Rental of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish Hall may be arranged by calling the Dean/Michelle Pudenz = 712-790-0122 or 712-830-8327

RATES

1. PARISH MEMBERS: $100.00

2. NON-PARISH MEMBERS: $200.00

3. WEDDING RECEPTION: $450.00 

Proof of insurance, signed FACILITY USAGE/INDEMNITY AGREEMENT, and payment are due before use of the hall.

19471 140th St
PO Box 39
Mount Carmel, Iowa
ESTABLISHED 1869
Current church building built: 1907
 

Office Hours:  Mon - Fri:  9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
(Parish Office is located at St. Bernard School, Breda)
Phone: 712-673-2582
Fax: 712-673-2239

Sunday Mass: 8:00 a.m.

TOGETHER AS ONE
DIOCESAN APPEAL

PARISH GOAL $ 4,885
PLEDGED/PAID TO DATE $ 4,270

In 1868, Bishop Hennessey encouraged Lambert Kniest, Henry Baumhover and a few friends to establish a settlement of democratic German Catholics in good standing. So they went west until they arrived at an elevated plateau. After discovering that it was the feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, the men named the sight and returned to Dubuque.

The I. Blair Land and Townlot Company appointed Kniest the exclusive agent to sell 25 acres of wild prairie land to 50 settlers in five years or the agreement was not valid. The last two plots were given away to complete the contract made in 1869.

Kniest plotted the town with the church in the center, the school to the north and a cemetery north of that. Additionally, the parsonage was to the east of the church. Kniest also planned a home for the aged which was never built.

The first church built in 1869 was a frame structure on a stone foundation. It was 24-feet by 40-feet of unknown cost. This was the only Catholic Church between Boone and Council Bluffs. Father Henry J. Heimbucher was appointed the first pastor.

The second church was built in 1881, a brick structure. It was burned in 1883, possibly by incense. The third church lasted until the steeple was struck by lightning in 1892. The third church was also destroyed by fire in 1906 and once again rebuilt. The 1906 structure still stands today.

In 1874, the first church was expanded to include the first school, with six Catholic lay teachers. In 1880, the Franciscan Sisters of LaCrosse, Wis., sent sisters to conduct school at Mt. Carmel. The Sisters continued until 1986, with 106 contiguous years of service.

A new school was built in 1912. The last class to graduate high school was in 1958, with 13 graduates. In 1983, Lidderdale and Maple River untied Mt. Carmel and in 1983 the last eighth grade class graduated. In the fall of that year, Breda untied to form Christ the King School with 1-5 grades in Mt. Carmel. Grades 6-8 were at the Breda center. Full day kindergarten started in 1990. Mt. Carmel then had grades K-4 with grades 5-8 in Breda. There are currently 70 students in the Mt. Carmel center and 72 in the Breda Center.

Many pastors have served Mt. Carmel over the years: Fathers Henry. J. Heimbucher, John Kempker, Theodore Wegmann, John B. Ferderich, John Anler, Ignalius Rottler, Gerhard H. Luehsmann, Frederich W. Huesmann, Albert J. Schaefer, John B. Bauemler, Edward J. Jungblutt, Simon P. Roth, Bernard Loeffelholz, Peter M. Sturm, Otmar W. Koester, Dale F. Koster, Leroy Seuntjens, Jerome Cosgrove, Michael Larkin, Msgr. A. W. Behrens and Robert Brown.

There have been many vocations from Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. There have been nine vocations to the priesthood and 30 vocations to women religious from the parish.

Today there are 106 households and 292 parishioners at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish. The parish is clustered with Breda and Maple River. A special event took place on July 16, 2000, when Mt. Carmel was named one of the five Jubilee parishes.

