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Testing and Discerning a Vocation to the Secular Carmelite
Order (OCDS) [next]
3. Inspired by St Teresa of Jesus
"A member of the Secular Order of Our Lady of Mount
Carmel and Saint Teresa of Jesus is a practising member of any of the
rites of the Roman Catholic Church who, under the protection of Our Lady
of Mount Carmel, and inspired by Saint Teresa of Jesus and Saint John
of the Cross..."
Here we have the third element. I mention both Saint Teresa of Jesus
and Saint John of the Cross and I might say, right at the beginning of
this section, that I also include Saint Therese of the Child Jesus, or
Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity or Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross,
(Edith Stein) can also be included, but Saints Teresa and John of the
Cross are central to this point.
Having mentioned all of those great people of the Carmelite tradition,
I underline the importance of Saint Teresa of Jesus, whom, in our tradition
we refer to as Our Holy Mother. The reason is because she is the one to
whom the charism was given. In many parts of the world we are called Teresian
Carmelites. Saint John of the Cross was the original collaborator with
Our Holy Mother in both the spiritual and juridical re-founding of Carmel
in this new charismatic way. So he is called Our Holy Father. It is hard
for me to imagine any Discalced Carmelite of any brand who is not attracted
by one, if not both of these persons-their histories, personalities, and,
most importantly, their writings.
The writings of Saint Teresa of Jesus are the expression of the charism
of the Discalced Carmelites. The spirituality of the Discalced Carmelites
has a very well based intellectual foundation. There is a doctrine involved
here. Doctrine comes from docere, Latin for 'to teach'. Any person
who wants to be a Discalced Carmelite must be a person with an interest
in learning from the teachers of Carmel. There are three Doctors of the
universal Church, Teresa, John and Therese.
A person comes to the community, a person with a great love of the Blessed
Mother, who wants to wear the scapular in honour of Mary as a sign of
dedication to her service. This person is very prayerful but has no interest
in reading or studying the spirituality of the Teresian Carmel. This person
tries to read one of the Carmelite Doctors but just cannot find the interest
to keep reading. To me, this is a good person who may belong in the Confraternity
of the Brown Scapular, but definitely does not have a vocation to the
Secular Order of Carmel.
Academic & Intellectual aspects
There is an academic aspect to the formation of a Teresian Carmelite.
There is an intellectual basis to the spirituality and identity of one
who is called to the Order. And, as with each friar and each nun, each
Secular represents the Order. A Carmelite that does not have the interest
in studying or deepening the roots of his/her identity through prayer
and study loses their identity and can no longer represent the Order.
Nor does that person speak for the Order. Many times, when listening to
a Carmelite speak it becomes obvious when hearing what is said that they
have not gone beyond what they heard in formation years before.
This intellectual basis is the beginning of an attitude that is open
to study. It leads to a deeper interest in Scripture, theology and the
documents of the Church. The tradition of spiritual reading, lectio divina
and time for study is the intellectual backbone of the spiritual life.
Good formation depends on good information. When the information
is bad, or absent, or incorrect, the formation stops or is stunted, resulting
in confusion in the Secular. If that Secular, through some twist of fate,
becomes somehow an officer of the OCDS community, the community suffers.
It happens with friars and nuns, and it happens with Seculars.
This academic or intellectual basis is very important and has been sadly
missing in many groups of the Secular Order. It is not a question of "being
an intellectual" in order to be a Secular. It is a question of being intelligent
in the pursuit of the truth about God, about oneself, about prayer, about
the Order and about the Church. Obedience has long been associated with
the intellect and the virtue of faith. Obedience means openness to hearing
(ob + audire in Latin). It is a radical attitude of the person
to move beyond what that person knows. Education also comes from Latin
(Ex + ducere to lead out of). Saint Teresa describes the person
of the third mansions as almost stuck and unable to move. One of the characteristics
of this person, permanently in the third mansions, is that they want to
teach everybody else. They know it all. In reality they are disobedient
and uneducable. That is, they are closed and unable to learn.
OCDS (Secular Carmelites) - home
Constitutions of the Secular Order NEW!
Six Elements of discernment:
1. "Practising member of the Catholic Church."
2. "Under the protection of Our Lady of Mount Carmel."
3. Inspired by St Teresa of Jesus
4. Commitment to Carmel as an Ecclesial event
5. Seeking the Face of God
6. "for the sake of the Church and the world."
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