Carmelites

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Carmelites :: Carmelites_of_the_Ancient_Observance

The Order of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, or Carmelite Order (in Latin Ordo fratrum Beatæ Virginis Mariæ de monte Carmelo) is the name of an enclosed Catholic order founded in the 12th century by a certain Berthold (d. after 1185) on Mount Carmel, Israel, whence the order receives its name.

Charism, Origin and early history

The charism, or spiritual focus, of the Carmelite Order is contemplative prayer. The Order considers itself under the special protection of the Virgin Mary and thus has a strong Marian devotion. As in most of the orders dating to medieval times, the First Order is the monks (who are active/contemplative), the Second Order is the nuns (who are cloistered) and the Third Order consists of laypeople who continue to live in the world, and can be married, but participate in the charism of the order by liturgical prayers, apostolates (ministries), and contemplative prayer. There are also offshoots such as active Carmelite sisters.

Carmelite tradition traces the origin of the Order to a community of hermits on Mount Carmel that succeeded the schools of the prophets in ancient Israel, although there are no certain records of monks on this mountain before the ninth decade of the twelfth century. Saint Berthold, who had gone to Palestine from Calabria either as a pilgrim or as a crusader, chose Mount Carmel as the seat of his community because it was the traditional home of Elijah. It was but natural that this community of Eastern hermits in the Holy Land should gain constant accessions from pilgrims, and between 1206 and 1214 they received a rule from the patriarch Albert of Jerusalem. This consisted of sixteen articles, which enjoined strict obedience to their prior, residence in individual cells, constancy in prayer, the hearing of Mass every morning in the oratory of the community, poverty and toil, daily silence from vespers until terce the next morning, abstinence from all forms of meat except in cases of severe illness, and fasting from Holy Cross Day (September 14) to Easter of the following year. This rule received the approval of Pope Honorius III in 1226. With the increasing cleavage between the West and the East, however, the Carmelites found it advisable to leave their original home, and in 1238 they settled in Cyprus and Sicily. In 1240 they were in Aylesford, Kent, England, and four years later in southern France, while by 1245 they were so numerous that they were able to hold their first general chapter at Aylesford, where Simon Stock, then eighty years of age, was chosen general. During his rule of twenty years the order prospered, especially by the establishment of a monastery at Paris by Saint Louis in 1259.

Habit and scapular

The original rule of the order was now changed to conform to that of the mendicant orders on the initiative of Simon Stock and at the command of Pope Innocent IV. Their former habit of a mantle with black and white or brown and white stripes was discarded, and they wore the same habit as the Dominicans, except that the cloak was white. They also borrowed much from the Dominican and Franciscan rules. Their distinctive garment was a scapular of two strips of gray cloth, worn on the breast and back, and fastened at the shoulders. This, according to the traditions of the order, was given to Simon Stock by the Virgin herself, who appeared to him and promised that all who died clothed in it would be saved. Thus arose a sodality of the scapular, which affiliated a large number of laymen with the Carmelites. The order speedily became infected with arrogance, however, contesting the invention of the rosary with the Dominicans, terming themselves the brothers of the Virgin, and asserting, on the basis of their traditional association with Elijah, that all the prophets of the Old Testament, as well as the Virgin and the Apostles, had been Carmelites. Their second general, Nicholas of Narbonne (1265–1270), protested in vain, only to be deposed from his office.

The Sabbatine Privilege, a false invention that has persisted over the years, was centuries ago deemed to be completely false by the Holy See, which also prohibited the Carmelites from teaching the error. The Sabbatine Privilege stated that the Blessed Virgin Mary would privilege anyone who wore the Scapular faithfully with liberation from Purgatory and entrance into Heaven by Her intercession the Saturday following the day of death. Modern documents of the Carmelite Orders affirm that the Sabbatine Privilege is completely false and was not ever revealed by Heaven.

