Today our Order observes the Commemoration of All Carmelite Souls (transferred from 15th November because it was a Sunday). We remember in a particular way all the deceased members of the Carmelite Family, recalling especially those who have died in the past year. We thank God for their lives, and pray that they be at peace in the Lord’s loving arms.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.
[This beautiful stained glass window is at the Carmelite Priory Church, Sint Petrus Basiliek, in Boxmeer, The Netherlands. It depicts Our Lady Mary (top left) interceding for a dying person (bottom right), whose soul then ascends with an angel to God the Holy Trinity (top right). The devil/death (bottom left) is banished. The Latin text quotes an ancient tradition regarding the Carmelite brown scapular: “If a person dies in this sign of the Order, they shall not suffer pain but be brought to a blissful place.”]