Good evening brother and sisters! This will be the questions for your reflection.

Pls reflect and will have

a sharing for our formation class tomorrow at 2pm. Salamat kaayo

How's your prayer life after 6 months of being an observer? Has your relationship with God deepened?
Now that you know the daily obligations of an OCDS, are you willing to accept the demands of being a
secular carmelite? Are there any changes after 6 months being an observer in terms of your attitude?
Please share. Salamat kayo

For the past 6 months, I have been juggling my work, my family, my marriage, and my prayer life.
Although these are my priorities, I couldn’t neglect to priority my prayer life which is the most integral of
all. I must admit that I couldn’t get a perfect five star in the perfect attendance in my prayer, albeit all
the more I miss, the more I crave for it. Perfection is the key according to St. Teresa, but perfection is
too deemed to be attain in this state and the more I sink in to this realization, the more I desire for
humility. For six month though, gradually I established prayer structure or rhythm. It’s a grace once
more to regain such dynamics of prayer. With this, I begun again to put my heart to the Blessed Lord. I
described my relationship to the Blessed Lord with love and reverence just like a Master teaching me of
his ways and at the same time, a friend who always there for me. For six months, I tried to see the Lord
as a way of admiration but later, or perhaps I once found this gift that in order to be with the Lord, I
must follow him, by imitating him. Truly my path, this path of Carmel is the path to imitate Him.
Imitating means, allowing myself to become like the Blessed Lord. It means, to sacrifice, self-denial, and
to be of service to others. Deepening through mental prayer is very heavy because it requires loving. Not
so much on thinking, but the deep felt heart. Knowingly the obligation of the OCDS, it thrills me, not
because I wanted to, or someone ought me to, but because it allows me to imitate Him more dearly and
intently. In this I would say I am willing to know more and to love more. Demands is always, I am
concern of my weaknesses but living without knowing this, is not worth it. For the past 6 months, I
observed that I become more aware of the rhythmic mode of my prayer. Gradually the Carmelite
Charism sink in with care into my system. I observed that I always quoted St. Teresa, St. Therese and St.
John heavily in my discussions and in any normal conversation to others. I noticed also I slightly change
of patience, perhaps because I know that Carmelite way is a Marian way. The more I go deep in the
writings of St. John of the Cross, the more I go deeper into the heart of Mary. So irony, Dark night it is
but Mary is so radiant like the sun, perhaps she is the perfect model to enter into dark night, of course
not to mention, a life of a mother is a life of dark night. I also noticed that I value the sense waiting. Last
Sunday, after the Community meeting, I reviewed the constitution of the OCDS especially the formation
process and I realized that it takes 6 to 7 years just to be definitive and be definitive until the end. In my
life, I always want instant gratification spiritually, emotionally and intellectually. But the Charisma of the
Carmelite saints always tamed my will. Waiting is part of the process. Active waiting that is. Active
waiting means, while waiting for the maturation, I have to work it out. I have to do something for this. I
must do what is necessary.

In conclusion, the observer stage is more than being an observer, it give me light, armor of faith, and
weapon of mass conversation. Yes I did observed, and yes I have observed many. May the Blessed Lord
grant me grace to imitate him and may our Lady of Mt. Carmel shape me always in the pattern of heart
of Jesus. Amen