“The school of Carmel, at least in its representative members, observes the happy mean between these two extremes. According to the ancient document concerning the Order’s spirit, the attainment of this high state of mystical communion is put forward as the aim of all Carmelites and all are obliged to conform their lives to this …
“In this school, the mystic life, properly so called, is without reserve a pure gift of God. Nonetheless, it is set forth as the aim of Carmelite life, as the glory with which God may crown our lives here below. This carries with it the implication that Carmelite spirituality must be concerned to produce these …
“The Mater Spiritualium and the Doctor Mysticus, St. Teresa and St. John of the Cross, are the great masters in the spiritual life of this school. They are the great examples of Carmel’s mystic life and the most widely known. But beside these great outstanding personages, there is such a large body of mystical writers, …
“It is remarkable that even in the first century of the foundation of the Order in the West we find the mystic life, as already explained, very clearly outlined and with it this distinction. Carmel thus takes her own peculiar place in the Church. Perhaps we may see in this special grace which the Order …
“But the principal point to remember is that the school of Carmel, while rating at its highest the cure of souls in the world, cannot forget that it is called to a higher vocation. Elias was called to a life of prayer in the midst of a life of intense activity, yet he is one …
“It is difficult to say when that necessity arises, but the Rule does suggest limitations when it speaks of justa occupatio as a reason for deserting the life of solitude for a time. There have been times, especially in the first centuries of the establishment of the Order in the West, when urgent needs of …
“‘Mary hath chosen the better part which shall not be taken from her.’ So said the Lord to Martha – Martha who was troubled with much serving, and who complained that her sister had left her to serve alone. Holy Church applies these words to Mary, the Mother of God; and the Order of Carmel, …
“In the mystical life, this appears as a contradiction of the ideal of the Friars Preachers: Contemplata aliis tradere: which according to the interpretation of St. Thomas represents the highest ideal of the spiritual life, the imparting the fruit of contemplation to others by active life. We must not regard these two ideals as contradictory. …
“But the Order of Carmel is not only contemplative. The active life of the apostolate is not alien to the spirit of Carmel. There are times when the priests of Carmel must engage in the active life of the church; when God must be forsaken for the sake of God. This was implied when the …
“These two documents (Rule and Institutio Primorum Monachorum) are remarkably alike in spirit and in the points they emphasize. Both would regard prayer as essential life of the Order and they agree in the provision they lay down for its preservation. The ideal they place before the early monks is one of solitude and detachment …