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On Being a Carmelite Friar

A Carmelite is someone who has been called by the Holy Spirit to seek the face of the living God and hear his word deep within. He seeks by a life of contemplative prayer to enter into communion with God the Father, through Christ his Son in the power of the Holy Spirit. It is just this commitment to prayer that makes a Carmelite. His whole life flows from that source.

Carmelite prayer has its own distinctive spirit. Our understanding of prayer is deeply theological, guided by the teaching and experience of St Teresa and St John of the Cross.

Prayer is a real relationship with God. Its genuineness is measured by Gospel fidelity rather than any extraordinary personal experiences. Growth in prayer is accompanied and measured by an increasing depth of faith, hope, love, joy, peace, perseverance, kindness and generosity. Contemplation is simply a growing friendship with Christ. As with any relationship it needs time and mutual presence to grow.

We are called to work in the presence of God throughout the entire day. Prayer is not confined to set times and places but is an attitude that embraces all of life. This practice of the presence of God both fosters a life of prayer and grows out of it. The Order of Discalced Carmelites provides the authentic and realistic climate for such a life of prayer.

Our Daily Prayer

In the practical arrangement of each day and the layout of our houses we attempt to provide a setting that is helpful to keeping alive the remembrance of God. As far as possible we observe silence so as to make each house a house of prayer. To preserve this ideal each community sets aside two hours each day for uninterrupted silent prayer. Time is also made available for meditative reading of Scripture and spiritual reading.

The liturgy is the richest source of our spiritual life and the focal point of all community life. Each day we celebrate the entire Liturgy of the Hours, spreading over the whole day our praise and thanksgiving and our meditation on the mysteries of salvation. United with Christ, and on behalf of the Church and the entire human race we praise the Father with one heart and voice.

Each day we celebrate the community Eucharist. The mass unites in one action the prayer of the community and the self offering of Christ to the Father. In union with Christ we offer ourselves, our brethren and all people to God. In return we receive the freedom of Christ through the forgiveness of our past, communion with the Lord and all of creation in the present, and the assurance of the glorious vision of God in the future.

• "In celebrating the liturgy we share in the Paschal Mystery and in the priesthood of Christ. Especially through the Eucharist, through the proclamation of the word of God and the singing of his praises, community life is consolidated and renewed, as its union with the Church is at once symbolised and realised." Constitutions 57

The Fullness of Life

Life in Carmel is a balanced human life, as noted for its joyful laughter as its holy silence. Following St Teresa, we give recreation an important place in our lives. We live in communities marked by fraternal sharing. Traditionally our communities are kept fairly small so that this atmosphere of genuine brotherhood may be nourished. A cheerful simplicity enlivens our whole way of life.

• "Our vocation unites us as brothers in a family modelled on the community of Christ and the Apostles. 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." Constitutions 74.

The contemplative, in St Teresa’s vision, must not seek to evade the difficulties of life or the needs of others. She felt intensively the problems of her own day. One of the reasons she founded the Order was the compassion she felt for the Church wounded by disunity (especially in the wake of the Reformation). For her, prayer was at the heart of the Church and was itself intensely apostolic. Our prayer is in fact the source and strength of our prophetic mission. We aim to live the Gospel in the midst of a troubled world and to reveal to it the secret of true joy and hope.

• "Christ, sent into the world by the Father, is the source and exemplar of every apostolic mission. We must identify with him both in our hearts and in our behaviour, so that our life bears witness to the Gospel and brings its joyful message to people, especially to the poor." Constitutions 87.

This life of allegiance to Jesus Christ is at the heart of our vocation. We strive to imitate Him both in his prayer in the desert and his compassion for the multitudes. As we are called to share his spirit and to be instruments of his grace, we cannot be content with any small-mindedness or mediocrity of apostolic spirit. We have especially made our own the work of helping others in their spiritual quest. Our own experience of prayer is then an apostolic resource and inspiration.

• "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 a signal apostolic service of the Church." Constitutions 15.

The example of St Teresa, St John of the Cross and many saintly Carmelites over the centuries encourages us to study seriously the Bible, theology and spirituality. The delicate work of spiritual direction requires a broadly based and thorough knowledge of the human heart and great personal sensitivity. The attainment of this proficiency demands consistent application. The value of all work whether intellectual, pastoral or manual is upheld by our Rule. It is a necessary element in our life.

