List of the General Superiors of both Carmelite orders (O.Carm. and OCD)
“For this reason I kneel before the Father, ... that he may grant you, out of the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being.” (Eph 3:14-16)
1. Introduction
Ten years ago, we reminded all members of the Carmelite family of the 750th anniversary of the definitive approval of the Carmelite rule by Pope Innocent IV. With this message, we again turn to all branches of our family to commemorate the 800th anniversary of the Rules for Life, given by Albert, Patriarch of Jerusalem (1205–1214), to the hermits living at (Elijah’s) spring on Mount Carmel. We chose the year 2007 as a symbolic year of the handover (traditio) of these rules,1 from which, with subsequent modifications, the rule emerged that we adhere to today. This original group of brothers gave rise to a diverse and fruitful history that brought abundant fruit to the Church.
2. Let us keep our beginnings in mind
We all Carmelites can say that we find our roots on the holy mountain. And we listen to the words of St. Teresa of Jesus: Let us rather focus our gaze on those holy prophets from whom our order emerged. How many do we already have in heaven who wore our habit! Let us resolve, with God’s help, to become saints ourselves!2
Dear brothers and sisters, we would like to symbolically call you to the foot of the holy mountain, together with the multitude of witnesses who, throughout the past eight centuries, have drawn spiritual strength from the same springs, so that you may renew the covenant of faithful service and complete obedience to Jesus Christ. Our rule is indeed forever a source of new life.
3. “To live in obedience to Jesus Christ…” (Rule, chap. 2)
Rules for Life are expressions of the spiritual experience of the first group of pilgrims to the Holy Land who became hermits at Elijah’s spring on Mount Carmel. These rules place a strong emphasis on the presence of Jesus Christ and on a living encounter with his person. The one who believes in him submits through a path of inner and irrevocable friendship. The charismatic identity of Carmel is born from this everyday and daily renewed life-giving connection.
The rules from the beginning call for a life of obedience to Jesus Christ, and everything that follows only elaborates on this foundation that Christ is the center of the rule and all Carmelite life. When we listen to him, we voluntarily offer our freedom and life to the one Lord and Savior, who in turn abundantly returns it to us (cf. John 10:10). Obsequium (obedience) means obedient listening, and to live in obedience to Jesus Christ means to confess with our mouths and above all through our daily lives that Jesus is Lord (cf. Rom 10:9-18), with the awareness that only he can free us and fill us with himself. The mystery of Jesus reveals to men and women of all times the profound meaning of their own existence.
Following the vocation by which Jesus calls us inevitably leads us on the path of transformation into him, into a new creation, and allows us also to see and love (the whole) creation as God sees it and loves it. For that, undoubtedly great courage and perseverance are required, as this journey can often be winding and steep. On the journey up the mountain of glory, we are encouraged and assisted—according to the testimony of many Carmelites—primarily by the example of the prophet Elijah, who remained faithful to the Lord even in the desert. Mary, our Mother and sister in faith, who has always intimately accompanied the Carmelites, remains with us at every moment and watches over us on this journey that leads to Christ—Lord.
4. “In the midst…” (Rule, chap. 14)
The rule presupposes a chapel in the midst of the cells (chap. 14): everyone is summoned every morning to gather to celebrate the Eucharist. Carmelites leave their cells and meet in the center of the hermitic community. We can see in this a symbol of the spiritual journey. As members of the community, the brothers come out of the solitude of the cell to gather together at the heart of the community's activity. The chapel, situated in the middle of the cells, signifies that only Christ the Lord is the true center of the individual and the community. This recalls the life of the early Christian community (Acts 2:42; 4:32), which has forever become the model and prophecy of consecrated life.
This daily gathering is like a call to emerge from the solitude of the cell and from the danger of self-sufficiency, to meet God at the heart of the community. The space and time dedicated to seeking God in the silence of solitude and contemplation in the cell cannot alienate Carmelites from relationships with others. Both realities must be considered authentic. Any spiritual experience is validated by how our relationships with others look.
In the midst of the Castle of the Interior, St. Teresa of Jesus arrives at an inner meeting between God and the human being3 The goal of the inner journey is to reach this center of one’s self, where Christ dwells, while overcoming various difficulties and temptations. For this, the rule employs the biblical image of battle and the spiritual armor, which consists of purity, holy thoughts, justice, love of God and neighbor, faith, hope in the Savior, the word of God. The rule and the Bible remind us that this spiritual battle takes place within ourselves. Through prayer, silence, work, and evangelical self-denial, we learn to recognize those areas of our lives where we need healing and to surrender ourselves to the Lord (rule, chap. 18, 19, 20, 21).
