Section I - OUR IDENTITY, VALUES AND COMMITMENT

                                    I  

                   

OUR IDENTITY, VALUES AND COMMITMENT

1. Carmelite Seculars,

           together with the Friars and Nuns,

    are sons and daughters of 

           the Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel 
           and St Teresa of Jesus.

    As a result, they share 

           the same charism with the religious, 

           each according to their particular state of life.

    It is one family with

           the same spiritual possessions,

           the same call to holiness and              
                      ( cf.  Ep   1:4;   
                              1 P  1:15 )
           the same apostolic mission.

Ephesians 1:4 

"As He chose us in Him 
 before the foundation of the world, 
 that we should be holy and unspotted 
 in His sight in love"

 
 
1 Peter  1:15 - 16

"But according to Him that hath called you, 
 Who is holy, 
 be you also 
 in all manner of conversation holy:

 Because it is written: 
 You shall be holy, for I am holy."

 

     Secular members contribute to the Order 
     the benefits proper to their secular state of life.   [2] 

              [2]  Lumen Gentium LG #31;

                    Christifideles Laici CL # 9

Lumen Gentium     LG #31

Dogmatic Constitution On The Church
 
Solemnly Promulgated By His Holiness, 
Pope Paul VI
On November 21, 1964 

Chapter IV    The Laity 

LUMEN GENTIUM #31

The term laity is here understood to mean 
all the faithful except 
 those in holy orders and 
 those in the state of religious life 
specially approved by the Church. 


These faithful 
 are by baptism made one body with Christ and 
 are constituted among the People of God; 

they are in their own way made sharers 
in the Priestly, Prophetical, and Kingly 
functions of Christ; and 

they carry out for their own part 
the mission of the whole Christian people 
in the Church and in the world.

What specifically characterizes the laity 
 is their secular nature. 

It is true that those in holy orders 
can at times be engaged in secular activities, 
and even have a secular profession. 

But they are by reason of their particular vocation 
especially and professedly ordained 
to the sacred ministry.

Similarly, by their state in life, 
religious give splendid and striking testimony
that the world cannot be 
 transformed and offered to God 
without the spirit of the beatitudes. 

But the laity, by their very vocation, 
seek the kingdom of God 
 by engaging in temporal affairs and 
 by ordering them according to the plan of God. 

They live in the world, 
that is, in each and in all 
of the secular professions and occupations. 

They live in the ordinary circumstances 
of family and social life, 
from which the very web of their existence is woven. 

They are called there by God 
that by exercising their proper function 
and led by the spirit of the Gospel 
they may work for the sanctification of the world 
from within as a leaven. 


In this way they may make Christ known to others, 
especially by the testimony of a life
resplendent in faith, hope and charity. 

Therefore, since they are tightly bound up 
in all types of temporal affairs,
it is their special task 
 to order and to throw light upon these affairs 
in such a way that they may come into being 
and then continually increase 
according to Christ 
to the praise of the Creator and the Redeemer.

http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/
ii_vatican_council/documents/
vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html

© Copyright 1998 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~   ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  ~ ~ ~  
 
 

Christifideles Laici    CL #9


Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation

of His Holiness John Paul II
On The Vocation And The Mission 
Of The Lay Faithful

In The Church And In The World
                                
INTRODUCTION
1. 
THE LAY MEMBERS of Christ's Faithful People 
  (Christifideles Laici), 
whose "Vocation and Mission 
in the Church and in the World 
Twenty Years after the Second Vatican Council" 
was the topic of the 1987 Synod of Bishops, 
are those who form 
that part of the People of God 
which might be likened 
to the labourers in the vineyard 
mentioned in Matthew's Gospel

                     ~ ~ ~  

Christifideles Laici   CL #9

Who are the Lay Faithful 

9. 
The Synod Fathers have rightly pointed 
to the need for a definition 
of the lay faithful's vocation and mission 
in positive terms, 
through an in-depth study of the teachings 
of the Second Vatican Council 
in light of both recent documentation 
from the Magisterium
and the lived experience of the Church, 
guided as she is by the Holy Spirit.   
     (13) 

     [13]   Cfr. Propositio 3

     ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

     Proposition #3 of the Bishop's Synod
     VII Ordinary General Assembly

                               
     In Session: 1 - 30 October 1987
                              
     Synod Fathers: 232
           
                
     Topic: 
     “The Vocation and Mission of the Lay Faithful 
     in the Church and in the World”

   
     Through a consideration of the concepts 
     of vocation (“being”) and mission (“doing”) 
     in the Vatican II context of Church communion, 
     the Synod Fathers sought to emphasize 
     the distinctive nature 
     of the lay faithful in the Church’s life, 
     in their sharing or communion in holiness 
     and the Church’s work of evangelization 
     in the world, 
     in virtue of their secular character. 

     Because of the topic, 
     this Synod witnessed a significant presence 
     of lay persons as Auditors, 
     who were called upon to address 
     the general assembly 
     and share insights in the Small Groups. 

     For the first time, 
     a lay woman and man were appointed 
     as Adjunct Special Secretaries. 

     The information resulting from this Synod, 
     particularly the 54 propositions 
     of the General Assembly, 
     were used in the formulation of 
     the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation,
      “Christifideles laici” 
       of 30 December 1988.

     http://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/
     documentazione/documents
     /sinodo/sinodo_documentazione-generale_en.html
     © Copyright 1998 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

     ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~


(Continuation of 
Christifideles Laici   CL #9 )

In giving a response to the question 
"Who are the lay faithful",
the Council went beyond previous interpretations 
which were predominantly negative. 

Instead it opened itself 
to a decidedly positive vision 
and displayed a basic intention of asserting 
the full belonging of the lay faithful 
to the Church and to its mystery.

At the same time it insisted 
on the unique character of their vocation, 
which is in a special way 
to "seek the Kingdom of God 
by engaging in temporal affairs 
and ordering them
according to the plan of God"   
       (14).   

       (14) Lumen Gentium #31     [See above]

"The term 'lay faithful '   
-we read in the Constitution on the Church, 
    Lumen Gentium-  
is here understood to mean 
all the faithful 
except those in Holy Orders and 
those who belong to a religious state 
sanctioned by the Church. 

