P. Vojtěch Kodet, O.Carm.
The general chapter of the order is not only a gathering for work and organization, but it also seeks to gather and offer spiritual prompts more broadly within the entire Carmelite family. This is why I would like to present the content of some reports or testimonies that were delivered at the chapter held this year from September 4–22 in Sassone near Rome, which I was able to attend, to the readers of the magazine Karmel.
This year’s general chapter was special in that it was celebrated in connection with the 800th anniversary of the writing of our rule by St. Albert of Jerusalem. The theme of the chapter was therefore: “In obsequio Jesu Christi. A praying and prophetic community in a changing world.” This theme was particularly emphasized in the first days of the chapter.
Right on the second day, there was a day of spiritual renewal on the mentioned theme led by our brother Eugene Kaboré, a biblical scholar from Burkina Faso. He pointed out the fundamental changes in contemporary society, which is becoming a society without moral responsibility, without respect for universal human values. It was interesting to hear this brother of black skin speaking about the “jungle in which we live.” According to him, our response must lie in the authenticity of our consecrated life and in solidarity with those in need. Every disciple of the prophet Elijah should be a living witness of both God's and human values, living God's plans and not their own. Therefore, they should be a person who listens to God and obeys Him. I was most struck by his statement that “in the prophetic school, diplomacy is not studied.”
In the following days, among other things, we listened to a challenging lecture by Professor of Sociology Romeo Ciminello on the transformations of the contemporary world. As negative phenomena of the present, he particularly mentioned secularization, the explosion of individualism, terrorism impacting the psychological aspect of our lives, organized injustice, and the ever-increasing consumerism, which deepens poverty and hunger in the world. The statistics he presented were truly shocking.
Perhaps the best contribution was the lecture by P. Timothy Radcliffe OP, former prior general of the Dominicans, on the topic of “A praying and prophetic community.” He particularly pointed out the lack of silence in our lives, which hinders prayer and listening, and the temptation of rivalry that destroys every prophetic dimension of our lives at its core. The responses of the brothers in groups to the questions he posed, which concerned how we cultivate silence in our lives, in what ways we are signs of hope for those around us, and how we can achieve deeper peace and freedom from rivalry, were also interesting.
Czech participants of the general chapter with the new prior general.
Another speaker, Prof. Donna Orsuto, who teaches at the Institute of Spirituality at the Gregorian University, gave a relatively extensive lecture on our charism. She outlined our contemplative life amid the world while placing great emphasis on the balance of our activity and quiet time with God, on the specific time and place for dwelling in listening to God, and on fidelity to the cell and chapel.
Another contribution titled “Economic mission” was presented by the German Capuchin P. Helmut Rakowski. He focused on missions from an economic perspective, on the importance of economic solidarity, which serves evangelization. He shared his experience from their community in searching for an appropriate relationship regarding money for us, religious. He emphasized that the most challenging aspect is to manage money fraternally, and he established five criteria by which this fraternal handling of money should be characterized: transparency, cooperation, justice, solidarity, and sobriety (simplicity). We all must still learn the relationship to money and the right way of making decisions regarding its use. In any community, it is impossible for serious financial decisions to be made by one person. All of us, both the rich and the poor, must learn to live solidarity, which is a model for new relationships in the world.
The chapter gathering attended the general audience with Benedict XVI at St. Peter's Square.
Also interesting was the report from our father Josef Jančář, among others for the analytical breakdown of the causes of brothers and sisters leaving consecrated life, which has occurred recently.
An important task of the general chapter was the election of the new prior general and the entire general council. Especially during the election of the general, which took place on September 13, I sensed a very good, brotherly, and festive atmosphere. Fernando Millán Romeral from Spain was elected as the new prior general of the order almost unanimously (70 votes out of 82 possible). He is 45 years old and has served until now as a professor at the Faculty of Theology in Comillas, holds a doctorate in philosophy and theology, is a member of the Carmelite Institute, and has been a councilor in his province responsible for formation.
Recent prior generals of the Carmelite order (left to right):
Falco Thuis (1971–1983), John Malley (1983–1995),
Joseph Chalmers (1995–2007) and Fernando Millán (2007– ).
On the evening of September 14, invited guests arrived among us, representatives of the entire Carmelite family: nuns, congregational sisters, tertiaries, members of various movements with our spirituality, and also one of our hermits – Fabian Rosetti, who founded a hermitage in Texas and is now the prior of a community of five brothers. Among the individual presentations from these guests, our tertiary Vladimíra Polišenská also spoke. Her contribution was received very positively, and you will also find it (along with several photographs from the general chapter) on the pages of this issue of Karmel magazine. Furthermore, the presentation by the Italian couple Taddeo and Maria Manella from the Carmelo Domestico family community was interesting. They spoke about the importance of the testimony of Christian families, which are called to often go against the current of society like Elijah in this time. In response to the deepening family individualism and the economic independence of individual family members for the sake of personal pleasure, they stressed the need to react by uniting the family, marital fidelity, and economic solidarity.
P. Yohannes Indrakasuma from Indonesia, founder of the Congregation of St. Elijah, introduced us to his extensive pastoral work, which is a new movement in the heart of Carmel. His spirituality and activity stem from the connection of Carmelite spirituality with charismatic renewal. This brother of ours founded three different communities that cooperate with each other: a community of sisters (Daughters of Carmel), brothers (Congregation of St. Elijah), and laity (Community of the Holy Trinity). In their program, all members have two hours of daily silent prayer, the Liturgy of the Hours, and the celebration of the Eucharist. On Sundays, this Mass in the spirit of charismatic renewal is connected with healing. Their aim is to introduce people to the experience of God’s love, with the living Christ. Each of their houses serves as a place for retreats and spiritual renewals, which are attended by 200–600 people at once. The youth retreats typically attract more than a thousand participants. They also conduct retreats for children aged 6 to 12 years on a large scale. Their retreats are structured in three stages: for beginners, which provide their first experience of God, healing, and liberation; for more advanced, which lead to deep conversion, repentance, and a life from the sacraments and the Word of God; and then for even more advanced, which teach service. Today, they hold retreats worldwide. The specific community operates on a cell system, where each cell has 4 to 16 people. The lay community, which was formed in 1998, has recently welcomed around 8,000 members. They now have communities not only in Indonesia but also in the USA, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, and China.
As a guest, we were also greeted by Luis Aróstegui Gamboa OCD, the general superior of the Discalced Carmelites. The meeting with him was very friendly and fraternal. His lecture (on the chapter theme) and his address during the mass were also very enriching. According to him, the main challenges for us in today’s world are hunger and poverty, which violate fundamental human rights, as well as the drifting away from religious and consecrated life, the rise of consumerism and individualism, and an increase in non-Christians in the world. However, the world in which this is happening is not separate from us; we ourselves live in it. He sees the prophetic witness of Carmel primarily in community life and our grounding in Christ. He perceives, meanwhile, a great need for relationships in religious communities on the one hand and factual individualism on the other. However, if Jesus is not truly the center of our lives and our community gathered to live for Him, by that very fact, we cease to be a prophetic sign. Moreover, religious life is not just a sacrifice but also the joy of being with Him. However, Carmel must not lose sight of the needs of people in its interest in spirituality. True spirituality must care for the world and lead to a transformation of mentality in society. An authentic experience of God necessarily leads to the discovery of human dignity.
I must say that participating in the general chapter has been very beneficial for me. Perhaps even from this incomplete list of reports and interpreted thoughts, one can sense it. However, the enrichment that personal informal conversations with brothers from around the world brought me cannot be communicated in this way.
