For those seeking a special place to attend Holy Week Liturgies, or whose own church may not be having all the days covered, think about spending all or part of Holy Week worship at the Carmelite Monastery, 1931 Jefferson Rd. in Pittsford.
Here is the schedule: 
Palm Sunday: 8:00 AM Mass
Holy Thursday: 5:00 PM Mass
Good Friday: 3:00 PM Liturgy
Holy Saturday: 8:30 PM Easter Vigil
Easter Sunday: 8:00 AM Mass
Profession and Veiling
Yesterday I posted that there would be a “profession” of one of the Carmelites this morning, and I was fortunate to be able to attend. Bishop Matano presided with Father White and 4 other priests in attendance who celebrate Masses at the Carmel on a regular basis. I would estimate about 100 people in attendance, plus the nuns behind the grill. It was an absolutely beautiful ceremony, which I am grateful to have been able to attend, as I have been to ordinations of priests and deacons, but never to a profession of vows by a religious.
Sister Joseph Maria of the Trinity, O.C.D., in the presence of her parents and family and many third order Carmelites, was wearing a white veil when she entered, and answered in strong voice the Bishop’s questions. The first was: “My dear Sister, what do you ask of God and His Holy Church?” She replied: “The mercy of God, the poverty of the Order, and the companionship of the Sisters in this Monastery of Our Lady and St. Joseph, Rochester, New York, of the Discalced Nuns of the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel.” We all replied “Thanks be to God.”
The Bishop then asked 5 questions of “examination” as to her resolution, to which she replied to each “I am.” Sister Joseph Maria of the Trinity then prostrated herself before the altar during a beautiful rendition of the Litany of the Saints, before proceeding to kneel before her Reverend Mother Prioress, professing her vows and promising obedience, chastity and poverty according to the Rule of the Order, until death. Signing her “formula of profession,” she left it on the altar, and Bishop Matano gave her the Solemn Blessing of the Professed. Then the prioress laid the black veil upon Sister Joseph Maria’s head, an “Insignia of Profession.” It was all quite beautiful and moving, as was Bishop Matano’s homily on the importance of prayer and, of course, his celebration of the Mass.
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