For Such A Time As This

Esther Before Ahasuerus by Felix Joseph Barrias

A meditation called "Carmelites Are Called for Such a Time As This" by Carmen J. Norkiewicz, OCDS.

“Who knows-perhaps it was for a time like this that you became queen?” Mordecai to Queen Esther (Esther 4:14)

Who knows - perhaps it was for such a time as this that you became a Carmelite?
While the world outside your Avila walls
rushes about in pandemic pandemonium, oblivious to the safety and needs of others Carmelites retreat interiorly,
seeking the face of God in all the distressing situations of this graced period of time, praying for the salvation of souls lost to the world’s contagion of vice and pleasure and for those poor lost souls, who must die on their own, in hospital wards.

Your prayers, fasting, and sacrificing
ascend to the heavens as delightful incense to the Lord our God in reparation for the offenses of those who continue to turn their faces towards the cultures of death and self- idolatry,
resolutely refusing the Mercy of the Loving Abba’s embrace.

Be stalwart! Do not falter in your sacred mission! Press on with your gifts of prayer and contemplation for the salvation of the world! Our hope abides in Christ and our strength is His mighty word;
the mighty sword of the Rosary is our most powerful weapon. Do not be disturbed or let fear possess your thoughts. This pandemic shall, in God’s good time, pass away. Rely on God alone and our Blessed Mother.

We know ---we were made for such a time as this!