Fr. Joseph Chalmer, O.Carm.

Formation lasts at least a lifetime; we are not finished with it when we are solemnly professed. We have very good Constitutions and formation document. We have many more Carmelite resources available to us than in the past. Great progress has been made in the area of research and publishing. However, do we take the opportunities presented to us to read and reflect on this material so that we can deepen our understanding of the vocation to which we have been called?

What is formation for? It is an important ongoing process of growth. There is a need for continual Carmelite formation but we cannot be good Carmelites if we are not good human beings. There are certain basic human skills, which are required to make life in society bearable. If these have not been learned in the home environment, they must be quickly instilled at the beginning of formation. What happens when these ordinary human virtues are not learned during initial formation? Each of us has to ask ourselves whether we make community life pleasant or unpleasant for the others? There are several elements that must be borne in mind in the formation process. There is the human level, the intellectual level and the spiritual level. These elements obviously influence one another. All of these must be worked upon throughout the whole of life. These three elements are like the three legs of a stool. If one is out of balance, the whole stool is unbalanced. What about our lives? If there is an imbalance somewhere in our lives, what are we going to do about it? Formation is to help us in our becoming mature human beings, mature followers of Christ and mature Carmelites.

No one of course is perfect but hopefully all of us are on the spiritual journey. This journey requires a great deal from us because we are called to pass through the desert where we are purified and we grow to maturity in Christ. It is a great temptation to give up the journey because it is too difficult and settle down to mediocrity. In the post-synodal document Vita Consecrata, Pope John Paul IIpointed out the importance of the various phases of the formation process. He writes of the middle years that this phase can present the risk of routine and the subsequent temptation to give in to disappointment because of meagre results.³

In this document it is also said, "Those in charge of formation must therefore be very familiar with the path, of seeking God, so as to be able to accompany others on this journey." Those who know something of the path of seeking God, know that there are moments of disappointment and disillusionment, times perhaps when we feel like the Prophet Elijah who sat under a bush and had no desire to continue. (I Kings 19,4) It is vitally important, I believe, that in the process of formation, which lasts the whole of one's Carmelite life, we should be helped to first of all be aware that darkness, disillusionment and disappointment are normal stages on the journey.

We have a profound impact on those who come to us, even if they decide not to continue walking the same path as we walk and so we have a sacred duty to give our candidates the best formation we can possibly give them. What must we do to be continually faithful to this duty? We also have a great impact on those we serve in our apostolic activities. What kind of impact do we have?

Fr. Joseph Chalmer, O.Carm.

Despite the best efforts of vocation promoters, it seems that new vocations will be very few, at least for the foreseeable future, especially in the West. This will have major implications for the Church, the Order and each Province. To face up to closing houses or withdrawing from certain apostolic commitments can be very painful. However it is absolutely essential to prune the branches so that others may grow. If we do not close communities when necessary, it will mean that the men will suffer because they will have to do more and more work to cover what was done by more people in the past. Community life will also suffer. So, am I willing to let go of my apostolate and my house if the discernment of the brothers goes in that direction?

If our prayer is authentic, if it is a personal encounter with the One whom we know loves us, it will transform us from those who work for God into those who do God's work. We will begin to see people and situations no longer merely with our limited human sight but through the eyes of God. Our judgements will no longer be so conditioned by selfish considerations but our minds and hearts will be informed by the will of God. This will transform our way of being in the world. We will realise that we must plant or water the garden but only God can grant the growth.

Fr. Joseph Chalmer, O.Carm.

Mt. 28,18 - "]esus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.19   Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20   and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

This text spells out our task in the present and the future. We, as members of the Church, are to carry on the mission of Christ. The end of our Rule points us towards the future. Like the innkeeper in the story of the Good Samaritan, we continue our work while keeping an eye on the horizon waiting for the Master's return.¹

More and more people in our western societies no longer count themselves as Christians. In some societies I suspect that the number of non- Christians and those who are actively opposed to the Catholic Church is growing. More and more children are being brought up with no sense of God. In fact, God does not enter into the thought of a number of people and is being excluded from many areas of human life. Religion is slowly being relegated to the private sphere as a personal hobby so long as it does not interfere with anyone else.

Abortion is often presented now as a human right and those who are opposed are painted as enemies of women and of human progress.