Through Baptism the lay faithful 
are made one body with Christ and 
are established among the People of God. 

They are in their own way made sharers in the
Priestly, Prophetic and Kingly office of Christ. 
     

They carry out their own part 
in the mission of the whole Christian people 
with respect to the Church and the world"        
    (Lumen Gentium  #31).

Pius XII once stated: 
"The Faithful, more precisely the lay faithful, 
find themselves on the front lines 
of the Church's life; 

For them, 
the Church is the animating principle 
for human society. 

Therefore, they in particular, ought to have 
an ever-clearer consciousness 
not only of belonging to the Church, 
but of being the Church, 

that is to say, 
the community of the faithful on earth 
under the leadership 
of the Pope, the head of all, and
of the Bishops in communion with him. 
These are the Church ..."      
     (16).
              
    ( 16. PII XII Allocutio ad E.mos 
          ac Rev.mos Patres Cardinales 
          recenter creatos, 
          die 20 febr. 1946: 
          Pope Pius XII -

          Address to the Most Reverend 
          Father Cardinals, 
          recently created,
on 20 February. 1946
          AAS 38 (1946) 149). 

                
        [ AAS • Acta Apostolicae Sedis 
             • Acts of the Apostolic See  
          is an official publication 
          of the Holy See, 
          published multiple times per year, 
          and contains the official text 
          of then current encyclicals, 
          decrees, directives, and other actions 
          of the Pope.]



According to the Biblical image of the vineyard, 
the lay faithful, 
together with all the other members of the Church, 
are branches engrafted to Christ the true vine, 
and from him derive their life and fruitfulness.

Incorporation into Christ 
through faith and Baptism 
is the source of being a Christian 
in the mystery of the Church. 

This mystery constitutes 
the Christian's most basic "features" 
and serves as the basis 
for all the vocations and dynamism 
of the Christian life of the lay faithful
     (cf.  Jn 3:5). 

      ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

      Jn 3:5

      "Jesus answered, and said to him: 

      'Amen, amen I say to thee, 
       unless a man be born again, 
       he cannot see the kingdom of God.'

       Nicodemus saith to him: 
       'How can a man be born 
         when he is old? 
        Can he enter a second time 
         into his mother's womb, 
         and be born again?'

       Jesus answered: 
       'Amen, amen I say to thee, 
        unless a man be born again 
        of water and the Holy Ghost, 
        he cannot enter 
        into the kingdom of God.' "

       ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

       In Christ 
       who died and rose from the dead, 
       the baptized become a "new creation" 
           ( Gal 6:15;  
             2 Cor 5:17 ) 

       ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

       Gal 6:15

       For in Christ Jesus 
       neither circumcision availeth any thing, 
       nor uncircumcision,
       but a new creature.

       ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 
 
       2 Cor 5:17

       If then any be in Christ a new creature, 
       the old things are passed away, 
       behold all things are made new. 

       ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

washed clean from sin and 
brought to life through grace.

Therefore, 
only through accepting the richness in mystery 
that God gives to the Christian in Baptism 
is it possible to come to a basic description 
of the lay faithful.
___________________________________________

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/
apost_exhortations/documents/
hf_jp-ii_exh_30121988_christifideles-laici_en.html

© Copyright 1998 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
 
 

 

2. Our membership of the Order goes back 
       to the relationship established 
     between laity and members of religious Orders 
       born in the Middle Ages.  

     Gradually these relationships 
     took on an official character,
        forming part of the religious Institute and
        taking part in its charism and spirituality.

   In light of the Church’s new theology of the laity,
   Seculars live this membership 
        with a clear secular identity.


3. The members of the Secular Order 
       of Discalced Carmelites 
     are faithful members of the Church.     [3]

                     [3]. CIC 204-205. Codex Iuris Canonici

Codex Iuris Canonici   Code of Canon Law   
CIC 204-205.

CIC 204.   Codex Iuris Canonici

§1. 
The Christian faithful are those who,
inasmuch as they have been incorporated 
 in Christ through baptism,
have been constituted as the people of God;
for this reason,
since they have become sharers in Christ’s 
  Priestly, Prophetic and Royal office 
in their own manner,
they are called to exercise the mission 
which God has entrusted to the Church 
to fulfill in the world,
in accord with the condition proper to each one.

§2. 
This Church, constituted and organized 
as a society in this world,
subsists in the Catholic Church,
governed by the successor of Peter and the bishops 
in communion with him.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~   ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  

CIC 205.  Codex Iuris Canonici

§1. 
Those baptized are fully in communion 
with the Catholic church 
on this earth
who are joined with Christ in its visible structure 
by the bonds
 of profession of faith, 
 of the sacraments and of ecclesiastical governance.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~   ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/_INDEX.HTM

© Copyright 1998 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
 
 

 

        called to live “in allegiance to Jesus Christ”         [4] 

   
                         [4]      Albert’s Rule: Rule #2 

Rule of St. Albert 

Many and varied are the ways 
        (cf. Heb 1:1)
in which our saintly forefathers laid down 
how everyone,  
whatever his station 
or the kind of religious observance 
 he has chosen, 
should LIVE A LIFE 
 OF ALLEGIANCE TO JESUS CHRIST   
        (cf. 2 Cor 10:5)

— how, pure in heart 
  and steadfast in conscience, 
        (cf. 1 Tim 1:5),
  he must be unswerving 
  in the service of the Master.

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

    Heb 1:1

    God, who, at sundry times 
    and in divers manners, 
    spoke in times past to the fathers 
    by the prophets

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                     

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

    2 Cor 10:5

    And every height that exhalteth itself 
    against the knowledge of God, 
    and bringing into captivity 
    every understanding
    unto the obedience of Christ;

    casting down imaginations, 
    and every high thing that is exalted 
    against the knowledge of God, 
    and bringing every thought 
    into captivity 
    to the obedience of Christ

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                     
      
    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

    1 Tim 1:5

    Now the end of the commandment 
    is charity,
    from a pure heart, 
    and a good conscience, 
    and an unfeigned faith

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

 

       through “friendship with the One we know loves us”   [5] 

                      [5]  L  8:5.           L  –  The Book of her Life

The   Life   ( Chapter 8: Paragraph 5)

"For Mental Prayer Is Nothing Else, 
            In My Opinion, 
But Being On Terms Of Friendship With God, 
Frequently Conversing In Secret With Him 
   Who, We Know, Loves Us. "
______________________________________


"Herein there is nothing to be afraid of, 
but  everything to hope for. 

Granting that such a one does not advance, 
nor make an effort to become perfect, 
so as to merit the joys and consolations 
  which the perfect receive from God, 
yet he will by little and little attain 
to a knowledge of the road 
  which leads to heaven. 

And if he perseveres, 
I hope in the mercy of God for him, 
seeing that no one ever took Him 
for his friend 
that was not amply rewarded; 

FOR MENTAL PRAYER IS NOTHING ELSE, 
 IN MY OPINION, 
BUT BEING ON TERMS 
 OF FRIENDSHIP WITH GOD, 
FREQUENTLY CONVERSING 
 IN SECRET WITH HIM 
 WHO, WE KNOW, LOVES US. 

Now, 
true love and lasting friendship 
require certain dispositions:
those of our Lord, we know, are
 absolutely perfect; 
ours, 
 vicious, sensual, and thankless; 

and you cannot therefore, 
bring yourselves to love Him 
as He loves you, 
because you have not the disposition 
to do so; 

and if you do not love Him, 
yet, seeing 
  how much it concerns you 
    to have His friendship, 
    and 
  how great is His love for you, 
rise above that pain you feel 
  at being much with Him 
  Who is so different from you."

_________________________________

"He who gives himself to prayer 
is in possession of a great blessing, 
of which many saintly and good men have written
  —I am speaking of mental prayer—
glory be to God for it; 

and, if they had not done so, 
I am not proud enough, 
though I have but little humility, 
to presume to discuss it."


     - Life:  Chapter  8
__________________________________________

"....we are always in the presence of God, 

yet it seems to me 
that those who pray 
are in His presence in a very different sense; 

for THEY, as it were, 
SEE THAT HE IS LOOKING UPON THEM; 

while others may be for days together 
without even once recollecting 
that God sees them. 

 - Life: Chapter 8

Christian Classics Ethereal Library 
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/
teresa/life.viii.ix.html

  
 

   and in service to the Church.

   Under the protection of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, 

   in the biblical tradition of the prophet Elijah 
       and 

   inspired by the teachings of St Teresa of Jesus 
       and St John of the Cross, 

   they seek to deepen their Christian commitment 
         received in Baptism.

4. The Virgin Mary is present 

        in a special way,

    most of all as a model of faithfulness 

        in listening to the Lord and 

        in service to Him and to others. 

     

    Mary is the one who 

     preserved in her heart 

       the life and actions of her Son and

     meditated on them                           [6]     

                      [6] Lk 2:  51

 providing for us an example of contemplation.

Lk 2:51  

And he went down with them, 
and came to Nazareth, 
and was subject to them. 

And his mother kept all these words 
 in her heart.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Lk 2:19 

"Mary treasured all these things
 and reflected on them in her heart."

 

At Cana she counselled to do what the Lord commanded. [7]
Mary is an example of apostolic service.
 
                   [7] Jn 2:5

Jn 2:5 

 "His mother said to the servers, 
  'Do whatever he tells you.'  ”

 

On another occasion, 
she waited,
    persevering in prayer with the apostles,    [8]
for the coming of the Holy Spirit,

thus giving witness to intercessory prayer.

                           [8] Ac 1:14

Acts 1:14 

"All these devoted themselves 
 with one accord to prayer
 together  with some women
 and Mary the Mother of Jesus 
 and his brothers."

 

   She is Mother of the Order.  

   Secular Carmel enjoys her special protection and 

          cultivates a sincere Marian devotion. 

5. Elijah 

   represents the prophetical tradition of Carmel and

   is an inspiration to 

    live in the presence of God,

    seeking Him in solitude and silence 
         with zeal for God’s glory.

    The Secular Carmelites live the prophetic dimension 

        of Christian life and Carmelite spirituality

    by promoting God’s law of charity and truth in the world,

    above all 
    by making themselves the voice for those 

        who cannot, on their own,

        express this love and this truth.    [9]   

                        [9]  1 Kings: chapter 17   -    

                               2 Kings: chapter 2

Biblical account of Elijah



Christian Classics Ethereal Library                 
http://www.ccel.org/c/challoner/
douayrheims/3_Kings/17.html

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/bible/
douayr.iiKgs.2.html

    *  *    *   *   *

Christian Classics Ethereal Library 
Holy Bible: Douay-Rheims
"The Third Book of Kings
This and the following Book are called 
by the holy fathers 
the third and fourth books of Kings; 

but by the Hebrews, 
the first and second." 

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/bible/
douayr.iKgs.html


The Fourth Book of Kings
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/bible/
douayr.iiKgs.html
 

 

6. The Rule of Saint Albert 

       is the original expression of the spirituality of Carmel. 

     It was written for the laypeople 

       who gathered on Mount Carmel 
     to live a life 

          dedicated to meditation on the Word of God, 

          under the protection of Our Lady. 

     The following principles of that Rule guide Carmelite life:

      a)      Living in allegiance to Jesus Christ;

      b)      Being diligent in meditating on the law of the Lord;

      c)      Giving time to spiritual reading;

      d)      Participating in the Church’s Liturgy, 

                 both the Eucharist and the Liturgy of the Hours;

      e)      Being concerned for the needs and the good 
                 of others in the community;

      f)      Arming ourselves with the practice of the virtues, 

                 as we live an intense life  
                 of faith, hope and charity;

      g)     Seeking interior silence and solitude 
                 in our life of prayer;

      h)      Using prudent discretion in all that we do.

7. The origin of the Discalced Carmel 

     is to be found in St Teresa of Jesus. 

     She lived with profound faith in God’s mercy    [10]          

     

                     [10.]     L      7:18, 

                                 L    38:16

The Life:  (Chapter 7 Paragraph #18 )
 
"...His supreme munificence 
regarded not my great sins, 
but rather the desires 
I frequently had to please Him, 
and the pain I felt 
because I had not the strength 
to bring those desires to good effect...."

O my God! if I might, I would speak 
of the occasions from which God delivered me, 

and how I threw myself into them again; 
and of the risks I ran 
of losing utterly my good name, 
from which He delivered me. 

I did things to show what I was; 
and our Lord hid the evil, 
and revealed some little virtue
  —if so be I had any—
and made it great in the eyes of all, 
so that they always held me in much honour. 

For although my follies came occasionally into light, 
people would not believe it 
when they saw other things, 
which they thought good. 

The reason is, that He Who knoweth all things 
saw it was necessary it should be so, 
in order that I might have some credit 
given me by those 
to whom in after years 
I was to speak of His service. 

His supreme munificence 
 regarded not my great sins, 
but rather the desires 
 I frequently had to please Him, 
and the pain I felt 
because I had not the strength 
to bring those desires to good effect."

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"...Oh, how, at the very time 
that I offended Thee most, 
Thou didst prepare me in a moment, 
by a most profound compunction, 
to taste of the sweetness 
of Thy consolations and mercies!..." 
   - Chapter 7

   ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"...I know well 
that it was not in my power then 
 to give up prayer, 
because He held me in His hand 
Who sought me 
that He might show me greater mercies..."

   - Chapter 7   
             
   ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"And it is a kind of humility in man 
not to trust to himself,
but to believe that God will help him..."

"...I praise God for His mercy; 
for it was He only 
Who stretched out His hand to me...'

    - Chapter 7  


Christian Classics Ethereal Library  
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/teresa/
life.viii.viii.html


 

The  Life:  Chapter 38  Paragraph #16 
 
"...One night, when I was in prayer, 
our Lord spoke to me certain words, 
whereby He made me remember 
the great wickedness of my past life. 

They filled me with shame and distress; 
for though they were not spoken with severity,
they caused a feeling and a painfulness 
which were too much for me: 

and we feel that we make greater progress 
in the knowledge of ourselves 
when we hear one of these words, 
than we can make by a meditation of many days 
on our own misery, 
because these words impress the truth upon us 
at the same time in such a way 
that we cannot resist it. 

He set before me 
the former inclinations of my will to vanities, 

and told me to make much of the desire I now had 
that my will, 
which had been so ill employed, 
should be fixed on Him, 
and that He would accept it. 

     * * * *

On other occasions He told me to remember 
how I used to think it an honourable thing 
to go against His honour; 

and, again, to remember my debt to Him, 
for when I was most rebellious 
He was bestowing His graces upon me. 

If I am doing anything wrong
 —and my wrong-doings are many—
His Majesty makes me see it in such a way 
that I am utterly confounded; 

     * * * *

     [ "...If I have some faults, 
       which are not few, 
       His Majesty gives me 
       an understanding of them 
       that, it seems, reduces me to nothing;..."  
            - The Book of her Life
              ICS translation   ]

      * * * *

and as I do so often, that happens often also. 

I have been found fault with 
by my confessors occasionally;
and on betaking myself to prayer for consolation, 
have received a real reprimand. "

Christian Classics Ethereal Library 
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/teresa/
life.viii.xxxix.html

 

   which strengthened her to persevere in       [11] 
         prayer, humility, 

         love for her brothers and sisters, and

         love for the Church, 

      leading her to the grace of spiritual matrimony. 

                     [11]     WP 21:2   Way of Perfection

Way of Perfection 21:2

"As I say, it is most important  
 —all-important, indeed—
that they should begin well 
by making an earnest and most determined resolve    
        [78]
NOT TO HALT UNTIL THEY REACH THEIR GOAL, 
  whatever may come, 
  whatever may happen to them, 
  however hard they may have to labour, 
  whoever may complain of them, 
  whether they reach their goal 
    or die on the road 
    or have no heart to confront the trials 
    which they meet, 
  whether the very world dissolves before them..."

____________________________________________
    
"Let us now return to those 
who wish to travel on this road, 
and WILL NOT HALT UNTIL THEY REACH THEIR GOAL, 
which is the place where they can drink 
of this water of life. 

Although in some book or other
  —in several, in fact —
I have read what a good thing it is 
to begin in this way, 
I do not think anything will be lost 
if I speak of it here. 

As I say, it is most important 
 —all-important, indeed —
that they should begin well 
by making 
an earnest and most determined resolve  
         [78 ]
not to halt until they reach their goal, 
  whatever may come, 
  whatever may happen to them, 
  however hard they may have to labour, 
  whoever may complain of them, 
  whether they reach their goal 
     or die on the road 
     or have no heart to confront the trials 
     which they meet, 
  whether the very world dissolves before them. 


Yet again and again people will say to us: 
 “It is dangerous”, 
 “So-and-so was lost through doing this”, 
 “Someone else got into wrong ways”, 
 “Some other person, who was always praying, 
   fell just the same”,
 “It is bad for virtue”, 
 “It is not meant for women; 
   it may lead them into delusions”, 
 “They would do better to stick to their spinning”, 
 “These subtleties are of no use to them”, 
 “It is quite enough for them 
   to say their Paternoster and Ave Maria.” 

   *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

With this last remark, sisters, I quite agree. 

Of course it is enough! 
It is always a great thing 
to base your prayer on prayers 
which were uttered by the very lips of the Lord. 

People are quite right to say this, 
and, were it not for our great weakness 
and the lukewarmness of our devotion, 
there would be no need 
for any other systems of prayer 
or for any other books at all. 

I am speaking to souls 
who are unable to recollect themselves
by meditating upon other mysteries, 
and who think they need special methods of prayer; 

some people have such ingenious minds  
    [79]
that nothing is good enough for them! 

So I think I will start to lay down some rules 
for each part of our prayer
   — beginning, middle and end —
although I shall not spend long on the higher stages. 

They cannot take books from you, 
and, if you are studious and humble, 
you need nothing more. 

     *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

I have always been fond 
of the words of the Gospels 
and have found more recollection in them 
than in the most carefully planned books..."


78  Lit.: “determined determination”: 
    this doubling of words is not uncommon 
    in St. Teresa. 

79  Lit.: “are such ingenious geniuses.” 

Christian Classics Ethereal Library 
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way.i.xxvii.html


 

   Her evangelical self-denial, 
    disposition to service and 
    perseverance in the practice of the virtues 
  are a daily guide to living the spiritual life.       [12] 


                     [12.]  IC V: 3: 11,

                              IC VII: 4: 6

Interior Castle  V:3:11.  

"OUR LORD EXPECTS WORKS FROM US."
__________________________________

When I see people very anxious to know 
what sort of prayer they practise, 
covering their faces and afraid to move or think 
lest they should lose any slight tenderness 
and devotion they feel, 

I know how little they understand 
how to attain union with God 
since they think it consists 
in such things as these. 

No, sisters, no; 

OUR LORD EXPECTS WORKS FROM US. 

If you see a sick sister 
whom you can relieve,   
       [197]  
never fear losing your devotion; 
Compassionate her; 

If she is in pain, 
feel for it as if it were your own and, 
when there is need, 
fast so that she may eat, 
not so much for her sake 
as because you know your Lord asks it of you. 

This is the true union of our will with the will of God. 

If some one else is well spoken of, 
be more pleased than if it were yourself; 

This is easy enough, 
for if you were really humble 
it would vex you to be praised. 

It is a great good 
to rejoice at your sister’s virtues being known and 
to feel as sorry for the fault you see in her 
as if it were yours, hiding it from the sight of others. 

197   Way of Perf. ch. vii. 4. 

CCEL   Christian Classics Etheral library
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teresa/castle2.ix.iii.html 

 

Interior Castle  VII:4:6

"...This is THE END AND AIM OF PRAYER, 
my daughters; 

This is the reason of the spiritual marriage 
whose children are always GOOD WORKS. 

WORKS ARE THE UNMISTAKABLE SIGN 
WHICH SHOWS THESE FAVOURS COME FROM GOD..."

_________________________________________

"... it should think little about itself.
All its concern is taken up with
how to please Him more and
how it will show Him the love it bears Him.
This is the reason for prayer, 
always of good works..."

     * * * * * * * * * *

Oh, my sisters, how forgetful of her ease, 
how unmindful of honours, and 
how far from seeking men’s esteem
should she be 
whose soul God thus chooses 
for His special dwelling-place! 

For if her mind is fixed on Him, 
as it ought to be, 
she must needs forget herself: 

all her thoughts are bent on 
how to please Him better 
    and 
when and how she can show the love she bears Him. 


This is THE END AND AIM OF PRAYER, 
my daughters; 

This is the reason of the spiritual marriage 
whose children are always GOOD WORKS. 

WORKS ARE THE UNMISTAKABLE SIGN 
WHICH SHOWS THESE FAVOURS COME FROM GOD, 
as I told you. 

      *  *  *  *   *

It will do me little  good 
to be deeply recollected when alone, 
making acts of the virtues, 
planning and promising to do wonders 
in God’s service, 
if afterwards, when occasion offers, 
I do just the opposite. 

I did wrong in saying, 
‘It will do me little good,’ 
for all the time we spend with God 
does us great good. 

Though afterwards we may weakly fail 
to perform our good intentions, 
yet some time or other 
His Majesty will find a way for us 
to practise them 
although perhaps much to our regret. 

Thus when He sees a soul very cowardly, 
He often sends it some great affliction, 
much against its will, 
and brings it through this trial 
with profit to itself.

When the soul has learnt this, 
it is less timid in offering itself to Him. 


Christan Classics Ethereal Library
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castle2.xi.iv.html 


 

      Her teachings on

        prayer and 

        the spiritual life 

     are essential to the formation and life 
        of the Secular Order.

 

 8. Saint John of the Cross 

      was the companion of Saint Teresa 

      in the formation of the Discalced Carmelite Order. 

      He inspires the Secular Carmelite to be vigilant 

in the practice of faith, hope and charity. 

     

      He guides the Secular Carmelite through the dark night

        to union with God.

Selections from the writings of St John of the Cross
on the Nights of Sense and the Night of the Spirit
 __________________________________________

 Ascent of Mount Carmel
 Book 1 Chapter 13   Paragraph #1...

 "...Wherein is described the manner and way 
 which the soul must follow 
 in order to enter this night of sense. 

 It now remains for me 
 to give certain counsels 
 whereby the soul may know 
    how to enter this night of sense 
    and  may be able so to do. 

 To this end it must be known that the soul 
 habitually enters this night of sense 
 in two ways: 

 The one is active; 
 The other passive. 

 The active way 
    consists in that which the soul can do, 
    and does, of itself, 
    in order to enter therein, 
    whereof we shall now treat 
    in the counsels which follow. 

 The passive way 
    is that wherein the soul does nothing, 
    and God works in it, 
    and it remains, as it were, patient. 

 Of this we shall treat in the fourth book, 
 where we shall be treating of beginners. 

 ...at present we are treating only 
    of the reasons for which this journey 
        is called a night, 
    and of what kind it is, 
    and how many parts it has...

 2. These counsels 
    for the conquering of the desires, 
      which now follow, albeit brief and few,
    I believe to be as profitable and efficacious 
      as they are concise; 
    so that one who sincerely desires to practice them 
      will need no others, 
    but will find them all included in these. 

 3. First, let him have an habitual desire... 
      to imitate Christ in everything that he does, 
    conforming himself to His life; 
    upon which life he must meditate 
    so that he may know how 
      to imitate it, and 
      to behave in all things 
      as Christ would behave. 

 4. Secondly, 
    in order that he may be able to do this well, 
    every pleasure that presents itself to the senses, 
    if it be not purely 
      for the honour and glory of God, 
    must be renounced and completely rejected 
      for the love of Jesus Christ, 
    Who in this life had no other pleasure, 
      neither desired any, 
    than to do the will of His Father, 
      which He called His meat and food…"

Christian Classics Ethereal Library 
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/
john_cross/ascent.iv.xiv.html

      ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~   ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  

 Ascent of Mount Carmel
 Book 2  Chapter 2   Paragraph #1...

