Carmelite Prayer
Spirituality > Charism
"Prayer is the centre of our lives, and authentic community and ministry spring from this source. The prayer of the Carmelite community is a sign of the praying Church to the world. It recalls the example of Mary, Mother of Jesus, who “kept all these things and pondered them in her heart,” praising the wonders that the Lord had worked in her."
(1995 Constitutions of the Carmelite Friars §64)
The great Carmelite St. Teresa of Jesus (of Avila) described prayer as "nothing else than an intimate sharing between friends", the deepening of a relationship with the God whom we know loves us.
Any style of prayer that nourishes this intimate relationship with God might be practiced by a Carmelite community or individual. There is no single "method" of Carmelite prayer, but the Liturgy (Mass and Divine Office), silence and Scripture (especially in Lectio Divina meditation) have a particularly important place in our life.
In the menu to the right you will find some prayers that are linked to the Carmelite Family.
Liturgical prayer
The Rule of Saint Albert specifies that Carmelites should participate daily, when possible, in the liturgical celebrations of the Divine Office and the Eucharist. To assist Carmelites in following the liturgical year, and the feasts observed in the British Province of Carmelites, Saint Albert's Press produces an annual Carmelite Liturgical Ordo; to download the 2012 edition (in PDF format) please click here, and to download the 2013 edition please click here.
Carmelites are nourished by Word and Sacrament
Requesting the prayer of Carmelites
One of the ministries of the Carmelite Family is to intercede for those who ask our prayers. To submit a prayer request that will be remembered by the friars at the National Shrine of St. Jude at Faversham, please click here.
in order to speak with one's Eternal Father
or find delight in him.
Nor is there any need to shout.
However softly we speak,
He is near enough to hear us."
The great Carmelite St. Teresa of Jesus (of Avila) described prayer as "nothing else than an intimate sharing between friends", the deepening of a relationship with the God whom we know loves us.
Any style of prayer that nourishes this intimate relationship with God might be practiced by a Carmelite community or individual. There is no single "method" of Carmelite prayer, but the Liturgy (Mass and Divine Office), silence and Scripture (especially in Lectio Divina meditation) have a particularly important place in our life.
In the menu to the right you will find some prayers that are linked to the Carmelite Family.
Liturgical prayer
The Rule of Saint Albert specifies that Carmelites should participate daily, when possible, in the liturgical celebrations of the Divine Office and the Eucharist. To assist Carmelites in following the liturgical year, and the feasts observed in the British Province of Carmelites, Saint Albert's Press produces an annual Carmelite Liturgical Ordo; to download the 2012 edition (in PDF format) please click here, and to download the 2013 edition please click here.
Carmelites are nourished by Word and Sacrament
Requesting the prayer of Carmelites
One of the ministries of the Carmelite Family is to intercede for those who ask our prayers. To submit a prayer request that will be remembered by the friars at the National Shrine of St. Jude at Faversham, please click here.
in order to speak with one's Eternal Father
or find delight in him.
Nor is there any need to shout.
However softly we speak,
He is near enough to hear us."
St. Teresa of Avila