Affiliated Communities
Familia Carmelita
La familia carmelita es la unidad de los diferentes sectores conformados por los laicos, las hermanas y hermanos de los institutos agregados, de las monjas y de los frailes. Nos inspiramos en la Regla de San Alberto, en su tradición y en los valores expresados en la espiritualidad carmelita.
Tenemos un vínculo especial con los frailes y las hermanas de la Reforma Teresiana. La pluriformidad del carisma del Carmelo se encarna bajo el impulso del Espíritu Santo. Juntos compartimos la obra de evangelización, apoyándonos unos a otros en nuestro servicio profético y contemplativo en medio del pueblo con los dones, talentos y experiencias de toda la Familia Carmelita (Cf. Const.2019, n. 28, 110).
Fr. Giovanni Grosso, O.Carm.
Fr. Giovanni Grosso, O.Carm.,
Fr. Giovanni was born in Rome on March 27, 1958. After he obtained a degree in Political Sciences in the University of Studies “La Sapienza” in Rome, he entered the Carmelite Order in 1983; he made his first profession on October 10, 1984 and was ordained a priest on June 29, 1989. At the end of his studies in Philosophy and Theology, he obtained a Doctorate in Ecclesiastical History in the Pontifical Gregorian University.
He held several responsibilities in the Italian Province: Prior of different communities (Pisa, Rome – Traspontina, Rome Mostacciano), he was Parish Vicar in several Parishes; for a three year term he was responsible for the formation of professed students; several times he was a member of the Provincial Council as Counsellor, Assistant and Vice Prior Provincial. He was Assistant Provincial of the Carmelite Third Order and worked a lot for the spiritual and cultural formation of the laity. He was member of the General Commission for formation which drew up the second edition of the Ratio institutionis (Rome 2000), he has collaborated in the redaction of the Ratio institutionis for the Cloistered Sisters (Rome 2007); he has been and is member of the International Commission for the laity.
He teaches Church History and Theology of Consecrated Life in the Pontifical Faculty of Theology “Marianum” and also in the Inter Diocesan Institute of Religious Sciences of the Castelli Romani. In addition to his Doctoral thesis - Blessed Jean Soreth (1394-1471), Prior General, reformer and Spiritual Master of the Carmelite Order, Rome 2007 – he has published a book of Lectio Divina on Marian texts – With Mary Daughter of Sion, listening to the Word, Padua 2002 – and numerous scientific articles which have appeared in several reviews.
from November 2007-2014 he was General Postulator of the Order and Dean of the Institutum Carmelitanum, as well as Director of Carmelus.
General Archivist 2008-2010
From 1998-2001 Fr. Ivan completed his licentiate in Sacred Scripture at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome, and then he went to Heidelberg, Germany, to do a doctorate in Assyriology - the languages, culture and history of Ancient Mesopotamia. In 2008, he defended his doctoral dissertation at Heidelberg. Since the autumn of that year, he has been teaching Assyriology at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome and working as Archivist at the General Curia of the Order.
Email: ihrusa @ ocarm.org
Vice Prior General
Durante el Capítulo General, encuentro internacional que tiene lugar cada seis años, se elige a un hermano como Vice Prior General de la Orden. Su misión es trabajar en estrecha relación con el Prior General ayudándolo en su oficio y representándolo en su ausencia como Vicario. Además, el Vice Prior General coordina el trabajo del Consejo General y organiza la administración de la Curia.
En el último Capítulo General fue elegido Vice Prior General el P. Franciscus Xavarius Hariawan Adji, O. Carm, para un mandato de seis años, de 2025 a 2031.
The Shield
The makeup of the Carmelite crest appeared for the first time towards the end of the 15th century, in 1499, on the cover of a book about the life of St. Albert, Carmelite. The design there is that of a "vexillum", (an ensign, a standard, a flag). This changed as time went on until it became the coat of arms, as we now know it. There never has been an official explanation of the crest but there are various interpretations. In what follows we will present the most plausible interpretation in accordance with the most recent documents of the Order.
In the shield we have chosen there are five distinguishing features:
A mountain
A mountain painted in brown, with rounded sides, its tip reaching to the sky. It refers to Mount Carmel, the Carmelites’ place of origin. Mount Carmel is situated in Haifa in Israel. In the 9th century BC the prophet Elijah lived there. In the same place, towards the end of the 12th century some hermits, inspired by the memory of Elijah, gathered their, with a desire "to live a life in allegiance of Jesus Christ". (Carmelite Rule no.2).
Three stars
Three stars each with six points, one coloured silver at the centre of the mountain, and the other two coloured gold placed symmetrically in the heavens, coloured white, on either side of the mountain. The lower star represents Carmelites still on the way to the top of Mount Carmel, while the other two stars higher up, represent Carmelites who have ended their journey "by reaching the top of the holy Mountain". (Carmelite Missal, 1980, Opening Prayer on the Solemnity of the Bl. Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel).
A crown
The crown of gold represents the Kingdom of God. He is the Sovereign Lord of Carmel. Carmelites, indeed, endeavour to serve God faithfully with a pure heart and a stout conscience (cf. Carmelite Rule no. 2). They see their vocation as a calling "to implant and strengthen the Kingdom of Christ in souls and to spread it to the four corners of the earth" (Carmelite Constitutions no. 5). In offering this service to God, Carmelites take their inspiration from Elijah the Prophet and Mary the Virgin. (cf. Carmelite Constitutions no. 25)
An arm and a hand bearing a fiery sword and a banner bearing a biblical text
The Elijan origin of the Order is symbolised by the arm of Elijah holding the fiery sword and the banner bearing the words "Zelo zelatus sum pro Domino Deo exercituum" (I am on fire with zeal for the Lord God of hosts [I Kg 19:10]). The hand and the sword, moreover, are an indication of the fiery passion which Elijah had for the one true and absolute God whose word "burned like a torch" (Eccl. 48:1). For Carmelites Elijah is "the solitary prophet who nurtured his thirst for the one and only God, and lived in his presence" (Carmelite Constitutions no. 26). Like him, they carry "the sword of the spirit, which is the Word of God" (Carmelite Rule no. 19).
Twelve stars
The Marian nature of the Order is symbolised by the twelve stars which recall the apparition of the "woman clothed in the sun, with the moon under her feet and on her head a crown of twelve stars" (Apoc 12:1). In the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, Carmelites find "the perfect image of all that they want and hope to be" (Carmelite Constitutions no. 27). For them, Mary is Patron, Mother and Sister (cf. Carmelite Constitutions no. 27)and they are "the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel" (Carmelite Constitutions no. 6).
Additional symbols
In various Provinces of the Order, as far back as the 17th century, a cross was added at the top of the mountain: examples of these would be the Province of Castile in Spain (and the Discalced Carmelites since the 17th century). The Province of Sicily put the Cross of the Holy Land in the crest. In other instances one can find on one side of the mountain a lily and on the other side a palm tree, symbols which represent St. Albert of Trapani and St. Angelo - the first two saints of the Order.
El Carisma Carmelita
La Orden del Carmen es guiada por los principios y valores en su Regla de vida, que fue dada a la Orden por Alberto, el Patriarca de Jerusalén.
Es fundamental para la vida de los Carmelitas, independientemente de su afiliación jurídica de la Orden; vivir en obsequio de Jesucristo y abrazar su Evangelio como norma suprema de nuestras vidas. Los Carmelitas ven sus vidas influenciadas por el poder de su Espíritu, permitiendo a cada uno descubrir la llamada divina para vivir juntos en el servicio mutuo de unos a otros y a toda la gente.
La vida entera de los Carmelitas se caracteriza por una búsqueda intensa de Dios con una total adhesión a las enseñanzas de Cristo. Esto requiere que uno se transforme en Cristo –un proceso continuo de conversión–. El Carmelita viviendo con este ideal en primer plano coopera con el plan de Dios y, utilizando cada uno sus propios dones, encuentra su expresión en la vida fraterna y en el celo apostólico.
+ La Contemplación
La contemplación como valor fundamental en la vida del Carmelo debe entenderse como el camino interior de la persona que la conduce y la eleva a la unidad de amor con Dios de manera que este amor gratuito sea descubierto y la persona viva en esa presencia amorosa. Este abrumador amor de Dios lleva a la persona a una experiencia transformadora la cual nos vacía de nuestras limitaciones e imperfectas maneras humanas para transformarlas en maneras divinas.
Buscar el rostro del Dios vivo se refleja claramente en la Regla de San Alberto, la cual describe a una comunidad totalmente dedicada en atención orante a la Palabra. La contemplación comienza cuando nos encomendamos a Dios. Es una actitud de apertura hacia Dios cuya presencia descubrimos en todo momento.
Los Carmelitas están comprometidos a hacer del Cristo crucificado el centro de sus vidas. Los Carmelitas, viviendo esta actitud de contemplación en cada momento de su vida, canalizan enteramente toda su energía hacia Cristo, derribando cualquier obstáculo, y desprendiéndose o vaciándose de todo lo que en su camino obstruye una total dependencia hacia Él o de aquello que impide la caridad perfecta hacia Dios y a los demás.
Este proceso de vaciarse o desprendimiento conduce a la unión con Dios –el objetivo final de todo crecimiento humano–. Nosotros utilizamos expresiones tales como “pureza del corazón” (puritas cordis) o “disponibilidad total para Dios” (vacare Deo); y la experiencia de desierto para captar el concepto de desapego.
+ La Fraternidad
Esta actitud contemplativa nos permite descubrir la presencia de Dios no solo en los eventos ordinarios de la vida, sino también en nuestros hermanos y hermanas. Por lo tanto, nosotros aprendemos a valorar el misterio de aquellos con quienes compartimos nuestras vidas.
La fraternidad es el área en la cual la transformación dentro de nosotros se pone a prueba. La Regla del Carmelita requiere que seamos esencialmente hermanos y hermanas. Dicha Regla nos recuerda con firmeza que la calidad en la relación interpersonal dentro de la comunidad Carmelita necesita constantemente ser desarrollada y mejorada. La Trinidad Divina y la primera comunidad cristiana en Jerusalén son ejemplos a imitar.
El ser hermanos y hermanas en el Carmelo significa: crecer en comunión y unidad, superar los privilegios y distinciones con un espíritu de participación y co-responsabilidad, compartir posesiones materiales, un programa de vida en común y carismas personales; y también llegar a ser hermanos y hermanas significa cuidar del bienestar psicológico y espiritual de unos a otros. La vida religiosa vivida en comunidad es un signo de la Iglesia que es “esencialmente un misterio de comunión” y “un ícono de la Trinidad”.
https://www.ocarm.org/es/itemlist/user/643-2022-03-04-14-54-58?start=1850#sigProId18df5b5c91
+ La Oración
La oración es la manera en que los Carmelitas se relacionan con Dios ya sea individual o comunitariamente. En la oración uno se abre a Dios quien gradualmente transforma a la persona a través de todos –grandes y pequeños– los eventos de su vida. Este proceso de transformación permite que uno sostenga auténtica relaciones y hace que uno esté dispuesto y deseoso de servir, además de ser capaz de tener compasión y solidaridad. Con la oración es posible presentar a Dios todas las aspiraciones, angustias, esperanzas y gritos de la gente.
La práctica de la oración no es solamente la fuente de la vida espiritual Carmelita, sino que también determina la calidad de nuestra vida fraterna y nuestro servicio en medio del pueblo de Dios. La plegaria de confianza, si es practicada con fidelidad en medio de los acontecimientos complejos de la vida diaria, hace de la hermandad Carmelita testigo de la presencia viva y misteriosa de Dios en medio de la gente.
+ El Servicio
La vida evangélica está entre los dones del Espíritu a la Orden –el compromiso de los miembros de responder al llamado de Cristo viviendo y propagando en el mundo su poder transformador y liberador. Esta vida evangélica se caracteriza por una intensa búsqueda de Dios, la cual se expresa en la vida fraterna y el celo apostólico.
Como parte de la naturaleza contemplativa “en medio de la gente”, el Carmelita busca la faz de Dios en el mundo. La tradición Carmelita se entiende a sí misma como una parte viva de la Iglesia y de la historia, la cual es capaz de escuchar el mundo en el que vive y está dispuesta a ser cuestionada por el mundo. Dicha tradición está lista para enfrentar los desafíos de la vida y dar una auténtica respuesta evangélica basada en su carisma. El Carmelita se muestra solidario con todos los que sufren, los que esperan, y los que se comprometen con la búsqueda del Reino de Dios.
Esta manera de estar “en medio del pueblo” es en última instancia una señal y un testimonio profético. Es un mensaje profético de justicia y paz en la sociedad y entre la gente. La Buena Nueva requiere que esta profecía deba cumplirse a través de un compromiso activo para transformar sistemas de pecados en estructuras llenas de gracia.
También, dicha manera de estar de los Carmelitas es una expresión de elección para compartir en la vida de “los pequeños” (minores). De esta manera los Carmelitas hablan de esperanza con sus vidas y no sólo con sus palabras.
Esta opción fluye naturalmente de nuestra profesión del voto de pobreza en una tradición mendicante; y también está en consonancia con nuestra lealtad a Jesucristo, de vivir en compromiso con los pobres y con aquellos en quienes el rostro de nuestro Señor se refleja tan claramente.
Lectio Divina: Matthew 8:28-34
Ordinary Time
1. Ordinary Time
Father,
You call Your children
to walk in the light of Christ.
Free us from darkness
and keep us in the radiance of Your truth.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 8:28-34
When Jesus came to the territory of the Gadarenes, two demoniacs who were coming from the tombs met him. They were so savage that no one could travel by that road. They cried out, "What have you to do with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the appointed time?" Some distance away a herd of many swine was feeding. The demons pleaded with him, "If you drive us out, send us into the herd of swine." And he said to them, "Go then!" They came out and entered the swine, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea where they drowned. The swineherds ran away, and when they came to the town they reported everything, including what had happened to the demoniacs. Thereupon the whole town came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him they begged him to leave their district.
3) Reflection
• Today’s Gospel stresses the power of Jesus over the devil. In our text, the devil and the power of evil is associated with three things: 1) the cemetery, the place of the dead. The death which kills life! 2) The pig, which was considered an impure animal. The impurity which separates from God! 3) The sea, which was considered the symbol of chaos before creation. The chaos which destroys nature. The Gospel of Mark, from which Matthew takes his information, associates the power of evil with a fourth element which is the word Legion (Mk 5:9), the name of the army of the Roman Empire. The Empire oppressed and exploited the people. Thus, it is understood that the victory of Jesus over the Devil had an enormous importance for the life of the communities of the years 70’s, the time when Matthew wrote his Gospel. The communities lived oppressed and marginalized, because of the official ideology of the Roman Empire and of the Pharisees, which was renewed. The same significance and the same importance continue to be valid today.
• Matthew 8:28: The force of evil oppresses, ill-treats and alienates people. This first verse describes the situation of the people before the coming of Jesus. In describing the behavior of the two demoniacs, the Evangelist associates the force of evil with the cemetery and with death. It is a deadly power, without a goal, without direction, without control and a destructive power, which causes everyone to fear. It deprives people of their conscience, self-control, and autonomy.
