I. STAGES

1. Examination of the social and ecclesial situation of Carmelite and Consecrated life

The first step we took in my Institute along the road of "refoundation" of the charism, through living present-day spirituality, was to analyse the changing state of affairs. Immediately after the Council as a result of its teachings we began to become aware of the fact that the world was different to that when our charism arose and was expressed. Equally there was a growing awareness that the face of the Church was changing daily into one of the Third World with a resultant increase of members outside Europe. The same phenomenon was seen within the Order.

The result of this was an awareness that many things lived and transmitted as essentials to the charism were only the fruit of an epoch, of a culture and of a particular model of Church. The same happened with the spirituality upholding and nourishing consecrated life in general and in particular Institutes.

2. Going back to the sources

The directives of the magisterium of the Church emphasised in many ways the necessity of rediscovering the origins of consecrated life and of each particular Institute. It then became as clear as day that in our Order, instead of the experiences and writings of Teresa of Jesus and John of the Cross preference had been given in great part to later interpretations, to a legalistic outlook on religious life (the Constitutions were exclusively normative) and formation became "standardized". In the great majority of Institutes the same books were being used for training novices. From the spirituality point of view there was an evident absence of a biblical spirituality which lies at the basis of Carmel’s origins, which, in its Rule, invites its members to "meditate day and night on the law of the Lord and to watch in prayer". Going back to the sources forms part of the new currents of spirituality that are developing: a spirituality that finds greater expression, that is more vital, more ecclesial, less compartmentalised. This led to revising formation programs.

3. Reformulating fundamental aspects of the charism and the spirituality

As a result of the Church’s teachings a reformulation of the charism and spirituality gradually took place, surrounded by not a little discussion arising from different viewpoints on how to grasp these two facts. This presupposed a significant deepening of doctrinal understanding, an analysis of the historical setting of the refoundation carried out in Carmel by Teresa of Jesus and John of the Cross, as well as becoming aware of the challenges presented by the rapid and profound changes happening now in the Church and society (GS 4-11).

4. Efforts to inculturate

From the 1980's, with the numerical growth of member of the Order from outside the European continent, the need for inculturation of the charism and spirituality became strongly established.

As first it was thought about along the lines of simple adaptation. Later the true challenges became apparent: a new focus on experiencing God and prayer that matched the circumstances of the life of Carmel in each region. In Europe there was the need to live the experience of God and prayer as a witness of transcendental values faced with the surrounding materialism and atheism. In Latin America it had to be as a source of service and commitment and as a way of preserving hope in the midst of the difficulties along the road of integral liberation. In Asia, it had to be as a dialogue with the prayer and mystical experiences of the Eastern religions. In Africa it had to be connected to popular religiosity as a means of inculturation.

5. Accepting unity in diversity

A consequence of all this process has been the slow yet steady acceptance of a pluralism within the unity of Carmel, with all that implies of risks and richness. There is the risk that pluralism could cause a rupture, while there is the wealth arising from the complementarity of the diverse expressions of the same charism given the chance in this way to unfold all it potentiality. A decisive factor in this evolution has been the new vision of the laity in the Church which leads us to consider the members of the so-called "Third Orders" as persons who, instead of trying to be "religious in the world", live and give expression to the charish and spirituality of Carmel in their lay world.