A brief history of the Carmelite Family
The Carmelites are a religious order who follow an 800 year-old tradition of spirituality. Our official title is ‘The Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel.’
Who we are
Beginning on Mount Carmel in Israel, towards the end of the 1100’s, the earliest Carmelites came to the Holy Land from Europe. They eventually sought to settle there and to live a hermit lifestyle in prayer and silence. This first group of Carmelites settled near a fountain associated with Elijah, the Old Testament Prophet, and built a chapel in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Following Elijah, Prophet of Carmel, Carmelites seek to attune themselves to God, living in God’s presence, and developing a hunger and a thirst for justice and all that is right.
Following Mary, Mother of Carmel, and inspired by her ‘yes’ to God, Carmelites seek to help people come to know the love and compassion of God who entered this world through her willing acceptance.
The Carmelites follow a Rule which was written for the very first hermit-brothers on Mount Carmel by St Albert, Patriarch of Jerusalem. The Carmelite Rule is a living document, deeply rooted in the Word of God in the Scriptures. It fosters prayerfulness, encouraging an openness to God’s presence in our lives, teaching us to see the world with God’s eyes, and inspiring us to seek, recognise, love and serve God in those around us.
Carmelites follow Jesus Christ through living the vows of Poverty, Chastity and Obedience. We are known as ‘friars’ which is another word for ‘brothers’, reflecting the community dimension of our lives and the fact that we hold all things in common.
PRAYER, COMMUNITY, and SERVICE are three ‘pillars’ of the Carmelite way.
PRAYER is at the very heart of our lives as Carmelites. Our Rule calls us to spend time alone reflecting on the Word of God. It also calls us to gather each day to celebrate the Eucharist and to pray together the psalms of the Prayer of the Church. As Carmelites we try always to make time in our lives for prayer – no matter how busy our ministry or how many demands may be made upon us. ‘Prayer is life, not an oasis in the desert of life.’ (Blessed Titus Brandsma O. Carm.)
Carmelites are called to live as members of a COMMUNITY. We seek God not as isolated individuals but as brothers and sisters who are committed to supporting one another in prayer and in the service of other people. Living in community involves close personal interaction on a daily basis, which helps each one to grow as a human being. Being community is prophetic in a world which can sometimes tend towards fragmentation and individualism. In community, Carmelites try to accept one another in all their diversity and to see in this reality something of the richness of God and humanity. Building community always demands commitment and generosity but it gives much in return, especially through companionship, support and solidarity in facing the challenges of human living, the needs of the Church and the world.
All Carmelite SERVICE and ministry flow from community living and prayer. Our ministries are varied and, like all Christian service, are directed towards the coming of the Kingdom of God in response to the words of the Lord’s Prayer – your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven.
Like the spirituality of all the major religious orders (Benedictines, Franciscans, etc.), Carmelite spirituality is a distinct preaching of the one Christian message. Through our charism Carmelites blend prayerful contemplation with active service of those around them, and this takes many different forms depending on the time and the place they find themselves in.
Over the centuries ‘Carmel’ has produced some of the greatest Christian thinkers, mystics, and philosophers, such as Teresa of Jesus (of Avila), John of the Cross, and Thérèse of Lisieux (three Carmelite ‘Doctors of the Church’). In the twentieth century, the Carmelite Family bore witness to the Gospel in the martyrdoms of Titus Brandsma, Edith Stein, and Isidore Bakanja.
England boasted the largest Carmelite Province in the Order until its suppression at the Reformation. The British Province was re-established under the patronage of Our Lady of the Assumption in the twentieth century. There are communities of friars, sisters and lay Carmelites across England, Scotland, and Wales. Similar communities exist in Ireland, and throughout the world. The international Order of Discalced Carmelite friars, nuns, and laity is also present in Britain and Ireland. Members of the Carmelite and Discalced Carmelite Orders work, live, and pray together to make up the wider ‘Carmelite Family’, which seeks the face of the Living God in parishes, prisons, university chaplaincies, retreat centres, hospitals, workplaces, media outlets, schools, and through many other forms of ministry.
