The Carmelites

My dear Friends

I have not been feeling too well lately, but thought it would do me good to go and see my friends in the Hertfordshire countryside. so last Thursday evening I hired a little car and set off on Friday morning.

Where is Ware? You may well ask. Ware is equidistant from Cambridge and London, on the A10 road.It is a very pleasant drive and I bowled along in my little new red car. One hour later I was on the hill and facing the monastery of my dear Carmelite Sisters.

Carmel takes its origins from Elijah and Mount Carmel in Israel. Many years ago a group of hermits gathered round the mountain and much later the Carmelite order was established, being reformed in the time of St Teresa of Avila. Carmel is an enclosed Order and the main activity of the nuns is to pray for the world, of which they have a good understanding. I attended Mass, at which there was a priest who gave some good preaching on our vocation in life. Then I went to talk to my friend, one of the Sisters, who entered in 1951, the year of my birth-I regard her as a mother figure. After we had chatted happily for some time I had lunch, then took a walk, afterwards returning to chat to my friend again.

The monastery is on a hill, with some delightful countryside round it, and one or two farms. so I enjoyed my day out and sped home in the little red car.

Shalom from
Sister Gila