• "You must give yourselves to work of some kind, so that the devil may always find you busy; no idleness on your part must give him a chance to pierce the defences of your soul."
  The Rule of St Albert

Carmelite Roots

Carmel has its roots in the desert. The first hermits looked to the withdrawal into the desert of the prophet Elijah, John the Baptist and of Christ himself as their ideal of life. The desert is a rugged place of awesome simplicity, solitude and beauty. It is the right place for an encounter with God. It is a place of stark honesty where illusions are exposed and overcome and where desire is purified. It is the most suitable environment for radical renewal and spiritual integrity.

It is in the desert that we are free enough to encounter the Lord Jesus. There we experience the liberating power of his grace in our lives. In our need we know him as the one who proclaimed to the poor the good news of salvation, to prisoners freedom, and to those in sorrow, joy. It is this crucial truth that impels us to personal authenticity and prophetic witness. We cannot come to Carmel seeking an easy option; our way of life requires real dedication and commitment.

• "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 of all humanity." Constitutions 15.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel

The first Carmelites placed themselves under the patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In her honour they built their first chapel on Mount Carmel. So they became known as the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel. Mary has always remained important in the life of the Order. She is our Patroness and our Mother. She is also our sister, the model of our life. In the silence of Nazareth she heard the word of God spoken to her. She overcame fear and opened herself totally to the Spirit. Through this humble faith and self-emptying she brought Christ into the world. Mary, who kept all these thing and meditated on them in her heart, is our model of contemplative fidelity.

She served the Lord and lived close to him in the simple home life of Nazareth. Wrapped in prayer she was at the heart of the early Church. She was united with all the believers when the Holy Spirit came upon the Church at Pentecost. We seek to share the fruitfulness and creativity of her life by living the values she lived. As a sign of this commitment we wear the scapular. It is a sign of her protection and of our desire to be clothed with her holiness. The mystery of her inner life and her union with Christ is our ideal of personal consecration. The beauty of her life is an inspiration for us today.

• "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 it were, as the prototype of ours." Constitutions 15.

The Order Now

With a real sense of urgency we have committed ourselves, as an Order, to finding new ways of sharing our spiritual riches with all God’s people. In our day there is a great spiritual hunger yet many are bewildered and lost, cut off from the sustaining food of eternal life. We who have received a precious heritage see our special mission in the world to be helping any who need help on their way to God. We do this by being trustworthy spiritual guides.

Since the Second Vatican Council the most characteristic change in the Order has been the growth in the field of this sharing. Throughout the world we have set up many new retreat houses, houses of prayer, and institutes of spirituality. This has brought a new energy and vitality to the Order.

In recent years the number of friars around the world has been steadily growing. The growth of the Order has been most dramatic in the countries of Latin America, Asia and Africa. As the Order adapts itself to these cultures there grows a richer cultural diversity within the unity of our common vocation. Today there are 4,000 Discalced Carmelite Friars. With the 12,500 Carmelite nuns, and over 60 congregations and secular institutes affiliated to the Order (around 26,500 members) and with the numerous lay people in the Secular order (about 27,000 members) we make up the great Teresian family in today’s Church.

The Story of the Carmelites

In the last years of the twelfth century a number of Latin rite pilgrims and crusaders chose to live a life of prayer and solitude on Mount Carmel, in the Holy Land (present-day Israel). In time these hermits joined together in a loose form of community life. Between 1206 and 1214 they were given a rule of life by St Albert, who as Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, was their bishop. This Rule is still the basis of all Carmelite life. It is deeply scriptural and is centred on Christ. It sets out a way of life based on constant meditation on the word of God in a spirit of evangelical watchfulness. It balances silence and solitude with daily liturgy, work and fraternal help in an authentic Christian life.

The simple and austere life of the hermits was disrupted by the break up of the Latin kingdom. Those who could fled to Europe, where they adapted themselves to their new conditions. On the 1st October, 1247, they became religious recognised by the Church as mendicant friars, under Pope Innocent IV. While holding on to their contemplative ideal they were reorganised as an order of friars. (Friar simply means brother.) Like the other orders of friars, the Franciscans, Dominicans and Augustinians, they opened houses in towns and became popular preachers, confessors and teachers. They were particularly zealous in spreading devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, through the scapular.