The Scapular, if worn faithfully and by a person who persists in living the Gospel that Christ taught with faith in the intercession of Mary, will guarantee the bearer entrance to Heaven. The Scapular promise comes from the apparition of the Virgin to St. Simon Stock, who worked many miracles with it. Instances of miracles stemming from the proper wearing of the Scapular abound, most notably one in which a ship was caught in a grave storm and a Catholic who wore the Scapular prayed for Our Lady's intercession and subsequently tossed his scapular into the raging waters. The storm ceased instantly because of his faith and the ship was saved. A Protestant family onboard, the father being a Protestant minister, was awestruck by the miracle and soon afterward converted to the Catholic faith.

The Scapular as it is commonly known today is merely a smaller version of the actual monastic habit worn by the friars and sisters. It has two thin brown cords that connect to two small brown rectangular patches that hang in front of and behind the wearer. Usually Catholics wear the Scapular under their regular clothing. The Scapular must be of 100% brown wool, and those with plastic casing or made out of anything other than 100% brown wool are not true scapulars. The Scapular Medal may be substituted for the actual scapular, but the Pope who created this exception did so only for those who could not, for grave situations, wear the actual scapular. It is not meant to be a substitute for vanity.

It is notable that no recorded or approved miracles have come from anything other than the real and traditional Scapular.

Furthermore, one should note that there are many Catholic scapulars from various orders, time periods, revelations, and traditions, the most notable being the Trinity Scapular (white), the Scapular of the Immaculate Conception (blue), the Scapular of the Passion (red), and the Scapular of the Sorrows of Mary (black). These four, together with the Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (brown), are often sewn one on top of the other (with the Trinity Scapular on very top) and attached to two cords to form a Five-Fold Scapular. However, since the Carmelite Scapular is most popular and well known, any reference to "the Scapular" implies the Carmelite Scapular, which is the only scapular to carry the promise of salvation. Other scapulars have various graces associated with them or form part of special devotions.

To wear a scapular must be distinguished from enrollment. Any person can wear a Catholic scapular and may or may not obtain graces from them, depending on the faith they place in the Lord and the virtues lived in his or her life. Generally, scapulars are viewed as privileges and are usually entrusted by the Holy See to the authority of a particular order or community. Since the Carmelite Friars have authority over the Carmelite Scapular, only that Order can allow lay people to wear their scapular. The Order has since granted permission to all Catholic priests to invest or enroll Catholics in their scapular. This is done by the priest asking the Lord to grant the graces associated with the particular scapular to the Catholic that requests enrollment. This can take the form of a short (10 minute) prayer with the priest or can take place in a lengthy and elaborate liturgical rite. While Catholics are the only ones that can be enrolled in a scapular, and thus receive the full spiritual benefits (because Catholics believe that only those in the Church have the fullness of the means of salvation and grace), those of other faiths who wish to wear a scapular are often not discouraged. In particular, they may be encouraged to wear the Green Scapular as it is meant for those who need a special healing or conversion.

Consult the Catholic Encylopedia at www.newadvent.org and search for "scapulars" for more details and a historical account of most of the scapulars known in Catholic history.

Reforms within the order

In the 14th and 15th centuries the Carmelites, like other monastic orders, declined, and reform became imperative. Shortly before 1433 three monasteries in Valais, Tuscany, and Mantua were reformed by the preaching of Thomas Conecte of Rennes and formed the congregation of Mantua, which, was declared independent of the order by Pope Eugene IV. In 1431 or 1432 the same pope sanctioned certain modifications of the Carmelite rule, and in 1459 Pope Pius II left the regulation of fasts to the discretion of the general. John Soreth, who was then general, and had already established the order of Carmelite nuns in 1452, accordingly sought to restore the primitive asceticism, but died of poison at Nantes in 1471. In 1476 a bull of Pope Sixtus IV founded the Carmelites of the Third Order, who received a special rule in 1635, which was amended in 1678. The 16th century saw a number of short-lived reforms, but it was not until the second half of the same century that a thorough reformation of the Carmelites was carried out by St. Teresa of Avila, who, together with St. John of the Cross, established the Discalced Carmelites. Out of concern over the advent of Protestantism, the order was now inspired with an asceticism and a devotion hitherto unknown to it. In 1593 the Discalced Carmelites had their own general, and by 1600 they were so numerous that it became necessary to divide them into the two congregations of Spain and of Italy, or St. Elise, the latter including all provinces except Spain. Henceforth there were four Carmelite generals: the general of the Observantines, of the independent congregation of Mantua, and of the two congregations of the Discalced Carmelites. Other reforms within the Order include those of Tourainne and Mantova.

