Every 25 years the Church declares a Jubilee Year and this year our focus is on being Pilgrims of Hope. Being pilgrims implies going on a journey and for over 800 years, men and women have navigated the Carmelite Way, equipped with the Carmelite Rule of St Albert, a wealth of experience from our Carmelite Saints and various order documents, for their compass.
I was first introduced to the Carmelite Rule during my time of discernment and was immediately struck by its concise nature. In just 24 paragraphs, St Albert offers the Hermits, who had gathered on Mount Carmel at the turn of the thirteenth century, a way of life for them to follow. This has been the foundation document for thousands of Carmelites through the centuries. As I began my novitiate, I had the opportunity to delve deeper into the Rule and explore its biblical roots and the context in which Albert composed it.
Although some of the intricacies of the rule that do not necessary apply to me, a friar living in the 21st Century Britain, there is so much in the Rule that I live by and which gives me much hope to support my Christian vocation and my Carmelite religious life. I believe that I can only become familiar with the Rule and therefore incorporate it into my daily life if I spend time reading and reflecting on its words. Therefore, for the last number of years I have sent myself the challenge to read and reflect on a chapter of the Rule, beginning on the first day of each month. By the time I get to the twenty-fourth day, I have re-read the Rule and then I spend the remainder of the month reflecting on what has particularly struck me with this monthly reading. When thinking of the concept of hope with regards to our Rule, I feel very much drawn to chapter 18:
‘Since human life on earth is a trial and all who want to live devotedly in Christ suffer persecution, your enemy the devil prowls about like a roaring lion seeking whom he might devour. You must then with all diligence put on the armour of God so that you may be able to stand up to the ambushes of the enemy.’
Here St. Albert is describing the real-life situation of the hermits living on Mount Carmel during the Crusades, using a biblical quotation from the Frist Letter of St Peter (5:8). This personally resonated with me as this scripture reading is proclaimed by the Church every Tuesday night, during the Office of Compline. St Peter tells the Church, and therefore us, to stand up to our adversary, the devil, strong in faith, in the face of a very hopeless situation. What St Albert gives the Carmelite are the tools to do so. He draws on the letter of St Paul to the Ephesians (6:11,13) telling us to put on the armour of God to withstand the forces of evil. This paragraph of the Rule, for me, really describes the journey that we make from the head to the heart, a journey which is full of hope when faced with a hopeless situation. St Paul uses the different items of military armour to illustrate his solution, he equates them to the different qualities and attitudes one must have, in order to stand up strong in faith.
One of the biggest messages that Albert gives us in our Rule is to walk in allegiance to Jesus Christ (chapter 2 of the Rule). This is this journey that we make with Jesus by our side, that helps us navigate the rough waves of life. We cannot make this journey without him, so that every pilgrimage we embark on has God as the goal and Jesus as the Way. For me, this realisation that Jesus is there right beside me has been the biggest source of comfort for my life. The journey from the head to heart reinforces that God is always with me, always directing me on the right path and as the beautiful poem ‘Footprints’ describes, is carrying me when I cannot make the journey myself. As we begin this Jubilee Year let us begin it with hope that God is always guiding us, journeying alongside us, especially as we make the journey from the head to the heart.
Gerard Walsh, O.Carm. ‘The Friars’ Aylesford Kent
