Category: Desert Reflections

Chapter 9: The Prior as Host and Guardian (desert reflection)

11/18/2016

“The Prior’s cell should stand near the entrance to your property, so that he may
be the first to meet those who approach, and whatever has to be done
in consequence may all be carried out as he may decide and order.”--the Rule, Chapter 9

I have heard this chapter described as a call for hospitality; that it is necessary for the Prior to be near the entrance so that he can better show and express a hospitable welcome to approaching guests. This is certainly within the spirit of the Rule and one way of looking at the text, but I also believe there is much more to glean form this chapter and the task of hospitality is but a smaller piece.

One of the first images that comes to mind in reading this chapter is that of a guard and protector. In the previous chapter, St. Albert had just described to us the importance for each brother to have his own, separate cell; these cells are to be assigned and situated according to the disposition of the Prior; the brothers can’t run around changing cells at a whim, nor can one brother decide to take the cell of another. One way of looking at this is that we are to have security in our cells. We are given security in our solitude to be absolutely free of unwanted and uninvited intrusions. It seems that Albert is placing a high value on this protected freedom, ensuring that the brothers can live the hermit life they have chosen. He is aware that pilgrims and visitors travel regularly through the land, and they have reasonable needs. By being at the entrance, the Prior is present to greet them and see to their needs of hospitality, allowing the brothers to continue their life of solitude and prayer without unnecessary disruptions and interference. The Prior, standing by the entrance, is a guard and protector of the sanctity of the solitary life, and in this way, is serving the brothers to meet their needs.

Chapter 8: What the Lord has Given (desert reflections)

10/14/2016

“None of the brothers is to occupy a cell other than that allotted to him
or to exchange cells with another, without leave of whoever is
Prior at the time.”--the Rule, Chapter 8

Is there anything more to this chapter behind what it says straightforward? “None of the brothers is to occupy a cell. . .” Sometimes there may really be nothing hidden between the lines, behind the lenses of history, or cloaked in theological mysteries. We might be able to squeeze out some profundity with regard to the relationship of the individual and the community, but I think this is a chapter that is best taken for what it says on the surface; Sometimes simplicity is truly simple, and practical matters are solved quite practically.

In the correspondence that Albert received from the brothers, there likely were some problems of brothers moving cells, or of taking cells from one another. In a place like the Wadi of Carith, it is not hard to imagine that there were some cells and caves that were much nicer, roomier, more comfortable, and choicer than others. Is it hard then to imagine some conflict or maneuvering of the cells? Is it hard to imagine that this is Albert’s way of saying, “Stop it. Accept what you are given and do not use it to abuse your brothers, or to play political games with your brothers, or to set yourself up higher than any one of your brothers. But accept the gifts that God has given to you and live in Peace with one another; and stop bickering over the cell that the Prior has given you.”

Chapter 7: One Common Table (desert reflections)

9/23/2016

“However, you are to eat whatever may be given you in a common refectory, listening together meanwhile to a reading from Holy Scripture, where that can be done without difficulty.”--The Rule, Chapter 7

This chapter does seem out of place. What are we to do with the “however,” clause which has absolutely nothing to do with the preceding chapter on the establishment of a “separate cell”? Or, if we take a moment to pause, does it actually relate to the brothers having separate cells? Is the Rule, not Albert since this chapter is part of the mitigation that came after the Order’s move to Europe, suggesting that while the brothers are to each have a separate cell, in which they spend most of their time at or in, they are not to eat their meals in their individual cells? Is the Rule, by its placement saying: You will have your own dwelling, ‘however,’ you will come together to join in a common meal, and you will eat common food while listening to the common Word? If so, then is this a profound chapter on the source of unity and understanding of community; that we are brought together at the Table where one meal is served and one Voice proclaimed?

Chapter 6: A Separate Cell (desert reflections)

9/2/2016

"Next, each one of you is to have a separate cell, situated as the lie of the land you propose to
occupy may dictate, and allotted by disposition of the Prior with the agreement of the other brothers,
or the mature among them."

We are to each have a “separate” cell. This does not simply mean that we each have an individual room, with individual doors. The cell is not a room, but a place of intimacy, an encounter where we can spend time, not merely sleeping; in retreat from others so that we can watch our tv show or listen to our favorite music; sitting at our writing desk or finding a quiet place to read a book; it is a place where we spend dwelling in union with out Beloved. If we are paying attention, the cell is not even specified to be a single room. Perhaps tradition has interpreted it as such, and that tradition is meaningful, but what is most meaningful is that the cell is a “separate” place where we do not simply go, but in which we live and spend time with God, actively and privately. This quality means two things.

Chapter 5: Suitable Foundations (desert reflections)

7/25/2016

"If the Prior and brothers see fit, you may have foundations in solitary places, or where you are given a site that is suitable and convenient for the observance proper to your Order."

This chapter is a later addition to the Rule under the mitigation by Pope Innocent III. As I have heard numerous times, it was added in order to allow Carmelites to accept a gift of land and/or house that often came with an invitation for the friars to begin a house. This way of acquiring property can also be a very mendicant way of living--not for the Order to decide on property to purchase, but to live and minister according to the gifts that are received. While this appears to be a very faith-filled way of responding to God's calls and the call of the needs of God's people, there is a very dangerous side to accepting land for foundations wherever they may be given, especially for an Order of hermit friars, moving from the seclusion of Mt. Carmel into European cities. The Rule accounts for this danger, but it can seem as though our practice has often ignored its warnings.

