IMAGE: CNS photo/Chris Heisey, The Catholic Witness
By Jen Reed
FAIRFIELD,
Pa. (CNS) — The grinding sounds of an excavation and construction site yielded
to the intonation of a solemn pontifical Mass and prayers for the future on a
vista in Fairfield July 25, where construction is underway for a second
monastery for the Discalced Carmelite nuns in the Harrisburg Diocese.
A
little more than two years ago — on June 13, 2016 — Mother Stella-Marie,
prioress, stood at this same site gazing at the grassy and tree-lined farmland
overlooking southern Adams County, and expressed her trust in the Lord that
“one day we will see here a beautiful monastery that is dedicated to the glory
of God.”
While
the building materials for the cloistered monastery are still being prepared
for construction — namely, the excavation of stone from the land on which it
will stand — the early development of its farmstead can already be seen.
True
to Carmelite tradition and architecture in the footsteps of their foundress,
St. Teresa of Avila, the nuns are creating a type of settlement that will
include a chapel, a novitiate, a building for the professed, an infirmary, a
guest cottage chaplain’s quarters, walkways, gardens and a small farm.
Harrisburg Bishop Ronald W. Gainer celebrated the July 25 Mass in the carmel’s
newly constructed barn that will serve as a temporary chapel until the
permanent stone chapel is built. The new barn also includes a kitchen,
refectory, choir, an area where people can leave prayer requests, donations and
food, and a speak room that allows the nuns to receive limited visits from
behind a grille.
Nine
Discalced Carmelites, including Mother Stella-Marie, moved from the at-capacity
Carmel of Jesus, Mary and Joseph in Elysburg to the Fairfield site July 20.
They will sleep in their individual cells in a temporary mobile home until the
monastery is built.
This
community of Discalced Carmelites first came to the Diocese of Harrisburg from
Lincoln, Nebraska, in 2009, due to their growing numbers. Initially 11 arrived at
the Carmel of Jesus, Mary and Joseph in Elysburg, after the previous Carmelites
moved to their current location in Danville.
Since
their arrival in Elysburg, their numbers have more than doubled, with the
monastery there filling to capacity with 28 nuns. Among them was Sister Mary
Magdalene of the Divine Heart (formerly Channing Dale of Assumption of the
Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Lancaster), who entered in 2013, and is currently
enclosed in the Discalced Carmelite community in Philadelphia.
The
Carmelites continue to attract young women to the congregation, and so the
available farmland in Fairfield — owned by the parents of Mother Therese —
offered an opportunity for expansion from Elysburg.
Like
St. Teresa of Avila and St. Therese of Lisieux, the Discalced Carmelites
practice the traditional aspects of Carmelite and monastic life — prayer,
fasting, enclosure and union with God.
Entering
the cloister from locations throughout the world — including Australia and
Ghana — they dedicate their lives to prayer and sacrifice to give themselves
totally to God for the world.
Enclosed in the monastery, and leaving behind
family and friends, they spend their days in scheduled times of silent prayer,
the Divine Office, holy Mass, recitation of the rosary and adoration of the
Blessed Sacrament. They also have time for work in making clothes, baking bread,
and tending to the garden and farm; and recreational time for sewing, artwork
and storytelling.
“I
think young women are drawn to what is authentic,” Mother Stella-Marie said of
the growing number of vocations to the community. “They are looking to live in
our day and age exactly as St. Teresa of Avila did. They want to be enclosed
because they want to give everything. Most of the women tell us that if they
are going to dedicate their life to God, they want to go all the way and give
absolutely everything to him.”
For
this reason, it is critical that the new monastery in Fairfield be built in the
Carmelite tradition, said Mother Therese.
Watching
as excavators wrenched stone from the land for construction, she told The
Catholic Witness, Harrisburg’s diocesan newspaper, earlier this summer, “People
expect us to be real nuns, all the way through. They don’t want to see a nice
veneer on the outside, but then something different inside.
“We
have a lot of young vocations coming. We need to be able to teach them not just
one or two hours a day about tradition. They need to learn 24/7 from these
stone walls, which are authentic all the way through,” she said.
The
blueprints for the monastery farmstead illustrate buildings designed to stand
the test of time: a chapel, a refectory, a novitiate, a building for the
professed, a caretaker’s home, chaplain’s quarters and a guest cottage.
Their
construction requires authentic materials and craftsmanship as the Carmelites
build for future generations of their congregation.
Throughout
the project’s development, the nuns have continued to be the beneficiaries of
generous donors and volunteers who have offered their time, talent and
treasure.
They
include stonemasons and timber framers, among them a mason from Scotland who
instructed local volunteers in the craft, notably a “dry build” of the
all-stone woodshed.
Benefactors
have donated barn wood and stone that will be used to construct the buildings.
Volunteers have spent time deep-cleaning the donated wooden beams. Others have
been providing meals for the workers. Still others have helped with the build,
including men of the local Amish community.
“It
has been a beautiful way for us to evangelize and to connect with people we
otherwise would not have contact with,” said Mother Therese. “We are hoping to
continue to build on these connections and find ways to channel them into
lasting relationships.”
As
Mother Stella-Marie and Mother Therese walked the new grounds in Fairfield,
they also spoke of long-fostered relationships with family and within the
community, and how they change with time.
The
nuns are experiencing a degree of separation in their community as this new
chapter begins. Nine of the total 28 from the monastery in Elysburg are now
forging a new foundation in Fairfield, and parted ways from their counterparts
who remain enclosed some two hours to the north.
“It
is a sacrifice to break away from each other, but it is a sacrifice that we
make for the future of the congregation,” said Mother Stella-Marie. “We will
stay united. Even though we won’t see each other any longer, we will remain
close in prayer.”
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Editor’s
Note: Information about the Discalced Carmelite nuns, the progress of the
monastery in Fairfield and volunteer efforts can be found at
www.fairfieldcarmelites.org.
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Reed
is the managing editor of The Catholic Witness, newspaper of the Diocese of
Harrisburg.
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