We spend a lot of time praying for vocations, but here is a vocation that doesn’t get much attention — but should. Like all religious vocations, it entails commitment and sacrifice and formation.

From Florida Catholic in Tallahassee:

Seven new members of the Third Order Lay Carmelites of St. Thérèse of the Holy Face put on the order’s brown scapular April 19 during Mass at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, having completed the first year of a six-year spiritual journey that they hope will lead them to full membership.

Vincentian Father James Thoyalil, parochial vicar of the parish, celebrated the Mass. In his homily he challenged the candidates and all present to “become another Christ through complete unity with him. Put on Christ. Continue his works. Speak his words.”

Following the Liturgy of the Word, the prospective members, holding roses and with their brown scapulars draped over his or her arms, stood before the altar. Dot Boroden (Michael Teresa of the Holy Face), the community director, exacted a promise from each candidate to observe the rule of the order and to live a life of prayer and contemplation. Father Thoyalil then blessed each of the scapulars, sprinkling them with holy water. Boroden, assisted by Ginny Kelly (Therese Angelicus), then placed each person’s scapular across their shoulders. On the front of each the embroidered white letters BVM recalled the Blessed Virgin Mary. On the back of each, the similarly embroidered letters IHS — the first three letters of Jesus’s name in Greek — are meant to keep the savior close.

At the conclusion of the Mass, members of the community and others present joined in singing “Salve, Regina” in Latin. A luncheon reception followed the Mass.

Paulette Hammack joined the order as an isolate (the only one in a given geographical area) in 1989 in Hattiesburg, Miss. When a move brought her back home to Pensacola, she was delighted to find the larger community of 32 here.

“I didn’t know why, or even that, I was being called. I kept getting ‘junk mail’ from the Carmelites and I didn’t take much time to look at it. But God wouldn’t let go of me,” she said. “I randomly picked up the works of St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila, and was hooked. I finally started opening the mail and found out that the order is where my heart is. Ever since, in my daily life, I’ve recognized that I am — we are — called to be Christ’s ‘other self. I use the Blessed Virgin Mary as my example, trying to live a life of love and forgiveness. It’s not always easy.”

Debbie Jacaruso, a physical therapist and a member of the order since 2000, credits this faith community with helping her overcome much in her daily life. “God puts certain people, patients, on my heart to pray for as I meet them in the hospital. When I face difficult moments, I focus on praising him and on his presence within and all around me, and it makes it easier to deal with the stresses of the day.”

The newest members of the order are Marie Jessie Antoine (Marie Thérèse of Jesus), Beth Javier (Mary Elizabeth of the Divine Mercy), Eileen Jones (Marie Thérèse of the Divine Mercy), Katie Levan (Mary Kathryn of the Cross), Vincent Merçon (Paul), Edel Pastoral (Edel Marie) and Ruby Schuetz (Carmela of the Holy Spirit).

You can read more about what it means to be a Lay Carmelite at the link. Please keep these folks in your prayers.