Who we Are
The Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites, officially Ordo Carmelitarum Discalceatorum Saecularis (OCDS), is a religious association of the Roman Catholic Church composed primarily of lay persons and also accepted secular clergy.
Professing promises to strive to live evangelical perfection in the spirit of the evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty, obedience, and of the beatitudes, we live a "fidelity to contemplative prayer with the spirit of detachment it entails".
Members of the OCDS are distinct from the secular order known as the Lay Carmelites (T. O. Carm.).
Professing promises to strive to live evangelical perfection in the spirit of the evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty, obedience, and of the beatitudes, we live a "fidelity to contemplative prayer with the spirit of detachment it entails".
Members of the OCDS are distinct from the secular order known as the Lay Carmelites (T. O. Carm.).
Discalced Carmelite Friars
|
Secular Discalced Carmelites
|
Discalced Carmelite Sisters
|
Way of Life
The members of the OCDS seek to live the Teresian Carmelite charism in the midst of the world, in the family, in their work and the normal circumstances of civil life, by managing temporal affairs and ordering them according to the teachings of Jesus in the Gospels and in conformity with the charism of Saint Teresa of Jesus. They follow Teresa’s guidelines on prayer and try to live it as friendship with God, there where they are, so that “the real lover everywhere loves and remembers the beloved”. But they also live prayer in the liturgy, in listening to God’s Word, in the sacraments and in devotion to Our Lady of Mt Carmel, their model for a life that is Christian and Carmelite.
We seek to live in fraternal friendship in the community to which we belong and attend, and which is governed by a council elected every 3 years. This council takes care of their formation and admission to the promises. The cultivation of human virtues and the climate of trust in the community allows sharing and fosters growth in charity and friendship with the others. We collaborate in the apostolate by our witness of a Christian life and assist the sanctification of the world, by means of our life of faith, hope and charity and according to the personal talents of each member.
The Secular Order is governed by its own Constitutions (2003) ADD and Provincial Statues in which are condensed our style of life, our identity, values and commitments in following Christ Jesus and in our search to live in intimacy with God, fraternal communion and apostolic service. At present, secular Carmelites number around 25 thousand members throughout the world. There are 1,736 communities in 75 countries.
We could say that the seculars live the spirit of Carmel in the heart of the world and enrich the religious life of Carmel by their secular state.
We seek to live in fraternal friendship in the community to which we belong and attend, and which is governed by a council elected every 3 years. This council takes care of their formation and admission to the promises. The cultivation of human virtues and the climate of trust in the community allows sharing and fosters growth in charity and friendship with the others. We collaborate in the apostolate by our witness of a Christian life and assist the sanctification of the world, by means of our life of faith, hope and charity and according to the personal talents of each member.
The Secular Order is governed by its own Constitutions (2003) ADD and Provincial Statues in which are condensed our style of life, our identity, values and commitments in following Christ Jesus and in our search to live in intimacy with God, fraternal communion and apostolic service. At present, secular Carmelites number around 25 thousand members throughout the world. There are 1,736 communities in 75 countries.
We could say that the seculars live the spirit of Carmel in the heart of the world and enrich the religious life of Carmel by their secular state.
