THE REFORMED CATHOLIC CHURCH St. Pope John XXIII Diocese Carmelite Friars of the Divine Mercy ST. ELIJAH MONASTERY AND HOUSE OF PRAYER
The very purpose of the existence of the Carmelite is to become an intimate friend of Christ. This friendship is not grounded on my ascent, my struggle to get back to God, but rather the Incarnation – God coming so close to us as to make His dwelling among us. This is the basis for the friendship – His divine, unconditional love for me. However, the enjoyment of this intimacy of Christ is not the goal of the Carmelite life. It is the means they use to fit them for the work of saving souls, of spreading the kingdom of Christ. Saint Teresa, the great reformer of the Carmelite Order, once wrote, “We should desire and engage in prayer not for our own enjoyment but for the sake of acquiring the strength which will fit us for service.”
Since prayer is the greatest power on earth, there are no boundaries to the influence of prayer. The Carmelite, therefore, can plead the cause of the whole world, and in a particular way for priests.
Who are We
We are the Carmelite Friars of the Divine Mercy incardinated under the Reformed Catholic Church (an independent Catholic Church in the global movement).
A contemplative community of friars living semi-cloistered.
The Carmelite Friars of the Divine Mercy believe that the heart of our way of life is contemplation. Saint John of the Cross described contemplation as the inflowing of God’s grace into a human being. We describe our way of living simply as maintaining close ‘friendship with God’. The Order’s charism is to know and love God, and to make God known and loved by others.
We believe that God’s grace and friendship is offered to all people, not as something we can earn or attain by our own efforts, but as a gift of God, given whenever and to whoever God wishes. To become contemplative Carmelites, we seek to open our hearts to God, practicing what our tradition calls ‘vacare Deo’ (Latin for ‘space for God’ or ‘openness to God’). We believe that our hearts serve as a living tabernacle for God to live within us, taking inspiration from the prophet Elijah, and the Blessed Virgin Mary, patrons of our Order.
We speak of contemplation as a gift of God that can be nurtured by an intense life of prayer, community, and service. These three elements are at the heart of our charism. Carmelites believe that it is the combination of these three elements – prayer, community and service – that makes us better disposed to receive God’s gift of contemplation.
ACT OF CONSECRATION
TO OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL
Oh Mary, Queen and Mother of Carmel, I come today to consecrate myself to Thee, for my whole life is but a small return for the many graces and blessings that have from God to me through Thy hands.
Since Thou regards with an eye of special kindness those who wear Thy Scapular, I implore Thee to strengthen my weakness with Thy power, to enlighten the darkness of my mind with Thy wisdom, to increase in me faith, hope and charity that I may render, day by day, my debt of humble homage to Thee.
May Thy Scapular keep Thine eyes of mercy turn towards me and bring me Thy special protection in the daily struggle to be faithful to Thy Divine Son and to Thee.
May it separate me from all that is sinful in life and remind me constantly of my duty to behold Thee and clothe myself with Thy virtues. From henceforth I shall strive to live in the sweet companionship of Thy spirit, to offer all to Jesus through Thee and make my life the mirror of Thy humility, charity, patience, meekness and prayerfulness.
O dearest Mother, support me, by Thy never-failing love that I, and unworthy sinner, may come one day to exchange Thy Scapular for the wedding Garment of heaven and dwell with Thee and the saints of Carmel in the kingdom of Thy Son.
Amen.
About Us
DAILY PRAYER
TO OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL
Oh, most beautiful Flower of Mount Carmel, fruitful vine, splendor of Heaven, Blessed Mother of the Son of God, Immaculate Virgin, assist me in this my necessity.
Oh, Star of the Sea, help me and show me herein that you are my Mother.
Oh, Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and earth, I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart, to succor me in this my necessity. There is none that can withstand your power.
Oh, show me herein that you are my Mother.
Oh, Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us that have recourse to thee. (repeat 3 times)
Sweet Mother, I place this cause in your hands. (repeat 3 times)
Hail Mary (repeat 3 times)
WHAT MAKES CARMEL DIFFERFENT TO OTHER ORDERS?
“The Spirit [of Carmel] consists essentially in a longing for union with God.
It will be objected that all spiritual men know this longing. This is true. Nevertheless at Carmel this aspiration has a quality of immediacy, an insistence on prompt realization that distinguishes the Order’s religious attitude. Carmel makes contemplation its proper end and to attain this end it practices absolute detachment in relation to all demands, or at least to all temporal contingencies. Eminently theocentric, Carmel refers itself wholly to the living God: “As the Lord liveth the God of Israel, in whose sight I stand” (3 Kgs. 17: 1).
From the earliest ages union with God has been its “raison d’etre” and its soul. No doubt it was “the anticipated dawn of the Savior’s redemptive grace”[3] that made this possible. No doubt, too, that it has benefited by the progress and development of revelation down the centuries. Nevertheless at Carmel from the beginning, union with God has been and continues to be central.
Characterized by an awareness of the presence within man’s heart of the very being of God, the spirit of Carmel also includes a sense of the sacred and a thirst for things divine. Progress in the experience of God only serves to deepen and develop this basic and truly essential element. Without it neither the wise nor the simple could enter into and intensify their relations with God.”
From the Ordinary to an Intimate Relation with God
An invitation to follow Christ's pathway to reach sanctity.