Creative Fidelity

In the midst of our changing world, the primary challenge for us as individuals and as an Order is unchanging. We are called to be constantly faithful to the charism that God has given to us in trust for the Church and the world. Being faithful does not necessarily mean repeating what has gone before. Times change and so we must change our way of living and presenting the charism so that it can be an effective vehicle of evangelisation in a new era. We do not of course change the charism but we can and do change the way it is presented; we also add to it and enrich it by how we live it in our own day. We can learn a great deal from the prophet Elijah in this connection.

God speaks to us in many ways. One of these ways is through the cultural changes that our world is undergoing at present. We cannot claim to be faithful to God if we do not ponder the Scriptures but equally we cannot claim to be faithful if we do not listen to what God is saying to us from the heart of the world. A new kind of evangelisation is required for a new situation. We must seek to understand what is going on and why and then respond the best way we can. Perhaps we hide the face of Christ from some people by our tired words and tired ways. We must be careful lest we find ourselves speaking in a language of yesterday to the people of tomorrow.

All consecrated men and women "must continue to be images of Christ the Lord, fostering through prayer a profound communion of mind with him (cf Phil 2,5- 11), so that their whole lives may be penetrated by an apostolic spirit and their apostolic work with contemplation."² There can be no doubt that in the eyes of most people Carmel stands for prayer, contemplation, and the interior life. Carmelites do many different things, and that is one of our strengths, but in all these different apostolic works we are expected to express our spirituality. What we do must spring from what we are. We are most faithful to God when we are faithful to the vocation that has been given us. There is a distinction that I have always found helpful between working for God and doing God's work. We work for God in all sorts of ways and our apostolic labours may be very laudable but are they all according to the mind and heart of God? To do God's work means to do what God really wants of us. Our charism is spelled out clearly in our official documents. How do I incarnate this Carmelite vocation of living in allegiance to Jesus Christ through prayer, service and fraternity according to the inspiration of Our Lady and the Prophet Elijah?

The fundamental thrust of our lives has to do with the contemplative aspect of our charism. This does not mean that we all must become hermits but that we must be contemplatives in the midst of the different activities in which we are involved.

Our prophetic and apostolic activity will naturally flow from our contemplative life. We cannot be contemplatives if we do not spend time alone with God but more than that, it is a process whereby God purifies and transforms our hearts so that we become like God. This process requires our consent to the action of God in our lives and a recognition that God works often in very human ways. The whole thrust of our spiritual tradition is about this process in which God transforms our selfishness into pure love. God will use all the ordinary events of daily life to reveal to us who and what we are. This is a very painful process and therefore it is much easier to forget about prayer and immerse ourselves in working for God while perhaps forgetting to do God's work. Am I faithful but also creative? Are we, the Carmelite family, faithful to God and yet creative, so that we can proclaim the Good news in a way that people in our own culture can actually hear it?

Br. Joachim Kenney, O.P.

“What your child is coming to do is to reveal to you what she feels, or, to be more exact, what her God, in the hours of profound recollection, of unifying contact, makes her understand” (Bl. Elizabeth of the Trinity, “Let Yourself Be Loved”). This “unifying contact” that Bl. Elizabeth of the Trinity speaks of is at the heart of the Carmelite vocation. Just as Elijah heard the “still small voice” on Mt. Carmel, Carmelites seek God in hours of silent prayer and recollection, hoping that He will draw them ever more deeply into loving union with Him.

Carmelite Origins

The Carmelite life takes many forms. Its tradition traces the order’s lineage back to the prophet Elijah himself, but most historians agree that the order, while taking inspiration from Elijah and other ancient hermits on Mt. Carmel, began in the mid-1100s. Originally the Carmelites were a strict, eremitical community of men. In the mid- to late 1200s, however, repeated Saracen attacks forced the brothers to depart Mt. Carmel and settle in other lands. A couple of groups settled in Europe and became mendicants. Led most notably by St. Simon Stock, they took up residence at many universities and devoted themselves to study and the active life while maintaining an ascetical and contemplative dimension. A couple of centuries after the order arrived in Europe, several groups of women asked the Prior General to become affiliated with the order. He gave them the rule and constitutions and organized them into monasteries. In the 1500s, the reforms of St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross led to the establishment of the Discalced Carmelites for both the nuns and the friars. Today this twofold organization of the Carmelites – the Order of Carmel (a.k.a. the Ancient Observance or O. Carm.) and the Order of Discalced Carmelites (O.C.D.) – still exists. For the women, in addition to monastic communities, there are now communities of active sisters who undertake such apostolates as caring for the elderly or teaching children. More recently there have also been communities of hermits organized, both men’s and women’s, which follow more closely the original Carmelite way of life. They are under the authority of the Prior General of the O. Carms. Lay men and women can join the Carmelites by becoming members of the Third Order.

