Our Religious Family
“That’s the way it should be–each one helping the other.
It’s one of the means of preserving unity in the family which is the important thing for us.”
Venerable Mother Luisita
Our Religious Family. Responding to God’s call and coming from all walks of life, we live as one family in the heart of Carmel. Striving for holiness and wholeness, individually and together as a family is a daily journey. Community life, encompassing all aspects of our day (times of prayer, meals, recreation, service, daily duties, times to just be), draws us closer together into shared life and mission.
Essential to our community life and to every Carmelite Sister are four core values: being joyful, authentic, totally given and having a family spirit. These may seem to be standard expectations of all religious. They are. To be a Carmelite Sister of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles, though, there is a particular flavor, a uniqueness in how we are called to live, move and have our being. Being joyful: delighting in life as it is. Authentic: possessing and expressing our genuine selves. Totally-Given: trusting in Divine Providence and abiding in His will. Family Spirit: Sister among sisters giving and receiving love.
Our Core Values
These four foundational elements are integral to who we are as daughters of the Church, in the Carmelite spirit and through the specific charism of our Foundress, Venerable Mother Luisita.
Joyful
It is not uncommon for others to speak of joy when speaking of our Congregation or of our individual sisters. We’ve often reflected upon this and wondered what it is they see and experience, especially if we’re not exactly “feeling” joyful in the moment. There are many layers and unfathomable aspects to joy and the Holy Spirit moves uniquely in each one of us in our understanding of it and in how we reflect it to others. We hope these short reflections from our sisters draw you deeper into the work of the Holy Spirit in your own soul.
“Now is the time to sow the seeds we’ll reap in heaven, offering God our Lord our sorrows, and doing His holy will with serenity and joy.”
– Venerable Mother Luisita
Authentic
To be authentic means to possess and express your genuine self, made in God’s image and likeness. As we do so at the deepest levels of who we are, we continue to grow into the person God has called us to be—as His daughters, as sisters, as spouse, as spiritual mothers. We become more and more our fully authentic selves.
“It seems to me that our Lord is always more pleased with simplicity, never pretending to be something that you aren’t. More actions, then, than words. Let’s all belong to God alone.”
– Venerable Mother Luisita
Reflections on Authenticity
Totally-Given
Trusting and abiding in Divine Providence and being docile to His will were hallmarks of our Foundress, Mother Luisita. This was evident in how she responded to life’s challenges. Her steadfast “yes” to the Lord, wholeheartedly trusting in Him is part of her legacy to us, her daughters.
“I pray from the bottom of my heart that you may belong totally to God.”
– Venerable Mother Luisita
Reflections on Totally-Given
Family Spirit
Our religious family is just that – a family. Even though we are not from the same flesh and blood, we are united in Carmel as a spiritual family. We truly love and care for one another, and support each other in life’s ups and downs.
“That’s the way it should be–each one helping the other. It’s one of the means of preserving unity in the family which is the important thing for us.”
– Venerable Mother Luisita
Reflections on Family Spirit
Celebrating Our Family
Gratitude and deep joy fill our hearts and prayers as we celebrate the fidelity of our Sister Jubilarians – here on earth and in eternity! Perseverance in love and faithfulness through the joys, sorrows, and challenges of life witness to our Lord’s abiding grace in the hearts of our sisters. The gift of their consecration, a holocaust of love, poured out for the salvation of all souls bespeaks totality – an offering of all they have and all the Lord desires of each of them, given over completely to His Heart. May our Sister Jubilarians who have gone before us, who had faithfully lived their lives adoring Him in the Most Blessed Sacrament, be given the gift to adore Him now, face to face, for all eternity. And may our Sister Jubilarians, still on the journey, receive the grace to persevere to the end as faithful spouses, drawing from our Lord’s Sacred Heart the infinite grace to remain His alone and, through the intercession of our Blessed Mother, to draw all souls to Jesus through their spiritual Motherhood.
Sister Benedicta Marie
of the Cross, O.C.D.
“Jesus, I surrender myself to You, take care of everything!”
(Servant of God, Don Dolindo Ruotolo)
Celebrating 50 years in Carmel
Sister Marina
of Our Lady of Fatima, O.C.D.
“I need nothing but God
and to lose myself in the heart of Jesus”
(St. Margaret Mary)
Celebrating 50 years in Carmel