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CCA Narrative Account
May 20- 26, 2005
Prepared by Sr. Joan Williams, OCD
“Arise, shine out, for your light has come.” These words of Isaiah reflect the spirit of CCA's twenty-third National Meeting at the Jesuit Retreat House in Faulkner, Maryland.
Organized by Sister Robin, various friends of the Baltimore Carmel graciously managed, with many trips, to meet all fifty-seven of us at the Washington, DC airport – and at meeting's end, see that we arrived in time for our flights home. No small task!
The participation of Sister Stephanie Wilscher from Germany, Sisters Christina Kaufmann and Montserrat Castellvi from Spain, and Sisters Judith Leckie and Philomena Sargeant from Great Britain, greatly enhanced and expanded our discussions. We were equally delighted to welcome representatives from Our Lady Queen of Carmel Association.
Built on a bluff overlooking the river, Loyola-on-the Potomac provided a perfect setting for our meeting. The long barge that slowly made its way along the Potomac was a fitting symbol of the hard work done by us with Stephanie Hauge, our gifted facilitator. Above the barge, soaring American eagles imaged those inspired moments when, as we reverenced the past and imagined the future, new ideas and ways to meet our goals emerged.
Conferences by John Donahue, SJ on St. John's Gospel, along with Fr. Kevin Culligan's reflections on the essentials of Carmelite life, deepened the prayerful and deeply contemplative feeling of these days.
Late afternoons found us in the Jesuits' simple chapel for Eucharist. The gifted sisters who carried out the music and readings designed by various communities movingly underscored the insights and graces of each day. Frs. John Donahue, Kevin Culligan, Marc Foley, Steven Payne, and Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Baltimore were the celebrants.
Faithful Brother Brian Paquette OCD, along with other drivers, took many of us to visit our nuns at their lovely Port Tobacco Carmel. The sisters' warm welcome included a tour of the grounds and buildings that ended in true Carmelite style with a vast array of cookies and beverages.
St. Teresa, with her attitude of “God deliver us from sad saints,” would have joined in the applause that greeted our performers' efforts during the Party Night. Music, songs, skits and stories abounded, providing a new impetus for the next day's closing business.
With our New Coordinator and Team in place we cherish the mutuality of our Carmelite family as we help one another to read and translate the Signs of the Times.