This icon at the National Shrine of Saint Jude at Faversham
depicts St. Albert's giving of the Rule to Saint Brocard
From the one Well of Elijah (top left) two streams flow,
representing the two major branches of the Carmelite Family
On Wednesday the 4th of
September Irene Hayes conducted a Carmelite Conversation in the Library on the
Carmelite journey of the heart. Irene focussed attention on several themes in
John Welch’s influential book ‘The Carmelite Way: an Ancient Path for Today’s
Pilgrim’. Here is her presentation.
The Carmelite Story is one about the
inner life. This makes it a different story to other religious orders which
began for a particular missionary purpose. The thoughts presented in this
discussion are taken largely from the work of John Welch O Carm.
The session this morning is divided
into three sections:
1. The beginnings and Ongoing Reform
2. The Call to Contemplation and Prayer
3. Self-Knowledge and the Spiritual Life
Here at the Carmelite Centre our
program is designed around threads reflecting the Carmelite Way – stillness and
silence, exploring with others and embracing contemplation in our everyday
lives. I’m hoping our discussion this morning can deepen our appreciation of
what these threads are and perhaps offer some aspects to review in how we are
doing!
It’s a story or tradition about
interiority. A contemplative space in life that no matter what we are doing we
are listening deeply for God’s word in our lives.
1. The Beginnings and Ongoing Reform
The Carmelite story began in Mt Carmel
Israel sometime in the late 1100s when a community took its name from the
mountain. This makes it a tradition which has been around for over 800 years.
There are likely many factors which
drew a group of people to gather at Mt Carmel, near a spring known as the
‘fountain of Elijah’, in the late 12th century. Some may have come
from other monastic locations – we don’t know for sure. It appears they were pilgrims
wanting solitude and companionship to prioritise their lives and live a life of
prayer. Perhaps they themselves had undergone a conversion process that led
them there. One can only guess at what
transformations would have taken place to lead them there. By the time there
was any known documentation about them they were already a functioning
community – reported on by pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem.
This was the time of the crusades,
(which lasted nearly 200 years 1095-1291) and the battle between Christians and
Muslims over control of Palestine. The section of land which included Mt Carmel
was part of thin strip of land controlled by the crusaders.
We don’t know the names of any of
these early Carmelites but we know something of their hearts.
Was it an escape or was it more a
vocational call?
The men lived near each other but not
together. They read scripture, fasted and worked in silence. They gathered
regularly and lived very simply and what they owned they owned together. We
also know there was an oratory (small chapel) in the midst of their cells where
they prayed together and provided a focus to centre their lives.
The prophet Elijah was a key
inspiration for the early Carmelites. Elijah defended the worship of the Hebrew
God over that of the Canaanite deity Baal. In a similar way these early hermits
who later called themselves Carmelites, had a singular focus on deepening their
relationship with God. God became present to Elijah, not with the signs usual
in the Old Testament of fire, earthquake and mighty wind, but in the sound of a
gentle breeze.
From Elijah, Carmelites learned to
listen for the voice of God in the unexpected and in silence.
The chapel in their midst was named in
honour of Our Lady. By this fact the first group of Carmelites took her as
their patroness, promising her their faithful service. The Carmelites were
officially called “Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel" in
1247. This remains the formal title of
the O Carm male Order today.
Later, in the early 13th
Century, these aspects of their lifestyle were collected into a brief formula
now known as the Rule of Albert.
This life on Mt Carmel only lasted
around 100 years. Because of continuing religious and political conflict at the
time, the Carmelites began to leave Mt Carmel for new sites in Europe. Muslim
and Christian warfare made the area untenable.
Their intention was to continue this
eremitical lifestyle but quickly took their place alongside Franciscans,
Dominicans and Augustinians as ‘mendicants’ – adopting a lifestyle of poverty,
traveling, living in urban areas and preaching – especially to the poor.
The brief time spent by these early
Carmelites forever more shaped the ancient path of the Carmelite tradition.
