Our Carmelite community at Tillsonburg is a secular community. We are connected to the worldwide order of Discalced Carmelites which consists of priests, nuns and secular (lay) men and women. Our Constitution is approved by the Pope and based on the Rule of St. Albert. We are a prayer community that is devoted to the teachings of Jesus with a firm commitment to placing Him first in our lives. We strive to seek His will in all things and commit ourselves to a consistent prayer life including Morning and Evening Prayer, the rosary and daily mass when possible.

We have as our patrons, St. Mary, the mother of Jesus, and St. Joseph. We study the writings of the saints of our order – St. Teresa of Avila, St. Therese of Lisieux (the Little Flower) and St. John of the Cross to name a few.

We meet on the third Monday of every month to pray Evening Prayer, the rosary and the assigned reading for the month.

Any questions and inquiries can be directed to Deacon Brian Hanley, President of St. Mary’s Carmelite Community by phone 519-842-3224 Extension 234 or by email at bhanley@dol.ca.

 Back in October of 1994 about 45 folks from our parish went on a trip to Rome and the Vatican to Greece and to the Holy Land. This pilgrimage excited the spiritual life of all who went but also many who were not able to go. There arose in our parish the desire for some kind of Bible Study, and especially in the heart of our then Pastoral Minister, Vicky Luki. And so, in 1996 she started a group of people who came together for an hour and a half each Tuesday to discuss the following Sunday’s readings, and what they are saying to us in our lives today. Now the original group did not have the prepared material that we use today, so a lot of the in depth preparation was done by Vicky before each get together. At that time this gathering was known as the “Sunday Readings Bible Study”. Then as now, they shared their faith life with each other. How God was working in the everyday up and down experiences of family life, work life and social life. Indeed, in everything that makes a person “who they are”. It’s all part of the discussion. Putting oneself in the readings, helps to make them come alive, and new insights are gained. That’s the beauty of the holy Scripture, isn’t it? One always sees and experiences something different and when you think you’ve got something figured out, “WHAM”, someone shares an insight you’ve never thought of before. And so, Vicky led this group until she retired in 2005. At that time Betty Greer became Pastoral Minister and she facilitated the get together’s. It was Betty who connected with the “Congregation of the Resurrection” in Waterloo, Ontario. She had them forward their weekly “Celebrating the Word” material that we still use today. In the fall of 2007, as I was going into my third year of formation to the Permanent Diaconate, Betty asked me to consider leading this group. I have to tell you folks, am I ever glad I said Yes ! Having this opportunity to get together with like minded folks to discuss the upcoming Sunday readings is one of my favorite ministries. Using the prepared handouts as a guide, between 8 to 16 people come together to share, to listen, to discover, to pray, to be there for each other, to laugh together, to share a tear…. Indeed, to be Jesus for one another. One of the wonderful things about this group is that between the beginning of September to this end of May, you just come as you can. There is no regiment to the get together’s, although folks say they miss it if they can’t be there. Ok! For now, that’s more then enough from me. If you have any questions or need more information, please let me know! By calling 519-879-6843. New faces are “Always Welcome”!

Click here for the Celebrate the Word Reflection package for each week