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Carmelite History
The Carmelite Order
The Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mt. Carmel had its beginnings in the late 12th Century. Among those who went on crusade to fight for control of the Holy Land, some laid down their arms and took up a life of prayer and penance. One such group of penitents came together near the Spring of Elijah at the foot of Mt. Carmel. They built themselves a common oratory, which they dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. While they shared some things in common, for the most part they lived as hermits, spending their days in solitude, silence, simple work, and prayer.
This early community grew and soon sought formal approval for itself. In 1209 it approached the local bishop, Albert Avogadro, Patriarch of Jerusalem. He composed for them a letter which briefly summed up their way of life. In it he also exhorted them to diligence in work and silence and to vigilance in prayer. This letter is known as the Rule of Carmel.
From these humble beginnings the Order continued to grow, making its way back to Europe where new communities were founded. Having become international in scope, it soon felt the need for not just local but papal approval. Pope Honorius III granted this approval in 1226, renewed by Pope Gregory IX in 1229.
As the Order prospered, it began to assimilate itself to a new movement in religious life, the Mendicant Movement, inaugurated by St. Francis of Assisi. This movement stressed small communities of friars (“brothers”), not large communities of monks. It founded religious houses in towns and cities in order to be nearer to the people and minister to their needs, rather than in remote, rural areas, where on went “to flee the world.” It enjoined its members especially to the work of preaching, teaching, and pastoral care in imitation of the of the itinerant Christ and his small band of Apostles.
Accordingly, the Rule of Carmel was revised to accommodate the Carmelite Order to this new style of religious life. These revisions received papal approval in 1257 by Pope Innocent IV. The Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mt. Carmel is regarded, therefore, as one of the Mendicant Orders of the Church. Its roots, though, lay in the life of solitude, silence, penance, and prayer inaugurated by those first hermits living near the Spring of Elijah at the foot of Mt. Carmel.
The Discalced Carmelites
Teresa of Avila, who lived from 1515 to 1582, was the first female saint to be proclaimed a Doctor of the Catholic Church. As A young Spanish woman, Teresa entered the carmelite monastery of Avila and took the name, Teresa of Jesus. After some years of mediocrity and after many trials Teresa became a great mystic. Not only was she given entry into very lofty states of prayer, she was also given the ability to teach others about prayer. Her major works include her autobiography, The Life, The Way of Perfection and The Interior Castle. From her work and teaching a reform movement called the Discalced Carmelite Order was born. The Discalced Carmelites consider Teresa to be their spiritual mother and foundress.
From the beginning, Carmelites have sought to live lives of personal encounter with God through prayer, meditation, solitude, and silence. The influence of the Mendicant Movement added to this core lifestyle the call to ministry among God’s people. Discalced Carmelites also seek in a special way to live in the light of the example and writings of St. Teresa of Jesus.
As members of this Order, the friars who live and work at the National Shrine of the Little Flower form a small community of men dedicated, through the vows of religious profession, to a life of prayer and service. They are also called in a special way to teach others about the experience of prayer to which they themselves aspire. In promoting spirituality, they draw from the wisdom preserved in the works of St. Teresa of Jesus, her spiritual son St. John of the Cross, her spiritual daughter St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, and the many other lesser known spiritual writers of Carmel.
This early community grew and soon sought formal approval for itself. In 1209 it approached the local bishop, Albert Avogadro, Patriarch of Jerusalem. He composed for them a letter which briefly summed up their way of life. In it he also exhorted them to diligence in work and silence and to vigilance in prayer. This letter is known as the Rule of Carmel.
From these humble beginnings the Order continued to grow, making its way back to Europe where new communities were founded. Having become international in scope, it soon felt the need for not just local but papal approval. Pope Honorius III granted this approval in 1226, renewed by Pope Gregory IX in 1229.
As the Order prospered, it began to assimilate itself to a new movement in religious life, the Mendicant Movement, inaugurated by St. Francis of Assisi. This movement stressed small communities of friars (“brothers”), not large communities of monks. It founded religious houses in towns and cities in order to be nearer to the people and minister to their needs, rather than in remote, rural areas, where on went “to flee the world.” It enjoined its members especially to the work of preaching, teaching, and pastoral care in imitation of the of the itinerant Christ and his small band of Apostles.
Accordingly, the Rule of Carmel was revised to accommodate the Carmelite Order to this new style of religious life. These revisions received papal approval in 1257 by Pope Innocent IV. The Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mt. Carmel is regarded, therefore, as one of the Mendicant Orders of the Church. Its roots, though, lay in the life of solitude, silence, penance, and prayer inaugurated by those first hermits living near the Spring of Elijah at the foot of Mt. Carmel.
The Discalced Carmelites
Teresa of Avila, who lived from 1515 to 1582, was the first female saint to be proclaimed a Doctor of the Catholic Church. As A young Spanish woman, Teresa entered the carmelite monastery of Avila and took the name, Teresa of Jesus. After some years of mediocrity and after many trials Teresa became a great mystic. Not only was she given entry into very lofty states of prayer, she was also given the ability to teach others about prayer. Her major works include her autobiography, The Life, The Way of Perfection and The Interior Castle. From her work and teaching a reform movement called the Discalced Carmelite Order was born. The Discalced Carmelites consider Teresa to be their spiritual mother and foundress.
From the beginning, Carmelites have sought to live lives of personal encounter with God through prayer, meditation, solitude, and silence. The influence of the Mendicant Movement added to this core lifestyle the call to ministry among God’s people. Discalced Carmelites also seek in a special way to live in the light of the example and writings of St. Teresa of Jesus.
As members of this Order, the friars who live and work at the National Shrine of the Little Flower form a small community of men dedicated, through the vows of religious profession, to a life of prayer and service. They are also called in a special way to teach others about the experience of prayer to which they themselves aspire. In promoting spirituality, they draw from the wisdom preserved in the works of St. Teresa of Jesus, her spiritual son St. John of the Cross, her spiritual daughter St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, and the many other lesser known spiritual writers of Carmel.
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