A Vocation to Love

St. John the Apostle said in his first epistle that “God is love.” The mission of the Carmelites is to let this Love permeate the entirety of their being, conforming them to Himself. They also share in Love’s thirst for souls and recommend the rest of us in the Church to Him. St. Therese of Lisieux is one Carmelite saint who epitomized this sort of life. She once expressed an interest in and desire for a myriad of vocations and all of their great works. She finally recognized, however, that all of her desires could be satisfied in leading to the fullest the life of charity to which all Christians are called. She summed up her vocation as a Carmelite nun in these words: “O Jesus, my Love, at last I have found my vocation, my vocation is Love! … In the heart of the Church, my Mother, I will be Love! … Thus I shall be all things: thus my dream shall be realized!” St. Therese was able to focus singularly on perfection in this loving union with God and so served as an example and a source of encouragement and strength for the rest of the Church. In doing so, she took her cue from her venerable Carmelite forbears.  St. John of the Cross, for example, had written centuries earlier that “an instant of pure love is more precious in the eyes of God … and more profitable to the Church, than all other good works together, though it may seem as if nothing were done.”

Carmelite Spirituality

Carmelite spirituality has a few well-known characteristics. The first is that it is thoroughly Marian. Throughout their history, Carmelites have had an intense devotion to the Mother of God under the title of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. As part of this, they promote the popular devotion of wearing the Brown Scapular which Our Lady gave to St. Simon Stock as a sign of favor and protection. Secondly, Carmelites are renowned for their mysticism. When they arrived at the universities of Europe, the friars wedded their knowledge of God gained in their experience of the eremitical life to the science of theology, especially as taught in the school of St. Thomas Aquinas. The mystical theology that resulted has been and continues to be a great boon to the Church. It of course aided and in turn was aided by the great mystics of the order who have already been mentioned. St. Teresa of Avila, who wrote such spiritual masterpieces as The Interior Castle and The Way of Perfection, and St. John of the Cross, whose works include The Ascent of Mount Carmel and The Dark Night of the Soul, have led countless followers to a deeper union with God through their insights into prayer, contemplation, the states of the soul and its acts and experiences. Carmelite spirituality is also very ascetical. Mortifications and penances are undertaken to free the soul from attachments to whatever is not God. Reading about these can often make the Carmelite life seem harsh and joyless, but Carmelites are frequently noted for their deep and abiding sense of joy. It is a natural result of focusing on and achieving union with the Highest Good and Ultimate End of life.

Mutual Edification

The Carmelite masters benefited much from the teaching and influence of Dominicans as noted above.  I think Dominicans in turn can benefit from the example of the union of knowledge and love that the great Carmelites have set. The two orders have many things in common. A focus on contemplation, the theology of St. Thomas, and Marian devotion are just a few of them. At times, though, the Dominican emphasis on the intellect can overlook the role of experience and the affections in the spiritual life. Learning about the Carmelite life can help spur us on to pursue unifying contact of the whole of man with the Divine.

Joseph Chalmer, O.Carm.

What will the future hold? If we knew that, we could all make a fortune. We are invited into God's future and only He knows what that will be but He is constructing the future out of our present. We are laying the foundations now for what we will be in the future. I would like now to share with you some dreams I have for the future of Carmel and how I see lay Carmelites in particular fitting into that future.

Karl Rahner said that the Christian of the future will be a mystic. Many people seem to want to settle for far less than they were created for. Even church people can succumb to that temptation. However you want more. The fact that you are Carmelites and that you are taking the time to read this means that you are seeking more. But what is this more?

In the future of the Church I see the goal of Christianity being spelled out much more clearly and I believe that Carmel has a very important role to play in this future. The goal of Christianity is not just to say your prayers and avoid mortal sin so that you will get to heaven after passing through purgatory. I think that the goal is nowhere better expressed than in the letter to the Ephesians:

This then is what I pray, kneeling before the Father from

whom every family whether spiritual or natural takes its name, that out of His infinite glory He may grant you the power, through His Spirit, for your hidden self to grow strong so that Christ may live in your hearts through faith and then planted in love and built on love, you will with all the saints have strength to grasp the breadth and the length, the height and the depth; until knowing the love of Christ which is beyond all knowledge, you are filled with the utter fullness of God. Glory be to Him who wants to do far more for us than we could ask for or even imagine. Glory be to Him in the Church and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen. (Eph. 3,14-21).