Each figure in
the Carmelite story who urged reform in the order returned to the mountain in
memory and in heart to be renewed by the original impulses which gathered the
group in cells and around the oratory.
As these reformers emerged throughout
the history of Carmel the message has always been that any place can be Mt Carmel
- our homes, businesses and most importantly within our hearts.
The Call to
Reform
Some of you may have attended a talk
here a few years ago on Teresa of Avila given by Bernard McGinn. McGinn is well
known for his multi-volume work on Mysticism.
In recent years he was asked to comment on Carmelite life and what he
thought was key to their presence in our world. He said he thought Carmelites
key role was to witness to the necessity to continually reform, to always
try to get back to original conditions – what Fernando Millán Romeral, O.Carm
refers to as the ‘first love’ of the Carmelites.
McGinn also makes the point that the
reform of Teresa of Avila (one of the most successful in reforming and the
discalced may say ‘refounding’ Carmel) doesn’t begin with her but comes after
several earlier reforms:
·
Blessed John
Soreth – 1395-1471 (France) Often thought of as greatest because of
encouragement of women into the order. In hindsight this is significant given
essential role of women in reform and giving us a developed understanding of
mysticism
·
Blessed Baptist
of Mantua (Italy)
·
Bishop of Albi
(France)
·
Nicholas Audit –
1523 – across many countries
·
Teresa of Avila –
16th Century
·
John of the Cross
·
Reform of
Touraine – inspired by Teresa and John and eventually becomes the Discalced
Order in early 17th century.
Most efforts at reform die! It’s remarkable
the Carmelite spirit continues to renew and inspire today given its fragile
history! It’s a story of the heart.
There are parallels with our own
journey of the heart. We set out to ‘reform’ our ways but not everything works
and we have to keep starting again – searching in our hearts for the original
call of God’s love. This dynamic provides a link between us and the Carmelite
story.
Discussion
What
does this Carmelite story offer today?
How
do you understand the idea of being a witness to continually reform?
What
can we take from this for our own lives?
2. The Call to Contemplation and Prayer
What I am sharing today is based on
the work of John Welch, a Carmelite priest in Chicago. The Carmelite story is
one of an ongoing tension between solitude and spreading of God’s love in the
world, witnessing to the rest of the world.
·
Action and
contemplation
·
Balance solitude
and withdrawal with engagement
‘Withdrawal to desert’ is a central
part of Carmelite heritage and imagination. But when the Carmelites left the
mountain and moved into ministries based in cities this tension increased. To what extent did the friars be actively
involved in work and how did this balance with time to nurture their interior
life?
Debate has never been about what
ministries Carmelites should be involved in, but rather reform has always
called the group back to proper balance and a conversion of the heart.
The story of the Carmelites invites us
too, to seek this balance.
Over the centuries key Carmelite
figures have provided images and structures to support the internal journey:
·
Journey through a
castle (Teresa of Avila)
·
A ‘little way’
(Therese of Lisieux)
·
Passage through a
dark night (John of the Cross)
·
Searching for the
beloved in mountain pastures (Song of Songs)
John Welch describes fundamental
themes of Carmelite Spirituality emerging in this Carmelite story of the human
heart which he describes as ‘seasons of the heart’.
1. A longing heart – our desire for God
2. An enslaved heart – the worship of false gods
3. A listening heart – contemplative prayer
4. A troubled heart – the tragic in life, and
5. A pure heart – the transformation of desire
I.
A Longing
Heart
Restlessness is part of the Carmelite
story. The journeying of the first Carmelites who left their homes to gather at
Mt Carmel was fuelled by a longing, a desire to commit their lives to God. Even
when our desires are satisfied to some extent, it is temporary and there is
always a longing for more. We have an energy within us always needing attention
but not often fulfilled.
We are all on this quest. Our longing
needs to be carefully tended and by paying attention to our deepest longings we
will undergo conversion. Welsh sees it as an important part of Carmelite
ministry to assist people in hearing and voicing their deepest longing. He says
the Carmelite tradition acknowledges the hunger for God deep in the human
heart. This deep current of desire within our lives is the result of God
desiring us first.
