The Charism of Carmel
The charism of the various religious orders were entrusted by God to their respective founders after He had prepared them spiritually to receive these graces for the good of the Church and all mankind. These saints were like the founders of dynasties, leaving a spiritual inheritance to be used through the centuries by those who followed.
note: In the case of the Order of Carmel, this spiritual inheritance was established by God upon the Prophet Elijah.
The members of these religious families are enabled in a special way, through their vocation, to draw on these inheritances; but in a large sense, through the Church the charisms and graces, as well as the examples and teaching of all the saints, belong to everyone. "We are all His children." (Acts 17:28)
The spirits of the religious orders are like fine perfumes. They all have a delightful fragrance, but there is a difference, even though subtle. They all reflect something of the beauty, richness, and diversity of God, just as individual souls do. to recognize the spirit of Carmel, it is necessary to immerse yourself in its heritage and traditions, its saints and their writings. When this distinctive essence is absorbed interiorly, the individual soul lives the ancient traditions in its own unique way, re-interpreted for today's world, just as the writings of the saints of Carmel have been translated recently for greater understanding. A French philosopher has cautioned: "If you don't live the way that you believe, then you will begin to believe the way that you live."
The charisms of the Carmelite Order are a deep sense of faith in God's love, fidelity to contemplative prayer with the spirit of detachment it entails, and generosity in the practice of fraternal charity and the apostolate.
1. A Deep sense of faith in God's love
St. Teresa of Jesus used the image of a castle to express how great God's love is for each person. In the Interior Castle, she describes the soul as a castle, which contains many rooms (or mansions as she calls them), in the center of the castle dwells God, whom she addresses as His Majesty. Now this castle is of infinite worth, not of itself, but because of Him who lives in it. God loves us so much that He has chosen to dwell within each of us. For a person not in sanctifying grace His presence is limited to His creating presence, but a person in sanctifying grace actually experiences the life of the Trinity within. Since we are not yet seeing God face to face, faith provides us with this "vision" of God within us, who is Love.
2. Fidelity to contemplative prayer
St. Teresa says that many souls live outside the castle, not even aware of the beauty of the castle or who dwells within. She urges souls to enter within themselves, and states that the door to the castle is prayer. Inside the castle there are seven groups of rooms closer to the center of the castle where His Majesty dwells. As the soul progresses through the spiritual life, it comes to dwell in the rooms nearer the center, until finally the soul lives in union with God in the center of the castle. Prayer is necessary at every stage of this spiritual journey, because prayer "is nothing but friendly intercourse, and frequent solitary converse, with Him Who we know loves us." How can one be united to Him who is loved, if a person never bothers to talk to Him?
Contemplative prayer is a special form of prayer, often called a loving knowledge of God, which is infused by the Holy Spirit; it is a gift of God that cannot be obtained by human effort. This love-knowledge is beyond words, beyond normal human ways of thinking, the soul experiences God in a new way. Yet it is not until the fourth mansions that St. Teresa speaks of the soul experiencing contemplative prayer. Does this mean that a person must already be a contemplative to be a Carmelite? No. All that is required is a commitment to daily prayer; God will grant His gifts when He sees fit. Be faithful and God will provide.
3. The spirit of detachment which contemplative prayer entails
St. Teresa speaks of contemplation in this way: "His mercy is so great that He has forbidden none to strive to come and drink of this fountain of life..."It is certain that He will forbid no one to come: indeed, He calls us publicly, and in a loud voice to do so. Yet, as He is so good, He does not force us to drink. So take my advice and do not tarry on the way, but strive like strong men until you die in the attempt....always pursue this determination to die rather than fail to reach the end of the road." What keeps us from receiving this gift of contemplation?
And after it is received, what keeps us from being totally united with God? St. Teresa says we should not blame God, "for it is we alone who are at fault in not at once enjoying so great a dignity..." But so niggardly and so slow are we in giving ourselves wholly to God that we do not prepare ourselves as we should to receive that precious thing which it is His Majesty's will that we should enjoy only at a great price." Union with God is not possible as long as we are inordinately attached to anything or anyone else. Unfortunately we are often not willing to let go of our inordinate attachments, even when we are, God often must pry our hands loose before we let go. This can be a painful process, but whatever price we pay could never be too much.
4. Generosity in the practice of fraternal charity
By fraternal charity we mean primarily charity toward those in our own Order. This can be practiced in two main ways. The first way is acts performed to help our brothers and sisters in Carmel. Of primary importance is prayer for one another. Postulants should pray especially for each other that they might grow in prayer, in turn Carmel will be praying for them.
The second way to practice fraternal charity lies in refraining from certain acts. This related to the spirit of detachment we just mentioned. The Rule states that Carmelites will prefer before all else to remain in the presence of God, continually fulfilling His holy will. Long conversations, even if about spiritual matters, sometimes keep one from remaining in the presence of God.
5. Generosity in the practice of the apostolate
The apostolic life flows from our prayer life. If we are faithful to prayer, God will reveal to us what He would have us do. Provided that we are generous in our response to God, our activity will bear fruit because he will provide all that we need to do His work. The Carmelite Order has a particular call to the apostolate of promoting priestly and religious vocations.
From "Welcome to Carmel"
Teresian Charism Press
1525 Carmel Rd
Hubertus, WI 53033
