The first Carmelites were a group of Crusaders who, after their military service was completed, remained in the Holy Land, pledging "allegiance to Jesus Christ" as their one true Lord. They lived as a community of hermits near the Wadi Carith on Mt. Carmel, a place associated with the prophet Elijah. They constructed a chapel on the site, dedicating it to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Hence, they came to be known as the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mt. Carmel, or "Carmelites."

These hermits received a rule of life from St. Albert of Jerusalem, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, who exhorted them to ponder unceasingly the law of the Lord in the Scriptures, to lead a life of unceasing prayer in silence and solitude in accordance with the Gospel admonition to watch and pray. The first Carmelites sought also to "put on the armor of God," as they lived an intense life of faith, hope and charity.

They lived in a spirit of evangelical self-denial and a generous commitment to work, after the example of Paul the Apostle. They came together daily for the celebration of the sacred liturgy, and strove to enter into a genuine sharing of life, having at heart the good of the community and the salvation of souls, and holding all things in common under the guidance of a superior placed at the service of his brothers.

From Mt. Carmel, the Carmelite hermits migrated to various places in Europe and were granted "mendicant" status, like the Franciscans and Dominicans, by which they received permission to beg alms in the name of the Church, in order to sustain their lives of service to the Church. The Church, in turn, endorsed the Carmelite Order and entrusted the Carmelites with apostolic ministry, especially the preaching of the word of God and the promotion of devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, while at the same time urging them to remain true to their spirit of contemplative prayer.

The Carmelite Order eventually grew to include monasteries of contemplative nuns, as well as laity associated with the Order.

St. Teresa of Jesus (also known as St. Teresa of Avila) lived in Sixteenth Century Spain. At this time, the Church in Spain was experiencing a time both of renewal and of challenge. The directives of the Church's Council of Trent were being implemented to strengthen and restore unity to a Church that was experiencing division in many parts of Europe. Religious life was experiencing a renewal, with the founding of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) by St. Ignatius of Loyola, and the renewal of Orders such as the Franciscans and Dominicans.

During these times, St. Teresa, who entered the Carmelite Order in 1536, received mystical graces from the Lord, who led her to undertake the renewal of the Order of Carmel and to make prayer and contemplation its total commit­ment. The renewed Carmel - like the "little flock" in the Gospel - was to be made up of a chosen few, totally pledged to living the Gospel and keeping the "primitive Rule" of St. Albert in solitude, and strict poverty.

As St. Teresa was mystically led to a deeper knowledge and, as it were, "experience" of the life of the Church, its trials and sufferings, the recent break-up of its unity and especially the profanation of the Eucharist and the Priesthood, she stressed more and more the apostolic spirit of the renewal of Carmel that she was leading. Its prayer, its withdrawal from the world, indeed the whole life of the first group of St. Teresa's associates, were to be dedicated to the service of the Church.

Finally the renewed Carmel's vocation was fully and clearly defined when the saint's growing experience of the Church focused her attention on those who had not yet had the Gospel preached to them, especially the indigenous peoples of the Americas. Then the immense prospects of the missions dawned on her. As a result, her apostolic spirit fully evolved, and she made up her mind not only to have the first group of her fellow nuns spread out into other foundations, but to include in her project a group of friars who would share in the same evangelical spirit.

St. Teresa's aim in founding a family of friars was to foster the fidelity and spiritual growth of her nuns through the assistance of brothers of the same spirit, and to provide the Church with a manifold service of prayer and apos­tolic activity.

The way of life St. Teresa proposed was marked with a distinctive style and character. She wanted social virtues and human values to be duly fostered. She incul­cated a joyous family spirit, affability in community life, nobility of soul and mutual respect. Our young religious were to be carefully trained; study and culture were to be encouraged. The ascetical practices of our com­munities were to be at the service of a deeper theological life, and geared to the demands of the apostolic ministry. There was to be a bond of unity between our communities and of evangelical friendship between our religious.

To achieve this, Providence gave St. Teresa an associate, St. John of the Cross. When she first became acquainted with him and found that the Holy Spirit had already given him the same aspirations as herself, she told him of her plan for spiritual renewal within the Order of our Lady. She led him to share in her spirit and put before him the pattern of life she had introduced for her nuns. The first foundation of the Discalced Carmelite Friars was made in the small village of Duruelo, Spain, during Advent of 1568.

