Prophetic:
Based in the tradition of the prophets Carmel, and in particular the distinctive way Elijah was prophetic.
Being a Carmelite is an opportunity to be prophetic by making the experience of God and relationship with Him the telos of life. It means making actual in this life the restoration in Christ with the Father and the Holy Spirit that which is ours by covenant and grace.
Eremetic:
Carmel, privileges the type of solitude that fosters deep interior peace, that the soul may be more receptive to the Word.
It is communal in the sense that it very much exists within the communion of the Church and depends upon fidelity to the teachings of Christ in word and deed.
It is also communal in the sense of established religious orders and societies that the charism of Carmel has given birth to.
However it’s communal identity emphasizes the importance of solitude and silence to encounter the Lord. A sign that a community is not being faithful to the charism of Carmel would be that it isn’t allowing sufficient priority for this and doesn’t teach it’s members the virtues required to be united to God in solitude and silence.
Apostolic:
The Carmelite Order, and the Renewal that led to the separation of the Discalced Carmelites from the Order of Carmelites, was no longer a strictly eremetic endeavor at the point in history when John and Theresa were working toward reform (and it likely hadn’t been for some time).
The male branch of the reform was mendicant rather than monastic, which reflects the larger ethos of renewal that led to the Dominicans, Franciscans, and others. During this time it was seen that, at least for male religious who were priests, their lives should be modeled more closely to Christ’s life, which was poor and apostolic. This was a rejection of the accumulation of wealth in the monasteries as well as the vow of stability that monks took.
This allowed religious priests in these orders to move around in ministry and in particular allowed male religious of the Carmelite renewal to minister the nuns in convents in various places. It should be noted though, that the vowed nuns of the order remained monastic in orientation.
Most continue to be monastic to this day though there are some branches that are more mixed like the male order. Clearly, OCDS members are not monastics or mendicants but are seculars, and so there is probably no limit to how the apostolic dimension may come to fruition, as long as it is obedient to Christ and the Church, and one’s vocation as both Secular and a Discalced Carmelite.
Meditative:
Meditation in Carmel is foundational to its spirituality, in particular as an aspect of mental or interior prayer. Meditation means to think about or focus one’s mind on an aspect of God, or a truth about God revealed in Scripture, or a truth of the faith. This is more accurately called sacred or supernatural meditation. Natural meditation could be to apply the same powers to an object of nature, be it self or the physical, natural environment. Meditation is largely active in that it takes what is present and “chews” on it.
Sometimes the Old Testament uses a word like “to chew” for meditation because this is sort of what it is like. It helps us to “digest” or go deeper into the meaning or reality of what is being focused upon. In the OCDS we take a minimum of ½ every day or meditation or meditative prayer or mental prayer. It is important to note that while there is nothing inherently wrong with natural meditation, it is supernatural meditation that is the focal point of meditation in Carmel, even if there are features of natural meditation as part of it. Natural meditation is subordinated to and foundational for supernatural meditation, which is ordinarily necessary for one’s own sanctification and salvation
Contemplative:
Because the experience of God is so fundamental to Carmel, and because a person cannot conjure an experience of God, or reduce God to her own experience, we speak of the Contemplative dimension of Carmel as being open to God’s act in us. Meditation often leads to deeper prayer with God.
Creating space and time for this the way that we do in Carmel allows for a deeper contemplative experience while at the same time doesn’t necessitate contemplative prayer. Because contemplative prayer in Carmel is considered a grace, at least beyond acquired contemplation, it is important to recall that perseverance in meditation doesn’t necessarily equate to progress and growth in contemplative union with God.
Nonetheless, again, taking contemplation in a natural or Aristotelian way would mean the likeness to that which we meditate upon forming within us by virtue of our focus upon that which we meditate upon. So, from a natural perspective, if we meditate upon God’s goodness this is contemplation is so far as that goodness, as the likeness of that which we meditate upon, grows in us. This would be most similar to acquired contemplation, but doesn’t necessitate supernatural virtues in the same way.
So this should encourage people that while we may not have experiences of infused contemplation we can nonetheless grow closer to God and in His likeness through focusing on Him through meditation. Carmel, by allowing for recollection and meditation, creates the conditions for a contemplative way of life that is more conducive to contemplative prayer.
This article is based on notes taken from Carmelite Spirituality in the Teresian Tradition, by Paul-Marie of the Cross, OCD. It is published by ICS Publications. Please visit their online store for an amazing selection of books related to contemplation in the Carmelite tradition (no I don’t receive proceeds). I am an aspirant in-formation with the OCDS in St. Louis and this was written in the context of one of my monthly assignments – to write a reflection on parts of this book.