Controversies with other orders

By the middle of the 17th century the Carmelites had reached their zenith. At this period, however, they became involved in controversies with other orders, particularly with the Jesuits. The special objects of attack were the traditional origin of the Carmelites and the source of their scapular. The Sorbonne, represented by Jean Launoy, joined the Jesuits in their polemics against the Carmelites. Papebroch, the Bollandist editor of the Acta Sanctorum, was answered by the Carmelite Sebastian of St. Paul, who made such serious charges against the orthodoxy of his opponent's writings that the very existence of the Bollandists was threatened. The peril was averted, however, and in 1696 a decree of Rocaberti, archbishop of Valencia and inquisitor-general of the Holy Office, forbade all further controversies between the Carmelites and Jesuits. Two years later, on November 20, 1698, Pope Innocent XII issued a brief which definitely ended the controversy on pain of excommunication, and placed all writings in violation of the brief upon the Index.

Present status

The French Revolution, the secularization in Germany, and the repercussions on religious Orders following the unification of Italy were heavy blows to the Carmelites. By the last decades of the 19th century, there were approximately 200 Carmelite men throughout the world. At the beginning of the 20th century, however, new leadership and less political interference allowed a rebirth of the Order. Existing provinces began refounding provinces that had gone out of existence. The theological preparation of the Carmelites was strengthened, particularly with the foundation of St. Albert's College in Rome.

By 2001, the membership had increased to approximately 2,100 men in 25 provinces, 700 enclosed nuns in 70 monasteries, and 13 affiliated Congregations and Institutes. In addition, the Lay Carmelites count 25-30,000 members throughout the world. Provinces exist in Italy, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, Britain, Ireland, Malta, Poland, the United States, Canada, Brazil, Indonesia, and Australia. Delegations directly under the Prior General exist in Portugal, the Czech Republic, the Philippines, and France. Carmelite Missions exist in Lithuania, Romania, Burkino Faso, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Cameroon, Mozambique, Kenya, India, Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Columbia, Mexico, Trinidad, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, and Argentina. Monasteries of enclosed Carmelite nuns exist in Italy, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, Brazil, Peru, the United States of America, Kenya, the Philippines, Indonesia, the Dominican Republic. Hermit communities of either men or women exist in the United States of America, France, Italy, Indonesia, and Brazil.

The Discalced Carmelite Order is still represented on the summit of the Carmel range at the Muhraka Monastery. The monastery is situated about 25 kilometers south of Haifa on the eastern side of the Carmel, and stands on the foundations of a series of earlier monasteries. The site is believed by Christians, Jews and Muslims to be where the encounter between the prophet Elijah and the priests of Baal took place (1 Kings, 18). The name of the monastery, Muhraka, meaning "place of burning", is a direct reference to the biblical story.

There are several major Carmelite figures in the 20th century, including St. Thérèse of Lisieux, one of the few female Doctors of the Church, so named because of her famous teaching on the "Little Way" of confidence in God; Titus Brandsma, a Dutch scholar and writer who was killed in Dachau Concentration Camp because of his stance against Nazism; and St. Theresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein, a Jewish convert to Catholicism who was also imprisoned and died at Auschwitz. Saint Raphael Kalinowski (1835-1907) was the first friar to be sainted in the Order since co-founder Saint John of the Cross. The writings and teachings of Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, a Carmelite monk of the 17th century, continue as a spiritual classic under the title "The Practice of the Presence of God." Other non-religious great figures include Blessed George Preca, a Maltese priest and Carmelite Tertiary.

Initial text from Scaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religion — with some revision and extension.

External links

Index of Carmelite Websites
Carmelites of Mary Immaculate
"The Carmelite Order" by Benedict Zimmerman. The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1908.
Home page of the Carmelites (O.Carm.)