• Matthew 8:29: Before the simple presence of Jesus the force of evil breaks up and disintegrates. Here is described the first contact between Jesus and the two possessed men. We see that there is total disproportion. The power, that at first seemed to be so strong, melts and disintegrates before Jesus. They shouted, “What do you want with us, Son of God? Have you come to torture us before the time?” They become aware that they are losing their power.
• Matthew 8:30-32: The power of evil is impure and has no autonomy, nor consistency. The Devil does not have power over his movements. It only gets the power to enter into the pigs with the permission of Jesus! Once they entered into the pigs, the whole herd charged down the cliff into the sea and perished in the water. In the opinion of the people, the pig was a symbol of impurity, which prevented the human being from relating with God and from feeling accepted by Him. The sea was the symbol of the existing chaos before creation and which, according to the belief of that time, continued to threaten life. This episode of the pigs which threw themselves into the sea is strange and difficult to understand. But the message is very clear: before Jesus, the power of evil has no autonomy, no consistency. Anyone who believes in Jesus has already conquered the power of evil and should not fear!
• Matthew 8:33-34: The reaction of the people of that place. The herdsmen of the pigs went to the city and told the story to the people, and they all set out to meet Jesus. Mark says that they saw the “possessed” man sitting down, dressed and in his right mind” (Mk 5:15). But the pigs were still gone! This is why they asked Jesus to leave their neighborhood. For them, the pigs were more important than the person who recovered his senses.
• The expulsion of the demons. At the time of Jesus, the words Devil or Satan were used to indicate the power of evil which drew persons away from the right path. For example, when Peter tried to divert Jesus from His mission, he was Satan for Jesus (Mk 8:33). Other times, those same words were used to indicate the political power of the Roman Empire which oppressed and exploited people. For example, in the Apocalypse, the Roman Empire is identified with “Devil or Satan” (Rev 12:9). While at other times, people used the same words to designate evils and illnesses. They spoke of devil, dumb spirit, deaf spirit, impure or unclean spirit, etc. There was great fear! In the time of Matthew, in the second half of the first century, the fear of demons increased. Some religions from the East taught worship of spirits. They taught that some of our mistaken gestures could irritate the spirits, and these, out of revenge, could prevent us from having access to God and deprive us of divine benefits. For this reason, through rites and writings, intense prayer and complicated ceremonies, people sought to appease these spirits or demons in such a way that they would not cause harm to life. These religions, instead of liberating people, nourished fear and anguish. Now, one of the objectives of the Good News of Jesus was to help people to liberate themselves from this fear. The coming of the Kingdom of God meant the coming of a stronger power. Jesus is “the strongest man” who can conquer Satan, the power of evil, snatching away from its hands a humanity imprisoned by fear (cf. Mk 3:27). For this reason the Gospels insist on the victory of Jesus over the power of evil, over the devil, over Satan, over sin and over death. The Gospels encourage communities to overcome this fear of the devil! Today, who can say “I am completely free?” Nobody! Then, if I am not totally free, there is some part of me which is possessed by other powers. How can these forces be cast away? The message of today’s Gospel continues to be valid for us.
4) Personal questions
• What oppresses and ill-treats people today? Why is it that so much is said about casting out the Devil today? Is it good to insist so much on the Devil?
• How is the meaning of a statement different when we use the term “evil” or “evil forces” versus “Evil One” or Satan or the Devil? How does modern society try to downplay the existence of Satan? Is this important?
• Who can say that he/she is completely free or liberated? Nobody! And then, we are all somewhat possessed by other forces which occupy some space within us. What can we do to expel this power from within us and from society?
• What is freedom? What is free-will? What is choice? If I go along with the crowd, am I free? Have I freely decided or have I acquiesced? Others, including Satan, cannot force us, but we can “go along”. We may not say “yes”, but did we really say “no” to evil today?
5) Concluding Prayer
Yahweh is tenderness and pity,
slow to anger, full of faithful love.
Yahweh is generous to all;
His tenderness embraces all His creatures. (Ps 145:8-9)
