Fr. Patrik Burke O.Carm., Ireland
The Second Vatican Council encouraged the church to a new life in the Holy Spirit, which enlivens the whole body of the church, unifies it, and moves it. “Christ fills the church, which is his body and fullness (cf. Eph 1:22-23), with his divine gifts, in order that it may incline and reach the fullness of God (cf. Eph 3:19)” (LG 7). All the baptized, united in Christ and strengthened by God's word and sacraments, form one community of faith, hope, and love.
Within this community of the universal church, the family of Carmel offers a distinctive spirituality to God's people, helping them to live in the midst of our modern secularized world in a way that meets the demands contained in the gospel. The Carmelite tradition serves the church with charisms related to prayer, community, and service. Through the figures of the prophet Elijah and the Virgin Mary, the prophetic and Marian heritage of Carmel has been a continuous source of new inspiration for members of this spiritual family throughout the centuries. How, however, can this heritage be incorporated into the life situations of non-religious and lay Christians?
The church proclaims that “from the lay vocation arises their task of seeking the Kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and ordering them according to God” (LG 31). Thus, lay people—called by God and led by the spirit of the gospel—are to contribute to the sanctification of the world by revealing Christ to others through the fulfillment of their specific “earthly” duties. Given the nature of their vocation, the faithful lay person is directly called to engage in “worldly” matters and to guide them according to God's law. Individual lay people live amidst earthly concerns and activities and in the ordinary conditions of family, work, and social life. According to their possibilities, “lay people, even in combined efforts, have the duty to heal worldly institutions (now often referred to as “structures” of today's society) and living conditions, to ensure that everything is in accordance with the demands of justice and more conducive than harmful to a virtuous life” (LG 36).
Each individual Christian already represents the church. Where there is a single Christian, he or she achieves through this member the living body of the church; it is not the presence of an isolated (non-living) part. The mission of all Christians is: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations...” (Mt 28:19), and this mission is realized in the family, at work, and at worship. Relationships with neighbors, employment, shopping, dealings at offices, illness, caring for children—all of these require self-giving, just as Christ gives himself in the Eucharist.
A Christian layperson lives their worldly identity as a member or part of the church. And they cannot remain simply a passive member. Pope John Paul II, during his visit to Colombia in July 1986, summarized the role of laypeople in this way:
“You laypeople, true to your secular identity, must remain in the world as in an environment that is your own, and be present in it—actively and in accordance with the gospel, dynamically and with the ability to transform the world—as leaven in the dough, as salt giving Christian meaning to the world of work (In the English original: “light of work,” which is probably a mistake; we do not have access to the original wording of the Holy Father’s speech, but we suspect the correction to be “life of work” and translate more freely.), as light in the midst of the darkness of indifference.”
Guided by the Holy Spirit, the authority of the church has promoted the spread of various forms of religious life since the time of the apostles, striving to follow Christ—whether in solitude or in community—through evangelical counsels. Over time, various religious families arose, in which certain aspects of Christian life and the gifts of the Spirit are developed—for the good of the entire church and to aid their members on the path to holiness (LG 43). Some laypeople, drawn to the specific charisms of a particular religious family, became more closely associated with that family and sometimes committed themselves by vow to the characteristic way of spiritual life according to the tradition of that family, while continuing to live in the ordinary conditions of their families and civil society.
The distinguishing element of each religious family is its spirituality, the experience of the same charism, the same inspiration, and values. When the church approves a religious family, it encourages it to spread among laypeople those characteristic traits of spiritual life that are its own. Thus, even today laypeople can follow the rule of a certain order or religious family, but in accordance with their status as laypeople and the life circumstances in which they find themselves.
Carmelite spirituality is based on the commitment to “live in obedience to Jesus Christ and to serve him faithfully with a pure heart and a good conscience,” inspired by the words of Saint Paul (2 Cor 10:5 and 1 Tim 1:5) and which Saint Albert has laid as the foundation in the Carmelite order upon which he built our entire life program (cf. Constitution of the Order from 1995, art. 14). Carmelites are to seek the face of the living God (this refers to the dimension of prayer in our lives) through brotherhood (community) and through service among people. They are to be wholly devoted to loving attention to the Word through constant prayer and worship, and with zeal to glorify the Lord. The rule depicts a community whose members are open to the indwelling of the Spirit and are shaped by the values of the Spirit.
Since its inception, the Carmelite order has embraced Christian devotion and piety towards the Virgin Mary, both in the life of the order itself and in its service to the church. It has been aware of the special charism granted to it: its connection with Mary as the “Mother and Ornament of Carmel.” Following the example seen in Mary, the Carmelites sought to make God present in the world around them by deepening their unity with God through prayer. When they had to leave the mountain of Carmel, they took with them the spirit of the prophets and the inspiration from the figure of the prophet Elijah. As a result, throughout the succeeding centuries they have more easily understood and more deeply embraced, lived, and proclaimed that “truth that sets us free” (Constitution, art. 25).
Laypeople are attracted to the Carmelite order by its spirituality. They too, in their hearts searching for the Lord, understand what Carmel says about prayer: the contemplative dimension of Carmelite prayer signifies a posture of openness to God, whose presence Carmelites find everywhere. This opens an inner path, a way leading through the wilderness to encounter God and to be overwhelmed by his love. This love frees us from our limited and imperfect ways of thinking, loving, and acting; it transforms them so that we think, love, and act in the same way as He does.
