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Spirituality > A meditation on the Constitutions
A Meditation on the
Constitutions of the Discalced Carmelites
Read the full text of Part I of our Constitutions [PDF format]
We, the Discalced Brothers of the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel,
belong to a religious family with its own special charism in God's people,
and are called to fulfil a specific role in the Mystical Body of Christ. Each of us receives a personal call to this family.
As a renewed form of the ancient Order which began on Mount Carmel
our call entails both fidelity to the spirit and traditions of Carmel
and continual renewal. This is the heritage bequeathed to us by St Teresa.
The Teresian Charism
The origin of our family in Carmel
and the very nature of its vocation
are closely bound up with the life and charism of St Teresa,
especially with the mystical graces
which led her to undertake the renewal of Carmel
and make prayer and contemplation its total commitment. The renewed Carmel-like the 'little flock' in the Gospel-
was to be made up of a chosen few, totally pledged to living the Gospel
and keeping the Rule in solitude, and strict poverty. Further stages of St Teresa's spiritual experience
contributed to the unfolding of her project and to a clearer perception of its significance. As she was mystically led to a deeper knowledge
and 'experience' of the life of the Church,
its trials and sufferings,
the recent break up of its unity
and especially the profanation of the Eucharist and the Priesthood,
she stressed more and more the apostolic spirit of the renewed Carmel. Its prayer, its withdrawal from the world,
indeed the whole life of the first group of nuns
were dedicated to the service of the Church. Finally, the renewed Carmel's vocation was fully and clearly defined
when the Holy Mother's growing experience of the Church
focussed her attention on those who had not yet had the Gospel preached to them. Then the immense prospects of the missions dawned on her.
As a result her apostolic spirit fully evolved,
and she made up her mind not only to have her nuns spread out into other foundations,
but to include in her project a group of friars who would share in the same spirit. Her aim in founding a family of friars
was to foster the fidelity and spiritual growth of her nuns
through the assistance of brothers of the same spirit,
and to provide the Church with a service of prayer and apostolic activity. In all that she did she wished to keep intact the heritage of Carmel.
She went back to the spirit of the Rule
and infused its observance with a fresh apostolic impetus. The way of life she proposed to us
was marked with a distinctive style and character. She wanted social virtues and human values to be fostered.
She inculcated a joyous family spirit,
affability in community life,
nobility of soul and mutual respect. Our young were to be carefully trained;
study and culture were to be encouraged. The ascetical practices of our communities
were to be at the service of a deeper theological life
of faith, hope and love,
and geared to the demands of the apostolic ministry. There was to be a bond of unity between the communities
and of evangelical friendship between our religious. To achieve this, Providence gave Teresa an associate, St John of the Cross.
When she first became acquainted with him
and found that the Holy Spirit had already given him the same aspirations as herself,
she told him of her plan for spiritual renewal within the Order.
She led him to share in her spirit
and put before him the pattern of life she had introduced for her nuns. That is the way of life,
adapted according to the mind and spirit of Teresa,
which John then set about establishing at Duruelo. Later, when John was her spiritual director,
she looked upon him as the 'father of her soul'. He in turn proclaimed her the mother of the new Carmelite family,
and ascribed to her that charism which God bestows upon founders of Religious Orders. Together they introduced a renewed lifestyle into Carmel,
both among the friars and the nuns,
and laid anew the foundations of the Order. Teresa's life and mystical experience
were God's way of preparing for us a guide and model of life. In John of the Cross, too, we have a living image of the true Carmelite.
The vocation of the renewed Carmel is mirrored in his life and his teaching. Our vocation finds a living expression in these two Saints
and is clearly portrayed in their writings. Their charism and the spiritual lifestyle they propose to us,
even their intimacy with God and the experience of things divine,
are not just purely personal gifts of their own,
but part of the heritage and vocation of the Order. This is the Teresian Carmelite charism that God graciously offers to us.
It is a grace we appreciate and develop
according to the gifts given to each of us by the Holy Spirit.
The chief elements of our vocation
We can outline the principal elements of our way of life as follows: (a) We are committed to a consecrated life of allegiance to Jesus Christ.
