PREFACE
All are called to share, in charity, the holiness which belongs
to God alone: "You
must therefore be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is
perfect" (Mt 5:48).
Following Christ is the way to attain perfection, open to all
by baptism. Through Baptism we take part in the triple mission of Jesus:
kingly, priestly and prophetic. The first is a commitment to transforming
the world according to God's
design. By the priestly mission, the baptized person offers self and the
whole of creation to the Father with Christ, guided by the Holy Spirit.
And as prophet, the baptized person announces God's plan
for human kind and denounces all that is contrary to it[1].
The great Teresian Carmelite family is present in the world in
many forms. The nucleus of this family is the Order of Discalced
Carmelites - the
friars, the enclosed nuns, the seculars. It is the one Order with the same
charism. The Order is nourished by the long tradition of Carmel, expressed
in the Rule of Saint Albert and the doctrine of the Carmelite Doctors of
the Church and the Order's other saints.
The present OCDS Constitutions are the fundamental law for its
members, present in different regions of the world. For this reason they
are characterized by simplicity of structures and moderation in rules
concerning the way of life. In this way, within a fundamental unity
established by this legislation, there is preserved openness to pluralism
in expression demanded by the various social, cultural and ecclesial
contexts. To achieve this, particular Statutes may be drawn up to complete
and adapt the general laws where permitted in these
Constitutions.
I
OUR IDENTITY, VALUES AND COMMITMENT
1. Carmelite
Seculars, together with the Friars and Nuns, are sons and daughters of the
Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St Teresa of Jesus. As a result,
they share the same charism with the religious, each according to their
particular state of life. It is one family with the same spiritual
possessions, the same call to holiness (cf. Ep 1:4; 1 P 1:15) and the same
apostolic mission. Secular members contribute to the Order the benefits
proper to their secular state of life[2].
2. Our
membership of the Order goes back to the relationship established between
laity and members of religious Orders born in the Middle Ages. Gradually
these relationships took on an official character, forming part of the
religious Institute and taking part in its charism and spirituality. In
light of the Church's new
theology of the laity, Seculars live this membership with a clear secular
identity.
3. The members
of the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites are faithful members of the
Church[3],
called to live "in
allegiance to Jesus Christ"[4]
through "friendship with the One we know loves us"[5] and in
service to the Church. Under the protection of Our Lady of Mount Carmel,
in the biblical tradition of the prophet Elijah and inspired by the
teachings of St Teresa of Jesus and St John of the Cross, they seek to
deepen their Christian commitment received in baptism.
4. The Virgin
Mary is present in a special way, most of all as a model of faithfulness
in listening to the Lord and in service to Him and to others. Mary is the
one who preserved in her heart the life and actions of her Son and
meditated on them[6],
providing for us an example of contemplation. At Cana she counselled to do
what the Lord commanded[7]. Mary
is an example of apostolic service. On another occasion, she waited,
persevering in prayer with the apostles[8], for
the coming of the Holy Spirit, thus giving witness to intercessory prayer.
She is Mother of the Order. Secular Carmel enjoys her special
protection and cultivates a sincere Marian devotion.
5. Elijah
represents the prophetical tradition of Carmel and is an inspiration to
live in the presence of God, seeking Him in solitude and silence with zeal
for God's
glory. The Secular Carmelites live the prophetic dimension of Christian
life and Carmelite spirituality by promoting God's law
of charity and truth in the world, above all by making themselves the
voice for those who cannot, on their own, express this love and this
truth[9].
6. The Rule of
Saint Albert is the original expression of the spirituality of Carmel. It
was written for the laypeople who gathered on Mount Carmel to live a life
dedicated to meditation on the Word of God, under the protection of Our
Lady. The following principles of that Rule guide Carmelite
life:
a) Living in
allegiance to Jesus
Christ;
b) Being
diligent in meditating on the law of the
Lord;
c) Giving time to
spiritual reading;
d)
Participating in the Church's
Liturgy, both the Eucharist and the Liturgy of the Hours;
e)
Being concerned for the needs and the good of others in the
community;
f)
Arming ourselves with the practice of the virtues, as we live an
intense life of faith, hope and charity;
g)
Seeking interior silence and solitude in our life of
prayer;
h)
Using prudent discretion in all that we do.