5. “You will gather every morning to celebrate the Eucharist” (Rule, chap. 14)
The hermit’s day begins with the daily celebration of the Eucharist, the memorial of the Lord’s Pascha. A similar command to gather for the celebration of the Eucharist is not easily found in the other rules for the life of hermits. However, the first Carmelites stress the importance of this mystery for their lives, and so it will be for the next eight centuries: meeting and communion with Christ are a pivotal moment in the inner life.
Among the many examples we know, we can quote St. Teresa of Jesus, who believed that the foundation (of the convent) was not complete until the first Mass was celebrated in it and the Most Holy Sacrament was placed in the tabernacle of the chapel.
Almost all the ecstasies of St. Mary Magdalene de’Pazzi occurred after Holy Communion, and Bl. Titus Brandsma was sustained in the concentration camp in Dachau by the Eucharist he kept in a case on his glasses.
The Eucharist is the center of our prayer, the mystery of Christ who gave himself up to the cross, rose from the dead, and lives in our midst. The Eucharist is the celebration of the eschatological festival of all nations and the divine gift of peace to be shared with all.
6. To meditate day and night (Rule, chap. 10)
The rule calls us to meet Jesus Christ in his word. We dwell alone in the cell to allow him to speak to our hearts (Nicholas Gallus).
Reflecting on the Law of the Lord and being watchful in prayer are two components of lectio divina: meditation and prayer fill the space of the whole day. Reading of Scripture, uttered both aloud and internally, is followed by (its) “rumination” (ruminatio) and repetition, so that the words dwell in the mind, heart, and mouth (rule, chap. 19). However, it is the Spirit who incites the tasting of spiritual realities and the gift of contemplation until we arrive at the dwelling: we dwell in the Word, for the Word dwells in us. We live in Christ, yet Christ dwells in us through faith (cf. rule, chap. 10 and 19).4 The exhortation to dwell in the cell, although it directly relates to physical solitude, primarily denotes spiritual solitude, for in solitude dwells Christ, the Word of the Father. The life of a Carmelite man or woman is living in Christ (rule, chap. 18).
Personal and communal prayer enables us to listen to God’s voice, discovering God’s face in the face of others. Solitude in the cell and especially in the innermost being of the soul5 is the place where our heart can resonate with the heart and voice of God.
7. May the word of God dwell richly in your mouths and hearts (Rule, chap. 19)
Here the rule refers to the words of Scripture, and thus in a deeper sense to the saving will of the Lord and particularly to the mystery of Christ, the only Word spoken by the Father, received in inner silence, hushed music, resonant solitude.6 The present Word becomes an encouragement and strength to the prophet Elijah, who passionately burns for God and overcomes within himself depression and closure. Thus, he can genuinely serve the people, remain faithful to the covenant, and continue to dedicate himself to the weak and oppressed.
St. John of the Cross clarifies this: The Father spoke one word, and that was his Son, and he still speaks it in eternal silence, and in silence the soul must listen to him.7 For when he gave us his Son, who is his Word, and he has no other, he told us everything once for all in this one Word, and he has nothing more to say.8
The rule asks us to become listeners of the Word like Mary, the icon of our lectio divina and a reliable teacher: Mary kept all these things in her heart and pondered them (Luke 2:19). She fully dedicated herself to the service of Jesus and to the service of God’s plan with words that express (the entirety of) her life: Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord (Luke 1:38).
This single Word speaks to us even today in the depths of our conscience and our capacity to believe, continually addressing us through the depth of events and human difficulties.
8. In silence and hope will be your strength (Rule, chap. 21)
Our way of life connects silentium (silence, quiet) with hope, for this word can also denote peace, calm, rest—attitudes that hinge on a deep surrender to God and are bound to hope. The Carmelite rule presupposes solitude (chap. 5; 6; 10), prescribes silence and peace (chap. 21), and cultivates thinking and imagination through holy “thoughts” and, we may add, holy images and symbols (chap. 19). All this aims to provide the individual with inner strength.
With joy, we perceive signs of interest in these spiritual values in our time and a broad awareness of their necessity. And Carmel, in the strength of its ancient tradition and witness, can tend to this need and help bear fruit (and reveal in it) signs of Christian hope.
It takes courage to creatively remain faithful to the charism we carry within us so that the Spirit of the Lord may continue to accomplish his work even in a wounded and sick world.
Hope is the strength of the Spirit that touches individuals and significant events in history, giving strength and inspiration and leading to the fulfillment of God’s hidden plan for humanity. The Christian is called to hope for himself and for the world, to strive in truth for justice, and not to be overcome by ideologies, propaganda, or a cluster of empty words. He seeks to understand the current reality with God’s perspective. Listening to God’s word transforms thoughts, assists in discernment, and strengthens personal conviction. The Christian, even in the difficult moments of life, is a witness that the final word in history does not belong to death, but to the grace of the fullness of the Resurrected.