Despite the scholarly debates about who actually wrote the letter to the Ephesians, I think that we can still say that St. Paul wants us to be filled with the utter fullness of God, because the whole letter is certainly "Pauline". This "utter fullness" is the contemplative value in Carmelite spirituality of which we speak a great deal. To be filled with the utter fullness of God is to be a mystic. Mysticism is not for an elite few; it is for everyone. It means to become an intimate friend of God. This is the call which we receive in baptism and mysticism or contemplation is the full flowering of the baptismal grace.

At present there is a thirst for God among people. Despite the present aggressive secularism, this thirst has not been dampened, though it does tend to be expressed in ways outside the Church. Those who profess a Christian faith often express this thirst in terms of prayer. Many people are seeking depth and a whole host of prayer groups have sprung up to answer this need. Carmelite spirituality can lead people to the source of living water where their thirst can be quenched. I see in the future much more concentration on the contemplative charism of Carmel. Those who are called to Carmel are called above all to be contemplatives. Let us be clear that a contemplative is not one who is enclosed in a monastery or a convent. There are contemplatives in every neighbourhood and in every area of life. One famous contemplative was Dag Hammarskjold who was Secretary General of the United Nations and obviously an extremely busy man. No-one of course knew that he was a mystic, nor I am sure did he. It was only after his death that his diary was discovered. The jottings there showed quite clearly that he was indeed a man of God. His diary has been published under the title of "Markings".¹ Mostly contemplatives do not know that they are such. Contemplation and mysticism really have the same meaning and I use the terms interchangeably. Being a contemplative or a mystic has nothing to do with visions or hearing voices or anything of that sort. Mystics can be the busiest people but in the midst of all their activity are seeking the One who is.

Mystics allow God to take flesh once again in their lives. People who follow this path become their true selves. We are called to follow Christ and to imitate him. Jesus was truly human because he was divine. We are not yet fully human; we are on the way. We become fully human when God unites us with Himself and we become like Him. Purgatory means that death is not the end of our journey; we have the opportunity to grow after death so that we can become what God knows we can be. We believe that we can help each other by our prayer and we can help those who have died to continue their journey through our prayer for them.

I believe that in the future there will be a much greater concentration on the path which leads to the fulfilment of all our yearnings. If we accept that we are called to be filled with the utter fullness of God, how do we arrive at that? The Carmelite way will come into its own because it is about leading and guiding people to the summit of Mount Carmel where God is all in all. This is never to be thought of as an individual venture. We need one another as we journey and the acid test of how we relate to God is always how we relate to one another. However there is a major problem in that we cannot arrive at our goal. This is impossible for us but not for God for nothing is impossible for God. (cf. Lk. 1, 38)

The emotional programmes

God desires to accomplish His will in us but He wants our co-operation. God will not force Himself on us. We must allow Him to dismantle our emotional programmes, so laboriously set up, that we mistakenly thought would bring us happiness so that He can invade our whole being and unite us with Himself. These emotional programmes are the major blocks within us to God's accomplishing His will in us. So what are these emotional programmes within us? These are ways by means of which we attempt to control our own lives and destiny

What God desires to do in us is recreate us in the image of His Son. This is the true self which needs to emerge from the cocoon of the old self. From our earliest days we learn how to cope with the world and with people. We protect ourselves from perceived danger and we seek happiness. We gradually build up these emotional programmes for our own protection and happiness. Deep within us there is an instinct for survival which is healthy and good. It stops us from doing silly things and putting ourselves into obvious danger but it also drives us to seek security in many subtle ways. We tend to believe in God while trying to hold on to whatever it is that we think will make us feel secure. We can tell God that we trust in Him alone but the reality can be very different.

Also we need to be loved and we seek this love for our own well-being. However this deep human need and desire can easily be twisted. We can base our sense of self-worth on the level of love or affection which others have for us. Therefore we will manipulate people into gratifying our own needs and desires. However we are good and worthwhile simply because God has created us and loves us. Whatever people may think about us, that truth remains. So we must gradually let go of our clinging to people for the gratification of our need for affection. I am not and can never be defined by what people think of me. I can find the reflection of myself only in God. The world can be perceived as a very threatening place and in order to feel secure we need to feel in control. Therefore there can be a tendency to seek power over things and people in order to maintain our control.