7. The origin
of the Discalced Carmel is to be found in St Teresa of Jesus. She lived
with profound faith in God's
mercy[10] which
strengthened her to persevere[11] in
prayer, humility, love for her brothers and sisters, and love for the
Church, leading her to the grace of spiritual matrimony. Her evangelical
self-denial, disposition to service and perseverance in the practice of
the virtues are a daily guide to living the spiritual life[12]. Her
teachings on prayer and the spiritual life are essential to the formation
and life of the Secular Order.
8. Saint John
of the Cross was the companion of Saint Teresa in the formation of the
Discalced Carmelite Order. He inspires the Secular Carmelite to be
vigilant in the practice of faith, hope and charity. He guides the Secular
Carmelite through the dark night to union with God. In this union with
God, the Secular Carmelite finds the true freedom of the children of God[13].
9. Taking into
account the origins of Carmel and the Teresian charism, the fundamental
elements of the vocation of Teresian Secular Carmelites can be summarized
as follows:
a)
to live in allegiance to Jesus Christ, supported by the imitation
and patronage of the most Blessed Virgin Mary, whose way of life is, for
Carmel, a model of being conformed to Christ.
b)
to seek "mysterious union with God" by
way of contemplation and apostolic activity, indissolubly joined together,
for service to the Church;
c)
to give particular importance to prayer which, nourished by
listening to the Word of God and by the liturgy, is conducive to relating
with God as a friend, not just in prayer but in daily living. To be
committed to this life of prayer demands being nourished by faith, hope
and, above all, charity in order to live in the presence and the mystery
of the living God[14];
d)
to infuse prayer and life with apostolic zeal in a climate of human
and Christian community;
e)
to live evangelical self-denial from a theological
perspective;
f)
to give importance to the commitment to evangelization: in the
ministry of spirituality as the particular collaboration of the Secular
Order, faithful to its Teresian Carmelite identity.
II
FOLLOWING JESUS IN THE TERESIAN SECULAR
CARMEL
10. Christ is the centre of
our lives and of Christian experience. Members of the Secular Order are
called to live the demands of following Christ in union with Him, by
accepting His teachings and devoting themselves to Him. To follow Jesus is
to take part in His saving mission of proclaiming the Good News and the
establishment of God's
Kingdom (Mt 4:18-19). There are various ways of following Jesus: all
Christians must follow Him, must make Him the law for their lives and be
disposed to fulfil three fundamental demands: to place family ties beneath
the interests of the Kingdom and Jesus himself (Mt 10:37-39; Lk 14:
25-26); to live in detachment from wealth in order to show that the
arrival of the Kingdom does not depend on human means but rather on
God's
strength and the willingness of the human person before Him (Lk 14:33); to
carry the cross of accepting God's will
revealed in the mission that He has confided to each person (Lk 14:33;
9:23).
11. Following Jesus as
members of the Secular Order is expressed by the promise to strive for
evangelical perfection in the spirit of the evangelical counsels of
chastity, poverty and obedience and through the beatitudes. By means of
this promise the member's
baptismal commitment is strengthened for the service of God's
plan in the world. This promise is a pledge to pursue
personal holiness, which necessarily carries with it a commitment to
serving the Church in faithfulness to the Teresian Carmelite charism. The
promise is taken before the members of the community, representing the
whole Church and in the presence of the Delegate of the Superior of the
Order.
12. By the promise made to
the community in the presence of the Superior of the Order or his
Delegate, the person becomes a full member of the Secular Order. By this
commitment members strive to acquire the necessary training to know the
reasons, the content and purpose of the evangelical lifestyle they are
undertaking. The promise heightens and enriches the baptismal commitment
in Secular Carmelites. This includes those called to married life, both as
spouses and as parents. This promise is renewed once a year at Easter
time.
The
commitment to the promise to live the spirit of the evangelical counsel of
chastity
13. The promise of chastity
reinforces the commitment to love God above all else, and to love others
with the love God has for them[15]. In
this promise the Secular Carmelite seeks the freedom to love God and
neighbour unselfishly[16]
giving witness to the divine intimacy promised by the beatitude
"blessed are the pure of heart for they shall see
God" (Mt
5:8). The promise of chastity is a commitment to Christian love in its
personal and social dimensions in order to create authentic community in
the world. By this promise the Secular Carmelite also expresses the
conscious desire to respect each person as required by God's
law and one's
state of life, as a single person or married or widowed. This promise does
not prevent a change in state of life.
