DISCALCED CARMELITE NUNS
Goonellabah ~ New South Wales ~ Australia
ASSOCIATION OF OUR LADY OF THE SOUTHERN CROSS
For our Holy Mother, Saint Teresa, to be a daughter of the Church was a great joy and blessing. We too, desirous of that same love and fidelity to the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, strive to listen to what the Church is asking of us and to respond with generous hearts. For many years, beginning from the release of the Apostolic Constitution Sponsa Christi given to us by Pope Pius XII on 21st November, 1950, the Church has been inviting female contemplative religious to form Federations or Associations. Our present Constitutions, approved in 1991, also encourage the forming of Associations. ​Furthermore, in 2016, on the Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene, our Holy Father Pope Francis gave us the Apostolic Constitution Vultum Dei Quaerere (Seeking the Face of God) and the following year, the implementing instruction, Cor Orans, which give further direction regarding the importance and purpose of Federations and Associations to female contemplative Orders.
According to Vultum Dei Quaerere, a Federation is an important structure of communion between monasteries sharing the same charism, lest they remain isolated. The principal aim of a Federation is to promote the contemplative life in the member monasteries, in accordance with the demands of their proper charism. Along with other Carmelite Monasteries in the Oceania region, we are members of the Association of Our Lady of the Southern Cross.
The main purposes of our Association are as follows:
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to encourage each sister in our living of the Teresian Charism as contemplative women in the service of the Church and of the world
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to promote understanding, trust and friendship between the member-monasteries and with all our Carmelite sisters and brothers
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to provide a means of communication for sharing ways of living our Teresian Carmelite life in the context of our times and particular cultures
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to facilitate mutual assistance among the monasteries in whatever areas it is needed
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enabling an effective voice in communication with the Holy See, our Carmelite Superiors and ecclesial and secular bodies
