Carmelites are... (51)
Remember that you have only one soul; that you have only one death to die; that you have only one life... If you do this, there will be many things about which you care nothing.
(St. Teresa of Jesus)
What we need most in order to make progress is to be silent before this great God with our appetite and with our tongue, for the language he best hears is silent love.
(St John of the Cross)
Prayer is a cry of gratitude and love, in the midst of trial as well as in joy.
(St Therese of the Child Jesus)
For my heart is always with Him, day and night it thinks unceasingly of its heavenly and divine Friend, to whom it wants to prove its affection. Also within it arises this desire: not to die, but to suffer long, to suffer for God, to give Him its life while praying for poor sinners.
(Bl Elisabeth of the Trinity)
Look for Christ Our Lord in everyone and you will then have respect and reverence for all.
(St Teresa of Jesus)
Always remember to love your neighbor; always prefer the one who tries your patience, who test your virtue, because with her you can always merit: suffering is Love; the Law is Love.
(Bl Mary of Jesus Crucified)
The future hasn't been revealed to me, yet Jesus has pulled back the curtain and I have glimpsed the beautiful shores of Carmel.
St. Teresa of Jesus of the Andes
One cannot desire freedom from the Cross when one is especially chosen for the Cross.
Edith Stein
God desires the smallest degree of purity of conscience in you more than all the works you can perform.
St John of the Cross
To be taken with love for a soul, God does not look on its greatness, but the greatness of its humility.
St John of the Cross
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We, Carmelites, have always thought of Mary as the Patron of the Order, its Mother and Splendour; she is constantly before our eyes and in our hearts as “the Virgin Most Pure.” Looking to her, and living in spiritual intimacy with her, we learn to stand before God, and with one another, as the Lord’s brothers.
(Carmelite Constitutions)
Carmelites see in the Virgin Mary, Mother of God and archetype of the Church, the perfect image of all that they want and hope to be.
(Carmelite Constitutions)
From Elijah, Carmelites learn to be people of the desert, with heart undivided, standing before God and entirely dedicated to his service, uncompromising in the choice to serve God’s cause, aflame with a passionate love for God.
(Carmelite Constitutions)
The Carmelites see in Elijah a solitary prophet who nurtured his thirst for the one and only God, and lived in his presence. He is the contemplative, burning with passionate love for the Absolute who is God.
(Carmelite Constitutions)
