Word of God

The Eucharist and the Word of God are the two pillars of Carmelite Spirituality.

To read the word of God in the spirit of Carmel is to pray it with the heart of Mary. This means that as she, more than anyone, listened to and welcomed the word of God, we too should listen to and welcome the word of God in our life. As St. John of the Cross wrote so beautifully: “The Mother gazed in sheer wonder” (R 9).

Carmelite Spirituality is a spirituality of the Word of God.

Union with God

All of Carmelite spirituality is rooted in the human heart's deepest desire for intimate union with God. This union with God is through love – the Carmelite Rule places the final stage of discipleship through a way of following Jesus Christ.

The attaining of Union with God is primarily God's work, yet the soul can correspond with a joyful detachment from everything that is not God.

No other saint has explained the path to Union with God better than St. Teresa of Jesus, Carmelite Doctor of the Church on prayer.

From Christ, the Carmelite, henceforth, is not to look away; in dependence on Him the Carmelite intends to live. Carmel is all about searching for God and union with God.

The truth about Jesus which Carmelites are called to live out is Christ's prayerful union with His Father while in the midst of the world.

The friars seek to live a life of faithful prayer, seeking union with God through a "life of allegiance to Jesus Christ."

The Essence of the Carmelite Charism is Prayer and Contemplation leading to union with God.

“Carmelite spirituality enables God-seekers to discover new heights and depths of union with God,” says Father Michael Berry, O.C.D., a Discalced Carmelite.

Carmel is a journey that brings us to greater union with God, souls and Holy Mother Church! St. Teresa of Jesus called this journey "the royal road to Heaven”.

St Elizabeth of the Trinity once said describing our Carmelite life, “The life of a Carmelite is a life of communion with God from morning until night”.

Thus the goal of the Carmelite life is union with God.

Prayer

The dictionary meaning of prayer is “a spiritual communion with God or an object of worship, as in supplication, thanksgiving, adoration, or confession.” Prayer is the act or practice of praying to God or an object of worship.

Traditionally, Catholic prayers fall into four types:

Adoration: Praising God.

Contrition: Asking for God's forgiveness.

Petition: Asking God for a favour.

Thanksgiving: Showing God gratitude.

The most important characteristic of Carmelite spirituality is living in God's presence. This relationship with God takes shape in prayer. Thus, the heart of Carmelite life rests in faithfulness to community and solitary prayer.

Prayer is an important part of Carmelite life. We are called upon to pray daily.

It is important to reserve every day a little time to read or listen to the Word of God. If one stops praying, it is difficult to get back into a rhythm. In fact when this spirituality enters the heart, where the intimate conversation with God happens, it becomes mental prayer.

Prayer is at the very heart of the Carmelite vocation. Through praying alone and together as a community, Carmelites seek to communion with God.

“For prayer is nothing else than being on terms of friendship with God.” ― St. Teresa of Avila

 For St. Teresa, prayer is simply friendship with Jesus. Real prayer is nothing other than the expression of a relationship of friends. She says: “Humility is the principal virtue that people who pray.”

In the works of St. Teresa of Avila we are shown the importance of prayer as friendship; in St. John of the Cross how we are led as God's people from selfishness to joy.

“The important thing in prayer is not to think much but to love much” [Interior Castle, 4, 1, 7].

Lectio Divina

“Lectio Divina” is a Latin term which means “divine reading” and describes a way of reading the Scriptures whereby we gradually let go of our own agenda and open ourselves to what God wants to say to us.

It literally means “Sacred Reading” and the Carmelite Spirituality is rooted in this ancient practice within the Monastic tradition.

We offer a daily lectio divina or a prayerful reading of the Word of God.

The value of lectio divina was rediscovered by the Carmelite Family (and indeed the wider Church) in the twentieth century.

First, we share one way of prayerful reading of the Bible followed by other examples of Carmelite prayers. We take the word of God deeper and deeper into ourselves. All Carmelites, filled with the spirit of the Order, seek to live their own vocation by silently listening to the Word of God – hearing, praying and living the Word – in silence, in solitude and in community, especially in the form of lectio divina as in the 13th century the Carmelite Rule of St. Albert prescribed to Carmelites the daily prayerful pondering on the Word of God.

So pondering the word of God has been a method of prayer for Carmelites for many centuries. In this we take as a model, Mary the mother of Jesus, who pondered the word of God day in and day out!

Thus at its heart, lectio divina is an encounter with Jesus Christ, the Word of God incarnate!

Determined Determination

Our Holy Mother St. Teresa of Avila was an extremely prayerful person. She said, “We must have a determined determination to never give up prayer.”

This term Determined Determination has been coined by her thoughts on Carmelite spirituality and contemplative prayer. By this she means that we must have a great determination to persevere until the end. So we Carmelites pursue our contemplative life with faith as our guide with a “determined determination”.

The saint is teaching us to become like her, to develop a strong determination in putting God in everything.