What is more natural and beneficial than celebrating birthdays when we are brothers and sisters? What could be more constructive, in the same spirit and the same origin, that to remember our birth? For, is in you that the Order of the Theresian Carmel was born, rooted in the tradition of the first hermits on Mount Carmel.

Throughout this Centenary year we will walk with you, we will give thanks to the Lord for all he has deposited in you and that comes to us today; we will share, in thanksgiving, the spirit that animated you, the vocation that is our service to the Church through prayer and apostolic zeal. And all the gifts you have received, St. Teresa, “They are not an inheritance, safely secured and entrusted to a small group for safe¬keeping; rather they are gifts of the Spirit inte¬grated into the body of the Church, drawn to the centre which is Christ and then channeled into an evangelizing impulse. A sure sign of the authenticity of a charisma is its ecclesial character, its ability to be integrated harmoniously into the life of God’s holy and faithful people for the good of all.[…] It is in communion, even when this proves painful, that a charisma is seen to be authentic and mysteriously fruitful.” “(Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium 130)

So that we might live in a renewed way this communion, tell us again how Christ is our friend, our only friend; put Him in the center of our lives, our exchanges, our initiatives … In the Holy Land, we are more favored in the desire to live with the Friend, who is Jesus. We can look at the same scenery, taste the Incarnation…

And make love grow in us and in our communities: the love we have for each other should be a constant subject of meditation … (1 D 2.18) Awaken in us the awareness that our vocation is a gift of the Trinity, that our community is the result of a night in prayer of our Lord (cf. Luke 6:12). So we will see our sisters as chosen by the Lord; we will be convinced that our monastery is a “little cell of God”, it is the place where He lives, and He has brought us together here…

Thus joy invade us, it fills us already at the beginning of this Centenary for which we have being preparing for some years. Theresa, allow us to share this joy with all who love Carmel and who find in you, in your teachings, the way of intimacy with Christ in openness towards our brothers and sisters.