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CHARLOTTE — The Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites Our Lady of Mount Carmel Group welcomed Bishop Peter Jugis at a special Mass at St. Ann Church on Sept. 10. Bishop Jugis presided at the Mass, during which six of the members – including Father Timothy Reid, pastor of St. Ann Church – made their first, or temporary, promises.

Pictured: Bishop Peter J. Jugis (right) receives the first promises, or temporary vows, from six of the members of the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Charlotte at Mass at St. Ann Church on Sept. 10. (Photo by Ruben Tamayo)

The first promise takes place upon completion of a two-year formation period with the approval of the local council. Each candidate makes a temporary promise for a period of three years. At the end of that time, the definitive promise is made.

On Sept. 10, each of the six members recited their promise individually in the presence of the bishop, vowing to live the Teresian spirituality in evangelical perfection in the spirit of the evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty and obedience and through the beatitudes.

Frances Martini, a fully professed secular Carmelite and leader of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel group in Charlotte, also witnessed the first promises on behalf of the group.

"I remember reading an article about Bishop Jugis when he was first named as the bishop of the diocese," recalls Martini. "He was asked what he was currently reading and he said, 'the works of St. John of the Cross.' That put in my mind that he would be a great friend of Carmel. To have him with us, then, for our ceremony was a great joy and blessing.

"The Our Lady of Mount Carmel Group is a relatively new foundation of the Secular Discalced Carmelites, and so having our bishop receive the temporary promises of six of our members was an encouragement to us as we commit ourselves to persevere in the way of Carmel for the good of Christ's Church and our sanctification."

The six members of the group who made their temporary promises are (followed by their avowed names): Father Timothy Reid (Brother Joseph Elijah of the Assumption); Aida Tamayo (Sister Teresa of the Sacred Heart); Audrey Spiecha (Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face); Sharon Kauth (Sister Elizabeth of the Trinity); Gerri Hillis (Sister Teresa of the Cross); and Cheryl Hadley (Sister Joseph of the Immaculate Heart).

For more information about the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites in the Washington Province, which oversees groups and communities in the Diocese of Charlotte, go to www.ocdswashprov.org.

— SueAnn Howell, staff writer