P. Fernando Millán Romeral, O.Carm., General Prior
3) Community
In such an individualistic society as ours, one of the elements that appeals most to those observing our life is the fact that people from different backgrounds, ages, ways of thinking, etc. can live together. Life in community is one of the fundamental characteristics of religious life and life in Carmel. In recent years, the biblical background of our rule has been greatly emphasized, and the influence of the early church community in Jerusalem (as described in the Acts of the Apostles) on its spiritual structure has been illuminated. This is a model community for every Christian community, and especially for Carmelite community. The more we resemble this community, which had everything in common, which joyfully – agallíasis means: jubilation, cheerfulness, great joy – and simply celebrated the breaking of bread and continued in prayer, the more we will fulfill the mission of religious life to be an icon: to be a sign, a witness, an expression or an icon of the life of the Holy Trinity, a community of love, that koinonía, which is to be a lifestyle inherent to Christians.
In powerful words, our Statutes from 1995 (art. 29 and 30) express this very well:
The Holy Trinity, the source and model of the Church, is also the source and model of our community. The Trinitarian community (koinonia) of knowledge and love, in which we participate, is given to us as a gift and encourages us to open ourselves to the knowledge and love of God and our neighbors. (...) Following the example of the early Christian community in Jerusalem, fraternal community embodies the selfless love of God, which is internally accepted in a continuous process of letting go of selfishness – even at the community level – and a true focus on God. Thus, we can show the charismatic and prophetic nature of the consecrated life of Carmel and harmoniously integrate the personal charisms of each into the service of the Church and the world.
This community-oriented lifestyle, this communio, is in a certain way a sign going “against the current” in a culture that encourages individualism, personal gratification, privatization, and selfishness. Even we, while living in community, must pay careful attention to ensure that such a mentality does not creep into our homes and into our hearts. It's not just about living “together” with numerous activities and shared time, but truly living as a community, that is, in unanimity and true brotherhood.
Life in community, therefore mutuality (communio), in no way means pressure for uniformity. We are different, we think and perceive differently, we are of different temperaments and tendencies, different ages and belong to different generations. Sometimes we speak different languages and come from mutually very different cultures, yet we are called to create a truly fraternal community. It would be a scandal in the truest sense of the word if two Carmelites could not live together under one roof for ideological, racial, or even worse, religious reasons. Diversity, mutual respect, accepting another in his differences from me, all of this enriches us incredibly, keeps us open, flexible, pliable, and young... A person who encloses themselves in their own way of thinking, who despises other ways of experiencing the Carmelite charism and sees nothing good in others, closes off, impoverishes themselves, and in their closed-mindedness becomes (increasingly) radicalized.
This deep unity in diversity is evident and acts in the celebration of the Eucharist. True community breaks through all barriers, removes resentment, and creates a community of life that springs from the Easter mystery. In this lies the provocative character of the celebration of the Eucharist. If the common Eucharist is celebrated reverently and humbly, and does not become merely a custom or pastoral activity, it necessarily leads us to a lifestyle in which there is more in common among us and a deeper community.
