. 800 years later, in this 21st century of Our Lord, these Holy Monks live a rich monastic life that is a vital indication of the strong growth of young religious vocations in the Church today. The Monks are bursting at the seams in their current location a dwelling that limits their ability to properly live the Carmelite Rule and Constitution. It is a profound honor to labor on their behalf as they labor on behalf of the entire Church. For further information see the New Mount Carmel Foundation website.
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Coffee? I thought Carmelites they made candy.
What does this have to do with coffee?
Are there enough young clerics there to make the project worthwhile?
Why don’t they just model their monastery after the ones described in the Bible?
Must be nice to have more money than you know what to do with,,,,,, maybe helping the poor first?
The Wyoming Carmelites are the ones who roast Mystic Monk
Exactly. WWJD?
WWJD - What Would Judas Do? Er, he was the one who was supposedly out there spending the disciples’ money on helping the “poor.”
What Jesus would do is preach the Gospel to the poor, which is what he did and is exactly what these monks are doing.
Beauty is also a message and a preaching, btw. The great Cathedrals were not built for the rich, who already had palaces, but for the poor, who came into them and were dazzled with what looked like a vision of Heaven and a refuge for them.
I know two people who give these monks $5.00 to $10.00 per month because they aren’t well off but they believe in the monks’ work. The monks don’t have “more money than they know what to do with.”
They are doing what the people who gave the money to them wanted: build a beautiful monastery.
It will be somewhat similar to the Temple inside the church when you think about it. That’s good enough.
The Carmelites serve the people of God by praying constantly for their requests and needs. Their monastery is a place for anyone to go to pray, and feel closer to God, in that lovely location, and I'm sure many will make that journey, as some do now to the monks' present location.
Having better facilities for making their coffee would be an excellent thing, too.;o)
Not an energy efficient design for Wyoming winters, or efficient use of materials, all those perimeter cells. Give them common walls.
Yeah, but it is part of their spirituality (to allow them to do do the "hermit" thing)
The Carmelite Rule states "Let each one remain in his cell, or near it, meditating day and night on the law of the Lord and keeping vigil in prayer, unless occupied with other lawful duties." The cell is also the place where the hermit sleeps and takes his meals alone, except on Sundays and special days where the hermits eat in a common refectory.
(the above is from another Carmelite monastery)
I wouldn’t expect that those perimeter cells will be especially energy-inefficient, because I wouldn’t expect them to be very warm, except in the summer.
Christian monasticism is a development of the eremitical (hermit-like) practice of some of the prophets (Elijah and John the Baptist are two good examples) and of Christ himself, during his 40 days in the desert. Hermits first built cells or huts (or moved into caves) to live in in the desert, then they started living in community (for safety, among other reasons).
In fact, the Carmelites consider Elijah to be their founder, and take their name from Mt. Carmel in the Holy Land.
I don’t think they can raise enough money with coffee. They need to start printing up indulgences. They could even distribute them by e-mail and Facebook!
Elijah founded it? Interesting.
As a child, I was so disappointed when we went to the Carmel mission, founded by Junipero Serra, in Carmel, California. There was no candy. None.
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