Therese of Lisieux describes the
ongoing nature of this hunger:
“I feel how
powerless I am to express in human language the secrets of heaven, and after
writing page upon page I find that I have not yet begun. There are so many
different horizons, so many nuances of infinite variety…” (Story of the Soul, p
189)
This text reminds us of our own reaching
out to this and that, seeking fulfillment, only to be disappointed time and
time again. Using Therese’s image, we arrive at many shores, but each time we
realise it is not the eternal shore.
II.
An Enslaved
Heart
The Carmelite story was born on Mount
Carmel which was the scene of the ongoing struggle between followers of Yahweh
and followers of Baal in the Elijah story with Elijah encouraging people to be
clear about their choice of the one, true God.
The struggle of the various reforms
within Carmelite history also are reminding Carmelites to have one God
John of the Cross included many themes
in his poetry and writing about how easy it is to form attachments and cling to
false gods or idols.
'The soul that is
attached to anything however much good there may be in it will not arrive at
the liberty of divine union. For whether it be a strong wire rope or a slender
and delicate thread that holds the bird, it matters not, if it really holds it
fast; for until the cord be broken the bird cannot fly.'
The heart is often enslaved by its
idols. However, the liberation of the heart isn’t accomplished by annihilation
of desire but by its reorientation. Idols of our times are not just personal
loves and possessions but are the idols of power, prestige, control and
dominance which leave most people looking in at life rather than being a part
of it.
Over and over the Carmelite saints
remind us that only God is sufficient food for the hungers of the heart and we
should attend to injustices and abuse of power in everyday life. (Edith Stein &
Titus Brandsma)
III.
A Listening
Heart
Grace is always available to us; it is
gifted to us already. What we need to do is open our lives to it. What the
Carmelite tradition has to offer us today is the possibility of nurturing an
inner interior life in a busy and active age. This means paying attention to
God who accompanies our journey in life. Our lives are stories of God’s
mercies. An interior life of prayer can organise and centre all that is outside
of us. We feel like we need to earn God’s love. Rather God is looking for
people to open their lives to transforming love – not to punish them!
Interiority is a word to describe
living out of the core of our lives as opposed to the outer periphery self.
‘That's why we
are not discouraged. No, even if outwardly we are wearing out, inwardly we are
being renewed each and every day’
(2 Corinthians 4:16)
St Augustine talked about searching
for so much - ‘you were inside but I was outside. You were with me but I was
not with you’
Therese of Lisieux began her biography
with St Paul’s words:
‘Therefore, God's
choice does not depend on a person's will or effort, but on God himself, who
shows mercy’ (Romans 9:16)
God is already within our lives so our
human journey is already a graced adventure.
God has chosen to be with us. We can walk away – God does not.
if we dispose ourselves to God’s grace,
we have the antenna to pick up this mystery. Person who does not have interior
life struggles to be anchored in this way and be available to God.
Henri Nouwen – psychologist and priest
writer. Spiritual life not a life before, after or beyond our everyday
existence. It’s the active presence of God’s spirit in midst of worry filled
existence. Our busy lives often fragmented. ‘we are all over the place but
really nowhere.’ ‘We have an address but cannot be found there! Have address
but not home! Being busy is not the problem. Jesus was very busy but he always
paid attention to being anchored.
‘It was very
early in the morning and still dark. Jesus got up and left the house. He went
to a place where he could be alone. There he prayed.’ (Mark 1:35)
What’s missing is true centre in our
lives. Compassionate presence of God. Helps prioritise and calm down our
worries. Holiness in many ways is fidelity to everyday life.
Long process to believe this and
requires regular practice of prayer and listening.
We’ve learned this through Carmelite
saints and three in particular so influential they are doctors of the church. Teresa
of Avila, John of the Cross, and Thérèse of Lisieux. Their insights into the gospel are the basis
of them being made doctors of the church. Among many other voices of Carmel.
