My dear Sisters

Praised be Jesus!

Today, we celebrate a remarkable woman of faith and trust—Mother Mary Elias. On this auspicious occasion, I would like to share some reflections in her honour. Mother Mary Elias was a woman of great faith. Guided by trust in her Crucified Master, she journeyed through unfamiliar paths with courage. Through all the twists and turns of her life, she remained steadfast in her commitment to the dreams, vision, and mission of her beloved Foundress, Venerable Mother Veronica.

One of the most defining qualities of Mother Elias was her capacity to CARE. She shared a deep connection and enduring love for Venerable Mother Mary Veronica our beloved Foundress and never wavered from the mission entrusted to her. This Irish Lily, inspired by Mother Veronica, dedicated herself to caring for the Third Order Regular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, which would later evolve into the Congregation of the Carmelite Religious (CCR).

Let us reflect on the essence of the word CARE by exploring each letter.

C – Compassion – Mother Mary Elias embodied compassion throughout her life, dedicating herself to the poor and marginalized in Kerala. She founded St. Joseph’s Orphanage at Trivandrum to provide a loving home for orphans and tirelessly initiated charitable efforts to support them. Even in her later years at Norcia, she cared for orphans with maternal tenderness, exemplifying compassion until her final days.

A – AMIABLE- Mother Mary Elias maintained a warm and cordial rapport with everyone, transcending barriers of caste, creed, or social status. She gave due respect to the members of the community, bishops, priests, politicians, social leaders, parents and students and maintained a friendly relationship with them all. Mother Mary Elias of Jesus could practise it easily because her prayer and contemplation were very much personal. It was a process of observation, reflection, and application of the insights to life and mission. (My Irish Lily- A biography by Sr.Phyllis T.Peter CCR)

R – RESPONSIBLE – Mother Mary Elias was a responsible and devoted leader, carrying out every duty with unwavering commitment. Guided by wisdom and compassion, she ensured the wellbeing of orphans and marginalized communities. Even as the Congregation faced a decline in vocations, she travelled the world despite her age and ill health, driven by her deep conviction to serve and nurture others with love.

E- EMPOWERING – Mother Mary Elias was a visionary missionary who embodied empowerment and inspired the sisters under her to become capable leaders. She fostered an environment of trust, enabling them to take initiative and embrace responsibility. Her leadership was not about control but about cultivating the potential within others, equipping them with the skills, confidence, and spiritual strength needed to guide the Congregation toward the vision of our beloved Venerable Foundress.

Let us take a moment to reflect on two essential forms of care:

Care for ourselves- It is essential to nurture our inner selves—tending to our spirit, healing our wounds, and embracing our brokenness—so that we may become whole and fully equipped to care for others. Self-care is not a luxury but a necessity, especially in today’s fast-paced world. Many of us become so consumed by work that we neglect our wellbeing, leaving little or no time to care for our physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional health. We often prioritize doing over being, forgetting that our actions flow best from a place of inner balance and peace. When we make space to rest, reflect, and recharge, we reconnect with ourselves and with God, regaining the strength to serve others joyfully.
Care for our relationship with God – Cultivating a deep connection with the Source of Life, the One who lovingly sustains us. By surrendering our worries into His hands and embracing His loving care, we become free and ready to take on the mission He entrusts to us. With hearts anchored in faith and minds open to His guidance, we are better equipped to respond to His call, serving others and fulfilling our purpose with renewed strength and clarity. Cultivating this connection not only deepens our trust in Him but also transforms our lives into instruments of His love and grace.

My dear Sisters, as we reflect on the life and legacy of our beloved Co-Foundress, let us strive to embody her spirit of CARE within our communities. We are the daughters of a valiant woman who laboured tirelessly to bring our Congregation to fruition. Inspired by her example, may we grow in compassion and kindness toward one another and extend the same to all we encounter. Let us express genuine love to our sisters, creating a haven of unity and peace, the very community Mother Mary Elias longed for and envisioned.

Mother Mary Elias laid the foundation of Holy Angels’ Convent School in Trivandrum, dedicating her heart and soul to building not just an institution but a nurturing environment for holistic education. Under her visionary leadership, the school flourished, reaching remarkable heights of excellence. However, we must not rest on the laurels of past achievements. Instead, we are called to walk faithfully in the footsteps of our Foundresses, rekindling the spirit of excellence that is gradually diminishing in many of our institutions. We are also facing a decline in vocations; the same was encountered by our pioneering Sisters, who were not complacent but enthusiastically promoted vocations. Mother Mary Elias travelled across the globe to seek out suitable girls for the work of God. We must ask ourselves, what are we doing in the current scenario?

Like Mother Mary Elias, let us embrace our responsibilities with diligence, integrity, and accountability, ensuring that every task we undertake is infused with love and care. In doing so, we honour the legacy of our pioneers and pave the way for a future filled with renewed purpose and commitment. Together, let us empower and uplift our sisters, staff, and students — especially the young CCRs — to embrace new ventures with courage and vision, becoming the future pillars of our Congregation. May we continue to build a legacy rooted in service, compassion, and faithfulness to our mission. My dear Sisters, I warmly encourage each of you to read and reflect on the life of Mother Mary Elias, especially through the book “My Irish Lily,” written by Sr. Phyllis T. Peter, CCR. A million thanks to our dear Sr. Phyllis for the noble venture she undertook and successfully accomplished.