These three emotional centres as they are called survival, affection and power are in each of us to a certain extent. We may tend towards one more strongly than another at times or even permanently. They do affect us in very subtle ways. The way to recognise when they are operating is through our emotions. Our instinctive reaction is to blame other people for our emotions - "You have hurt me" or "you have made me angry" or "it's all your fault". Of course you are not to blame for my feelings. They are my problem, not yours. The three emotional centres form the false self and it will defend itself by all means in its power. If you do not back up my opinion of myself by your attitude, I will strike out at you in some way - perhaps by anger or withholding my affection. If only the world, or my bosses or the organisation to which I belong were better then everything would be fine. But, I'm afraid, everything would not be fine. In the Gospel, Jesus challenges me personally to let go of the false self-system, to die to self so that the true self can be bom. The one who holds onto his life will lose it; the one who loses his life for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel will save it. (cf. Mk 8,35 )²

The challenge at the beginning of the Gospel is to repent and believe the Gospel which means turn around in your road and seek your happiness in God and in nothing else. An idol is any person, place or thing from which we look for the happiness that can come only from God. Our emotions and feelings faithfully record what our true values are even though we may think they are Gospel values. Therefore our emotions, not our words and concepts, will let us know whether in fact we are placing our trust in an idol or in the Living God Taking this path involves us in a struggle which requires great honesty. This is the real penance. St. Therese of Lisieux, when she was preparing to enter Carmel, decided to live a life of mortification. She makes it clear that she does not mean that she took on physical penances. Instead she would do little things to thwart her own will, to hold back the cutting word and so on.³ God calls us to freedom but freedom is not easy to come to. We have habitual ways of acting and responding from childhood and these ways are so ingrained in us that they are very difficult to eradicate. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, "If someone strikes you on the right cheek, offer the other one too". (Mt. 5, 39). This is not a pacifist manifesto but an invitation to freedom. Our habitual tendency is to strike back in some way when attacked. This is not just a physical thing. If you hurt me in some way, then I will seek, albeit in a subtle way, to repay you in kind. Jesus calls us to the freedom of not having to respond in this habitual way. We are called to unconditional acceptance and love of all people. Only God can do this and so only God can give us the freedom to act in this way also. The false self system, based on the emotional programmes for happiness, can adapt itself to any kind of life style. It is just as effective in the spiritual life as it is in our exterior life. God must teach us that we cannot grasp hold of Him, nor can we control or manipulate Him. Of course we do not think that we are trying to do that, which is why our attachment to our emotional programmes for happiness is so subtle. We can cling onto feelings and consolations in prayer because they can give us a sense of getting somewhere in the spiritual life and in our relationship with God. Sometimes God will take these away so that we will learn by experience that only He, and not any of His gifts, no matter how sublime, can satisfy us.

Continuing on the inner journey will involve us in a long process whereby God reshapes us according to the image of His Son. The breaking down of the old self is painful but the birth of the new self makes all the pain worthwhile. Another term for this process is purification. We are purified so that we can receive God.

As we become more and more conscious of God's presence and action within us as the true source of all our happiness, we become more ready to dismantle the false self which we now perceive to be a burden. In the false self we have placed our hope for happiness and now slowly there develops within us a progressive self- forgetfulness and self-abandonment, confident in the power of God to lead us to the fullness of life. Our various likes, dislikes and desires gradually become a radical surrender to God's will not just at the time of prayer but also in daily life. In this way we become what God knows we can be.

Our spiritual heritage

In the future I see a greater concentration on the spiritual journey in the Church at large and in Carmel. We will become more and more aware of our spiritual heritage and how the insights of Carmelites who have gone before us can help us on our own journey and also help us to help others. Our spiritual tradition is very rich but it is little known. Many people associate Carmel with St. John of the Cross and think that it is only for a spiritual elite. We know that it speaks to us of the whole spiritual journey and gives all of us hope that we might, like Elijah, receive the food and drink necessary in order to journey to Horeb, the mountain of God. (cf. I Kings 19, 5-8). Carmelite spirituality is for people on a journey, the spiritual journey, moving towards God. It does not matter where the individual starts as long as he or she has a desire to journey towards God, then Carmelite spirituality can be of assistance.