Carmel’s message is a call to be open
to God’s grace, and the good news is that grace is always available. All we
need to do is open our lives to it.
IV.
A Troubled
Heart
Edith Stein and Titus Brandsma
experienced the depth of human cruelty and inexplicable evil. Therese of
Lisieux, in her short-hidden life, experienced a surprising amount of
suffering. Teresa of Avila knew warfare both inside and outside her soul. John
of the Cross and his image of the dark night speak of a spirituality coming to
terms with the dark side of life. The first Carmelites too going to the
periphery of society in a context of external conflict and the inner conflict
they would have experienced. These figures and others in Carmelite history
entered into the common sorrows of humanity. We can all relate to these
experiences:
1. The loss of a parent early in life (Therese)
Grief and Bereavement
2. Suffering mental and physical illness and
observing others close to us (Therese and her father)
3. Temptation to suicide
It has been suggested Therese should
be the Doctor of Hope in the church because of her testimony to the human
possibility to continue on in life when all the props have been removed.
Teresa of Avila had numerous obstacles to overcome in her
reform – negotiating with powerful figures in the church who were often
opponents, raising funds, recruiting members, traveling in difficult
circumstances in extreme conditions, court litigations and of course her own
fragile health. Teresa’s call was very much for courage and determination in
the pursuit of a prayer life. She saw the door to self-knowledge (which she saw
as very important) and the door to the interior castle, being prayer and
reflection.
The dark night metaphor of John of
the Cross reminds us that sometimes God’s love appears in the dark! John’s
message is that somewhere in the debris of our life God’s love is there and he
encourages patience, trust and perseverance especially at these times.
Contemporary witness to faith
maintained in suffering are concentration camp victims Titus Brandsma and Edith
Stein, being caught in the undertow of the 20th century’s powerful
expression of societal evil. Carmel has no answer to the mystery of
evil but provides witness to traveling the hard road and being a presence of
hope for pilgrims on a similar journey.
V.
A Pure Heart
John of the Cross drew a drawing
showing the way up Mount Carmel with three paths. The paths of material and
spiritual possessions do not reach the top; only the middle path ‘nada’ opens
to the top.
“To reach satisfaction in everything, desire
satisfaction in nothing.
To come to possession of everything, desire
the possession of nothing.
To arrive at being all, desire to be nothing.
To come to the knowledge of everything, desire
the knowledge of nothing.”
(Ascent
of Mount Carmel, Book One, Chapter 13)
The setting aside of ego-driven and
appetite-driven strivings makes sense and fits in well with Jesus’ message in
the Gospels that “the last shall be first” (Matthew 20:16).
Based on this, the Carmelite way seems
to represent an heroic, even epic journey to God – only attainable by very
experienced mystics. However, John
presents other images to us.
He writes that ‘the soul’s centre is
God’ and our journey in life is to that centre.
‘And now you awake in my heart, where
in secret you dwelt all along’ (the Living Flame of Love, st 4)
In his commentary he corrects himself
‘It was not ‘you’ who awoke, but it was I who awoke to the love always present
and continually offered to me.”
Our relationship with Carmel invites
us to a process of letting go of self, to a gradual participation in God’s
knowing and loving. The pilgrim (you and me) is so transformed that all their
ways of living become expressions of God’s will. Jesus’ message is that God’s
will is the well-being of humanity and the prayerful person is more and more
living in a way which furthers that well-being. Someone living from the centre
very naturally lives in accord with God’s will. The transformed person is also
absolutely human and may not be continually conscious of their spiritual life.
‘Interiority
becomes less and less an object of focus. Not even God preoccupies them,
because in all the ways they are living they are expressing their relationship
with God. The goal was never to be a contemplative, or a saint, or to have a
spiritual life. The goal was always to want what God wants, in a consonance of
desire.’ (John Welch Seasons of the Heart p 32)
Carmelites are explorers of an inner
place of intimacy with God, a privileged relationship between creature and
creator. Interestingly in Ireland there is a spirituality group of lay people
calling themselves ‘Carmelite Explorers’.
