As I write, there is a strong wind rushing around outside the house – blasting through the trees in great billowing gusts, and in the midst of this, safe indoors, I sit very quiet and still, wondering what I am to write, hands poised over the keyboard of my laptop, considering my subject matter; All Carmelite Saints….
The still calm watching and waiting for inspiration, the listening out for the voice of God whilst all of life and nature whirls and rages around the edges, brings to mind our Carmelite charism of prayer and contemplation as exemplified by the Carmelite saints.
Let us start by thinking about Elijah the Prophet who Carmelites think of as our founding father-figure and inspiration, quietly sitting in a cave as the Lord passed by. We read in 1 Kings 19:11,12 “And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake:12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.”
We might also think of the Patron of the Carmelite Order, Mary, and her reaction to the visit of the Shepherds to the baby Jesus in the Nativity, as described in Luke 2:17 – “17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.”
Carmelite saints all share the understanding of contemplation and prayer, and the striving for union with God and express it in different ways.
In Chapter 4 of “Climbing the Mountain”, Fr John Welch O Carm. wrote that theCarmelite tradition begins in searching hearts, and he quotes St John of the Cross (1542-1591) who wrote “ Where have you hidden, beloved? You fled like the stag after wounding me” (The Spiritual Canticle stanza 1).
St Teresa of Jesus/Avila (1515 – 1582) describes a journey to union with God that is like an inward spiraling journey to the centre of a castle of clear crystal, where God is the centre. She also wrote about the soul being like a garden that is watered through prayer – describing four stages of prayer and the work involved as four different ways of providing water for the garden.
Both saints describe a search or a journey to God – one travelling outwardly and the other inwardly, yet both in pursuit of the same end – union with God and the active fruits that spring from it.
In the spiritual journey of St Thérèse of Liseux (1873-1897), she describes a little way to God, understanding profoundly that one may or may not be capable of doing things that are judged great by the standards of the world, and that most people live unremarkable lives, but that the important thing is to live all aspects of our lives with love and not to worry about other peoples’ opinions of our perceived lack of importance. She wrote how the sun shines equally on the very small insignificant flowers as well as on the great and magnificent blooms, and that no matter how small or insignificant our lives seem to us, God is loving us just as much as he loves those with more impressive seeming lives.
Though not a saint in the formal sense, Venerable John of Saint-Samson, (1571-1636) who was blind, believed that we should seek union with God in the knowledge that God is a living flame who lives within us. He recommended that Carmelites should develop a type of prayer known as aspiration, meaning that in our desire for God we should open ourselves to breathing God.
Inspired by a life of deep prayer, Blessed Angelo Paoli (1642 -1720) organized the first hospital for convalescents in Rome and the story of his life demonstrates how contemplation in the Carmelite understanding is a blending of prayer, active service for others and the building up of community.
This time of year gives a beautiful opportunity for thinking about the saints of Carmel and their profound journey to God through prayer, service and contemplation centered in love. It is a time for diving down into the darkness of the long nights of winter as into deep contemplation, and being ready for resurfacing in the light of spring with keen awareness, ready for inspired action.
Rosie Bradshaw, National Moderator TOC