Chapter 4: The First Thing (desert reflections)

6/4/2016

"The first thing I require is for you to have a prior, one of yourselves, who is to be chosen for the office by common consent, or that of the greater and maturer part of you; each of the others must promise him obedience
--of which, once promised, he must try to make his deeds the true reflection--
and also chastity and the renunciation of ownership." --The Rule, Chapter 4

Does it mean something that the 'First' thing Albert requires of the hermits on Mt. Carmel is to have a prior? In some ways, it may seem to us today to be a natural starting part: Organize yourselves into group first with at least some basic structure around a common cause (i.e. "to live in allegiance with Jesus Christ") and then proceed to make rules and discern the day-to-day means of life. However, this first step is not necessarily so basic. Why was building a chapel as a place to come together for Mass each morning not the first thing that Albert required? or the designation of individual cells? or the pledge of allegiance to Jesus Christ? We might consider that Albert did not even include the vows of chastity and poverty in his letter of the Rule, but this was a very common practice for eastern monastics because these vows were widely assumed and there was no need to specifically mention them. There remained, however many other questions and options within Albert's grasp. The selection (not necessarily election) of a prior was not a basic or self-evident choice. His choice of choosing a prior first and before all other requisites is meaningful.

Desert Reflections and Adaptations: A Short Note

6/1/2016

It has been a few months since I posted the introduction to this series of articles and in which I explained both the inspiration for the series, and the difference between the two parts: Desert Reflections and Adaptations. Rather than simply reposting, or inviting people to revisit the introduction (which you can read by clicking here) I have been thinking that it would be worthwhile to say a few things about the Desert Reflections and the two styles of the articles that will help in your reading.

This project began a little more than two years ago, although at the time, I was not thinking about a long term project of any kind, nor about posting them on a regular website. I was a novice with the Carmelites, and it began as a Lenten meditation.

Chapter 3: A Carmelite Way of Life (desert reflections)

5/14/2016

"It is to me, however, that you have come for a rule of life in keeping with your avowed purpose, a rule you may hold fast to henceforward; and therefore:"--The Rule, chapter 3

It seems as though there may be little to say about this chapter, and not much that could be profound. Here, seems to be a legalistic clause; a chapter that needs to be included for the sake of inclusion and not for any significant purpose in itself. It can appear that Albert is simply saying: "You asked me for a Rule, a way of life. Here it is. Follow it." Yet, if we keep in mind what he has already written, there may be a few nuggets of treasure even here.

"Many and varied are the ways..." but "it is to me, however, that you have come..."

Albert has recognized that the hermits on Mt. Carmel had an endless number of options of people and traditions to turn toward in establishing their way of life. They could have even turned toward one the "saintly forefathers," using their wisdom and foundation to perhaps draft a Rule for the brothers, or even to the small gathering of Eastern monks who lived nearby. Yet, turning to one of the others is not what the hermits of Mt. Carmel did. (This idea is a recognition that the Spiritual Directory also makes, that many are called to the vocation and work of consecrated religious life, within this call, some have chosen a particular way and path, which is a life in Carmel.)

Chapter 2: Pilgrims of Heart and Conscience (desert reflections)

4/30/2016

"Many and varied are the ways in which our saintly forefathers laid down how everyone, whatever his station or the kind of religious observance he has chosen, should live a life of allegiance to Jesus Christ--how, pure in heart and stout in conscience, he must be unswerving in the service of his Master."

There are several very important and highly meaningful things in this chapter. "Many and varied" recognizes that there are many traditions and ways of living in Christ. This is not to suggest that many and varied are the religions of the world and that each of these religions are equally true and untrue, but "Many and varied" are the ways of living daily in Christ such that there is not one single tradition or standard way of living as a good Christian (to live in Christ remains essential); "everyone, whatever his station" is called to receive the Lord, just as he called tax collectors, dined with Pharisees, healed the families of Roman soldiers, touched the leprous, opened the ears of the dumb and welcomed his betrayer with a kiss.

Chapter One: Greetings and Good Health (desert reflections)

4/16/2016

"Albert, called by God's fervor to be Patriarch of the Church in Jerusalem, bids health in the Lord
and the blessing of the Holy Spirit to his beloved sons in Christ, B.,
and the other hermits under obedience to him, who live near the spring on Mount Carmel."

I have heard a lot said about the writing of our Rule in the form of a letter, much conjecture about who brother "B." really was, why Patriarch Albert did not use his full name and who precisely were these hermits, but I have not yet heard anyone mention the most interesting part of this opening: The Rule, from the very beginning and first greeting, is trinitarian. Albert does not merely greet his brothers in Christ, as one could easily and often expect from such a letter, but in the name of the Lord, the Holy Spirit and as sons in Christ.

He greets the community of hermits, and us, just as we are baptized into the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I do not know if this was an intentional move by Albert-- it is hard to imagine that anything he wrote was not done intentionally-- but in either case, he is greeting the brothers into their new way of life according to the same way that they had entered and were received into their first life in Christ and under the same name of God.
And so we begin our life, and perhaps it would be fitting to include these words in our profession of vows, with this simple greeting in the name of our One God, that our life from here forward enjoy good health in the Lord, in the blessing of the Holy Spirit as his beloved sons in Christ.

Carmel's Way...

is a series of reflections on the Carmelite Rule, the quintessential letter of St. Albert of Jerusalem which has lead Christians to a life in allegiance with Christ and the Perfection of Love for more than 800 years. The blog brings the tenants of this ancient Way of Life into a contemporary context.
At the heart is a Way of Life, in the tradition of Elijah, that leads us to stand in the presence of the One who Loved us first and in a most perfect way; and to be transformed into one who loves more perfectly.

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