Mystery Creates History

"IS ANYTHING TOO MARVELOUS FOR THE LORD TO DO?" – Gen 18:14

Renewal (13 of 14)

Amid the trauma and intense emotional upheaval, Jesus stayed with us daily in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. He came to us in friends who supplied food and whatever we needed. Our prophetic call in Carmel continued in our hearts, lives, and prayer. Plans to rebuild began immediately. The memories of what had been whisked away in a flash brought a flood of thoughts, feelings, tears, and even laughter.

For months, burnt pages of the Confessions of St. Augustine floated about in the breeze! We had prayed, worked, and waited long to build the first Chapel. Jesus sent us people who built it with immense love and dedication and it was gone. Each Hermit experienced the loss in her own way. With tears and laughter, all struggled to face the reality of this totally unexpected cross with deep faith, trust in God, undaunted hope, and unwavering love. In a letter to our friends, we wrote “The Holy Spirit anointed us with His fire on January 20, 2001. We know by experience the words from the Liturgy of the Hours ‘You have tried us by fire, O God, then led us to a place of refreshment. You refined us as silver in the furnace, then led us to a place of refreshment.’” That blessed “place of refreshment” happened swiftly.

The rescript granting our full aggregation into the Order of Carmel, dated January 22, 2001 arrived. Our Prior General, the Most Rev. Joseph Chalmers, O.Carm. gave us the tremendous joy of coming here to celebrate the Eucharist and receive our Solemn Vows on March 10, the memorial of St. John Ogilvie, Martyr. A modular was set up and became our temporary chapel on this historic day. One of the Hermitages served as our temporary kitchen and refectory. There in our little, makeshift refectory the Most Rev. Joseph Chalmers, Prior General of the Carmelite Order, dined with us and also had breakfast with us! Jesus was in our midst in a wonderful way and we rejoiced in His Presence.

Some weeks later, the entire edifice was demolished. Job’s words became reality for us “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” – Job 1:21. Profound thoughts about how one minute the chapel and main building had been here and the next minute they were gone were not absent. Truly, God can do anything in an instant! Yet, He never leaves you. The words in the Book of Deuteronomy brought His strength and His abiding, consoling peace “The Lord, your God, carried you as a man carries his child, all along your journey” – Dt 1:31. And carry us in His arms He did!

Working with Ed Miller, our architect, the final plans were sent to Timberpeg in July with the delivery date set for October. Essentially, we were rebuilding the original chapel with the changes necessitated by Timberpeg’s updated construction plans, building codes and, above all, the Hand of God. Jesus continues as our Master Builder; St. Joseph is His foreman.

Friends of Carmel promptly came forward, wrote a letter telling of our plight; a greatly needed flood of funds flowed in to start us on the long, challenging trek of rebuilding and paying as you rebuild. The monthly Desert Days for our Hermits of Carmel Guild members continued in our temporary chapel. Our friends were eager to grow in the love of God by experiencing the inner healing touch of Jesus Christ and an ever-deeper intimacy with the Living God, after the pattern of Mary and Elijah. No announcement is made; Jesus sends those who hear His call to come. The arrival of the Timberpeg package (the lumber needed for the post and beam structure) was an adventure. Dennis Gilmore, the contractor and carpenter, who built both Chapels, was on hand early in the morning, and so were we! We watched, prayed, and celebrated the beginning of the construction. The steel foundation had been installed; all was ready for the main floor deck to be built, followed by the posts and beams.

By Christmas 2001, the inside was completed with the studs delineating the room separations. The exterior siding came next along with the on-going interior planning and installation of the plumbing, electrical work and HVAC fabrication and landscaping. Seemingly, long periods punctuated the building progress. Christ spoke to us through Isaiah’s words “By waiting and by calm you shall be saved, in quiet and in trust your strength lies” – Is 30:15. It was His way of saying: “Remember I am the Master Builder; trust Me!” In so many ways, God is very tender. During the fire, despite the 900-degree heat in the chapel, all the stained glass windows stood strong; not a one was destroyed. The man who inspected them said, “This is a miracle!” Likewise, the altar and everything in the chapel was not destroyed but able to be restored. Early on, a man came and handed me a large sum of money; several times thereafter, he did the same. Financially, money came in and promptly went out to pay our mounting debts. At times, the jar of flour and the jug of oil were very close to empty. Jesus always came to the rescue; He sent His friends to fill up the jar and the jug over and over again. John Meyer, our friend and plumber for many years, donated all his plumbing services at almost no cost. John took our proverb to heart “Cast your bread upon the waters and it welcome back a ham sandwich!” In thanksgiving to God, and to our great joy, on November 8, 2002, Bishop Frank J. Rodimer celebrated Mass and blessed our rebuilt chapel.

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