You can find out more about the worldwide Carmelite Family at www.ocarm.org
Who we are
Beginning on Mount Carmel in Israel, towards the end of the 1100’s, the earliest Carmelites came to the Holy Land from Europe. They eventually sought to settle there and to live a hermit lifestyle in prayer and silence. This first group of Carmelites settled near a fountain associated with Elijah, the Old Testament Prophet, and built a chapel in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Following Elijah, Prophet of Carmel, Carmelites seek to attune themselves to God, living in God’s presence, and developing a hunger and a thirst for justice and all that is right.
Following Mary, Mother of Carmel, and inspired by her ‘yes’ to God, Carmelites seek to help people come to know the love and compassion of God who entered this world through her willing acceptance.
The Carmelites follow a Rule which was written for the very first hermit-brothers on Mount Carmel by St Albert, Patriarch of Jerusalem. The Carmelite Rule is a living document, deeply rooted in the Word of God in the Scriptures. It fosters prayerfulness, encouraging an openness to God’s presence in our lives, teaching us to see the world with God’s eyes, and inspiring us to seek, recognise, love and serve God in those around us.
Carmelites follow Jesus Christ through living the vows of Poverty, Chastity and Obedience. We are known as ‘friars’ which is another word for ‘brothers’, reflecting the community dimension of our lives and the fact that we hold all things in common.
PRAYER, COMMUNITY, and SERVICE are three ‘pillars’ of the Carmelite way.
PRAYER is at the very heart of our lives as Carmelites. Our Rule calls us to spend time alone reflecting on the Word of God. It also calls us to gather each day to celebrate the Eucharist and to pray together the psalms of the Prayer of the Church. As Carmelites we try always to make time in our lives for prayer – no matter how busy our ministry or how many demands may be made upon us. ‘Prayer is life, not an oasis in the desert of life.’ (Blessed Titus Brandsma O. Carm.)
Carmelites are called to live as members of a COMMUNITY. We seek God not as isolated individuals but as brothers and sisters who are committed to supporting one another in prayer and in the service of other people. Living in community involves close personal interaction on a daily basis, which helps each one to grow as a human being. Being community is prophetic in a world which can sometimes tend towards fragmentation and individualism. In community, Carmelites try to accept one another in all their diversity and to see in this reality something of the richness of God and humanity. Building community always demands commitment and generosity but it gives much in return, especially through companionship, support and solidarity in facing the challenges of human living, the needs of the Church and the world.
All Carmelite SERVICE and ministry flow from community living and prayer. Our ministries are varied and, like all Christian service, are directed towards the coming of the Kingdom of God in response to the words of the Lord’s Prayer – your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven.
Like the spirituality of all the major religious orders (Benedictines, Franciscans, etc.), Carmelite spirituality is a distinct preaching of the one Christian message. Through our charism Carmelites blend prayerful contemplation with active service of those around them, and this takes many different forms depending on the time and the place they find themselves in.
Over the centuries ‘Carmel’ has produced some of the greatest Christian thinkers, mystics, and philosophers, such as Teresa of Jesus (of Avila), John of the Cross, and Thérèse of Lisieux (three Carmelite ‘Doctors of the Church’). In the twentieth century, the Carmelite Family bore witness to the Gospel in the martyrdoms of Titus Brandsma, Edith Stein, and Isidore Bakanja.
England boasted the largest Carmelite Province in the Order until its suppression at the Reformation. The British Province was re-established under the patronage of Our Lady of the Assumption in the twentieth century. There are communities of friars, sisters and lay Carmelites across England, Scotland, and Wales. Similar communities exist in Ireland, and throughout the world. The international Order of Discalced Carmelite friars, nuns, and laity is also present in Britain and Ireland. Members of the Carmelite and Discalced Carmelite Orders work, live, and pray together to make up the wider ‘Carmelite Family’, which seeks the face of the Living God in parishes, prisons, university chaplaincies, retreat centres, hospitals, workplaces, media outlets, schools, and through many other forms of ministry.
You can find out more about the worldwide Carmelite Family at www.ocarm.org