Together, St. Teresa of Jesus and St. John of the Cross introduced a renewed lifestyle into Car­mel, both among the friars and the nuns, and as it were, laid anew the foundations of the Order.

Totus marianus est Carmelus

This traditional saying indicates the thoroughly Marian character of the Carmelite Order. Carmelites honor Mary as Patroness, Mother, and "Sister in the Faith."

The earliest Carmelites on Mount Carmel (13th Century) lived an heremetical life in community, with a marked tendency to interiority and an impassioned aspiration for familiarity and intimacy with God. They recognized in the mystical life of Mary a fulfillment of their own aspirations. Thus a uniquely Carmelite expression of Marian spirituality gradually developed.

First of all, the Carmelites developed a keen sense of their Order's belonging totally to Mary, and of its having grown under the loving gaze of Mary right from the beginning. These first hermits on Mt. Carmel built a chapel in the midst of their living space for their daily celebration of the Eucharist and the Liturgy of the Hours. In choosing a patron for this chapel, they turned to the Blessed Virgin Mary, honoring her as the "Lady of the Place," according to the feudal mentality of the time. They named her the patroness and protector of their community. They named themselves the "Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary," and lived under this title. All of Carmel came to be seen as the area of the uncontested dominion of Mary, the Lady of Carmel. Everything good and beautiful in the Order and in its prayers and good works was attributed to this loving patronage of Mary. She was the Queen and Beauty of Carmel, through whom Carmelites gave praise and honor to Christ, the Lord to whom they pledged allegiance.

The Blessed Virgin Mary also came to be loved as the Mother of Carmel. Carmelites saw themselves as sons of Mary, enjoying an intimate filial relationship with her. They recognized in her a model of the interior life, and understood Mary as maternally forming them as her sons in the spiritual life, teaching them to ponder God's word in their hearts and introducing them into her intimate relationship with Christ her son. As we hear Jesus proclaim in the Gospel: My mother and my brothers and sisters are those who hear the word of God and act on it (Luke 8,21). The Carmelites aspired to imitate and assimilate Mary's constant disposition to receive the word of God in faith and to act upon this word in love.

Some Carmelites have even called Mary their Sister in the Faith, recognizing in her a fellow disciple, another who lived always in allegiance to Jesus Christ, another who journeyed by faith along the path of the Good News of Jesus her Son. This particularly familiar and fraternal relationship with Mary as Sister in the Faith seems to have been echoed by the Second Vatican Council, which speaks of Mary's pilgrimage of faith and of her persevering in union with her Son even to the foot of his cross (Lumen Gentium, 58).

This faith-filled following of Christ is another manner in which Carmelites strive to imitate the Blessed Mother.

Part of the religious habit of the Carmelites is the brown scapular. This piece of clothing is worn over a tunic, and originated as a work apron. It soon came to symbolize, however, the Carmelite's close association with the Blessed Virgin Mary. Carmelites wear the brown scapular as a symbol of their particular dedication to the Mother of God and as a symbol of their confidence in her maternal prayers and protection. With the progression of time, it has become popular among all of the faithful to wear a small version of the brown scapular of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel as a sign of dedication and trust in the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God. To learn more about the brown scapular of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, click the link below.

St. Teresa of Jesus, in beginning the Discalced Carmelite nuns and friars, continued to envision these communities as belonging to Mary. She writes: Praise Him, my daughters, for you truly belong to our Lady….Imitate her and reflect that the grandeur of our Lady and the good of having her for your patroness must be indeed great….

St. John of the Cross, who was devoted to the Mother of God from his earliest childhood, chose to enter the Carmelite Order because of its Marian nature. In his writings, he presents Mary as a model of prayer, charity, and docility to the action of the Holy Spirit.

St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, the patroness of the Oklahoma Province of the Discalced Carmelites, also had a great love for the Mother of God. Fully a daughter of Carmel, she once stated that Mary is more Mother than Queen.

