Mary in Carmel

Called by the grace of God to be part of the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, we are united in a family particularly dedicated to her love and worship, striving for the perfection of charity, vivified by communion with the Mother of God. It is this which permeates our community and imparts a distinctly Marian character to our prayer and contemplation, our eclesial fervor, and our very lives of self-denial. In the title of the order, with its explicit reference to the Virgin Mary, lies the full meaning of our identity within the Church: an Order linked to Mary. “Totus marianus est Carmelus,” declared Pope Leo XIII.The Virgin Mary is a reality so deeply rooted in our existence that it is impossible to set her aside. While it is true that Jacques de Vitry, in his *Historia orientalis* (1216-1227), speaks of “*men who gathered together to live as an example of the holy and solitary man Elijah, prophet, near the spring called after Elijah, and dwell in small cells like the Lord’s bees, producing spiritual sweetness*”, it is also true that from the beginning, the Carmelites looked to Mary.The Order was born in Palestine in the 12th century through the work of the Crusaders who settled on Mount Carmel, near the spring called Elijah’s Well, seeking to emulate the mystical experience of Elijah, that remarkable man who permeates the entire history of Israel. In an unspecified year between 1206 and 1214, St. Albert, Patriarch of Jerusalem, granted them a “*formula of life*” according to a “*purpose*” revealed by the eremites to live in service of Christ through continuous prayer and penance, in a continuous state of conversion.A anonymous pilgrim from the early 13th century provides, in a document about itineraries and pilgrimages in the Holy Land, the first historical evidence of the Marian character of the order, speaking of “*a very beautiful little church of Our Lady*” that the Latin eremites, known as “*brothers of Carmel*”, had in Wadi’ain es-Siat. Another passage in the same manuscript mentions “*a church of Our Lady*.” Later, the title of the Virgin was extended to the entire monastery as the original chapel was considerably enlarged, as attested by various ancient documents.This primordial element of the chapel on Mount Carmel dedicated to the Mother of God is significant and practically marks the beginning of the oldest devotion of the Carmelites to Mary. A small chapel erected in her honor, likely with an image of the Mother of God, indicates that the eremites of Mount Carmel desired to dedicate themselves entirely to a life of devotion to Jesus Christ under the loving gaze of the Virgin.This gave rise to a new ecclesial experience.From that time forward, they recognized Mary as Patroness, as affirmed by the General Prior Petrus de Lud to King Edward I of England, when he spoke of the Virgin Mary, “in whose praise and glory this same Order was founded in a special way.”There is strong evidence of the existence of a church dedicated to Mary on Mount Carmel, even outside the Order. The book *La cité de Jérusalem*, written in 1220, states: “Near the Abbey of Saint Margaret, on the same side of Mount Carmel, there is a delightful place where live Latin hermits called the Brothers of Carmel. There is a small church of the Blessed Virgin. Good water flows abundantly from the rocks in these places.”The hermits who lived in caves carved into the biblical mountain’s slopes next to the little church dedicated to the Mother of Jesus were some of the earliest devotees of the Holy Virgin. They developed a sense of belonging to Mary as Lady of the place, took her name, and attributed to her the same qualities usually given to founders or patrons. From the valuable document *Institution of the First Monks*, we learn that there (in the little church), the mentioned monks, by recommending themselves to the Virgin, gathered daily for the canonical hours and offered continuous prayers, invocations, and praises to Mary and her Son. They engaged in humble conversations about the Word of God, the avoidance of sin, and the salvation of souls. Therefore, even by foreigners, they were called the *Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel*.From the cited texts, it is evident that Carmel has a Marianity completely particular, dating back to its origins. In reference to this Marianity of Carmel from the beginning, the choice of the church’s title implied a spiritual orientation, because in the then-prevailing feudal conception, those who served the Church served the saint to whom the Church was dedicated. Understand well, in all its value, the word *service* (in Latin, *servitium*, and also *obsequium*): it meant personal surrender, putting oneself completely at the disposition, personal consecration, ratified by a vow, especially when sanctioned by religious profession.Therefore, those dedicated to the service of a Church considered themselves dedicated to the saint to whom the Church was dedicated. It goes without saying that if the saint were chosen freely (as in the case of a new dedication of the Church), devotion to him was more original, more spontaneous. Thus, at the beginning of the Carmelite Order (and consider that the first church would become the mother church of the future Order), we have a Marian choice. We are speaking of a choice, because we do not imagine that the title was imposed from the outside. But even if it had been, the fundamental reality would not change.The order’s title is a sacred title from the beginning, and it denotes an intimacy with Mary, whose presence is sought. It appears for the first time, but it was certainly already in use, in the bull of Pope Innocent IV on January 13, 1252, where it reads: *From the beloved sons, the brothers of the Order of Saint Mary of Mount Carmel*, and also in the bull of Pope Urban IV in the year 1263.

