Quote of the day, 20 February: Discalced Carmelite Friars

The presence of our Lady pervades the whole history of the Order. This had its beginnings on Mount Carmel and got its name from a chapel dedicated to our Lady there. With the Church’s approval, it is committed to “live in allegiance to Jesus Christ and to His Mother.”

Led by our Holy Parents, our Teresian Carmel treasured this commitment and strongly reaffirmed it. They acknowledge Mary as “Lady” and “Mother” of Carmel and propose her to us as a model of prayer and surrender of self on our pilgrimage of faith. They present her as she eagerly ponders God’s word in her heart and, with complete docility to the grace of the Holy Spirit, is inseparably united with her Son in the joys and sorrows of his Paschal Mystery.

Discalced Carmelite Friars

Discalced Carmelite Friars’ Constitutions, C-048

Note: On 20 February 1263 Pope Urban IV published the bull, Quoniam ut ait, which makes reference to the “Prior Provincial of the Order of the Blessed Mary of Mount Carmel in the Holy Land”, and adds that Mount Carmel is the place of origin of this Order where a new monastery is to be erected to the honor of God and “the said Glorious Virgin, their Patron.”

Featured image: The ruins of the first Carmelite monastery chapel that was dedicated to Our Lady is located in the Wadi ‘ain es-Siah on the Mediterranean slope of Mount Carmel. Efforts to salvage the ruins and protect them from damage and vandalism are ongoing. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites