Section II - Following Jesus in the Teresian Secular Carmel

                                         II
 
        Following Jesus In The Teresian Secular Carmel

10. Christ is the center of our lives and of Christian experience.

      Members of the Secular Order are called to live the demands 

           of following Christ in union with Him, 

      by accepting His teachings and devoting themselves to Him. 

      To follow Jesus is 

      to take part in His saving mission of 

          proclaiming the Good News and 

          the establishment of God’s Kingdom       

                            (Mt 4:18-19).

Mt 4:18-19

18 
And Jesus walking 
by the sea of Galilee, 
saw two brethren, 
Simon who is called Peter, 
and Andrew his brother, 
casting a net into the sea 
for they were fishers). 

19 
And he saith to them: 
Come ye after me, 
and I will make you 
to be fishers of men.

20 
And they immediately 
leaving their nets, 
followed him.

 

There are various ways of following Jesus:

 All Christians 

          must follow Him,

          must make Him the law for their lives and

          be disposed to fulfil three fundamental demands: 

              to place family ties beneath the interests 

                 of the Kingdom and Jesus himself 

                       ( Mt 10:37-39; 

                         Lk 14:25-26);

Mt 10:37 - 39
                     
37 
He that loveth father or mother 
more than me, 
is not worthy of me; 

and he that loveth 
son or daughter 
more than me, 
is not worthy of me. 

38 
And he 
that taketh not up his cross, 
and followeth me,
is not worthy of me. 

39 
He that findeth his life, 
shall lose it:
and 
he that shall lose his life 
for me, 
shall find it. 


 

Lk 14:25 - 26

25 
And there went great multitudes 
with him. 

And turning, he said to them: 

26 
If any man come to me, 
and hate not 
his father, and mother, 
and wife, and children, 
and brethren, and sisters, 
yea and his own life also,
he cannot be my disciple. 

27 
And whosoever doth not 
carry his cross and
come after me,
cannot be my disciple. 
                     
 

              to live in detachment from wealth 
                 in order to show 

                 that the arrival of the Kingdom 
                   does not depend on human means 

                   but rather on God’s strength and the willingness 

                      of the human person before Him

                      ( Lk 14:33);

Lk 14:33

33 
So likewise every one of you 
that doth not renounce 
all that he possesseth, 
cannot be my disciple. 

 

              to carry the cross of accepting God’s will revealed in the mission 

                  that He has confided to each person 

                                 ( Lk 14:33; 

                                   Lk 9:23 ).

Lk 14:33

33 
So likewise every one of you 
that doth not renounce 
all that he possesseth, 
cannot be my disciple. 

 

Lk 9:23

23 
And he said to all: 
If any man will come after me, 
let him 
deny himself, and 
take up his cross daily, and 
follow me.

24 
For whosoever will save his life, 
shall lose it; 
for he that shall lose his life 
for my sake, 
shall save it.

25 
For what is a man advantaged, 
if he gain the whole world, 
and lose himself, 
and cast away himself? 

 

11. Following Jesus as members of the Secular Order 

         is expressed by the promise to strive for evangelical perfection 

         in the spirit of the evangelical counsels
                of chastity, poverty and obedience
                and through the beatitudes. 

      By means of this promise 
         the member’s baptismal commitment 

         is strengthened for the service of God’s plan in the world. 

      This promise is a pledge to pursue personal holiness, 

         which necessarily carries with it a commitment 

         to serving the Church in faithfulness to the Teresian Carmelite charism. 

      The promise is taken 

         before the members of the community, 
             representing the whole Church

         and in the presence of the Delegate
             of the Superior of the Order. 

12. By the promise made to the community 

         in the presence of the Superior of the Order or his Delegate, 

      the person becomes a full member of the Secular Order. 

      By this commitment 

      members strive to acquire the necessary training to know 

         the reasons, 

         the content and 

         the purpose of the evangelical lifestyle they are undertaking. 

      The promise heightens and enriches the baptismal commitment 

         in Secular Carmelites. 

      This includes those called to married life, 

         both as spouses and as parents. 

      This promise is renewed once a year at Easter time. 

    The commitment to the promise to live the spirit 

           of the evangelical counsel  of chastity 

13. The promise of  CHASTITY 

         reinforces the commitment 

            to love God above all else, and 

            to love others with the love God has for them.                     [15]

                                                    [15]     Cf III A 23:1

Ascent of Mt Carmel   
Book 3   Chapter  23   Paragraph 1
St. John of the Cross
                     
CHAPTER XXIII

"Of the benefits which the soul receives 
from not setting its rejoicing 
   upon the good things of nature. 

MANY are the benefits 
   which come to the soul
through the withdrawal of its heart 
   from this rejoicing;

For, besides preparing itself 
   for the love of God and the other virtues, 
it makes a direct way
   for its own humility, and 
   for a general charity 
     toward its neighbours. 

For, as it is not led 
   by the apparent good things of nature, 
      which are deceitful, 
   into affection for anyone, 
the soul remains free and able     
          [596] 
to love them all rationally and spiritually, 
   as God wills them to be loved. 

Here it must be understood 
that none deserves to be loved, 
   save for the virtue that is in him. 

And, when we love in this way, 
it is very pleasing to the will of God, 
   and also brings great freedom; 

and if there be attachment in it, 
there is greater attachment to God. 

For, in that case, 
the more this love grows, 
the more grows our love toward God;
    and, 
the more grows our love toward God, 
the greater becomes our love 
    for our neighbour. 

For, when love is grounded in God, 
the reason for all love is
    one and the same and 

the cause of all love is 
    one and the same also."


596  [Lit., ‘free and clear.’] 


Christian Classics Ethereal library
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/john_cross/
ascent.vi.xxiii.html

 

       In this promise the Secular Carmelite seeks the freedom 

            to love God and neighbor unselfishly  [16]

                                  [16]      Prec 1 and 6

The  Precautions   
(The Works of St. John of the Cross)

[ Paragraph #1 ]

The religious who desires to attain quickly 
 to holy recollection, silence, 
   spiritual detachment 
   and poverty of spirit, 
 wherein is enjoyed 
   the peaceful refreshment 
      of the Holy Spirit 
          and 

 whereby the soul 
   attains to union with God, and 
   frees itself from the hindrances 
     which come from all the creatures 
       of this world, and 
   defends itself 
     from the wiles and deceits 
       of the devil, and 
   is disencumbered of itself,  
must needs practise 
   the following instructions. 

                    ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊

 [ Paragraph 5 ]

In order to free thyself perfectly 
   from the evil 
which the world can do to thee, 
thou shalt use three cautions. 
 
                   ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊

[ Paragraph 6 ]

6. The first caution is 
that for all persons 
thou shalt have 
  equal love and equal forgetfulness, 
  whether they be thy relatives or no, 
withdrawing thy heart 
  from these as much as from those; 

more so, indeed, in some ways, 
  from thy kinsmen, 
lest flesh and blood quicken 
     with natural love, 
  which is ever alive among kinsfolk, 
  which thou must ever mortify
  for the sake of spiritual perfection. 

Hold them all as strangers to thee; 
in this way thou dost serve them better 
  than by setting upon them the affection 
  which thou owest to God. 

Love not one person better than another 
  or thou shalt go astray, 

for he whom God loves best 
  is worthy to be loved best, 

and thou knowest not who it is 
  that God best loveth. 

But if thou art equally forgetful of them all, 
  as befits thee for holy recollection, 
thou shalt free thyself from going astray 
  as regards the greater or lesser degree 
       of love 
  due to each.   

Think not of them at all, 
  be they good things or evil things; 

flee from them 
  in so far as thou fairly  canst. 

And, if thou observe not this, 
  thou hast not learned to be a religious, 
  neither shalt be able to attain 
     to holy recollection, 
  nor to free thyself 
     from the imperfections 
  that come to thee hereby. 

And if in this matter 
thou desire to allow thyself  
  a certain licence, 
the devil will deceive thee 
  in one way or in another, 
or thou wilt deceive thyself, 
  under some colour of good or of evil. 