9. On the paths of the world (Rule, chap. 17)
The relationship with Jesus Christ profoundly marks the spiritual life of consecrated persons and all believers. Therefore, the universal call to holiness is emphasized. Our Carmelite experience, characterized by an inner relationship with God, expresses, on the one hand, great enthusiasm for the Church, and on the other, attentive and generous care for humanity (in general). Our saints pass on to us, as a consequence of mystical experience, this dual direction that opens the heart and enables the proclamation of the Word.
Teresa of Jesus is always ready to give her life for a single soul, urging the sisters to pray, and trying to win their hearts for the good of souls. Their life on Carmel is a life for the Church and for all humanity.9
For Thérèse of Lisieux, teacher of the science of love and patroness of missions, the vocation to love in the heart of the Church—her mother—represents one of the shocking and decisive discoveries (on the path) of her holiness.
Carmelite prayer has an apostolic dimension. This prayer is compassionate and is compelled to give to others, especially the smallest and the poor, the wealth received in relationship with God. Sharing the gifts of Carmelite spirituality contributes to the effort to build a world of God’s children. The God contemplated is the one who listens to the cry of the poor and becomes their advocate (Ex 2:23; 3:7; Ps 112[113],7-8). The world today needs hope and transformation, and we can help it realize this transformation in the power of the Spirit.
The Pope reminds us that we can love in God and with God even a person who is unpleasant to me or whom I do not even know. This can happen only on the basis of an inner encounter with God, an encounter that has become a unity of will and reached the point of touching the heart. Then I learn to see the person of the other not only with my own eyes and through my own feelings, but from the perspective of Jesus Christ.10
Thus, the passion for Christ inevitably becomes a passion for humanity, for Christ came to save the whole lost humanity without distinction of culture, race, or language. The Spirit of Jesus, received in contemplative silence, grants spiritual freedom and urges us to leave our certainties and go out to meet our brothers and sisters in need of hope.
10. Make room in your tent (Isaiah 54:2).
Fraternal community (Rule, chap. 4; 5; 7; 9; 12)
The Rules for Life are addressed: “To B. and the other hermits” (chap. 1). Jesus Christ is the reason why they live together, and he is also the reason for their voluntary obedience to the brother they accept as a leader on the life path they have embarked upon. This focuses their gaze toward the future, while being inspired by the past: towards the Church Fathers (sancti Patres; chap. 1), the Jerusalem Church through its patriarch, and through it to all churches and to the newcomers (chap. 9) until the day the Lord comes again.
We do not journey alone; rather, together with our brothers and sisters, we seek the face of the living God. They are the great saints who illuminate Carmel and the Church, and all those with whom we share life today, drawing strength and joy from our charism.
11. “Let him guard his ways with the prophet” (Rule, chap. 21)
Along with so many witnesses of the past, who are a source of inspiration for us, the Spirit has raised, in recent times and under dramatic circumstances, great prophetic figures—martyrs: Blessed Titus Brandsma in the field of advocating for freedom and truth and opposing racism; St. Edith Stein in her effort to raise the dignity of women, seeking truth through reason and pointing out the commonalities of Judaism and Christianity; and other Carmelite martyrs, missionaries, and confessors of faith and divine love. Its contemplative character has often led Carmel, in bitter life circumstances, to direct participation in the plight of others. In theological silence, Carmel receives as its own joy and hope, sorrow and anguish (Gaudium et spes 1) of men and women of every time, in order to build a new, fairer world.
Conclusion
Carmel is fascinated by the beauty and majesty of the Virgin Mary, the book that contains the rule, for it is inscribed with the Word.11 The rule is Jesus Christ, the Word, the only Word of the Father; in Mary, we find the most perfect expression of this Word. Mary, the disciple of Christ, helps to incarnate the divine Word also in us. Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity also yearned for this—after: as if the Word were incarnated within her soul.12
The conviction that our rule must be read through Mary and her life goes back to the earliest Carmelite writings. The Venerable Fr. Michael of St. Augustine writes: Our rule (our way of life) forms with Mary a “symbol”.13 Mary is as if the other side of the “symbol,” allowing mutual recognition.14
Teresa of Lisieux, who rediscovered the heart of the Gospel, also realized that Mary is more a mother than a queen, that her life is similar to ours, and thus Mary “intercedes for us” as she draws us to Christ, faith, and service.15 As we reflect on eight hundred years of Carmelite history, we express our gratitude to God for all that has been accomplished by his grace for the life of the Church.
We praise the Lord for all the saints of our family, whether known or unknown.
With faith in the closeness of our holy fathers, let us pray that we be filled with love and passion for the Lord and that our rule may continue to inspire those who desire to live in obedience to Jesus Christ in the living Carmelite tradition.
Through this 800th anniversary, God’s grace calls us to joyful fidelity to today’s Church and humanity.
| Joseph Chalmers, O.Carm. General Prior |
Luis Arósteguí Gamboa, OCD General Superior |
Translated from Italian by D. V.