The
commitment to the promise of living the spirit of the evangelical counsel
of poverty
14. By the promise of
poverty the Secular Carmelite expresses the desire to live in accordance
with the Gospel and its values. In evangelical poverty there is a wealth
of generosity, self-denial, and interior liberty and a dependence on Him
who "Though
rich, yet for our sake, became poor" (2 Co
8:9), and who "emptied Himself" (Ph
2:7), to be at the service of His brothers and sisters. The promise of
poverty seeks an evangelical use of the goods of this world and of
personal talents, as well as the exercise of personal responsibilities in
society, in family, and work, confidently placing all in the hands of God.
It also implies a commitment to the cause of justice so that the world
itself responds to God's
plan. In combination with these, evangelical poverty recognizes personal
limitations and surrenders them to God with confidence in His goodness and
fidelity.
The
commitment to the promise to live the spirit of the evangelical counsel of
obedience
15. The promise of
obedience is a pledge to live open to the will of God, "in whom we live and move and have our being" (Ac 17:28) imitating Christ who accepted the
Father's will
and was "obedient unto death, death on a cross"
(Ph 2:8).
The promise of obedience is an exercise of faith leading to the
search for God's will
in the events and challenges in society and our own personal life. For
this reason the Secular Carmelite freely cooperates with those who have
responsibility for guiding the community and the Order in discerning and
accepting God's
ways: the Community's
Council, the Provincial and the General.
The
commitment to the promise to live the spirit of the
beatitudes
16. The beatitudes are a
plan of action for life and a way to enter into relationship with the
world, neighbours and co-workers, families and friends. By promising to
live the beatitudes in daily life, Secular Carmelites seek to give
evangelical witness as members of the Church and the Order, and by this
witness invite the world to follow Christ: "the
Way, the Truth and the Life" (Jn
14:6).
III
WITNESSES TO THE EXPERIENCE OF GOD
17. The vocation to the
Teresian Carmel is a commitment to "live a
life of allegiance to Jesus Christ",
"pondering the Lord's law
day and night and keeping watch in prayer"[17]. Faithful to this principle of the Rule, St Teresa placed
prayer as the foundation and basic exercise of her religious family. For
this reason, Secular Carmelites are called to strive to make prayer
penetrate their whole existence, in order to walk in the presence of the
living God (cf. 1 K 18:14), through the constant exercise of faith, hope
and love, in such a way that the whole of their life is a prayer, a search
for union with God. The goal will be to achieve the integration of
experience of God with the experience of life: to be contemplatives in
prayer and the fulfilment of their own mission.
18. Prayer, a dialogue of
friendship with God, ought to be nourished by His Word so that this
dialogue becomes that, "we
speak to him when we pray; we hear him when we read the divine
word"[18]. God's Word
will nourish the contemplative experience of Carmelite Seculars and their
mission in the world. Besides personal contemplation, listening to the
Word ought to encourage a contemplation that leads to sharing the
experience of God in the Secular Order community. By this means, the
Community together seeks to discern God's
ways, maintain a permanent energy of conversion, and live with a renewed
hope. The Carmelite Secular will be able to see through events and
discover God in everything.
19. Occupying a privileged
place in nourishing the prayer life of Carmelite Seculars will be the
study and spiritual reading of Scripture and the writings of our Saints,
particularly those who are Doctors of the Church: St Teresa, St John of
the Cross and St Therese of the Child Jesus. The Church's
documents are also food and inspiration for a commitment to
follow Jesus.
20. The Carmelite Secular
will make sure to have special times set apart for prayer, as times of
greater awareness of the Lord's
presence and an interior space for a personal and intimate meeting with
Him. This will lead to prayer as an attitude of life, that will
"always
and everywhere recognize God ...... seek his will in every event, see
Christ in all people whether they be a relative or a stranger, and make
correct judgments about the true meaning and value of temporal things both
in themselves and in their relation to humankind's final
goal"[19]. Thus they will achieve a union of contemplation and action in
history, integrating faith and life, prayer and action, contemplation and
Christian commitment.
21. Carmelite Seculars will
commit themselves daily to spending a time in the practice of mental
prayer. This is the time to be with God and to strengthen their
relationship with Him so that they can be true witnesses to His presence
in the world.
