Carmelite Spirituality.

[AugustineA]

http://ocarm.org/en/content/ocarm/olmc/carmelite-spirituality

 

https://www.ewtn.com/library/SPIRIT/CARMSPIR.TXT

 

http://www.carmelite.com/spirituality/default.cfm?loadref=4

 

Please post anything you have on Carmelite spirituality. Thank you. 

 

I was disappointed that there are currently no retreats scheduled for my diocese, but I'm starting to put my feelers out.. God knows best. 

Edited April 29, 2014 by AugustineA

[ClemensBruno]

This is the site for the Carmelite library in Washington, D.C. It provides online just a handful of sample texts in PDF format from its collection of works by the Carmelite order spanning 8 centuries. If you're In the area, it's well worth a visit.

http://carmelitanacollection.com/

[AugustineA]

Thanks, you're awesome. God bless. :)

[brandelynmarie]

Next time I'm at the library I'll try to remember to post some links ;)

[AugustineA]

I knew you were a Carmelite!  If you have some time, could you share some of your experience? What is life daily life like? Has your perception of the world changed at all? What do you do in terms of work/labour, study, prayer etc.? You don't have to share if you don't want to, but I would appreciate it.

[brandelynmarie]

I'm studying Carmelite spirituality just like you! :blush: When I'm more awake & near a real computer, I will gladly share what I am learning. I was enrolled in the scapular when I was younger & so I am connected by that. :) But to begin, the first word that comes to mind is that the Carmelite way is essentially prophetic (my SD taught me this ;) ) because of Elijah. I shall leave you to ponder that :evil:...tiI i can post again,lol.

[maximillion]

Eremitic........

[brandelynmarie]

Yes, most definitely eremitic...

[AugustineA]

Erg. That is what is so attractive about the Carmelite way. It is old and new. It bridges the dust of Genesis with the prophets with the living water with the Church. It is spiritual, genuine, and sincere. If you do enter with the Carmelites, do you think you will travel to Mt. Carmel eventually? 

 

[brandelynmarie]

Hai...My apologies! I forgot I was posting on here :blush: . It's amazing how much influence the prophet Elijah & the desert fathers have on Carmelites...my SD pointed this out to me...about the desert fathers...Such influence to cause these men to flee civilization...The influences are implicit with the abbas, not necessarily explicit...if you read their writings & anything about the earliest Carmelites, you begin to see connections...more later....

(i will go to Mt. Carmel if God wills it ;). If I do enter a community, it will be cloistered & I don't think I'll be going anywhere!....altho I may become an extern & don't they take Sabbaticals? :p)

[brandelynmarie]

I found this beautiful explanation of living as a Carmelite from Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity:

 

To live in the presence of God; that is surely an inheritance left to the children of Carmel by the prophet Elijah, who cried out in the fervor of his faith:

"The God I serve is a living God"... A life of prayer is the essence of the Carmelite vocation; the heart to heart communion that never ends, because when one loves, one no longer belongs to oneself but to the Beloved, and so lives more in Him than in oneself. That is what life in Carmel means: to live in God, contemplating His goodness and beauty, and dedicated entirely to the fulfillment of His blessed Will. Then every immolation, every sacrifice becomes divine; through everything the soul sees Him whom she loves and everything leads her to Him... it is a continual communion. All day long she surrenders herself to Love, by doing the will of God, under His gaze, with Him, in Him, for Him alone.

 

This is the life of a Carmelite: to be a true contemplative, another Magdalene whom nothing can distract from the 'one thing necessary'. I want to be an apostle from the depths of my beloved solitude in Carmel; I want to work for God's glory and the good of all His people, especially His priests; and for that I must be full of Him. Then I should be all-powerful: a look, a wish, would become an irresistible prayer that could obtain everything one asks in the Name of Jesus. I want to remain like Mary Magdalene silent and adoring at the Master's feet, asking Him to make the words of apostles bear fruit in souls.

 

As Our Lord dwells within us, His prayer is ours, and I want to share in it unceasingly, remaining like a little vessel at the spring, at the fountain of life, and so be able to communicate it to others by letting its floods of charity overflow.

 

How sublime is the Carmelite's mission! She should be a mediatrix with Jesus Christ, and be for Him, as it were, another humanity in which He can perpetuate His life of reparation and sacrifice, of love and praise and adoration. She abides faithfully in prayerful silence and solitude so that the Most High God may be able to realize His desires in her, accomplishing His will in her as an instrument of His love and peace among His people.

 

So, on the mountain of Carmel, in silence, in solitude, in a prayer which is unceasing, for nothing can interrupt it, the Carmelite already lives as though in heaven: for God alone! The same God who will one day be her beatitude and will fulfill her desires in glory, is already giving Himself to her here on earth. He never leaves her, He dwells in the depths of her being, and more wonderful still, He and she are but one. And so she is hungry for silence and prayer that she may always listen to Him and penetrate more deeply into His infinite Being. She identifies herself with Him whom she loves, she finds Him everywhere. She sees Him shining through everything. She belongs to Him alone, and trusts completely in His loving and faithful providence. Is that not heaven on earth?

