OCARM and OCD General Councils Meet for Multiple Day Conference on St. Thérèse of Lisieux and Mutual Concerns
The members of the OCD and OCARM General Councils met at the Discalced Carmelite Monastery of Santa Croce in Bocca di Magra, Liguria (Italy) April 2-6, 2024, for a retreat reflecting on lessons from the life and writings of St Thérèse of the Child Jesus. The retreat was led by Emilio J. Martinez, OCD, a professor at the Teresianum in Rome.
Father Emilio reflected with us on two themes concerning St Thérèse: abandonment and mission. Even in a world of increasing interconnectivity, many people today can identify with Thérèse’s experience of feeling abandonement, isolation, inadequacy and helplessness in the face of rapid socio-economic and political upheavals, mass migration, and conflict situations that have fractured the sense of fraternity, community, and hospitality. Like the Prophet Elijah, the temptation can be to give up.
Father Emilio also reflected on the deepest spiritual abandonment experienced by Therese of Lisieux: the test against faith experienced during her suffering from tuberculosis that led to her premature death. We are persuaded to believe that many people can still identify with Therese in her letter to Celine (23 July 1893, LTR 144). Written over a hundred years ago, this letter appears very modern, real, and relevant because contemporary people feel this sense of abandonment – by society, by life, governments, and sometimes by the Church. Therese offers a solution in two parts to her sister, first, in trust to allow herself to be moved by the wind, that is, to keep going and not giving up: “The only thing he can do is abandon himself, let his sail float with the wind.”
The group also explored the poem To the Sacred Heart of Jesus (P 23) in which Therese speaks about her need for a heart burning with tenderness which could never be replaced with something created that dies. Therese teaches that to be holy is to become that which God wants us to be. She urges us to discover our true personal nature – what type of flower we are in the garden – and just be that.
On the third day, the members of the two Councils reflected on the theme of Mission in the life of Therese of the Child Jesus – a broad and complex subject. St Therese became a missionary driven by her intimate personal relationship with Jesus, whom she wanted to know and love to better make him known and loved by others. She became a missionary through her life of prayer and sacrifice in Carmel through her writings and the works of charity that made her a living witness of the Gospel—a mission that did not end with her death but continued with her witness until the end of time, doing good and “showering roses on earth.”
The retreat employed a synod-like methodology, now popularly referred to as conversation in the Spirit, meeting in two randomly composed groups as well as in plenary sessions comprising everyone.
A wide-range of topics of mutual concern took place the second day: an update on the Wadi project in the Holy Land; Carmelite formation in terms of scope, thrust with particular attention on accompaniment of members during the first five years after solemn profession and / or ordination to the priesthood in light of the many challenges that emerge; the need for the formation of formators in the Carmelite tradition; collaboration in the renewal of Mariology and Marian life of the two traditions of Carmel; promotion of the experience of Carmel by way of making them known through studies, devotion at sanctuaries, experience, and iconography; sharing insights on the processes of the updating of the Constitutions of the Nuns of both traditions; and, collaboration between the General Definitor and the Prior General in issuing a letter on Mary and Prayer for the solemnity of Our Lady of Mount Carmel 2024. The two Councils also wish to encourage that Carmelites sharing in the two traditions in the various countries to initiate various forms of sharing, dialogue, and joint engagements in their respective countries.
As has become the tradition since 1991, the two Councils meet twice a year, in June and December, to update each other on developments in the two branches of Carmel and discuss matters of mutual concern. Every three years, the Councils meet for an extended length of time to reflect on an agreed theme.