Teresian Reform

In time, a number of attempts were made to restore the original contemplative orientation of the rule. The most outstanding of these was that of St Teresa of Jesus, who lived in Spain from 1515 to 1582. She is the foundress of our Order, the Order of Discalced Carmelites. The custom of reformed orders going without shoes, that is of being discalced, as a sign of their renewed evangelical commitment gave our Order its name.

St Teresa was a nun in her hometown of Avila. For many years she was frustrated in her desire to lead a life of deep intimacy with God. In 1562 she founded the convent of St Joseph, the first house of Discalced Carmelites. There she and a few friends who shared her ideals gave themselves to Christ in a life of retirement, prayer and poverty. St Teresa enriched the Carmelite ideal through her insight into the mystery of the Church, her conviction of the apostolic power of prayer and her image of the Christian life as friendship with Christ. Her creative and lively personality has attracted many thousands to want to share her vision of Christian life.

St Teresa personally felt the needs of the Church in her day. In the spirit of the Catholic Reformation she dedicated her life to the restoration of Christian Unity. She gave her complete loyalty to the Church which she sought to enliven by a spiritual renewal at its heart. She had also an intense missionary concern. Her aim in founding a family of friars was to foster the fidelity and spiritual growth of her nuns through the help of brothers who shared her spirit. She also desired that her brothers provide the Church with a manifold service of prayer and apostolic activity.

The Discalced Carmelite Friars began their life together at a remote hamlet called Duruelo. There on 28th November 1568, St John of the Cross and his companions made their vows. In great poverty they led a joyful life of prayer and preaching to their abandoned neighbours.

St John of the Cross (1542-1591) shared St Teresa’s aspirations. He learnt from her, became a collaborator, friend and then her spiritual director.

John was an extraordinary man. He was twice kidnapped and once imprisoned for nine months in a dungeon for refusing to renounce the new reform. Yet in his frightful prison cell he wrote some of the greatest poetry of divine love ever written. He was never the superior of the new group. His role was more that of its spiritual director. He was a man of Renaissance culture, a sensitive friend, a man of conscience but above all a penetrating spiritual guide. He is recognised by the Church as its great theologian and psychologist of the spiritual life.

The twentieth century has witnessed an ever increasing appreciation of the stature and relevance of both St Teresa and St John. Our ideal finds a clear expression in these two saints who embody our heritage. Both, together with St Therese of Lisieux, are recognised by the Church as Doctors of the Church.

• "The rich spiritual patrimony to which you are heirs underscores the role of the Carmelite as a teacher of contemplation, a person of God, who is capable of arousing in others a thirst for God and of removing the obstacles which hinder the soul, made in the likeness of God, from going forward on the road that leads to Him."

Pope John Paul II

Discalced Carmelite Friars

The new Order grew rapidly at first in Spain and then throughout Europe. Almost from the first the missionary spirit was cultivated. Missions were begun in the 1580’s in Mexico and Congo, the Carmelite Mission to Persia followed soon after. One of the most vigorous propagators of the Missions was Thomas of Jesus (1564-1627). He was one of the most outstanding friars of his time. He was a spiritual writer, the founder of the Order in northern Europe, the sponsor of the missions and the originator of the Desert houses. These Desert monasteries revived the original hermit life of the Order. In them, separated from outside contact, friars were able to renew themselves. At present there are six Deserts in the Order: two in Spain, one each in Italy, France, Brazil and the United States. It is important that we maintain these houses so that those drawn by the Spirit may have an opportunity to give themselves exclusively to prayer at the service of the Church. We owe this rich spiritual resource to the vision of the Venerable Thomas of Jesus.

Another outstanding Carmelite was Saint Raphael Kalinowski (1835-1907). He was a Pole who served in the Tsarist Army. During the 1863 uprising he resigned his commission and joined the rebels. He was captured by the Russians and sentenced to death. His sentence was commuted to hard labour in Siberia. There he became a pillar of strength to his fellow prisoners. After his release he became a Carmelite friar in 1877. He set about restoring the Order in Poland. In his ministry he sought to be an agent of peace and reconciliation with the Russians. He had a special love for the Russian Orthodox and was very zealous in working for Christian Unity. He was sought out by both Catholics and Orthodox as a spiritual director. In 1983 he was beatified by Pope John Paul II in Cracow, and canonised in 1991. Saint Raphael is a patron of ecumenism, especially with Eastern Christians.