 

When you think of the life of the Carmelite, thank Him for the beautiful portion that is hers. What will it be like in heaven, if even here below He enters into such intimate union with those who love Him?

 

Here in Carmel, there is nothing, nothing but God. He is all, He suffices, and one lives for Him alone and for His glory... this life of prayer and contemplation, interceding always for His people before the Face of God...


This reflection from the website of the Carmelite Nuns of Arlington, Texas. Please visit their web page!
http://www.carmelnuns.com  

[AccountDeleted]

A small contribution:
 

The charism of the Carmelite Order is God’s gift given originally to those nameless hermits who gathered together on Mount Carmel, beside the well of Elijah, at the end of the 12th and beginning of the 13th centuries. The Carmelite Order has no known founder but sprang from the desire of those first hermits to follow Christ together with a pure heart and a good conscience. They asked the Patriarch of Jerusalem, St. Albert, to write for them a rule of life (c.1206-1214) which laid down certain guidelines based on the previous way of life of the hermits.
 
This Rule of St. Albert and the experience of the Carmelites as they sought to be faithful to it in various circumstances gave definitive shape to the charism. We can say that there are several elements which make up the Carmelite charism. Firstly, and most importantly, it is a way of following Christ with total dedication. Carmelites do this by seeking to form contemplative communities at the service of God’s people in whose midst they live. Fraternity, service and contemplation are therefore essential values for all Carmelites.
 
As we attempt to follow Christ more closely, we Carmelites find inspiration in the Old Testament Prophet, Elijah, and in the Blessed Virgin Mary.
 
The Prophet Elijah 

Elijah’s memory was kept alive especially on Mount Carmel where he challenged the people to stop hobbling first on one foot and then on the other but to choose who is God in Israel – Yahweh or Baal. According to the story, which can be found in the First Book of Kings, chapter 18, Elijah’s sacrifice was consumed by fire from heaven which proved to the people that Yahweh was the true God.
 
Elijah in the presence of the Lord on Mount Horeb
 
Elijah made himself available for God’s work and was sent into various situations to proclaim God’s word. Elijah undertook a long journey through the desert where he began to despair. He sat down under a bush and wished he were dead but God would not allow him to die and prodded him to continue his journey to Mount Horeb. When he arrived there, God became present to Elijah. God came not with the signs usual in the Old Testament of fire, earthquake and mighty wind but in the sound of a gentle breeze. Elijah was sent back to his people to carry out God’s will.
 
From Elijah, Carmelites learn to listen for the voice of God in the unexpected and in silence. We seek to allow the Word of God to shape our minds and our hearts so that the way we live and the things we do may be prophetic and therefore faithful to the memory of our father Elijah.
 
 
The Blessed Virgin Mary

The first hermits on Mount Carmel built a church in the middle of their cells. This was the centre of their lives where they converged each day to celebrate Mass together. This little church they named in honour of Our Lady. By this fact the first group of Carmelites took her as their patroness, promising her their faithful service and expecting her protection and favour. They were proud to bear the title of “Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel” and they defended this title with vigour when their right to it was challenged.
 
Mary consented to God’s will when she was asked to be the mother of the Saviour. She pondered on the events of her life and was able to see in them the hand of God at work. Mary did not become proud about her unique vocation but instead praised God for looking on her lowliness and doing great things in her. She was with Jesus at the beginning of his public ministry when, at the marriage feast at Cana, she made known to him the simple need, “They have no wine”. She was with him as he died and there she became the mother of all believers. At the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles we find Mary gathered in the upper room praying with the other disciples waiting for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. For us Carmelites, Mary is a constant presence in our lives, guiding us and protecting us as we seek to follow Christ.
 
Mary symbolises for the Carmelite everything that we hope for – to enter into an intimate relationship with Christ, being totally open to God’s will and having our lives transformed by the Word of God. Carmelites have always thought of Mary as the Patroness of the Order. We seek to live in spiritual intimacy with her so that we can learn from her how to live as God’s children.
 
Elijah and Mary are inspirational figures for all Carmelites. They play a very important part in the life and spirituality of the Order which sees itself as belonging to Mary and looks to Elijah as our spiritual father.

[brandelynmarie]

I'm all outta props for the moment :) but props! This is a very good, simple explanation :) The more I study Carmelite spirituality, the more I realize this is what I am in my heart of hearts...no matter where I go in life or what I end up doing :blush:

[brandelynmarie]

I was meditating today on the thought that one of the gifts that a Carmelite gives to God is the gift of time...that all that is required is our presence being in the Presence. And we must try to not have an agenda or attachment to any specific outcome...but give Him this gift of our time & attention & love...for in Heaven, time is not...

[brandelynmarie]

...& in Heaven there will be no need for Faith or Hope...only Love...