I see in the future a continual flourishing of different lay movements within the Carmelite family. Just as the friars do not have a monopoly on the Carmelite charism, neither does the Third Order have a monopoly on how lay Carmelites can be a part of the Carmelite family. The Third Order is a particular way in which lay people can be members of the family. It may suit some people but not others. The Rule of St. Albert has proved over many centuries that it is a source of spiritual fruitfulness. Who knows what might emerge in the future?

How will the Third Order evolve in the future? That is lost in the mystery of God but perhaps I could share with you some ideas which I have. First of all I would see that the present Rule of the Third Order being expanded to become a commentary on the Rule of St. Albert suitable for lay people. The Rule of St. Albert is deceptively simple. It was originally written for hermits and then adapted for conditions in the West and for those who wished to commit themselves to an active apostolate while maintaining a focus on prayer and contemplation. There are many ways to read a text. One way is to ask what Albert meant when he wrote it and what the hermits understood by it. However this interpretation would not mean a great deal today. Another possible way of reading the text is to bring our own issues, concerns, questions and experiences and ask what the Rule has to say to us. We use this method of interpretation unconsciously when we read Scripture e.g. when we apply some of the Song of Songs to Our Lady. The writer of that Old Testament text did not have Our Lady in mind when he wrote but because of our Christian experience, we can see meanings in the text which go beyond what the original writer intended. Therefore let us read and reread the Rule of St. Albert as a gift from God to us, not as a "sacred text" which has an unchanging meaning but as a source of inspiration as to how we can adapt the original Carmelite inspiration to our changing needs and cultures.

The Rule is imbued with the Word of God. Short though it is, it contains about a hundred explicit or implicit Scriptural texts. The hermits were enjoined to ponder on the law of the Lord day and night. This pondering was intended to transform the individual into Christ from the inside out. We are to allow the Word of God to envelop us so that whatever we do will "have the Lord's Word for accompaniment" (ch.14). The same process of transformation is at work in all of us whatever our particular style of life. The Rule of St. Albert has inspired many different kinds of ways of life; it can also inspire members of the Third Order to live more deeply their Carmelite vocation at the heart of the world and its concerns.

The two inspirational models which Carmel presents to us, Mary and Elijah, are biblical figures who pondered long on the Word of God and gave it their whole-hearted assent. Carmel itself is imbued with the Word of God. I would see in the future far greater emphasis on lectio divina which can be translated as sacred reading. This is a way of pondering on the Scriptures and the model is the bee which is out to collect pollen. It does not just fly over many flowers; it has to enter inside and collect all the pollen before it flies on to another flower. This sacred reading can be done alone and also with a group. I would then see that the meetings of Carmelites would be very much concentrated on this sacred reading of Scripture. The members could be asked to bring their bibles which will probably be falling apart from constant use (!) and read a selected portion of Scripture together. This would be followed by silence for 10 to 15 minutes during which the members would simply listen to God in the depths of their own hearts. Then the group would share together what the particular Scriptural text means for each person. This would not be a discussion but a sharing of faith. The head is not the most important aspect of the reading but the heart. Lectio divina is a particular form of prayer but much more importantly it is the structure of all authentic Christian prayer and shapes the day with its flowing of reading, reflection, responding and resting. Following on from this greater emphasis on Holy Scripture, I would see the use of the Divine Office become the norm instead of the little office. The Divine Office is the Prayer of the whole Church and it is fitting for lay Carmelites to use this form of prayer.

I believe that there will be much greater emphasis on the Third Order as a lay organisation with elected national officials who will animate the local chapters with help from the friars when requested. Being a member of the Third Order is just as much a vocation as being a friar. The friars are not the sole custodians of the Carmelite charism. It is too rich and too multi­faceted for that. The Third Order will take its own direction and the friars will be advisers. More lay Carmelites will enter into ministries helping people to pray and to deepen their spiritual life. Perhaps for this the friars will be able to help by giving training and so on in the tradition. Unfortunately Carmelite spirituality is not quite as easily packaged as Ignatian spirituality. However perhaps this training will only come when there is a real demand for it.

We are being invited into God's future but what this will be like depends very much on our co­operation. How do you want to live out your Carmelite vocation? If you are perfectly happy with things as they are and want no change, then no change will take place because it is your vocation. Self-satisfaction is always a little dangerous. If however there is to be change it will mostly come from lay Carmelites themselves. Lay Carmelites must make known what they are looking for and how the Order as a whole can help.