In this we are sustained by the companionship,
the example and protection of our Lady.
Her life of union with Christ we regard as the prototype of ours. (b) Our vocation is a grace by which we are called to a 'hidden union with God',
in a form of life and fraternal sharing
in which contemplation and action are blended
to become service of the world and the Church. (c) This call to prayer embraces our whole life.
Sustained by the word of God and the sacred liturgy,
we are led to live in intimate friendship with God.
By growing in faith, hope and above all charity,
we deepen our prayer life.
With our hearts thus purified
we are enabled to share more closely in the life of Christ himself,
and prepare the way for a more abundant outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
In this way the Teresian charism
and the original spirit of Carmel
become a reality in our lives as we walk in the presence of the living God. (d) The very nature of our charism demands
that our prayer and our whole religious life be ardently apostolic,
and that we put ourselves at the service of the Church
and all humanity.
This must be done in such a way
that 'our apostolic activity stems from our close union with Christ'. (e) It is for this twofold service,
contemplative and active,
that we share life as brothers in the community.
United by the bond of love in fraternal life,
we also bear witness to the unity of the Church,
faithful in this to Saint Teresa,
who wanted her communities to resemble 'the college of Christ'. (f) This way of life, based on the Rule of St Albert
and the teaching of Saints Teresa and John of the Cross,
must be sustained by constant evangelical self denial. Our form of life has more than once been given the approval of the Church.
We gratefully acknowledge that through the Holy Spirit
the Order has borne fruit in the life of the Church. It has given the world many saints, men and women,
who are recognised masters in the ways of the spirit.
The Spirit has moved laity to seek union with God
in their family life and in their role in the world
as members of the Secular Order
and has caused other religious families to grow from the Teresian Carmel
which share in its mission and work in God's vineyard in a wide variety of ways. We are united in the Teresian Carmelite family by our vocation and spirit.
The Following of Christ in the Way of Religious Consecration
In answer to a divine call to live the evangelical counsels,
and led by the grace of the Holy Spirit,
we pledge ourselves by public vows to follow Christ more closely
in the way of chastity, poverty and obedience. In this way we surrender ourselves heart and soul to God
whom we love above all else,
and are completely dedicated to his service. Consecrated by God through the ministry of the Church,
we are sent by him for the salvation of the world,
somewhat as Christ himself was consecrated and sent by the Father. Thus the love of God,
poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit given to us at baptism,
vivifies and sustains the practice of the evangelical counsels
and transforms us into the image of Christ. It prepares us for highest union with God;
it joins us to the mystery of the Church in a special way
and empowers us to love as Christ loved. Such a life requires a love of God and of our neighbour
that goes beyond the limits of every legal and normative regulation.
In the Church we are called to be a sign
of the radical demands of the Gospel,
so that we can fulfil a prophetic mission in the world. In order to live in Christ as God's children
we strive to put into practice the liberating teachings of Teresa and John
on freedom, detachment, austerity, penance and self-denial.
Otherwise our life of union with God will be an illusion,
and our apostolic efforts in vain. Accordingly, we embrace generously and joyously
the practice of the evangelical counsels;
we lovingly bear one another's burdens;
we are faithful and persevering in prayer,
and we spend ourselves in apostolic work at the service of Christ. We cheerfully perform any task, no matter how humble or toilsome,
demanded by the service of our brothers and sisters.
And to complete what is wanting in the sufferings of Christ,
we bear patiently every form of discomfort and suffering that comes our way.
The Blessed Virgin Mary in Our Life
We bear the name 'Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary'
and belong to a religious family dedicated to her love and service.
The presence of our Lady pervades Carmelite history.
The Order had its beginnings on Mount Carmel
and got its name from a chapel dedicated to our Lady there.
Led by Teresa and John, our Teresian Carmel treasured this heritage and reaffirmed it. They propose Mary to us as a model of prayer
and surrender of self on our pilgrimage of faith. They present her as she ponders God's word in her heart
And is united with her Son
in the joys and sorrows of his Paschal Mystery. Our Lady, as portrayed in the Gospels, is the embodiment of our vocation,
and we are drawn to follow her
with the attitude of the 'poor of the Lord'.
We ponder on God's word in faith
and spend ourselves in a service of love.
Communion with God
By our Carmelite vocation we are committed to a life of 'allegiance to Jesus Christ'
as we 'ponder the law of the Lord day and night' and are 'vigilant in prayer'.
St Teresa presents prayer as the basis of our life as Carmelites,
the source and focal point of all the components of our charism. That is why the Church looks upon us as a family totally committed to prayer,
a family that strives to live in depth the mystery of Christian prayer
and be its living witness.
Our prayer shares in the mystery of Christ's own prayer. By word and example Christ teaches us how to contemplate the Father
in solitude and in activity,
how to adore and praise him,
how to turn to him in our needs
and gratefully and wholeheartedly embrace his Will. Teresa and John by word and example excel in teaching us how to pray,
and how to permeate our whole life with prayer as the Gospel proposes.
United in faith with the humanity of Christ, as with a loving friend,
we too through the Holy Spirit enter into this filial conversation with the Father. In this way our prayer becomes a genuine expression of our relationship with God
and the life-spring of our service in the Church.
It is through this kind of prayer that we are brought to the fullness of life,
and become more deeply involved in the life and vicissitudes of the Church
and of the world we live in. We therefore strive to organise our whole life in such a way
that prayer is clearly seen to be our charism, both as individuals and as communities;
and we do our best to ensure that our apostolic activity
is imbued with the spirit of prayer,
and that prayer nourishes and sustains all our apostolic efforts.
This life of friendship with God has the liturgy as its sacramental source;
but it must be fostered by continual personal prayer. As the richest source of our spiritual life,
as the focal point of all community life
and as the prayer of the community par excellence,
the liturgy enriches our personal prayer. On the other hand, personal prayer,
by deepening our participation in the mysteries we celebrate,
brings the liturgical action to bear on our life. Deserts, houses dedicated exclusively to the contemplative life,
are maintained and encouraged in the Order
so that those drawn by the Spirit may have an opportunity
to give themselves exclusively to a life of prayer
at the service of the world and the Church. This does much to enrich the spirit of prayer in the Order.
Fraternal Sharing in the Community
The life we share as brothers is built on and held together by the love of Christ;
so charity must be the supreme law of our community life. Our vocation unites us as brothers in a family
modelled on the community of Christ and the Apostles.
This fraternal sharing must be evident in our life of prayer together,
in our apostolic work and in the loving concern we show
by sharing everything we have with one another. There should be mutual acceptance in a true family relationship,
with no one being made to feel excluded. The inevitable difficulties of community life should be faced up to in truth and charity,
and overcome in a spirit of humility and forgiveness,
so that all grow in mutual esteem and true friendship.
The community in which fraternal charity reigns
will truly experience the presence of Christ,
as he gives it life with the gift of his Spirit. It becomes a sign of universal brotherhood
and a proof of the power of the love, compassion, justice and peace brought by the Gospel. It becomes a living condemnation of every form of injustice,
and makes people conscious of the demands of the righteousness proclaimed by the Gospel. The Eucharist is the symbol and source of true brotherhood,
a sign of unity and a bond of charity.
This is expressed when the whole community takes part in the Eucharistic celebration. Made one in Christ and are led by the Holy Spirit,
we also praise and implore the Father with one heart and voice,
as we celebrate the Liturgy of the Hours
and devote ourselves to personal prayer. As members of a family,
we live in our own religious houses, observing a common life. At the common table, which is a symbol of fraternal sharing,
we gratefully partake of what Providence sends us,
as we listen to the reading from Scripture and engage in friendly conversation. Our community recreation is characterised by joy and simplicity.
Since we belong to a family specially dedicated to our Lady,
we wear the habit of her Order as a sign of our consecration. Since charity does not seek its own advantage but that of others
all pray for one another and help one another with brotherly concern.
In a true family spirit we must show great concern for the weak and sick. We welcome guests
and treat them in such a manner that they experience
the peace and love of Christ in a truly Christian community. Through dialogue in chapter and at community meetings
we foster a deeper fraternal sharing,
we evaluate the way in which we live up to our contemplative and apostolic ideal,
we try to be genuinely helpful to one another in the spirit of the Rule. Our commitment to a life of fraternal sharing has to be constantly renewed.