The Marian Spirit of Carmel

The Carmelite life ideal, especially its contemplative aspect, begins to take shape, as already mentioned, in two people who, from the beginning, inspired the life and devotion of the Carmelites: Elijah, the prophet, celebrated in all patristic-monastic literature as the prototype and model of solitaries and contemplatives, the man of God and of God’s absolute primacy, and the Virgin Mary, revered by the Carmelites alongside the Source of Elijah, as the *Domina loci*, the Lady, the Patroness.The earliest Fathers, the “*Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel*”, thus called themselves in reference to Her, considered themselves dedicated to the Patroness of the place, becoming her possession and property, and consequently committing themselves to live in obedience and to serve her, and to work in her honor and under her protection. The Virgin Mary was the advocate, the protector, the guardian of the place and those who lived there. They lived beside her and were at her disposition for her cult and honor. These are the realities that appear in the historical documents of the early period.Regarding the title of Patroness:On February 20, 1263, Pope Urban IV granted an indulgence for the reconstruction of the Carmelite convent: “Ubi caput et origo Ordinis memorati, ad honorem Dei et praedictae gloriosae Virginis Patronae ipsorum” (Where the head and origin of the mentioned Order, in honor of God and of the aforesaid glorious Virgin Patroness of them).In the constitutions of the general chapter of Bordeaux in 1294, it was established: “Ordinamus quod in omni confessione beata Virgo Patrona nostra specialiter invocetur” (We order that in every confession, our blessed Virgin Patroness be invoked especially).In a prayer during the investiture of novices in the 1324 constitutions: “Virginis Mariae, quam praecipuam huius sanctae religionis patronam dedisti” (You have designated the Virgin Mary as the principal patroness of this holy religion).And Innocent IV, on April 17, 1354, recommended to the participants of the general chapter of Narbonne to keep in mind the healthy examples “Patronae vestrae Beatae Mariae de Monte Carmelo” (your patroness, Saint Mary of Mount Carmel).Regarding the Order founded in honor of Mary:In 1282, the General Prior Pierre de Millaud, when asking for letters of recommendation from the King of England, promised prayers to the Virgin “in whose glory and honor this same Order was founded in a special way”.In the acts of the general chapter of Montpellier in 1287, it reads: “We implore the intercession of the glorious Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus, in obedience and honor of whom our religion of Mount Carmel was founded”.And in the Bull of Pope Clement V, of March 13, 1311, one finds the words: “Your holy Order was divinely instituted in honor of the glorious Blessed Virgin Mary”.The goal of the eremites at the Fountain of Elijah was “to live in obedience to Christ,” as stated in the prologue of the Rule, but it is undeniable that, already in the first half of the 13th century, the order was Marian, founded in honor of the Virgin, and the religious considered themselves especially dedicated to Mother of God. This dedication was expressed in life through many signs, including the profession made to Her: “I make my profession and promise obedience to God and to the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel and to the General Prior of the Friars of the Order of the Mother of God, Holy Mary” (14th century, but believed to have been in use since the 13th century).With the profession, the Carmelite consecrated himself to Mary, offered his life to Her as a gift, assuming the commitment to honor and serve her with humility. The profession equated, for the sons of Elijah, to the total sacrifice of themselves to the Virgin Mary. The life “in obedience” to Christ was also lived “in obedience” to Mary, because the Virgin was the Mother of Jesus, and thus, by dedicating themselves to her service and honor, the Carmelites intended to imitate Mary’s obedience to God.The ancient Carmelite tradition expressed the bonds of love with the Virgin through a series of titles related to the mystery of Mary, perceived in a special way from the experience of life at Carmel. Initially, the title of Patroness of the Order predominated, but also emerged the sweeter expression of Mother, as seen in the ancient formulas of the Chapters and Constitutions, for example: “In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and of the glorious Virgin Mother of our Carmelite Order” (Provincial Chapter of Lombardy, 1333). Or: “In praise of God and of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and our Mother” (Constitutions, 1369).Well-known is the nickname contained in the hymn Flos Carmeli (14th or early 15th century) “Mater mitis, Mater dulcis,” and Giovanni da Cimineto speaks of Mary as “source of mercy and our Mother.” Both titles are related to the mystery of the Virgin Mother of God, in the extent of her motherhood for humanity. To this is added the title of Sister., adopted by the Carmelites of the 14th century in devotional literature narrating the origins of the order from the prophet Elijah and the Virgin’s relations with the hermits of Mount Carmel.In the Institution of the first monks, the idea of similarity between Mary and the Carmelites due to chastity develops, dating this idea back to the first Carmelites of the New Testament, from the times of the Apostles.They, seeing that Elijah’s prophecies about Mary were fulfilled, chose her as Patroness, knowing that only she corresponded to them in the first instances of spontaneous virginity: what she began among women (perpetual virginity), Elijah began among men. And this similarity between Elijah and Mary led the first Carmelites to call her (since apostolic times) “Her Sister“, and themselves “Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary“.The title of “Sister” finds its foundation in the similarity that the Brothers of the Virgin find between Mary’s life and their own. The name of “Sister” expresses the idea of Mary as a model and example of life. A new name in the history of the Church and religious families, an uncommon expression that could only be suggested by a lived reality, that is, by a life oriented and shaped entirely by Mary’s. Indeed, the Institution of the first monks affirms that the monks of Mount Carmel found so much similarity between their way of life and Mary’s that they did not hesitate to consider her as one of them and, therefore, called her “Sister“.The similarity between Mary and the hermits of Carmel stems from the practice of chastity. However, it opens up a much broader perspective for the Order, that is, the possibility and duty of imitating the virtues of the Mother of God. The Rule does not speak explicitly of the Virgin Mary, but Baconthorpe, in his book Expositio analogica Regulae carmelitanae, states that every detail of the Carmelite Rule is copied from the life of the Virgin.In the Apostolic Bull, Baconthorpe writes: “we are called Brothers of the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary, because we have chosen a Rule of which many points are entirely similar to the life that the Blessed Virgin led“. This is also the thought of other writers of the 14th century. The Frenchman Jean Cimineto, who wrote in 1340, and the German Iohannes Hildesheim in 1370, insist on the similarity between Mary’s life and the Carmelite life.Cimineto states that Mary is the “Mother of Carmel“, because with her example, she teaches the Carmelites how they should live and, therefore, gives the typical form of the Order’s life. From this arises a sacred commitment and a specific duty of cult and imitation. And the gaze upon Nazareth’s Mary, “servant of the Lord“, it becomes increasingly firm and penetrating, because the Virgin of Carmel is the Patroness (and Lady) of a life centered in contemplation of the Word. Therefore, from the beginning, Carmelites felt Mary as both Mother and Sister, in an atmosphere of great simplicity and profound humility.