22. The way of Christian
prayer demands a life of evangelical self-denial (Lk 9:23) in fulfilling
one's own
vocation and mission, since "prayer
and comfortable living are incompatible"[20]. Carmelite Seculars accept from the viewpoint of faith, hope
and love, the work and suffering of each day, family worries, the
uncertainty and limitations of human life, sickness, lack of understanding
and all that makes up the fabric of our earthly existence. They will
strive to make all this, material for their dialogue with God, in order to
grow in an attitude of praise and gratitude to the Lord. In order to live
truly, simply, freely, humbly and completely confident in the Lord, the
Secular Carmelite observes the practices of evangelical self-denial
recommended by the Church. Of particular importance are those days and
periods in the liturgical calendar that have a penitential character.
23. The personal prayer
life of the Carmelite Secular, understood as friendship with God, is also
nourished and expressed in the liturgy, an inexhaustible font for the
spiritual life. Liturgical prayer enriches personal prayer and this, in
its turn, gives a lively expression to liturgical participation. In the
Secular Order a special place is given to the liturgy, understood as
God's Word
celebrated in active hope, after having received it by faith and the
commitment to live it in effective love. The Sacraments, especially the
Eucharist and Reconciliation, need to be lived as signs and instruments of
the freeing action of God and as an encounter with the Paschal Christ,
present in the ecclesial community. They are grace-giving structures in
opposition to the structures for sin in society. Carmelite Seculars
strives to discover in liturgical prayer the presence of Christ and the
Holy Spirit, living and demanding something of us in everyday life. In the
liturgical year, they will experience the mysteries of redemption which
inspire collaboration in bringing about God's
plan. The Liturgy of the Hours, for its part, brings the Secular Carmelite
into communion with the prayer of Jesus and the Church.
24. The value of the
sacramental and liturgical life in the Secular Order leads its members to
take part in the celebration of the Eucharist, in as far as possible. They
will try to recite Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer of the Hours in union
with the Church spread throughout the world. When it is possible they will
also recite Night Prayer. Their participation in the sacrament of
Reconciliation and the other sacraments of the Church will assist the
process of their conversion.
IV
SERVING GOD'S PLAN
25. "
The
lay faithful, precisely because they are members of the Church, have the
vocation and mission of proclaiming the Gospel: they are prepared for this
work by the sacraments of Christian Initiation and by the gifts of the
Holy Spirit"[21]. The spirituality of Carmel will awaken in Secular Carmelites
a desire for greater apostolic commitment, in becoming aware of all that
their call to Carmel implies. Aware of the need the world has of witnesses
to God's
presence[22], they
will respond to the invitation the Church directs to all Associations of
the faithful followers of Christ, committing them to human society by
means of active participation in the apostolic goal of the
Church's
mission, within the framework of their own charism. As a fruit of this
participation in evangelization, Carmelite Seculars will share a renewed
taste for prayer, contemplation and the liturgical and sacramental
life.
26. The vocation to the
Secular Order is truly ecclesial. Prayer and apostolate, when they are
true, are inseparable. The observation of St Teresa that the purpose of
prayer is "the
birth of good works"[23] reminds the Secular Order that graces received ought to have
an effect on those who receive them[24].
Individually or as a community and, above all as members of the Church,
apostolic activity is the fruit of prayer. Where possible, in
collaboration with religious superiors and with the necessary permissions
of those in charge, the communities of the Secular Order participate in
the apostolate of the Order.
27. The Carmelite Secular is called to live and witness the charism
of the Teresian Carmel in the local Church, that portion of the People of
God in which the Church of Christ is truly present and acts[25].
All will try to be living witnesses of God's presence and accept
responsibility for the need the Church has of concrete help within the
pastoral concerns in its evangelising mission under the direction of the
bishop. For this reason, each one will have an apostolate either
collaborating with others in the community or
individually.
28. To their apostolic
commitment they will bring the wealth of their spirituality in the various
forms it takes in evangelization: missions, parishes, houses of prayer,
Spirituality Institutes, prayer groups, the ministry of spirituality. With
their particular contribution as Secular Carmelites they can offer the
Teresian Carmel fresh inspiration for "a
renewed spiritual and apostolic dynamism"[26], with creative fidelity to their mission in the Church. The
different apostolic activities of the Secular Order will be specified and
evaluated in the Particular Statutes for the various geographical areas[27].
