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OUR DAILY LIFE

The Teresian Carmelite way of life is one in which a deeply solitary communion with God is closely united to a sisterly life together in community. Called to contemplation in prayer and in life, our commitment to continuous prayer is sustained by faith, hope and love, in which all our energies are directed towards the service of others.

St. Teresa wanted her communities to remain small in number, where relations could be open and sincere, and joys and sorrows shared. 'All must be friends, all must love one another, all must be cherished, and all must help one another.

Horarium

What is a Horarium? A Horarium is the schedule that the monks or nuns live everyday within the monastery. It is the set time for prayers and for various community functions that sanctify every moment of the day. 
As a Teresian community our uniqueness shall be seen in the daily scedule we follow.
We take moments of leisurely prayer wherein we can refocus our primary attention just on God Himself. This happens during the divine office, holy mass, mental prayer, the rosary, examination of conscience, etc. But then there are also time of manual labor or recreation with the Sisters where God wishes that we share what we have received from Him in prayer. True virtue is proven within the community life where we show our love for God through our love for our neighbors.

4.30 A.M.

5.00 A.M.

5.10 A.M.

6.10 A.M.

6.45 A.M.

7.45 A.M.

8.30 A.M.

The Sister who is in charge will wakes her Sisters early by sounding a simple wooden instrument whilst reciting praises to God:
"Praise be Jesus Christ, and the Virgin Mary Our Mother..
Come to prayer Sisters, come to praise the Lord.."
Then the sisters will prepare themselves to present at the choir on time.

Qala d-Shahra or the Vigil Liturgy (3 a. m.)

Liturgy of hours in the Syro-Malabar Tradition

The foretaste of the heavenly glory and the mysteries celebrated in the Holy Eucharist are prolonged and renewed all day long by the Liturgy of Hours. So that each community represents, the Church at prayer and exercises its mysteries of prayer on behalf of both the entire mystical body of Christ and the local Church. 
                           We pray, too, on behalf of those who are unable to pray due to other commitments in their lives, and for all people in the world. Although removed from many of the happenings and pressures of modern life, we make a determined effort to inform ourselves of significant social issues affecting the lives of people today, so that we may hold in our hearts their pain, anguish, cares and concerns. We constantly receive requests for prayers, usually by phone or mail, and we are aware that people find comfort in knowing that someone cares and prays for them.
                                                       The Teresian communities are faithfully celebrate in common everyday all the hours of the Liturgy of Hours- which comprises according to the Syro-Malabar Church- Ramsha, Leliya, Qala d Shahra, Sapra, Quta'a, Endana, D- Bathsha Shayin.

Mental Prayer

Mental prayer

If our whole life is a striving for intimate communion with God, there are certain times when this quest is intensified.In the choir following the Teresian tradition, the community will dedicate two hours for mental prayer  in common.The two hours of quiet, personal prayer, one in the morning and another in the evening, offer an undisturbed space where we open our minds and hearts to God. It is a time when we remain in loving attentiveness to God's presence.

Sapra : Liturgy of the hours

Holy Mass

Eucharistic celebration in the Syro-Malbar Church

At the heart of a Teresian community life, there abides Eucharistic presence of Jesus. A sign of unity and a bond of charity, the celebration of the Eucharist is the high point of our life as a religious community, where we find the strength necessary for the radical following of Christ, obedient, poor and chaste.
During the day they will express their love for Him by visits to the Bl. Sacrament.

 ‘The Eucharist makes us discover that Christ, risen from the dead, is our contemporary in the mystery of the Church, his body. Of this mystery of love we have become witnesses.’ (Benedict XI).

QUTHA: Liturgy of the hours,
followed by breakfast

At 830 am, right after breakfast, the sisters will head to their assigned duties.

10.45 A.M.

11.20 A.M.

12.50 P.M.

1.50 P.M.

Manual labour is one of the important points in the Carmelite Rule and also in the laborious poverty of the Daughters of St. Teresa. The work in the Carmel is a reflection of the life, of Nazareth and in it one should never neglect the presence of God.

