Spirituality

Students praying in MCA's chapel

Students at Mount Carmel Academy live in the Carmel tradition, one of the oldest in the Catholic Church. It offers a true head – heart – hands connection. Students continue to learn about Jesus, grow more deeply in love with Jesus, and once their love grows, students want to serve others in Jesus' name. The Carmel charism encourages openness to Christ in all the events of daily living: sounds of laughter, encouragement from teachers, and the beginning of new friendships. It also models a deep devotion to prayer as students pray for their needs, the needs of the community, and the many people who ask for and receive our prayers.

Faith-enriching activities

  • Daily community prayer
  • Daily Rosary
  • Religion classes
  • Weekly sacrament of Reconciliation
  • Weekly Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
  • Weekly Mass celebrated in the Chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary
  • Weekly rosary recitation in the Chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary
  • Bi-monthly "Come, Lord Jesus" prayer groups led by parents, alumnae, teachers, and students
  • Cubs in Action Service Learning Program
  • Junior Class Community Service Days
  • School and grade-level liturgies for students and parents
  • Monthly school-wide Masses and Liturgical Services
  • Junior and senior over-night retreats
  • Eighth grade, freshman, and sophomore one-day retreats
  • Campus chaplain
  • Campus Ministry Organization
  • Monthly Candlelight Rosary for Life at Grotto
  • Student retreat teams
  • Student-planned prayer services
  • Student Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion
  • Student Altar servers
  • Availability for daily visits to the campus chapel
  • March for Life, Washington D.C.
  • Abbey Youth Fest
  • World Youth Day
  • Teens Encounter Christ (TEC) Retreat participants
  • Sudden Impact Program
  • Archdiocesan Teen CROSS delegates
  • CCRNO Youth Program Retreat participants
  • Catholic School Week Mass
  • CYO and CYO Peer Ministry members
  • Stations of the Cross led by students
  • Summer Service Learning Camp
  • Christian Leadership Institute
  • National Catholic Youth Conference

Tradition of Carmel

The tradition of Carmel is one of the oldest spiritual traditions of the Catholic Church dating back to the Book of Kings in the Old Testament and the prophet Elijah. The Carmelites as we know them today lived as hermits in Palestine on the slopes of Mount Carmel. As religious communities developed, the Carmelites migrated to Europe from the slopes of Mount Carmel. These communities draw inspiration and guidance from the examples of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the prophet Elijah, both of whom passed an unwavering devotion to doing God's will despite fears and difficulties. The Carmelites look to Mary as their patroness and spiritual mother with her examples of zeal, faith, and humility. They look to Elijah's commitment to God with a faith that was so great that he was able to discern the voice of God in a tiny whispering sound (1 Kings 19:9-13).

Prayer is at the heart of the Carmelite spirit. The contemplative dimension of Carmelite life embraces growing in friendship with God, experiencing God's love, pondering the mystery and wonder of life, and searching for meaning. The Sisters' faithfulness to God and their willingness to respond to the needs of the times permeate the history of the Congregation of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and continues to bless and shape the lives and of generations of young women. The Sisters live their mission and truth.