Carmelite Vocation

Discalced Carmelite Friars | Province of St. Therese

Vocation

teresa-of-jesus
So I say now that all of us who wear this holy habit of Carmel are called to prayer and contemplation. This call explains our origin; we are the descendants of men who felt this call, of those holy fathers on Mount Carmel who in such great solitude…sought this treasure, this precious pearl of contemplation.

St. Teresa of Jesus

A call to prayer
praing in chapel
A vocation to Carmel also includes the call to prayer and contemplation, to seek Christ in solitude, and to discover him in each brother and sister, in each event of one's daily life. Like the prophet Elijah, the Carmelite strives to live each moment in the presence of the living God. Like the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Carmelite aims always to keep God's word, pondering it in his heart. Like St. Teresa of Jesus, he sees prayer as "an intimate sharing between friends," as "taking time frequently to be alone with Him who we know loves us."When God gives the gift of a vocation, this gift comes with a mission. The mission of the Discalced Carmelite friar has several aspects.

The first responsibility of the Carmelite is to give witness to God who is experienced in the silence and solitude of prayer. As St. Teresa of Jesus states: This is the reason for prayer….the birth always of good works, good works. St. Teresa also urges Carmelites to teach by works rather than by words.

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