V
WITH MARY, THE MOTHER OF JESUS
29. In the interior
dynamism of following Jesus, Carmel contemplates Mary as Mother and
Sister, as "the
perfect model of the disciple of the Lord"[28] and, as such, a model for the life of the members of the
Order. The Virgin of the Magnificat proclaims the break with the old order
and announces the beginning of a new order in which God casts the mighty
down from their thrones and exalts the poor. Mary places herself on the
side of the poor and proclaims how God acts in history. For Secular
Carmelites, Mary is a model of total commitment to God's
Kingdom. She teaches us to listen to God's
Word in Scripture and in life, to believe in it in every
circumstance in order to live its demands. All this she did, without
understanding many things; pondering all in her heart (Lk 2:19, 50-51)
until light dawned through contemplative prayer.
30. Mary is also an ideal
and inspiration for the Secular Carmelite. She lived close to people and
their needs, being concerned about them (Lk 1:39-45; Jn 2:1-12; Ac 1:14).
She, the "most
perfect image of freedom and of the liberation of humanity and of the
universe"[29], helps us understand the meaning of mission. She, Mother and
Sister, who goes before us in a pilgrimage of faith and in following the
Lord Jesus, keeps us company so that we may imitate her life hidden in
Christ and committed to the service of others.
31. While giving life to
Teresian Carmelite spirituality, Mary's
presence also shapes its apostolate. As a result, the Secular Carmelite is
committed to knowing Mary better, daily, through the Gospel to communicate
to others an authentic Marian devotion leading to imitating her virtues.
Guided by the outlook of faith, members of the Secular Order will
celebrate and promote the liturgical devotion to the Mother of God in
light of the mystery of Christ and the Church. They will practice, in
faith and love, the devotional exercises in her honour.
VI
FORMATION IN THE SCHOOL OF CARMEL
32. The central object of
the process of formation in the Secular Order is to prepare the person to
live the charism and spirituality of Carmel in its following of Christ,
and in service to its mission.
33. With sincere interest
in the teachings of the Church and the spirituality of our Carmelite
Saints, Carmelite Seculars seek to be men and women who are mature in the
practice of faith, hope and love, and in their devotion to the Virgin
Mary. They commit themselves to deepening their Christian, ecclesial and
Carmelite life. Christian formation is the solid basis of Carmelite and
spiritual formation. Through the Catechism of the Catholic Church and
Church documents, Secular Carmelites receive the necessary theological
foundation.
34. Both initial and
ongoing formation in the teachings of Teresa and John of the Cross, help
to develop in the Carmelite Secular a human, Christian and spiritual
maturity for service to the Church. Human formation develops the ability
for interpersonal dialogue, mutual respect and tolerance, the possibility
of being corrected and correcting with serenity, and the capacity to
persevere commitments.
35. Carmelite identity is
confirmed by formation in the Scriptures and lectio divina, in the
importance of the liturgy of Church, especially the Eucharist and the
Liturgy of the Hours, and in the spirituality of Carmel, its history, the
works of the Order's
saints, and formation in prayer and meditation.
Formation for the apostolate is based on the theology of the
Church concerning the responsibility of the laity[30] and
on understanding the role of Seculars in the apostolate of the Order.
These help to know the place of the Secular Order in the Church and in
Carmel and give a practical way to share the graces received through the
vocation to Carmel.
36. The gradual
introduction to the life of the Secular Order is structured in the
following manner:
a)
A sufficient period of contact with the community for no less than
6 months. The purpose of this stage is that the applicant might become
more familiar with the community, the style of life and service to the
Church proper to the Secular Order of the Teresian Carmel. This period
also gives the community the opportunity to make an adequate discernment.
The Provincial Statutes will specify this period.
b)
After the initial period of contact, the council of the community
may admit the applicant to a more serious period of formation that usually
lasts for two years leading up to the first promises. At the beginning of
this period of formation, the scapular is given to the applicant. This is
an outward symbol of membership in the Order, and the sign that Mary is
both Mother and Model on this journey.
c)
At the end of this stage, with the approval of the Council of the
Community, the applicant may be invited to make the first promises to
follow the evangelical counsels and to live in the spirit of the
beatitudes for a period of three years.
d)
In the last three years of initial formation there is a deeper
study of prayer, the Scriptures, the Documents of the Church, the Saints
of the Order and formation in the apostolate of the Order. At the end of
these three years the applicant may be invited by the Council to make the
Definitive Promises to live the evangelical counsels and the spirit of the
Beatitudes for life.