 "We now go on to treat 
  of the second part of this night, 
   which is faith; 

  this is the wondrous means 
  which, as we said, 
  leads to the goal, which is God...

 
 3. We have now to prove how this second part, 
       which is faith, 
     is night to the spirit, 
     even as the first part is night to sense. 

    And we shall then also describe the things 
     that are contrary to it, 
    and how the soul must prepare itself actively 
     to enter it..."

Christian Classics Ethereal Library 
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/
john_cross/ascent.v.ii.html

     ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~   ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  

The Dark Night of the Soul 
Book 2  Chapter 9

"How, although this night brings darkness 
to the spirit, 
it does so in order 
to illumine it and give it light."

"It now remains to be said that, 
although this happy night brings darkness 
to the spirit,
it does so only to give it light in everything; 

and that, although 
it humbles it and makes it miserable, 
it does so only to exalt it and to raise it up; 

and, although it impoverishes it and empties it 
of all natural affection and attachment, 
it does so 
only that it may enable it 
to stretch forward, divinely..."

Christian Classics Ethereal Library 
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john_cross/dark_night.viii.ix.html

 



    

 The Mystic Ladder of Divine Love

from "The Dark Night  of the Soul"   
Book 2 Chapter 19 and following
by St John of the Cross

The Dark Night of the Soul
Book 2 

CHAPTER XIX
Begins to explain the ten steps 
of the mystic ladder of Divine love, 
according to Saint Bernard and Saint Thomas. 

The first five are here treated.

WE observe, then, 
that the steps of this ladder of love 
by which the soul mounts, 
one by one, to God, 
are ten. 

The first step of love 
causes the soul to languish, 
and this to its advantage. 

The Bride is speaking 
from this step of love 
when she says: 

  ‘I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, 
   that, if ye find my Beloved, 
   ye tell Him that I am sick with love.’ 


This sickness, however, is not unto death, 
but for the glory of God, 
for in this sickness the soul swoons 
as to sin and 
as to all things that are not God, 
for the sake of God Himself...

For just as a sick man first of all 
loses his appetite... 
so likewise in this degree of love 
the soul loses its taste and desire 
for all things ...

The soul falls not into this sickness 
if excess of heat be not communicated to it 
from above...

This sickness and swooning to all things, 
which is the beginning and the first step 
on the road to God...

...when it can find no pleasure, support, 
consolation or abiding-place 
in anything soever. 

Wherefore from this step it begins at once 
to climb to the second. 


2. 
The second step 
causes the soul to seek God without ceasing. 

Wherefore, when the Bride says 
that she sought Him by night upon her bed 
 (when she had swooned away 
  according to the first step of love) 

and found Him not, 
she said: 

  ‘I will arise and will seek Him 
   Whom my soul loveth...'
 

3. 
The third step of the ladder of love 
is that which causes the soul to work 
and gives it fervour so that it fails not...

On this step the soul considers great works 
undertaken for the Beloved 
as small; 

...and the long time for which it serves Him 
as short, 
by reason of the fire of love 
wherein it is now burning.

...it suffers great pains and afflictions 
because of the little that it does for God; 

...Wherefore it considers itself useless 
in all that it does 
and thinks itself to be living in vain. 

Another wondrous effect produced 
here in the soul 
is that it considers itself as being, 
most certainly, 
worse than all other souls: 

first, 
because love is continually teaching it 
how much is due to God; and

second, 
because, as the works 
which it here does for God are many 
and it knows them all 
to be faulty and imperfect, 
they all bring it confusion and affliction, 
for it realizes in how lowly a manner 
it is working for God, Who is so high. 

On this third step, 
the soul is very far 
from vainglory or presumption, and
from condemning others.  


4. 
The fourth step of this ladder of love 
is that whereby there is caused in the soul 
an habitual suffering 
because of the Beloved, 
yet without weariness.

...In no way does the soul here 
seek its own consolation or pleasure, 
either in God, 
or in aught else, 
nor does it desire or seek to pray to God 
for favours, 

for it sees clearly 
that it has already received enough of these, 

and all its anxiety is set upon the manner 
wherein it will be able  to do something 
that is pleasing to God and 
to render Him some service 
such as He merits 
and 
in return for what it has received from Him, 
although it be greatly to its cost. 


Exceeding lofty is this step of love; 
for, as the soul goes ever after God 
with love so true, 
imbued with the spirit of suffering for His sake, 
His Majesty oftentimes... 
visits it sweetly and delectably in the spirit; 

for the boundless love of Christ, the Word, 
cannot suffer the afflictions of His lover 
without succouring him…


Speaking spiritually, this denotes the detachment 
which the soul now has interiorly 
from every creature...

This fourth step enkindles the soul 
and makes it to burn in such desire for God 
that it causes it to mount to the fifth, 
which is that which follows. 


5. 
The fifth step of this ladder of love 
makes the soul to desire and long for God 
impatiently. 

On this step the vehemence of the lover 
to comprehend the Beloved and 
be united with Him 
is such that every delay, however brief, 
becomes very long, wearisome and oppressive to it, 
and it continually believes itself 
to be finding the Beloved. 

And when it sees its desire frustrated 
 (which is at almost every moment),
  it swoons away with its yearning...

On this step the lover must needs see 
that which he loves, 
or die;

On this step, which is one of hunger,  
the soul is nourished upon love;

for, even as is its hunger, 
so is its abundance; 
so that it rises hence to the sixth step, 
producing the effects…

Christian Classics Ethereal Library 
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john_cross/dark_night.viii.xix.html

 __________________________________


Dark Night Book II     CHAPTER XX 

Wherein are treated 
the other five steps of love.

ON the sixth step 
the soul runs swiftly to God 
and touches Him again and again; 
and it runs without fainting 
by reason of its hope. 

For here the love 
that has made it strong 
makes it to fly swiftly. 