Another, more contemporary figure to mention, is Pere Jacques, born Lucien-Louis Bunel (1900-1945), who was immortalised in the French film, Au revoir les enfants. He is remembered for his extraordinary ability to bridge the differences of class, ideology, nationality and religion, that often divide the human family. The son of working-class parents, with a lifelong commitment to social justice, after ordination he joined the Carmelite friars, and became director of an elite school near Paris. He hid Jewish boys in his school for which he was betrayed to the Gestapo. In the concentration camp of Mauthausen, he spent himself tirelessly in the service of others. He was admired and trusted by all his fellow-prisoners including non-believers and communists. He dies two weeks after the liberation of the camp by the Allies. The State of Israel has honoured him as a rescuer, one of the "Righteous Among the Nations." A martyr, his cause for canonisation was opened in 1990.

Brothers

As Carmelite friars we are called to live in a brotherhood in which all have equal rights and obligations. We all share the same charism and the same religious consecration by solemn vows. Using the gifts the Holy Spirit gives to each of us we work together so that the Order carries out its mission in the Church. Those brothers who are not ordained may undertake any work that fits their abilities, the needs of the Church and the life of the community. Brothers have been cooks, accountants, farmers, secretaries, gardeners, catechists and administrators. In Australia brothers have made a vital contribution to the life of our houses. The dignity and integrity of the Brothers’ vocation is protected by the Order.

The famous spiritual writer Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection (1611-1691) was a Discalced Carmelite Brother in our Paris house. There he served the community for thirty years as a cook and a cobbler. He enjoyed a continual sense of the presence of God in the midst of his daily activities. He was sought out by many including some of the famous for his spiritual advice. His spiritual maxims and letters were published after his death and today are still very popular. In The Practice of the Presence of God he testifies to the satisfaction of a Brother’s life, "There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful."

In Australia

The Discalced Carmelites came to Australia in 1885 when a group of nuns made a foundation in Sydney. Having come from Angouleme, in France, they established the first Carmel in Australia, after trials and hardships, at Dulwich Hill. In time Carmels were founded in each state of Australia and in New Zealand, Samoa and Papua New Guinea. The Carmelite sisters felt the need of the support and guidance of their brothers. So it was as a response to their request that the first foundation of friars was made in Australia.

Four Irish friars Fathers Matthew McGettrick, Jarlath Flynn, Cormac Fenton and Brother Kieren Deeley, made the first foundation in Brisbane in 1948. Community life was begun at Gregory Terrace. From its beginning, friars were involved in retreat work, spiritual direction and the ministry of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. (This house was closed in 1996 because the inner-city position was no longer suitable for retreat work.) A second foundation was made at Morley, in Perth in 1956. The community has the responsibility for the parish of Morley, the largest in Western Australia.

The desire to have a novitiate in Australia led to the third foundation at Minto (now called Varroville) in 1964. Mount Carmel is now the central house of the Australian Region, being the residence of the Regional Provincial. It is also the place of the Order’s novitiate in Australia and a successful retreat house. Attached to the community is the care of the local parish of St Andrews.

So that our students might be able to complete their formation in Australia, the fourth house was established in Melbourne in 1981. From this house, which was situated in Bennettswood, and now in a new monastery at Box Hill, students of the Order attend the Yarra Theological Union and other universities. They undergo studies in theology, philosophy and related disciplines to prepare for their ministry in the Church.

In 1984 the Australian houses of the friars were recognised as an autonomous Regional Vicariate of the Order. The first Chapter of the Region was held at Mount Carmel, Varroville, in October.

In many ways the Order in Australia is now achieving its maturity. We have been pleased to welcome a steady stream of vocations in recent years and we look to the future with confidence and hope. Our involvement in retreats and prayer seminars has been warmly welcomed. Visitors and guests have remarked on the special quality of friendliness and prayerfulness evident in our communities.

On Becoming a Carmelite

The formation of a Carmelite is a fairly lengthy learning experience and process. In one sense it lasts all through life, as we can never be satisfied with a limited understanding. It is essential, then, that a candidate for the Order be ever open to learning more about himself, life and God.