I have only sketched in outline form some of the possibilities for the future. Each of these points could be developed much more. However perhaps you can develop them in your own time. We have been called together into the land of Carmel. Under the patronage of Our Lady and inspired by the prophet Elijah, may we co-operate with God as He helps us to grow both individually and as a family so that we all become what God knows we can be.

Endnotes

1      Dag Hammarskjold, Markings, (Faber and Faber, London & Boston, 1964).

2      For a simple explanation of the false self and the emotional programmes that make it up, see Elizabeth Smith and Joseph Chalmers, A Deeper Love. An Introduction to Centering Prayer (Continuum, London & New York, 1999).

3      A, 68v. This is a reference to the first manuscript of St. Th£rese's Autobiography or Story of a Soul, which was written when she was in the Carmel of Lisieux. It was written at the command of the then prioress, her sister Mother Agnes of Jesus (Pauline). There are so many published versions of this book that references are now normally given to the original French text." Throughout the book, references to Th^rfese's autobiography is to manuscript A, B or C followed by the page in the original where it may be found. The text used is: Th£rfese de L’Enfant-J#sus et de la Sainte face, Oeuvres completes, (Textes et Demieres Paroles), (Editions du Cerf, 1992, Desclee de Brouwer).

On January 12, Fr. Constant Dölle, O. Carm., of the Dutch Province celebrated his 100th birthday. Father Constant is currently the oldest member of the Carmelite Order. The celebration began with a Mass of Thanksgiving in his community at Zenderen, after which there was a reception for family and friends who wanted to offer congratulations. Along the Prior Provincial of the Netherlands, Fr. Jan Brouns, O. Carm. and many Carmelites he had a visit from the Mayor of Borne, Mr. R. Welten. During this reception Fr. Edgar Koning, O.Carm., the prior of Zenderen, read two letters: one from the Prior General and another from the King and the Queen of the Netherlands.

The day after our oldest Carmelite was interviewed by the local newspaper and for television. This is truly a great joy for the Order and for the whole Carmelite family. Father Constant Dölle ... ad multos annos!

Pope's Prayer Intentions for January 2016

Universal:  Interreligious Dialogue - That sincere dialogue among men and women of different faiths may produce the fruits of peace and justice.

Evangelization: Christian Unity- That by means of dialogue and fraternal charity and with the grace of the Holy Spirit, Christians may overcome divisions.

Lectio Divina Jannuary, Ereno Gennaio 2016

CHRISTUS NATUS EST NOBIS!
VENITE ADOREMUS!
NATALE HILARE ET ANNUM FAUSTUM
25.XII.2015

FERNANDO PRIOR GENERALIS
DOMUSQUE GENERALIS COMMUNITAS

IMAGE: Madonna con Gesù Bambino, Autore ignoto, Convento di San Martino ai Monti, Roma

The Elective Chapter of the Carmelite Monastery of Santa Ignacia, Tarlac, Philippines, was held 17 December 2015. The following were elected:

• Prioress:  Sr. Arlene Marie Reporte, O.Carm.
• 1st Councilor:   Sr. M. Victoria San Diego, O.Carm.
• 2nd Councilor:  Sr. Mary Ann Inosanto, O.Carm.
• Director of Novices:  Sr. M. Victoria San Diego, O.Carm.
• Treasurer:  Sr. Mary Ann Inosanto, O.Carm.
• Sacristan:  Sr. M. Lourdes Maria Viernes, O.Carm.

The Carmelite review, “Carmel in the World” which marked its fiftieth anniversary in 2011, has just put out its most recent issue using a new format. The Editor of the review, Patrick J. Breen, O.Carm., and the new editorial board, in collaboration with Edizioni Carmelitane in Rome, decided to modernise the image of the review to make it new and more attractive. As well as that, the recent issue shows some changes in the presentation and the orientation of the articles. The hope in this is to reach a wider readership among people who are interested in the topic of Carmelite spirituality.

It is noteworthy, and a cause for gratitude, that “Carmel in the World”  (which in the beginning was published in various languages, and now comes out only in English) intends to continue offering this service to the Carmelite Family, at a time when many reviews have been folding up. From Citoc-online, we congratulate the editorial team and express the wish that this new change will add new impulse to the spread of Carmel in the World.