Hospitality
Hospitality is biblical
Hospitality is biblical, especially in the person of Abraham who recognized God in the three guests, just as the whole Monastic tradition stresses the importance of hospitality in the Monasteries.
Just as Eve had her garden, the Heavenly Father gave a garden to the New Eve, the Virgin Mary, and that garden is Mount Carmel. There all Creation is united in one praise to the Most High God King of the Universe!
The Carmel in the North, located within the Arctic Circle, does not currently receive visitors for retreats, due to the life of complete separation on the Island where the nuns live. As we live in the city (In France), although it is quiet, it is not in the countryside and in the mountains as we usually live, and that is why the retreats do not have everything the monastery can offer.
There is no fixed price for retreats, individual or group. Each one collaborates with what he has, as well as with certain works carried out in the Monastery before, during or after the retreat.
We provide sheets and towels, as well as meals. However, everyone is free to bring what they need or what is requested by the host sister.
Following the custom of the Primitive Carmel, we do not eat meat even in case of illness. Tradition tells us that, on Mount Carmel, the Carmelites lived in total union with the Creator Father and his Nature, that the Lions who lived there grazed like cows and did not eat meat! Alluding to the scripture passage, Isaiah, where he speaks of the Kingdom of the Messiah. If possible, we invite you to have this beautiful experience on the days you are at the Monastery.