VII
ORGANIZATION AND GOVERNMENT
37. The Secular Order of
Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Saint Teresa of Jesus is an association of
the faithful and an integral part of the Discalced Carmelite Order. It is
essentially lay in character, with the welcome participation of diocesan
clergy[31].
38. The friars and nuns of
the Teresian Carmel consider the lay community of Secular Carmel an
enrichment to their consecrated life. Through mutual interaction the
friars and nuns wish to learn from the Secular Carmelites to recognize the
signs of the times together with them. For this reason, it will be
arranged that representatives of the Secular Order are present when the
apostolic service of the Order is planned in a geographical area, at a
local or provincial level, or when serious study is made on the situation
in the Church or in society.
39. All of
Christ's
faithful have the right to make vows[32]. With
the consent of the Council of the community and the permission of the
Provincial, a member of the Secular Order may make vows of obedience and
chastity in the presence of the community. These vows are strictly
personal and do not create a separate category of membership. They suppose
a greater commitment of fidelity to the evangelical life but do not
transform those who make them into juridically recognized consecrated
people as in Institutes of consecrated life. Those who make vows in the
Secular Order continue to be lay persons in all juridical
effects.
40. The Secular Order is
basically structured on the local community as a visible sign of the
Church. At the Provincial level and in the local communities, the Secular
Order enjoys juridical personality[33].
41. The Secular Order is
juridically dependent on the Discalced Carmelite Friars[34]. The
Superior General establishes the local communities and makes pastoral
visitations. He may dispense, in particular cases from the Constitutions
and local statutes and can grant juridical exceptions. He has the
authority to resolve cases which are not foreseen by this legislation and
which cannot be resolved by local authorities. A general Delegate assists
the Superior General. His responsibility is to further relations between
the Religious and the Seculars and to maintain contact with the Provincial
Delegates and Assistants to each community to insure the purpose and
well-being of the Secular Order.
42. The General Definitory
of the Order approves the regional[35] and
provincial statutes of the Secular Order[36].
43. The Provincial
Superior, usually aided by the Provincial Delegate, is the Superior of the
Secular Order within his territory[37]. He
is responsible for the well-being of the Secular Order within the
territory of his jurisdiction. He is to make visitations of the
communities in his jurisdiction and, after consultation with the Council,
appoint a Spiritual Assistant for communities[38]. In
case of disputes, appeal will be made in the first instance to the
Provincial.
44. The Spiritual Assistant
to each community is usually a friar of the Order. His duty is to give
spiritual aid to the community so that its members may be guided in their
vocation and may correspond with it as perfectly as possible. He
will also endeavour to promote solidarity between the secular community
and the friars and nuns of the Order. At the invitation of the Council he
may attend meetings of the Council, without a right to vote. At the
different stages of formation of the candidates, he will be available to
interview them. The Council may consult him about the suitability of the
candidate to assume the responsibility of the vocation to the Secular
Order. He will support the formation of the community by his availability
to the director of formation. However, he may not be the director of
formation. The Spiritual Assistant must be well-versed in Carmelite
spirituality and well-informed in the Church's
teaching concerning the role of lay people in the Church.
45. Only the General of the
Order for those territories where there are no friars, or the Provincial
within his territory, may appoint as Assistant one who is not a friar of
the Order, always with the consent of the candidate's own
superior. The General Delegate or the Provincial Delegate will assist in
this appointment by interviewing the candidate. They will look for the
same qualities as mentioned in number 44 of these norms.
46. The Council, composed
of the President and three Councilors and the Director of Formation,
constitutes the immediate authority of the community. The primary
responsibility of the Council is the formation and Christian and Carmelite
maturing of the members of the community.
47. The Council has the
authority:
a)
to admit candidates to formation, the Promises, and the
Vows;
b)
to reduce, for adequate reasons, the period of formation before
temporary Promises, with the permission of the Provincial;
c)
to convene the community for the triennial elections;
d)
to replace, for a serious reason, a member of the Council itself[39];
e)
to dismiss a member of the community, should this be necessary,
after consulting the Provincial[40];
f)
to receive a member transferring from another community;
g)
if a matter should arise that is outside the competence of the
Council, it is the obligation of the President to bring it to the
attention of the Provincial.