In doing that which has been described 
  lies security, 
for in no other way canst thou free thyself 
  from the imperfections and evils 
  which the soul obtains from creatures. 

 
The Precautions
The Works of St. John of the Cross
Translated by David Lewis

 

            giving witness to the divine intimacy promised by the beatitude: 

                 "Blessed are the pure of heart 

                      for they shall see God"            (Mt 5:8). 

       The promise of chastity is a commitment to Christian love

             in its personal and social dimensions 

         in order to create authentic community in the world. 

        By this promise the Secular Carmelite also expresses 

             the conscious desire to respect each person 

                 as required by God’s law and one’s state of life, 

                 as a single person or married or widowed. 

       This promise does not prevent a change in state of life. 

       The commitment to the promise of living the spirit 

                  of the evangelical counsel  of poverty 

14. By the promise of POVERTY 

       the Secular Carmelite expresses the desire 

            to live in accordance with the Gospel and its values. 

      In evangelical poverty there is a 

            wealth of generosity, 

            self-denial, and

            interior liberty and a 

            dependence on Him,  

            Who “Though rich, 
            yet for our sake, became poor”   

                     (2 Co 8:9),

2 Corinthians 8:9
                     
8 
I speak not as commanding; 
but by the carefulness of others, 
approving also the good disposition 
of your charity

9 
For you know the grace 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
that being rich he became poor, 
for your sakes; 
that through his poverty 
you might be rich.

 

         “and Who emptied Himself”                                       
                       (Ph 2:7), 

          to be at the service of His brothers and sisters.

Philippians 2:7

7 
But emptied himself, 
taking the form of a servant, 
being made 
in the likeness of men, and
in habit found as a man.          

8 
He humbled himself, 
becoming obedient unto death, 
even to the death of the cross   

 

      The promise of poverty seeks an evangelical use 

          of the goods of this world and 

          of personal talents, as well as 

          the exercise of personal responsibilities 
              in society, in family, and work, 

      confidently placing all in the hands of God. 

      It also implies a commitment to the cause of justice 

          so that the world itself responds to God’s plan. 

      In combination with these,  evangelical poverty 

          recognizes personal limitations and

          surrenders them to God with confidence 
               in His goodness and fidelity. 

           The commitment to the promise to live the spirit 

                 of the evangelical counsel of obedience 

15. The promise of  OBEDIENCE is a pledge 

        to live open to the will of God, 

        “in Whom we live and move and have our being” 
  
                     (Ac 17:28)

Acts of the Apostles  17:28
 
27 
That they should seek God, 
if happily they may 
feel after him or find him, 
although he be not far 
from every one of us: 

28 
For in him 
we live, and move, and are; 
as some also of your own poets said: 
For we are also his offspring

 

         imitating Christ Who

             accepted the Father’s will and 

             was “obedient unto death, death on a cross”
        
                                (Ph 2:8).

Philippians 2:8 

7 
But emptied himself, 
taking the form of a servant, 
being made 
in the likeness of men, and
in habit found as a man.          

8 
He humbled himself, 
becoming obedient unto death, 
even to the death of the cross 

 

     The promise of obedience is an exercise of faith 

         leading to the search for God’s will 

               in the events and challenges 

               in society and our own personal life. 

      For this reason the Secular Carmelite freely cooperates with those 

         who have responsibility for guiding the community and the Order 

               in discerning and accepting God’s ways: 

               the Community’s Council, 

               the Provincial and 

               the General. 

    The commitment to the promise to live the spirit of the Beatitudes 

16. The BEATITUDES are 

         a plan of action for life and 

         a way to enter into relationship 

            with the world, neighbors and co-workers, families and friends. 

      By promising to live the beatitudes in daily life, 

         Secular Carmelites seek to give evangelical witness 

            as members of the Church and the Order, and 

      by this witness invite the world to follow Christ: 

         “the Way, the Truth and the Life”                 
                             (Jn 14:6).

Jn 14:6

Jesus saith to him:
I am the way, 
and the truth, 
and the life. 

No man cometh to the Father, 
but by me.  
 

_____________________________________________________________________________

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