...The cause of this swiftness in love 
which the soul has on this step 
is that its charity is greatly enlarged 
within it, 
since the soul is here almost wholly purified…

  ‘I ran the way of Thy commandments 
   when Thou didst enlarge my heart…'


2. 
The seventh step of this ladder 
makes the soul to become vehement 
in its boldness. 

Here love employs not its judgment 
in order to hope, 
nor does it take counsel 
so that it may draw back...

for the favour 
which God here grants to the soul 
causes it to become vehement in its boldness. 

...That charity 
believeth all things, 
hopeth all things and 
is capable of all things…


3. 
The eighth step of love 
causes the soul to seize Him 
and hold Him fast without letting Him go...

   ‘I found Him Whom my heart and soul love; 
    I held Him and I will not let Him go.’ 

On this step of union the soul satisfies her desire, 
but not continuously.  

... After this step follows the ninth, 
which is that of souls now perfect…


4. 
The ninth step of love 
makes the soul to burn with sweetness.

This step is that of the perfect, 
who now burn sweetly in God. 

For this sweet and delectable ardour 
is caused in them by the Holy Spirit 
by reason of the union 
which they have with God. 

For this cause Saint Gregory says, 
concerning the Apostles, 
that when the Holy Spirit came upon them visibly 
they burned inwardly and sweetly through love...


5. 
The tenth and last step 
of this secret ladder of love 
causes the soul to become wholly assimilated to God, 
by reason of the clear and immediate  vision of God 
which it then possesses;

...Not because the soul will come to have 
the capacity of God, 
for that is impossible; 

but because all that it is 
will become like to God, 
for which cause it will be called, 
and will be, God by participation. 


6. 
This is the secret ladder 
whereof the soul here speaks, 

although upon these higher steps 
it is no longer very secret to the soul, 
since much is revealed to it by love, 
through the great effects 
which love produces in it. 

...After this manner, 
by this mystical theology and secret love, 
the soul continues to rise 
above all things and above itself, 
and to mount upward to God. 

For love is like fire, 
which ever rises upward 
with the desire to be absorbed 
in the centre of its sphere. 

Christian Classics Ethereal Library 
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john_cross/dark_night.viii.xx.html
 
 

     In this union with God, 

     the Secular Carmelite finds the true freedom 
         of the children of God.    [13]

               [13.]         Cf. Sayings 46;

Sayings 46.
St John of the Cross

"If you make use of your reason,
you are like one who eats substantial food;

but if you are moved 
by the satisfaction of your will,
you are like one who eats insipid fruit."

Institute of Carmelite Studies
Copyright © 1991 by Washington Province 
of Discalced Carmelite Friars, Inc. 

http://www.icspublications.org/


 

                    [13.]         LF 3:78;

Living  Flame  of  Love  3:78
St John of the Cross

78. 
'With strange brightness' signifies 
that the brightness is strange in a way 
that is far remote from all common thought 
and all description and every way and manner. 

For the brightness 
with which God visits the soul  
is like to the brightness 
wherewith the UNDERSTANDING 
receives Divine wisdom and 
is made one with the understanding of God; 

for one cannot give 
save in the way wherein is given to him. 

And like to the brightness 
wherewith the WILL is united in goodness 
is the brightness 
wherewith the soul gives to God in God 
the same goodness; 

for the soul receives it 
only to give it again. 

In the same way, according to the brightness 
wherewith the soul has knowledge 
of the greatness of God, 
being united therewith, 
it shines and gives heat of love. 

According to the brightness 
of the other Divine attributes 
which are here communicated to the soul

  - fortitude, beauty, justice, etc. - 

are the manners of brightness 
wherewith the SENSE, having fruition, 
is giving to its Beloved, 
in its Beloved 
   - that is to say, 
giving that same light and heat 
that it is receiving from its Beloved; 

for, since in this state it has been made 
one and the same thing with Him, 
it is after a certain manner 
God by participation; 

for, although this is not so 
as perfectly as in the next life, 
the soul is, as we have said, 
as it were a shadow of God. 

And in this way, since the soul, 
by means of this substantial transformation, 
is the shadow of God, 

it does in God and through God 
that which He does through Himself 
in the soul, 
in the same way as He does it; 

for the WILL of these two is one and 
thus the operation of God and that of the soul 
are one. 

Therefore, 
even as God is giving Himself to the soul 
with free and gracious will, 
even so likewise 
the soul, having a will 
that is the freer and the more generous 
in proportion 
as it has a greater degree of union with God, 
is giving God in God to God Himself, 
and thus the gift of the soul to God 
is true and entire. 

For in this state the soul sees 
that God truly belongs to it, and 
that it possesses Him 
with hereditary possession, 
with rightful ownership,  
as an adopted child of God, 
through the grace that God gave to it, 

and it sees that, since He belongs to it, 
it may give and communicate Him 
to whomsoever it desires of its own will; 

and thus it gives Him to its Beloved, 
Who is the very God that gave Himself to it. 

And herein the soul pays God 
all that it owes Him; 

inasmuch as, of its own will, 
it gives as much as it has received of Him." 


(translated by E. Allison Peers)


 

                  [13.]         II Ascent   chapter 6

Ascent of Mount Carmel   Book 2  Chapter 6
_________________________________________________

CHAPTER VI
"Wherein is described 
how it is the three theological virtues 
that perfect the three faculties of the soul, 
 and 
how the said virtues produce 
emptiness and darkness within them."

Having now to endeavour to show 
how  the three faculties of the soul 

  — understanding, memory and will — 
    
are brought into this spiritual night, 
which is the means to Divine union, 

it is necessary first of all 
to explain in this chapter 
how the three theological virtues 

  — faith, hope and charity — 

which have respect 
 to the three faculties aforesaid 
as their proper supernatural objects,
and by means whereof the soul is united with God 
according to its faculties, 
produce the same emptiness and darkness, 
each one in its own faculty. 

FAITH, in the UNDERSTANDING; 

HOPE, in the MEMORY; and 

CHARITY, in the WILL.
 