WISHING YOU ALL A GREAT AND GLORIOUS CO-FOUNDRESS DAY.

Loving God bless!
Sr.Molly Attully CCR
Superior General.

My dear Sisters

Praised be Jesus!

In this Year of Prayer 2024, we are called to prepare our hearts for the upcoming Jubilee of 2025. Pope Francis invites the entire Church to a time of prayer, as we approach the Opening of the Holy Door. This sacred season urges us to reflect on our faith and our role within today’s world across the many spheres where we are called to live and serve, rekindling a fervour for the Evangelization of our time.

We are inspired by the life and spiritual journey of our beloved Foundress, Venerable Mother Mary Veronica of the Passion. Her conversion to the Catholic Faith and her love for the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist serve as a model for us in this sacred season. Born Sophie Leeves in 1823 to Anglican parents, she could have led a conventional Victorian life- a refined, genteel figure of beauty and virtue, as portrayed in 19th-century English novels. Yet, she transformed her life entirely, choosing instead a path of service, sacrifice, and evangelization. The thirst and search for truth led her through the hardest life pilgrimage.

Mother Veronica’s father, about whom she writes “My father, although a Protestant, was a man of great virtue; if he had received the grace of being a Catholic, he would have been a saint.” My mother,” she also writes, “was very charitable to the poor, she accustomed us to work for them, and there was one evening each week when all the ladies of our acquaintance met together in our house to sew garments for the poor.” Faith in this household, then, was not a closed-in piety, but one that reached out to others in love and service. In such a home, Mother Veronica was nurtured in a spirit of genuine virtue, service, and compassion. Her upbringing prepared her heart for a lifelong mission in service of God and humanity.

Mother Veronica’s words capture a moment of transformation in her life, marking her journey from doubt to deep faith as she embraced the fullness of the Catholic Church. Her baptism and Holy Communion on the Feast of the Purification in 1850 symbolize her acceptance and commitment to a faith she once observed from afar, but now wholeheartedly claims as her own. Sophie says: ‘I was no longer a heretic but a child of the Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman Church. Jesus whom we sought and desired so long came into our soul. He took possession of the two lambs. The Good Shepherd had brought us on His shoulder into His fold. Oh my god, I had so many things to say to Him, that I feared I said nothing. I remained engulfed in silence, but I felt I possessed, my God. I had everything. The whole world was nothing to me anymore’.

Though her soul found deep peace and union with Christ in His fold, her journey was marked by a crucible of suffering, as if to mould her ever closer to the heart of the Good Shepherd. This path of purification, steeped in trials, became her share in the Cross, her offering of love in silent surrender. Why did God permit her to suffer so much? The only logical, even theological reason would be that God loved her so much. He was preparing a high place in Heaven for her and He wanted to purify her. She had received the habit on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross and had been named Veronica of the Passion, the Cross had overshadowed her on her Profession Day and ever after. There seems to be no other explanation or answer to the question. Mother Veronica was left to suffer alone, was maligned and accused so grievously. In all these circumstances, she looked at the Man of Sorrows prostrate in the garden, sweating blood and enduring bitter agony for our sins. She prayed hardest when it was hardest to pray. Her Confessor Fr. Chirou gave her the following advice: suffering is an excellent gift of God, which he gives to those He loves most. Bear everything in patience. Surrender yourself to Him, the favour of which is of more value than all the cares and anxieties of the entire world. Take care that no feelings of resentment remain in your heart whatever adverse things may happen to you; and when He will have accomplished His will in you, then the pain will cease.

Let us, then, learn from Mother Veronica’s example and embrace suffering as a hidden grace, allowing it to unite us ever more closely with Christ. When trials seem overwhelming, may we fix our gaze upon the Man of Sorrows and find strength to surrender ourselves fully to God’s will. Let us hold fast to the wisdom of Fr. Chirou, bearing all with patience, guarding our hearts from bitterness, and trusting that each moment of suffering, lovingly accepted, purifies us and brings us closer to the embrace of the Good Shepherd, who redeems all pain in His time. My dear Sisters, Mother Veronica’s journey invites us to rekindle a fervour for prayer, seeking God’s presence and guidance in every aspect of our lives, just as she did. As we stand “In His Presence,” like Mother Veronica, we are called to pray deeply, discerning how we can best serve in today’s world and carry forward the mission of Christ.

Mother Veronica was a woman of visionary dreams, steadfast belief and transformative inspiration. She dared to dream, believed with conviction and inspired others through her very life. Today, she calls upon her daughters to embrace her legacy: to dream boldly, to pursue these dreams and to fulfil them for the glory of God and the good of the world. As Paulo Coelho beautifully expresses in The Alchemist, “When you want something, all the universe conspires to help you achieve it,” reminding us of the power of desire and the mysterious ways life supports our dreams.

As the saying goes, ‘What is beautiful never dies.’ The life of our beloved Foundress continues to inspire countless men, women, religious and especially us –her daughters. May this Foundress Day be a moment of a genuine, personal encounter with Jesus and our Blessed Mother of Carmel through the constant intercession of our Venerable Foundress Mother Mary Veronica of the Passion.
Loving God bless!
Sr.Molly Attully CCR
Superior General.