The Discalced Carmelites of the Oklahoma Province of St. Thérèse strive to live as sons of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. Our vision and commitment to our Lady are summarized in the following passage from the Constitutions of our Order:

Our Lady, as portrayed in the Gospels, is thus put before us as the perfect embodiment of the ideal of the Order, and we are drawn to follow her closely. With the attitude of the 'poor of the Lord' we must ponder on God's word in faith and spend ourselves in a manifold service of love. Then our life will truly resemble hers and, under her guidance, we shall be made to share more fully in the mystery of Christ and his Church.

In this way our profession, which binds us in a special manner to our Lady, and which we have put in her hands, will become a reality in our life. That too is what the scapular we wear symbolizes: that we belong to Mary and that we strive to be clothed with her virtues so as to mirror in the world the beauty of her holiness.

Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your word.

The Carmelite Rule exhorts all Carmelites to Meditate upon the Law of the Lord day and night. The Word of God is the food that nourishes prayer. The Word of God proclaimed in the Liturgy, as well as this Word pondered in silent prayer (lectio divina) constitutes a key element in the life of prayer. Carmelites see in the Blessed Virgin Mary the model of one who pondered in her heart the Word of God and who always lived in conformity to God’s will. Carmelites see the intimate union with Jesus that was lived by the Blessed Virgin Mary as the model of friendship with God. Carmelites also honor Mary as the Mother of God, the one from whom Jesus received his human nature.

The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.

These words from the Gospel of St. John proclaim the Good News about Jesus, that he is truly Emmanuel, “God with us.” St. Teresa of Avila called herself “Teresa of Jesus” in order to show the centrality of Jesus, true God and true man, in her life. In her spiritual treatise, The Way of Perfection, St. Teresa writes:

Whoever lives in the presence of so good a friend and excellent a leader as is Jesus Christ can endure all things. Christ helps us and strengthens us and never fails; he is a true friend. And I see clearly that God desires that if we are going to please him and receive his great favors this must come about through the most sacred humanity of Christ, in whom he takes his delight. Many, many times I perceived this through experience.

You are my friends if you do what I command you.

For St. Teresa, friendship serves as a paradigm for our relationship with God. Jesus Christ is our faithful, loving friend. St. Teresa realizes that to live as a true friend of Jesus, one must live according to his will, as expressed in his commandments. In order that love be true and friendship endure, the wills of the friends must be in accord.

Prayer is more about building and enjoying a relationship with God than it is about reciting words or fulfilling a duty. In learning to pray, St. Teresa teaches: It is important, not to think much, but to love much. Therefore, in prayer, do what moves you to love.

St. Teresa of Jesus teaches that if our prayer is to be genuine, it must go hand in hand with the practice of virtue. Love of neighbor, humility, and freedom from attachment to material goods are virtues that help to establish a person in the peace of Christ. This peace of Christ is the environment in which our relationship with him, our life of prayer, will flourish. Our relationship with God in Christ is inseparable from our relationships with people and things. The two go hand in hand. Jesus commands us to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

Similarly, St. John of the Cross’ primary goal is to lead us to union with God, that is, to an intimate relationship with God. St. John of the Cross emphasizes the centrality of the theological virtues of faith, hope and love in our relationship with God. He states: Faith is comparable to the feet by which one journeys to God, and love is like one’s guide.

The Purpose of Prayer

This is the reason for prayer… the birth always of good works, good works. With these words, St. Teresa teaches us that authentic prayer always bears the fruit of an active charity. She adds: Let us…be occupied in prayer not for the sake of our enjoyment but so as to have this strength to serve.

Similarly, St. John of the Cross emphasizes the virtue of charity as the fruit of prayer and the sign of the authenticity of one’s relationship with Christ. He states: In the evening, you will be examined in love. Therefore, learn to love God as He desires to be loved, and forget your own way of acting.

So I say now that all of us who wear this holy habit of Carmel are called to prayer and contemplation. This call explains our origin; we are the descendants of men who felt this call, of those holy fathers on Mount Carmel who in such great solitude…sought this treasure, this precious pearl of contemplation.

- St. Teresa of Jesus, Doctor of the Church

Learn more about a vocation in Carmel by clicking here.