Pastors after 2006

Rev. James McAlpin                   2004-2008
Rev. Joseph A. Dillinger             2008-2011
Rev. Gary B. Snyder                  2012-July 31, 2016
Rev. Mark J. Stoll, JCL                August 1, 2016-June 10, 2017
Rev. Kevin M. Richter                 June 10, 2017-July 10, 2018
Very Rev. Mark J. Stoll, JCL, VF   July 10, 2018-July 2, 2019
 

THE BROWN SCAPULAR OF OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL is part of the rich spiritual tradition of the Catholic Church that honors Mary as the first and foremost of her Son’s disciples. This scapular is a sacramental, an outward sign of the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, our sister, mother and queen and offers an effective symbol of Mary's protection to the Order of Carmel its members, associates, and affiliates as they strive to fulfill their vocation as defined by the Carmelite Rule of Saint Albert: “to live in allegiance to Jesus Christ.”  This scapular was first presented to St. Simon Stock, an early prior general of the Carmelite religious order, in the 13^th Century by Our Lady of Mount Carmel and resembles on a smaller scale the scapular monks wear over their habits.  The PROCEDURE FOR BLESSING AND INVESTITURE [enrollment] is done by a priest pr deacon who blesses the scapulars and presents them to those who desire to wear them 24/7.  Special graces are available to those who wear the scapular.  Thanks to Dan Wiederin, former parishioner, we are receiving 250 scapulars to ‘kick off’ the countdown to the parishes 150^th celebration.  The Blessing and Investiture will be done Sunday July 8 after Holy Communion at the 8:00 a.m. Mass.  Everyone interested in being invested will be invited to come forward to receive two [2] scapulars and the blessing.

More information:

The Church on her faith pilgrimage finds its best model in Our Lady.  The example of the Blessed Virgin leads the faithful to conform themselves to the Son.  But it also leads them to celebrate the mysteries of Christ with the profound attitude that the Virgin had when she was by her Son at his birth and at the Epiphany, at his death and resurrection.  That is, it urges them to guard zealously the Word of God to meditate on it lovingly; to praise God with exultation and to thank him joyfully; to serve God and neighbor faithfully and to offer generously for them even life itself, to pray to the Lord perseveringly and to implore confidently; to be merciful and humble; to "wait vigilantly for the coming of the Lord." (** The Doctrinal Statement on the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Approved English text of the doctrinal section of the "Rite of Blessing of and Enrollment in the Scapular of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel" as issued and confirmed by the Congregation for Divine Worship and for the Discipline of the Sacraments, November 29, 1996.)

MARY
 
While Christ alone has redeemed us, the Blessed Virgin Mary has always been seen by Catholics as a loving mother and protector. The Blessed Virgin has shown her patronage over the Order of Carmel from its earliest days. This patronage and protection came to be symbolized in the scapular, the essential part of the Carmelite habit.

Stories and legends abound in Carmelite tradition expressing the many ways in which the Mother of God has interceded for the Order, especially in critical moments of its history. Most enduring and popular of these traditions, blessed by the Church, concerns Mary's promise to an early Carmelite, Saint Simon Stock, that anyone who remains faithful to the Carmelite vocation until death will be granted the grace of final perseverance. The Carmelite Order has been anxious to share this patronage and protection with those who are devoted to the Mother of God and so has extended both its habit (the scapular) and affiliation to the larger Church.

Private revelation can neither add to nor detract from the Church's deposit of faith. Therefore, the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel echoes the promise of Divine Revelation: The one who holds out to the end is the one who will see salvation (Matthew 24:13), and Remain faithful unto death and I will give you the crown of life (Revelation 2:10). The Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is a reminder to its wearers of the saving grace which Christ gained upon the cross for all: All you who have been baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves in him (Galatians 3:27). There is no salvation for anyone other than that won by Christ. The Sacraments mediate this saving grace to the faithful. The sacramentals, including the scapular, do not mediate this saving grace but prepare us to receive grace and dispose us to cooperate with it. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches:

Sacramentals do not confer the grace of the Holy Spirit in the way that the sacraments do, but by the Church's prayer they prepare us to receive grace and dispose us to cooperate with it. For well-disposed members of the faithful, the liturgy of the sacraments and sacramentals sanctifies almost every event of their lives with the divine grace which flows form the Paschal mystery of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Christ. From this source all sacraments and sacramentals draw their power. (CC 1670)

We see, therefore, that the Church clearly teaches that all grace, including that of final perseverance, is won for us by the Passion, Death and Resurrection of the Lord. Simply wearing the Brown Scapular does not confer that same result.

