Who or What is a Carmelite?
A Carmelite prays for the Church and in union with the Church. The day is divided into times of chanting the Liturgy of the Hours - a monastic tradition of marking the different parts of the day with prayer.
How would you characterize a Carmelite?
You can look to the saints of any Order to identify the charism of that Order. They are a living example of the rule of life they profess. Young women have read the lives of different Carmelites and found their place in the mystical body of Christ. Something resonates within them that says, “I want to serve God like that.” Take for example Edith Stein after reading the life of Saint Teresa of Avila put the book down and said, “This is the truth.” Edith was Jewish at the time. She not only converted to the Catholic faith but joined the Carmelite Order. Edith had been a nurse during the First World War and afterwards she taught German Literature and history and later Philosophy — so she knew first-hand the opportunities of helping people and the corporal works of mercy. She spoke of the contemplative vocation thus:
“Once you are joined to the Lord, you become as omnipresent as he is. Instead of offering assistance in one particular place, like a doctor, nurse, or priest, in the power of the Cross you have the ability to be everywhere at once, at every scene of misery. Your compassionate love, drawn from the Redeemer’s heart, can take you in all directions, allowing you to sprinkle on every side the Precious Blood that soothes, heals, and redeems.”
The contemplative vocation is an invitation to live in the heart of the Church. Our foundress, Saint Teresa of Avila, bequeathed to us, her daughters, her charism and her way of prayer, which was Friendship with Christ.
Carmelite Charism
Who or What is a Carmelite?
Carmelite Prayer
Our Models - The Saints
Our History
Devotions
“I began to live as if there were no one save God and me in the world.”