1.INTRODUCCIÓN
El  carisma carmelita tiene sus características peculiares
delineadas en la Regla del Carmelo, la cual se hace eco y es espejo del
Evangelio, a la vez que experiencia fundante de los Padres de la Orden.
Por eso es el documento esencial de formación y referencia permanente
para todo carmelita y para el Carmelo en su conjunto. Conocer y
profundizar el  contenido de la Regla es decisivo para comprender la
propia identidad en la Iglesia,  ya  que no se  puede recurrir a la vida y
espiritualidad de un fundador, en el sentido estricto de la palabra.

Foreword

Yesterday in our monastery church we had perpetual adoration [forty hours devotion].

Why has our time developed such a fondness we might even call it a craze for jubilees? Could it be the oppressive burden of misery that arouses the desire to withdraw again and again for a short breathing spell from the gray, oppressive atmosphere of the present time and to warm oneself a little in the sun of better days? But such flight from the present would be an unproductive way to celebrate jubilees, and we may assume that a deeper, healthier desire, even if not clearly conscious of itself, motivates these glimpses into the past.

Until a few years ago, very little from our silent monasteries penetrated into the world. It is different today. People talk a lot about Carmel and want to hear something about life behind the high walls. This is chiefly attributable to the great saints of our time who have captivated the entire Catholic world with amazing speed, for instance, St Therese of the Child Jesus.(2) Gertrud von le Fort's novel about Carmel(3) has vigorously directed German intellectual circles to our Order as has her beautiful foreword to the letters of Marie Antoinette de Geuser.(4)

You can view the latest issue of our Carmelite family newsletter, Carmel Contact,

This issue features Mary as we approach the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. The Rev Bobby Moore, an Anglican Priest, reflects on the place of Mary in her life.

Gabrielle Fogarty, a Lay Carmelite from Jamberoo, leads us through the nine days of reflection and prayer which lead up to the Feast.