THE HABIT

The Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the habit of the Carmelite Order. For the religious members of the Order it takes the form of two long, undecorated panels of brown cloth joined at the shoulders and falling, one to the front and one to the back. For the laity it takes the form of a two smaller pieces of brown or dark cloth, preferably plain, joined over the shoulder by ribbons, and falling, one to the back, the other to the front. As the Order's habit, the scapular signifies some degree of affiliation to the Carmelites.

Carmelite tradition declares, not so much from a vision as from the living faith of the men and women of Carmel over eight centuries, that we the Carmelites enjoy a special protection by the Mother of God as a sign of her love for us and her appreciation of our trust and confidence in her and our devotion to her as our model for living a life of allegiance to her Son.

We Carmelites are willing even anxious to share this protection and favor that Mary shows us as we are anxious to share the trust and confidence we place in her and our devotion to her. A visible sign of our sharing this protection and this devotion is the scapular. It is the Carmelite Order not the Blessed Virgin who gives the scapular to the faithful and invites the faithful to share our charism in expectation of the graces won by Christ and bestowed on Carmel and its members through the intercession of the Mother of God. The Graces are bestowed on the Family of Carmel; the scapular is a sign of belonging in some way and to some varying degree to the family of Carmel.

Pope John Paul II & the Brown Scapular

"Carmelites have chosen Mary as their Patroness and spiritual Mother and always keep before the eyes of their heart the Most Pure Virgin who guides everyone to the perfect knowledge and imitation of Christ.

In Carmel therefore and in every soul moved by tender affection for the Blessed Virgin and Mother, there has thrived a contemplation of her, who from the beginning knew how to open herself to hearing God's Word and to obeying his will (Lk 2: 19, 51).  (Message of Pope John Paul II to the Carmelite Family on the 750th Anniversary of the Bestowal of the Scapular 25 March 2001.)
 
"I, from my youngest days, have worn around my neck the Scapular of Our Lady and I take refuge with trust under the mantle of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus. I hope the Scapular will be for everyone, especially the faithful who wear it, a help and defense in times of danger, a seal of peace and a sign of Mary's care." (Pope John Paul II, GENERAL AUDIENCE, Castelgandolfo July 16, 2003)
 
Who may invest people with the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel?
 
According to the Rite for the Blessing and Enrollment in the Scapular of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, approved by the Holy See in 1996, any priest or deacon has the faculties for blessing the scapular. The official ritual provided by the Holy See makes no provision for someone other than a priest or deacon to bless the scapular.
 
True devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary consists in three things: VENERATION, CONFIDENCE AND LOVE. By simply wearing the Scapular, we can tell her every moment of the day that we venerate her, love her and trust in her protection.

Notes and references:
** A Catechesis on the Brown Scapular - Father Sam Anthony Morello, OCD and Father Patrick McMahon, O.Carm.  Imprimatur of Archbishop, Cardinal James Hickey, Archdiocese of Washington DC.
** Message of Pope John Paul II to the Carmelite Family on the 750th Anniversary of the Bestowal of the Scapular 25 March 2001.
** Pope John Paul II, GENERAL AUDIENCE, Castelgandolfo July 16, 2003
** The Doctrinal Statement on the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Approved English text of the doctrinal section of the "Rite of Blessing of and Enrollment in the Scapular of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel" as issued and confirmed by the Congregation for Divine Worship and for the Discipline of the Sacraments, November 29, 1996

FROM: http://www.meditationsfromcarmel.com/content/what-brown-scapular

PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL
O most beautiful flower of Mount Carmel,
fruitful vine,
splendor of Heaven,
Blessed Mother of the Son of God,
Immaculate Virgin,
assist me in this my necessity…
O Star of the Sea,
help me and show me herein
you are my Mother.
 
O holy Mary, Mother of God,
Queen of Heaven and earth,
I humbly beseech you
from the bottom of my heart,
to aid me in my need;
there are none who can withstand your power.
 
O show me herein you are my Mother.
O Mary, conceived without sin,
Pray for us who have recourse to thee.
(three times)
 
Sweet Mother, I place this cause in your hands.
(three times)