Aylesford – First Wednesday service of the month in Aylesford on Wednesday 3rd August at 4pm. The liturgy will begin with a healing rosary service at Aylesford’s famous rosary. At 5:00 p.m., Holy Mass will be held at St. Joseph’s Chapel, followed by the Novena of Our Lady of Carmel, the preaching of the Word, and Divine Mercy Adoration. The services will conclude with the blessing of the Holy Eucharist at 7 pm.
Mount Carmel is the place where the prophet Elijah did penance and defeated the prophets of Baal and brought back the true faith in Israel. Since the early centuries, Christian monks came to Mount Carmel to live a life of prayer in solitude. Mount Carmel, facing the Mediterranean Sea near the city of Haifa in present-day Israel, is still an important spiritual center for Carmelite monks.
In 1251, the Holy Mother appeared to the Carmelite monk Simon Stoke of Aylesford and gave him the North (Wentinga). It has been our belief for centuries that those who regularly wear Ventinga and seek the protection of Mother will never suffer eternal destruction. Similarly, the belief that souls in purgatory would be freed on the first Saturday after death through the special intercession of the Mother was also associated with devotion to Our Lady of Carmel.
Many saints were devotees of Mother Carmela. Among them the names of Saint Alphonsus Ligori and Saint Don Bosco deserve special attention. When the tombs of these saints were opened many years after their death, the vestments they wore were undamaged. Let us pray for this world, which is facing calamities, putting our trust in the protection of the Holy Mother.