Carmelus Totus Marianus

The phrase “Carmelus totus marianus” (Carmel totally Marian) clearly reflects the importance and centrality of Marian devotion in the tradition and life of the Carmelite Order. This concept is based on a solid historical foundation, which includes the origin of Carmel as a place dedicated to the Virgin Mary, the title Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the cult and veneration paid to Mary, and the Marian interpretation of the cloud in Carmel by Elijah and his disciples.This commitment to Mary was strengthened by the Marian privileges granted to the Order, papal documents, chapter acts, and contributions from writers of the early centuries of Carmelite life. All of this converges to affirm that Carmel is truly all of Mary. Contemplating Mary as the perfect realization of the Order’s ideal serves as an incentive for Carmelites to follow her example, striving to conform their lives to hers through constant meditation on God’s Word and the gift of charity. The consecration to the Virgin Mary is a significant act that highlights this dedication to her.Marian pietas (deep devotion and love for Mary) was a distinctive characteristic of the Carmelite Order. The churches of new foundations in Europe were often dedicated to Mary, referencing her Divine Maternity, her Immaculate Conception, and her Assumption. The main feasts celebrated with special devotion were the Annunciation, the Immaculate Conception, the Assumption, and the solemn feast of Carmel in July.Carmelites defended the dogma of the Immaculate Conception and established a solemn feast in its honor, celebrated throughout the Order since 1306!Deepen your studies: Explore Mariology, Theology Mariana, Marian Apparitions, and the Post-Graduate Program in Mariology.On Marian devotion in Carmelite spirituality, consult the Apostolic Exhortation Marialis Cultus by Pope Paul VI.