"Let them help themselves with the work of their hands, as St. Paul did; the Lord will provide what they need. Provided they want no more than thiss and are content to live simply, they will have what is necessary to sustain life. If they strive with all their might to please the Lord, His Majesty will keep them from want." (Primitive Constitution 9)
 

Work, preferably simple and manual, done alone and in silence, fosters the interior awareness of God. We place our gifts and talents at the service of the community, earning our living by baking Altar Breads and making candles, particularly those for liturgical use.

Domestic tasks, gardening, handcrafts, stitching, photography and printing of cards keep us otherwise fully occupied. Whatever its form, work brings us close to God who is ever creative. It unites us with Jesus, who worked with His own hands, and is in itself a form of asceticism requiring self discipline and generosity. Moreover, hard work connects us in solidarity with the poor.

There is no common workroom in the Teresian Carmels to observe the silence and recollection needed for a life of prayer. However, works that needs collaboration can be done together.

As the Sisters return from their duty, they withdraw to their cell for Bible reading.

scripiture reading

Since progress in prayer is not possible without sufficient knowledge of God's word, Rule lays down that the nuns must continuosly keep the word of the Lord in their minds and hearts. And so they will study all of the Scriptures with special care and meditate on them so that they may come to the pre-eminent knowledge of Jesus Christ.

At this time, Sisters will gather in the choir to recite the rosary in common. Rosary will be followed by ENTHANA: the midday prayer, the examination of concience and LUNCH which will be accompany listening to the readings in silence.

Rosary

Community will gather at recreation room to share their family spirit and joy, while some work at hand.

St. Teresa taught a community lifestyle which is that of a small family in which all are evengilically equal, relations are openly sincere, joys and sorrows are shared, and the members are committed to one another as sisters for their entire lives.

Image by Amy Luo

All must be friends, all must love one another, all must be cherished, and all must help one another..

So that the sisters may joyfully and spontaneously communicate with one another, recreation will be held in common, according to the mind of our Holy Mother St. Teresa, twice a day- after dinner and after supper.

REST

This is a time of silence. Anyone who doesn't want to take rest has to observe silence.


Silence and solitude which are the hallmark of Carmel is faithfully kept to foster a prayerful atmosphere. Daughters of St. Teresa are cautious to safeguard silence, except when they are required to talk by necessity or by reason of their duties so that the monastery truly become a house of prayer.For all the time in which the sisters are not with the community or are occupied with house duties, they will withdraw to one's own cell to be in God's presence and give themselves to prayer, study or works.
 

During the day we avoid unnecessary communication, respecting each sister’s need for interior recollection.

In the evening - after Night Prayer - the Monastic silence begins. This period of complete silence extending throughout the night until after Morning Prayer is valued as a time for deeper communion with God. Silence blossoms in loving relationship, above all with our triune God, and, flowing from that, with our sisters.

2.55 P.M.

D’B’SHAYIN: Liturgy of the Hours and the Mercy Rosary.

​

3.20 P.M.

Spiritual reading.

St. Teresa was always fond of good reading. And her daughters follow her in this holy pursuit.​

Spiritual reading will be followed by tea and the Sisters will have the opportunity to work from 4.15 to 5.30 and then they will prepare themselves for the evening prayers.

spiritual Reading

5.50 P.M.

8.50 P.M.

10.00 P.M.

CHARISM

At 5.55 we will begin the Ramsa: evening prayer. Soon after the ramsa we begins the Mental Prayer and it will follwed by supper and recreation. The two hours- one in the morning and the other  evening- is a special characteristic of the community life drafted by our Holy Mother St. Teresa

At. 8.55 returning from the recreation room sisters will examine their day before the Bl. Sacrament. At. 9 'o' clock, LELIYA: night prayer will begin. The time of prayer will end with a hymn to Our Lady to whom we belong in a special way.

At 10 o'clock, a sister assigned for this purpose will sing a four-line hymn suitable for the next day's liturgy while clapping a wooden instrument. From 9.30 to 10:30, sisters are permitted to pray or read in their cells, and then the time for 'GREAT SILENCE' begins.

SAINTS

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