Questions for Individual
Reflection
A Longing Heart
How
do I experience a longing and hunger which is ultimately for God? Am I aware of
a fundamental dis-ease or restlessness? What places in my life is this yearning
expressing itself?
An Enslaved Heart
What
are the things keeping me from God right now?
Have
I without becoming aware of it, removed God from the centre of my life and
placed in that centre my goals and my work and forgotten to ask
‘what does God want from me?”
A Listening Heart
How
do I keep alert to hear God’s word in the core of my life? What prevents me
from listening?
In
my life and work, how can I help create conditions for a ‘listening heart?”
A Troubled Heart
What
is my experience of walking a dark way?
Have
I been able to let go of known paths to be led by a way not of my choosing?
What
was most helpful?
A Pure Heart
Am
I able to trust that Gods love is freely given, unable to be earned?
Are
there subtle ways I try to guarantee my worth?
“Relax
– its been done!” said one theologian – what might that expression mean?
3. Self-Knowledge and the Spiritual Life/Prayer
Jack Welch is inspired by the work of
Carl Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist who founded analytical psychology and sees his
work offering insights into engaging in the spiritual life.
Welsh holds that both Teresa of Avila
and John of the Cross convey an understanding of human development in their
writings. Teresa believed that self-knowledge was essential for spiritual
development and John of the Cross believed that when a person is centred on
something other than God, the personality is dysfunctional. When the true
centre emerges, the personality heals.
Welch draws on Jung’s theory to
explore the polarities and tensions influencing human behaviour as we grow
towards wholeness. In his book ‘Spiritual Pilgrims’. He goes into depth in
connecting this theory to the work of Teresa in The Interior Castle especially
through the images.
The ‘Grace and Personality’
interaction have often been written about in spiritual writings. In seminary
Welch describes how he was fascinated with how psychology and spirituality relate
and with the idea of ‘What does grace look like on people?
He determined that the seminary wasn’t
going to provide these insights so he was prompted to pursue further studies in
this area.
This idea of the relationship between
grace and nature has become more relevant as we understand more about
developmental psychology and can no longer just think, well adults are adults! We
now have an understanding of ongoing development throughout our entire lives
which occurs through a dynamic between the parts of the psyche outlined by Jung
(Self, personal unconscious & collective unconscious). The personal
unconscious (shadow) provides us with material for development. We cannot
bypass our shadow self (parts of ourselves we don’t want to admit to). Rather
we learn to own and care for this part of us so it can become a new source of
life for us. Jung warns there is no new consciousness without pain and
confusion (john of the cross). The process is often referred as the
individuation process.
Spiritual writers today still using
categories developed by Jung. Theories are still holding. Good theory explains
variables in situations. Examples include:
·
Falling
Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life - Richard Rohr (2012)
·
The Road to
Character - David Brooks (2015) ‘I wrote it, to be honest, to save my soul’
Jung himself said:
“I have treated
many hundreds of patients. Among those in the second half of life - that is to
say, over 35 - there has not been one whose problem in the last resort was not
that of finding a religious outlook on life. It is safe to say that every one
of them fell ill because he had lost that which the living religions of every
age have given their followers, and none of them has really been healed who did
not regain his religious outlook.”
― Carl Gustav Jung, Modern Man in
Search of a Soul (1933 first edition)
Conclusion
The Carmelites are a group who since
their origins, have undergone continual reform – a reform of the heart – not so
much reform relating to external ministries. The Carmelites have been and still
are today, a witness to walking with others on a journey inward. This challenge
continues today. How do we, as people connected in some way to the Carmelites,
witness to a life of companionship, contemplation and service? What does this
story stir up in me?
We began by referring to the threads
of the Carmelite Centre and how our conversation today could help deepen our
understanding of giving witness to the spirit of the Carmelite tradition. Our
hope is that through places like the Carmelite parish, the library and the
Carmelite centre, we can offer spaces to journey inwards, to be comfortable
exploring the seasons of our heart and to support others doing the same.
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