It is precisely the contemplative attitude towards the world around us that enables laypeople to discover, to a unique degree, God's presence in what is “on our daily agenda,” and to find God primarily in the other people with whom we interact. Thus, the spirituality of Carmel also leads laypeople to appreciate the venerable mystery that persons with whom they live represent. Based on their experience of life in Carmel, they strive for dialogue, reconciliation, and healing of relationships with others. Through the reading of Scripture (lectio divina), they fulfill the call of the rule to meditate day and night on the law of the Lord, and thus the Word continuously educates them.
The tradition of Carmel leads laypeople to seek God's face in the heart of the world. This requires openness to others, the ability to listen, knowledge of the culture and social environment of today's people, a free and self-giving approach to them, and a willingness to collaborate with all who seek the Kingdom of God and strive for the good. Contemplation, community, and service are therefore core values of the Carmelite vocation for laypeople, exercised by them “in the world”—everywhere where the Lord gives them to live.
This mission of Carmelite laypeople is realized through the witness of their life and word. Whether they are connected to the Carmelite order in any way, each in their place shows a concrete way of this vocation of Carmel. And they themselves, in their fundamental Christian vocation given by baptism and confirmation, are strengthened by the Carmelite spirit and ideal, supported by prayer, example, and help from the brothers and sisters in Carmel. In this atmosphere, they receive—according to their possibilities—the central ideas of the rule. Therefore, they regard the Eucharist as the “source and summit” (LG 11) of their Christian and Carmelite life, are aware of the value of mutual gatherings in communities, and strive to participate in them.
Even though we try to formulate the vocation of Carmelite laypeople in this practical way, a truly theological interpretation of the broad spectrum of commitments that belong to lay life and an appropriate deeper explanation of Carmelite spirituality for laypeople is needed. In their spiritual life, there must be a “specific process through which a person takes on a life program centered on Christ (as is true for every Christian), animated by the protection of Mary and the example of Elijah, in accordance with the special charisms of the Carmelite order.”
In the situations of ordinary life, where religious brothers and sisters cannot act, the contribution of Carmelite laypeople to the service of the church is significant. In this, in line with the Carmelite charism and the variety of personal gifts with which they are endowed, the creative abilities of individuals will also emerge. This reality highlights the need for a basic and detailed education program for all those interested in the community of laypeople in Carmel (the Third Order) and that supplementary education programs must take into account the diversity of gifts within the Carmelite family and must be adjusted accordingly. It is also essential to take into account the unique role of women within the Carmelite family.
The work of religious brothers and sisters in the field of new evangelization should be accompanied by recognition and partnership collaboration from laypeople within the broader Carmelite family. Apostolic commitment in each local church and Carmelite establishments in mission territories should be linked with efforts to strengthen the ties within the Carmelite family.
Transformations throughout the history of Carmel are always hopeful assurances of God's presence and closeness and of what the order could accomplish in the service of God's kingdom. Building the Carmelite family itself is a commitment to evangelization. But this presupposes a better understanding of the living conditions of the people around us, which will primarily lead us to an intense desire to pray better. How? To be one in the Spirit, without trampling upon anyone's spiritual uniqueness.
(According to the translation by Miluška Hosnedlová, processed by Fr. Gorazd.)
Appendix:
It is worth mentioning a passage from the document on consecrated life in the church Vita consecrata issued by John Paul II a few years ago, following the conclusion of the bishop's synod that dealt with consecrated life and everything related to it.
“Many institutes (of consecrated life) today, often due to new circumstances, come to the conviction that they can share their charism with laypeople. Therefore, they invite them to a more intense participation in the spirituality and mission of the given institute. It can be said that in the light of historical experiences (for example, various secular or Third Orders), a new hopeful period has begun in the history of relationships between laypeople and consecrated persons.
These new forms of community and cooperation should be supported for various reasons. First of all, they can radiate creative spirituality beyond the institute… Another positive result can then be the facilitation of a more intense collaboration between consecrated persons and laypeople regarding apostolic work: called by the example of holiness of consecrated life, laypeople will be introduced to the immediate experience of the spirit of the evangelical counsels and will thus be encouraged to live in the spirit of the Beatitudes and to witness to it, so that the world may be transformed according to God's plan. The participation of laypeople often leads to unexpected and fruitful deepening of certain aspects of the charism. It evokes a more spiritual interpretation of this charism and provides an opportunity to establish directions for new apostolic efforts. Therefore, consecrated persons must remind themselves in every activity and every service that they must primarily lead others experientially and accompany them in spiritual life, and it is necessary to ensure that “precious talent: spirit.” Laypeople must offer religious families valuable contributions with their connectedness to the world and their special service.
(…) It is absolutely correct to place a high value on volunteers—laypeople [i.e., those who join a certain religious community in some non-binding way, without vows and temporarily], who draw from the riches of consecrated life; however, care must be taken for their formation so that, in addition to their expertise, they also find a deeper supernatural motivation and simultaneously a lively sense of community and of the church. Furthermore, it is necessary to keep in mind that initiatives in which laypeople participate even at the level of decision-making, in order to be considered works of a certain institute, must pursue the goals of that institute and must be carried out with responsibility towards it. If laypeople take the lead in these initiatives, they will be responsible for their execution to the relevant superiors. All this should be ensured and directed by the individual institutes through suitable regulations, approved by the superior authority, which stipulate the competencies of the institute itself, communities, and associated persons or volunteers.”
The cited text (selected from paragraphs 54-56 of the document) mainly discusses new forms of community and cooperation between religious and laypeople. However, it is also stimulating for our “classic” Third Order.
I refer, for interest, to the German translation of the document (published by the Secretariat of the German Bishops' Conference, Bonn), and it is also easy to refer to the “official” translation into Czech, published by Zvon Publishing House, Prague 1996.
Processed by Fr. Gorazd, O.Carm.