The Council meets frequently and always when necessary in
reference to taking care of formation programs and the growth of their own
community.
48. The General Superior,
the Provincial Superior and the Council of the community are the
legitimate superiors of the Secular Order.
49. For the establishment
of a new community it is necessary to present to the General Secretary of
the Secular Order the following documents:
a)
a list of the current members, at least 10 members are required to
form a community, two of whom must have made definitive promises;
b)
a letter from the Provincial Delegate requesting the establishment
of the community;
c)
the permission of the Ordinary of the Diocese in writing[41];
d)
the title of the community;
e)
the place of the community meeting.
50. Every three years, each
local community of the Secular Order elects its President and three
Councilors[42].
These four officers, after consulting the Assistant, elect the Director of
Formation from among those who have made definitive promises. The Council
then names a Secretary and a Treasurer. The procedure for the elections is
to be determined by the Provincial Statutes, respecting the complete
liberty of the electors, the preferences of the majority of the members.
For the President to be re-elected to a third term as President, the
permission of the Provincial Superior is required.
51. The President, elected
from among those who have made final promises, has the duty to convoke and
preside over the meetings of the community. He should show fraternal
service to all the members of the community; foster a spirit of Christian
and Carmelite affability, being careful to avoid any demonstration of
preference for some members over others; coordinate contacts with those
members of the community who because of age, illness, distance or other
reasons, are not able to attend meetings; aid the Director of Formation
and Spiritual Assistant in carrying out their responsibilities; in their
absence, but only temporarily, he may take their place or designate
another to do so from among those who have made definitive
promises.
52. The responsibility of
the three Councilors is to form, with the President, the government of the
community and to support the director of formation. Generally they are
community members with definitive promises. In particular circumstances,
members with first promises can serve as councilors.
53. The Director of
Formation, elected by the Council from among those who have made
definitive promises, has the responsibility of preparing the candidates
for first and definitive promises. The Director works in collaboration
with the Assistant and with the support of the President. In the absence
of the President, the Director of Formation is his substitute for any
function.
54. The Secretary of the
Council has the responsibility of keeping up-to-date the register of the
community, recording the elections, admissions, Promises and dismissals.
The Secretary is to present the register to the Council when it meets and
to the community at the time of the elections. The Secretary attends the
Council meetings and records the minutes of the meeting, without the right
to vote.
55. The duty of the
Treasurer is to take charge of the administration of the funds of the
community. The Treasurer is to present a report of the funds to the
Council every six months, to the community and the Provincial, or Superior
of the Circumscription, once a year[43]. The
local statutes are to determine how the community attends to the needs of
the poor.
56. Members of the Secular
Order, who for reasons of distance, age, or illness cannot participate in
the regular meetings of a community, remain members of the Secular Order
and, under the authority of the Provincial Delegate, are to be associated
to a particular community. It is the responsibility of the President of
the community to establish contact with those members and the
responsibility of these members to maintain contact with the
community.
57. Where there is an
organized circumscription of the friars of the Order, the Secular Order is
to form a Provincial Council to assist one another better in formation and
the apostolate, but not for intervening in the government of the local
communities. The President of the Provincial Council ought to be a member
of the Secular Order with definitive promises. The Provincial Council must
submit its statutes to the General Definitory for approval.
58. The Provincial statutes
are to determine the following:
a)
the development of an adequate program of formation;
b)
the acceptance and formation of those new members who do not live
near an established community; in every case these new candidates must be
identified with and formed by an established community. They are
considered members of that community;
c)
the procedure for elections and the responsibilities of the three
councilors;
d)
the remembrances for the deceased members of the
community;
e)
the circumstances and the conditions for taking vows;
f)
the minimum and maximum age to accept new members;
g)
the maximum number of members of a community before dividing the
community to form another;
h)
the coordination of apostolic endeavours within the community or
Province;
i)
the form and use of the external signs of membership in the Secular
Order;
j)
the practices of mortification and expressions of devotion to our
Blessed Mother and our Carmelite Saints.