And afterwards we shall go on to describe how
 the UNDERSTANDING is perfected 
   in the darkness of FAITH; 
   and 
 the MEMORY in the emptiness of HOPE; 
   and likewise how 
 the WILL must be buried 
   by withdrawing and detaching every affection 
   so that the soul may journey to God..."

Christian Classics Ethereal Library 
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/
john_cross/ascent.v.vi.html

 
 


                  [13.]         II Ascent   chapter  29:6;

Ascent of Mount Carmel  Book 2  Ch 29: Paragraph 6
 
6. 
"... that the Holy Spirit illumines 
the understanding 
which is recollected,
and illumines it according to the manner 
of its recollection,  

and that the understanding cannot find 
any other and greater recollection than in faith...

For the purer and the more refined in faith 
is the soul, 
 the more it has 
  of the infused charity of God; and 
 the more charity it has, 
 the more is it illumined and 
 the more gifts of the Holy Spirit 
  are communicated to it, 
for charity is the cause and the means 
whereby they are communicated to it.

And although it is true that, 
in this illumination of truths, 
the Holy Spirit communicates 
 a certain light to the soul, 

this is nevertheless as different in quality 
from that which is in faith, 
wherein is no clear understanding, 
as is the most precious gold 
from the basest metal; 
and, with regard to its quantity, 
the one is as much greater than the other 
as the sea is greater than a drop of water. 

For in the one manner 
there is communicated to the soul 
wisdom concerning one or two or three truths, 
etc., 

but in the other there is communicated to it 
all the wisdom of God in general, 
which is the Son of God, 
Who communicates Himself to the soul in faith.

Christian Classics Ethereal Library 
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/john_cross/
ascent.v.xxix.html

 

               [13.]        Collect of the Votive Mass 

                                of St. John of the Cross

Collect of the Votive Mass 
of St. John of the Cross 
_______________________ 

Collect

Lord God, 
you have given your Church 
our Father St. John of the Cross 
as a guide in the ways of the spirit. 

May his example and teaching lead us 
by faith, hope and charity 
to the perfect liberty 
which is the heritage of your sons and daughters.
 
     
Cf. The Carmelite Sacramentary,  
Teresian Carmelites, 
Worcester, Massachusetts, 1997, p. 101.

 

9. Taking into account 

        the origins of Carmel and the Teresian charism, 

    the fundamental elements of the vocation 
        of Teresian Secular Carmelites 

    can be summarized as follows:

   a) to live in allegiance to Jesus Christ, 

         supported by the imitation and patronage 
            of the most Blessed Virgin Mary, 

         whose way of life is, for Carmel, 
            a model of being conformed to Christ.

   b) to seek “mysterious union with God” 

         by way of contemplation and apostolic activity, 

         indissolubly joined together, for service to the Church;

   c) to give particular importance to prayer 

         which, nourished 
             by listening to the Word of God and 
             by the liturgy,

       is conducive to relating with God as a friend, 

          not just in prayer but in daily living. 

      To be committed to this life of prayer

        demands being nourished 
             by faith, hope and, above all, charity 

        in order to live in the presence and the mystery 
             of the living God.                           [14]

                       [14]      Maxim and Counsels 40

                                   Letter #19 October 12 1589

Sayings 119. 

There are three signs of inner recollection: 

 first,  lack of satisfaction in passing things; 

 second, a liking for solitude and silence and 
         an attentiveness to all 
         that is more perfect; 

 third,  the considerations, meditations, and acts 
         which formerly helped the soul 
         now hinder it,
         and it brings to prayer no other support 
         than FAITH, HOPE, and LOVE..."

Institute of Carmelite Studies
Copyright © 1991 by Washington Province 
of Discalced Carmelite Friars, Inc. 

http://www.icspublications.org/



  

Letter #19.         
[To Doña Juana de Pedraza, 
 in Granada Segovia, 
 October 12, 1589]

"He that seeks naught but God 
 walks not in darkness, 
 in whatever darkness and poverty 
 he may find himself; 

and he that 
 harbours no presumptuousness and
 desires not his own satisfaction, 
  either as to God 
  or as to the creatures, and
 works his own will in any way whatsoever, 
has no need to stumble or to worry about anything.  

What do you think is meant by serving God, 
but abstaining from evil, 
 keeping His commandments and 
 walking in His ways as best we can? 

If this be done, 
what need is there 
 of other apprehensions, 
 or of any other illumination or sweetness 
 whether from one source or from another? 


In these things as a rule 
the soul is never free 
 from stumbling-blocks and perils, 
and is deceived and fascinated 
  by the objects of its understanding and desire 
and its very faculties cause it to stray. 


And thus God is granting the soul 
a great favour 
when He darkens the faculties 
and impoverishes the soul 
so that it may not be led astray by them;


and how can it walk aright and not stray, 
save by following the straight road of the law 
of God and of the Church, 
and living only 
in true and dark faith 
and certain hope and perfect charity, 
and awaiting its blessings in the life to come, 
living here below as pilgrims, exiles 
and orphans, poor and desolate, 
with no road to follow and 
with no possessions,
expecting to receive everything in Heaven? 

Rejoice and put your trust in God, 
 
...He is leading you by the road 
that is best for you 
and has set you in so sure a place. 

Desire no way of progress 
but this, 
and tranquillize your soul, 
for all is well with it..."

(translated by E. Allison Peers)

 

   d) to infuse prayer and life with apostolic zeal 
          in a climate of human and Christian community;

   e) to live evangelical self-denial 
          from a theological perspective;

 
   f)  to give importance to the commitment to evangelization:
          in the ministry of spirituality
          as the particular collaboration of the Secular Order,     
          faithful to its Teresian Carmelite identity.


     ____________________________________________

Rule of  St Albert

OCDS Constitutions

Order of  Secular Discalced Carmelites ( Secular Carmelite Rule of Life )       Preface       Section 1      Our Identity, Values, and Committment        Section 11     Following Jesus                           in the Teresian Secular Carmel       Section 111    Witness to the experience of God       Section 1V     Serving God's Plan        Section V      With Mary, the Mother of Jesus       Section V1     Formation in the School of Carmel       Section V11    Organization and Government       Epilogue