VATICAN - Message from Pope Benedict XVI: “With his eyes set on Christ… may every member of the Order of the Brothers of B. V. M. of Mount Carmel feel called to be a credible witness of the spiritual dimension proper to every human being ”

Wednesday, 5 September 2007

Castel Gandolfo (Agenzia Fides) - In this month of September the Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Vurgin Mary of Mount Carmel celebrate its General Chapter on the 8th centenary of the consigning of the “Formula of Life” by Saint Albert of Jerusalem to the hermits on Mount Carmel, which constituted the beginning of the Carmelite Order. This year the Order marks other important recurrences: the 7th centenary of the death of Saint Alberto of Trapani and the 4th centenary of the birth to eternal life of saint Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi, the Serafina of the Carmel (see Agenzia Fides 7/2/2007). For this reason Pope Benedict XVI addressed a message to prior general of the Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Vurgin Mary of Mount Carmel expressing his participation “in the intense spiritual experience which the Carmelite Family will live during the Chapter ”.
Pope Benedict XVI recalls that “the first Carmelites went to Mount Carmel because they believed in the love of God who so loved the world as to give his only Son. Accepting Christ's Lordship over the lives, they willingly allowed themselves to be transformed by His love. This is the fundamental decision which faces every Christian … We know well however that it is not easy to live this call faithfully. In a sense it is necessary to protect oneself with armoury from the threats of the world”. As the Carmelite rule recalls, “weak loins must be girded with the rope of chastity; the breast must be fortified with holy thoughts…we must put on the armour of justice…in all things we must take up the shield of the faith ”.
Referring to the theme of the Chapter - In obsequio Jesu Christi. Comunità orante e profetica in un mondo che cambia -, the Pope says it “highlights to peculiar style with which the Order of Carmel strives to respond to God's love with a life of prayer, fraternity and spirit of prophecy” and he recommends daily participation in the Eucharistic banquet, following the example of the first Carmelites who in this way “pursued personal sanctification”.
“With your eyes set on Christ and trusting in the assistance of the saints who down through the centuries have incarnated the Rule of the Carmel- the Pope concludes -, may every member of the Order of the Brothers of B. V. M. of Mount Carmel feel called to be a credible witness of the spiritual dimension proper to every human being. In this way the lay faithful will find in Carmelite communities authentic ‘schools of prayer, where the encounter with Christ is expressed not only by imploring for help but also in thanksgiving, praise, adoration, contemplation, listening, ardent affection" (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 5/9/2007; righe 39, parole 474)


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