59. If a Secular Order
community does not belong to any particular Province, the community is to
establish its own statutes to determine the above matters. This community
submits its statutes to the General Definitory for approval.
60. Other structures may be
introduced at national levels where there is more than one Province, or at
an international level, should they be thought useful or necessary for
formation, coordination of apostolates of the Order, and for organizing
Congresses. They do not, however, have any jurisdictional authority. These
regional councils are to submit their statutes to the General Definitory
for approval.
EPILOGUE
The Constitutions of the Secular Order were drawn up to
strengthen the life purpose of its members, who form part of the Order of
the Teresian Carmel. They are called to "to
testify how the Christian faith constitutes the only fully valid
response......to the problems and hopes that life poses to every person
and society"[44]. This they fulfil as Carmelite Seculars if, beginning with a
commitment to contemplation, they succeed in giving daily witness in their
family and social life to "an
integrated approach to life that is fully brought about by the inspiration
and strength of the Gospel"[45]. As Carmelite Seculars, sons and daughters of Teresa of Jesus
and John of the Cross, they are called to "stand
before the world as a witness to the resurrection and life of the Lord
Jesus and a symbol of the living God"[46], by means of a life of prayer, of service to evangelization
and by means of the witness of a Christian and Carmelite community.
"All
the laity as a community and each one according to his ability must
nourish the world with spiritual fruits (cf. Gal 5:22). They must diffuse
in the world that spirit which animates the poor, the meek, the peace
makers - whom
the Lord in the Gospel proclaimed as blessed (cf. Mt 5:3-9). In a word,
Christians (and Carmelites) must be to the world what the soul is to the
body"[47].
Key to footnotes:
Documents of the Church /
Vatican II
AA
Apostolicam Actuositatum
DV
Dei Verbum
LG
Lumen Gentium
Other Documents
CIC Codex Iuris Canonici
CL
Christifideles Laici
MC
Marialis cultus
RM
Redemptoris Mater
VC
Vita Consecrata
|
Documents of the Order
Rule
Rule of Saint Albert
Saint Teresa of Jesus
WP
Way of Perfection
L
Life
M
Meditation on Song of Songs
IC
Interior Castle Saint John of
the Cross
A
Ascent
LF Living Flame
Sayings Sayings
of Light and Love
Prec
Precautions to a Religious
|
[1]
LG 31-35.
[2]
LG 31; CL 9.
[3]
CIC 204-205.
[4]
Rule 2.
[5]
L 8:5.
[6]
Cf Lk 2:51.
[7]
Cf Jn 2:5.
[8]
Cf Ac 1:14
[9]
Cf 1 K chapters 17-19.
[10]
L 7:18, 38:16.
[11]
WP 21:2.
[12]
IC V:3:11, VII:4:6.
[13]
Cf. Sayings 46; LF 3:78; II A
chapter 6, 29:6; Collect of the votive Mass of St John of the
Cross.
[14]
Sayings: 123; Letter 12/X/1589: 19.
[15]
Cf. III A 23:1.
[16]
Prec 1 and 6
[17]
Rule 2 and 10
[18]
DV 25; WP 21:4; M 1: 6, 11.
[19]
AA 4.
[20]
WP 4:2.
[21]
CL 33.
[22]
See AA 4 and 10; CL 16-17, 25, 28-29.
[23]
IC V:3:11; cf. VII:3.
[24]
Cf. AA 2-3.
[25]
(cf Christus Dominus, 11; Apostolicam Actuositatem,
26; Chirstifideles Laici, 25)
[26]
VC 55.
[27]
OCDS Rule of Life (1979) art. 8
[28]
MC 37.
[29]
RM 37.
[30]
AA 28-29.
[31]
CIC 298, 301.
[32]
Ritual, Instruction: 9; 30-49.
[33]
CIC 301, 303-306, 313.
[34]
CIC 305, 311-315.
[35]
"Regional" refers to nations
or a geographical territory of more than one province of the friars.
[36]
CIC 307'1; 314.
[37]
CIC 328-329. Constitutions
of the Discalced Carmelite Friars 103, Norms 56.
[38]
CIC 317.
[39]
CIC 318.
[40]
CIC 308 and 316.
[41]
CIC 312'2.
[42]
CIC 309.
[43]
CIC 319.
[44]
CL 34
[45]
CL 34.
[46]
LG 38
[47]
LG 38.