We are already God's children and truly brothers.
But until what we are destined to be is fully realised,
we shall always fall short
of being perfect witnesses
to the riches of divine life that we share. We therefore strive to live up to our vocation
and seek the unity that Christ prayed for.
If we do this in all humility and meekness,
patiently bearing with one another in love,
eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace,
we shall anticipate the perfect community of our heavenly home,
which will be ours when Christ comes again.
Our Apostolic Role
Christ, sent into the world by the Father,
is the source and exemplar of every apostolic mission.
We identify with him both in our hearts
and in our behaviour,
so that our life itself bears witness to the Gospel
and brings its joyful message to people, especially to the poor. By living the evangelical counsels
we grow in charity and become more vitally involved in the mystery of the Church. This impels us to share with others
things spiritual and temporal,
so that all may experience the freedom won for us by Christ,
and grow together in faith to full maturity in Christ. St Teresa's deep experience of the mystery of the Church,
coupled with her ardent zeal for the glory of God,
led her to give a definitely apostolic motivation
to our whole Carmelite life of prayer and self denial. When she set about establishing a new family of friars,
she also intended that they should be learned
and experienced in the ways of God
and be actively engaged in the service of the Church
by their teaching and example, with the emphasis on the latter. True to this calling,
we try to imbue our whole life of prayer with an apostolic spirit
and ensure that our apostolic activity
stems from and is sustained by our union with God. Through reading and study we must be well versed in the Scriptures
and acquire a surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ,
so that we are able to share with others the treasures of the word of God. We try, too, to discern the signs of the times
and interpret them in the light of God's word. We develop those virtuous qualities
that are highly valued in human relations. Each of the brethren, according to the grace given him,
should strive to build up the whole Body of Christ
and to promote the welfare of the local churches.
We all cooperate in the work of evangelisation,
not only by carrying out the tasks and duties of fraternal life with apostolic charity,
but also by engaging in ministries
under the authority of the diocesan Bishop.
We should be readily available
whenever we are legitimately commissioned by Bishops
to meet the pressing needs of the Church or of people.
In doing so we should have due regard for the culture
and traditions of the people to whom we minister. All our apostolic undertakings should be marked with a true Carmelite spirit;
in this way our communities will themselves be continually evangelised,
and exercise a truly evangelising influence.
The evangelisation of the world, so intimately part of the very nature of the Church,
in as much as it is to be accomplished primarily through love and prayer,
has always been a priority in our Order's apostolic work. St Teresa passed on to the Order the ardent missionary zeal that burned within her heart,
and it was her wish that her friars should undertake missionary activity.
This missionary zeal should be fostered. All should have the missions very much at heart,
and vocations to the missions should be encouraged throughout the Order. When charity and the needs of the Church urge it,
and after taking local circumstances into consideration,
we take on the care of parishes for the sake of serving the People of God. While providing a diverse service in the Church,
we give priority to the spiritual apostolate of the Order
which grows out of its charism. Since Teresa and John are acclaimed in the Church
as masters and models of intimacy with God
we are impelled to characterise our role in the Church
by a special apostolic involvement in promoting
a deeper spiritual life among the faithful. In this way we serve the Church according to our charism,
and faithfully carry on the spiritual tradition of the Order. Down the centuries Teresian Carmelites have fulfilled this special mission
in a variety of ways, by the spoken and written word.
We must continue this and update our methods
so that we can more fully and successfully share with others
the treasures of our rich spiritual heritage. We should be well grounded in theology and Carmelite spirituality,
and equip ourselves both as individuals and as communities
for our mission of leading people
to a deeper knowledge and experience of intimacy with God.
In accordance with St Teresa's express wish,
our apostolic mission in the Church obliges us
to be available for, the spiritual guidance and formation of the nuns of the Order. This should be a prime concern to all.
We have a similar fraternal duty towards the members of our Secular Order,
also towards those religious families who share in our life and spirit.
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