Those who wish to join the Order are required to spend some time visiting a community so that they may see first hand our life as it is lived. This is also a time for the community to get to know the candidate and assess his suitability. This period may often extend over a number of years. The application process also involves the now standard procedures within the Australian church, of a psychological and medical assessment, as well as an interview with a number of the friars. When the Regional Vicar accepts a candidate, on the community’s recommendation, he begins his postulancy. A postulant is not a member of the Order but he shares in the life of the Order. By living our way of life the postulant can decide if he wants to commit himself. Postulancy normally lasts from several months to a year or more. In Australia we have a flexible policy toward postulancy so that it may help each individual as he needs it.

The novitiate marks the entry into religious life. It begins with a simple ceremony of clothing in the habit and mantle of the Order. Novitiate is a special year in which the novice gradually makes his own the sense and feeling of Carmelite life. It is a time of growth in prayer and understanding in the context of learning to live in a community. For to live in community and to be open to God is to discover oneself. Of course, to discover oneself is to unlearn false notions as much as to learn deeper ones.

While it is a time free from the pressure of academic study, the novice, guided by the Novice Master, studies the spiritual tradition of the Order as it is expressed in the writings of our founders, our Rule and its practical application today. The novitiate culminates in the novice’s first commitment to God and to the Order. This commitment is that of the vows of obedience, chastity and poverty made for one year. These vows are freely renewed each year for at least three years (usually for five years). During this time the simply professed friar is free to leave the Order, on the expiry of his vows, if he is not happy that this is his particular calling.

The profession of vows is a solemn promise to God, made in the presence of one’s brethren and the Church. By profession one dedicates oneself to a life of allegiance to Jesus Christ, in the Discalced Carmelite Order. The vows specify the form of our life as a following of Christ.

Through consecrated chastity we are united with Christ and set free to love God and our neighbour with an undivided heart. Our vow of poverty calls us to follow the poor Christ not just in spirit but in fact. We are called to make our own his trust in the loving heart of the Father by renouncing our right to own material goods. Evangelical poverty demands of us a distinct life-style as individuals and as communities. We are called to simplicity, availability and work, and to share what we have with others, especially the poor.

By our vow of obedience we follow Christ who came not to do his own will but the will of the father. This means that our horizon is lifted above what we want, to joyful collaboration with God’s plan for the world. By this vow we offer to God the total dedication of our lives that his will might be realised in us. This obedience invites us to share the divine life and freedom. Superiors are urged by our Rule to exercise their authority in a Gospel spirit of service.

This commitment we make is only possible because it is a gift from God. By his Holy Spirit he enables us to love him and to be faithful to him. His Spirit also moves us to the praise and celebration of his bountiful generosity to us in calling us to live in his presence.

A Calling

To be a Carmelite is not just a matter of personal inclination, it is something more mysterious. It is a personal calling from the Lord to follow him, to live in his presence and to pray in his name. A Carmelite vocation is above all a grace, a gift from God, to be received with thanksgiving and lived with wholehearted joy.

When all elements of the Carmelite vocation come together they form a simple unity. That unity comes from the centrality of Christ. It is he who invites us to share his friendship. Through his gift of his Spirit he enables us to follow him and to be instruments of his grace and truth. With him our life’s journey becomes a pilgrimage to the Father. In Him we discover ourselves and our destiny. In his love is our beginning and our end. If you seek the meaning of our life, look at the face of the Lord Jesus. We are privileged to know his joy and to celebrate his love and peace.

An invitation

Life in Carmel is challenging and vital. It is for those who dare to strive for the best in a world satisfied with mediocrity. For those who dare to know and love God in a world unable to see beyond itself. For those who dare to care for others in a world content to look the other way.

Today, as never before, we are called upon to answer ever new challenges. We need men: young, spirited, creative, and strong in faith and love to work in a field neglected by the world. "The harvest is great but the labourers are scarce. Beg the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to gather his harvest." Matt 9:37-38.

We welcome those who seek to dedicate their lives to this work of the Lord in a life of contemplative prayer united to apostolic zeal. If you feel the Lord might be calling you to share this vision and commitment you are invited to visit one of our communities.

For more information please contact the Australian Vocations Director:

Fr Greg Homeming ocd 
Mount Carmel Priory
St Andrews Road,
Varroville NSW 2566 Tel: (02) 9603 1433

Email Fr Greg Homeming

Local contacts:

Page last modified: Friday, 21 February, 2003
Document path: http://carmelite.com/vocations/vocation.shtml