Carmel is all Mary's

Totus marianus est Carmelus

This traditional saying indicates the thoroughly Marian character of the Carmelite Order. Carmelites honor Mary as Patroness, Mother, and "Sister in the Faith."

The earliest Carmelites on Mount Carmel (13th Century) lived an heremetical life in community, with a marked tendency to interiority and an impassioned aspiration for familiarity and intimacy with God. They recognized in the mystical life of Mary a fulfillment of their own aspirations. Thus a uniquely Carmelite expression of Marian spirituality gradually developed.

First of all, the Carmelites developed a keen sense of their Order's belonging totally to Mary, and of its having grown under the loving gaze of Mary right from the beginning. These first hermits on Mt. Carmel built a chapel in the midst of their living space for their daily celebration of the Eucharist and the Liturgy of the Hours. In choosing a patron for this chapel, they turned to the Blessed Virgin Mary, honoring her as the "Lady of the Place," according to the feudal mentality of the time. They named her the patroness and protector of their community. They named themselves the "Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary," and lived under this title. All of Carmel came to be seen as the area of the uncontested dominion of Mary, the Lady of Carmel. Everything good and beautiful in the Order and in its prayers and good works was attributed to this loving patronage of Mary. She was the Queen and Beauty of Carmel, through whom Carmelites gave praise and honor to Christ, the Lord to whom they pledged allegiance.

The Blessed Virgin Mary also came to be loved as the Mother of Carmel. Carmelites saw themselves as sons of Mary, enjoying an intimate filial relationship with her. They recognized in her a model of the interior life, and understood Mary as maternally forming them as her sons in the spiritual life, teaching them to ponder God's word in their hearts and introducing them into her intimate relationship with Christ her son. As we hear Jesus proclaim in the Gospel: My mother and my brothers and sisters are those who hear the word of God and act on it (Luke 8,21). The Carmelites aspired to imitate and assimilate Mary's constant disposition to receive the word of God in faith and to act upon this word in love.

Some Carmelites have even called Mary their Sister in the Faith, recognizing in her a fellow disciple, another who lived always in allegiance to Jesus Christ, another who journeyed by faith along the path of the Good News of Jesus her Son. This particularly familiar and fraternal relationship with Mary as Sister in the Faith seems to have been echoed by the Second Vatican Council, which speaks of Mary's pilgrimage of faith and of her persevering in union with her Son even to the foot of his cross (Lumen Gentium, 58).

This faith-filled following of Christ is another manner in which Carmelites strive to imitate the Blessed Mother.

Part of the religious habit of the Carmelites is the brown scapular. This piece of clothing is worn over a tunic, and originated as a work apron. It soon came to symbolize, however, the Carmelite's close association with the Blessed Virgin Mary. Carmelites wear the brown scapular as a symbol of their particular dedication to the Mother of God and as a symbol of their confidence in her maternal prayers and protection. With the progression of time, it has become popular among all of the faithful to wear a small version of the brown scapular of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel as a sign of dedication and trust in the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God. To learn more about the brown scapular of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, click the link below.

St. Teresa of Jesus, in beginning the Discalced Carmelite nuns and friars, continued to envision these communities as belonging to Mary. She writes: Praise Him, my daughters, for you truly belong to our Lady….Imitate her and reflect that the grandeur of our Lady and the good of having her for your patroness must be indeed great….

St. John of the Cross, who was devoted to the Mother of God from his earliest childhood, chose to enter the Carmelite Order because of its Marian nature. In his writings, he presents Mary as a model of prayer, charity, and docility to the action of the Holy Spirit.

St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, the patroness of the Oklahoma Province of the Discalced Carmelites, also had a great love for the Mother of God. Fully a daughter of Carmel, she once stated that Mary is more Mother than Queen.

The Discalced Carmelites of the Oklahoma Province of St. Thérèse strive to live as sons of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. Our vision and commitment to our Lady are summarized in the following passage from the Constitutions of our Order:

Our Lady, as portrayed in the Gospels, is thus put before us as the perfect embodiment of the ideal of the Order, and we are drawn to follow her closely. With the attitude of the 'poor of the Lord' we must ponder on God's word in faith and spend ourselves in a manifold service of love. Then our life will truly resemble hers and, under her guidance, we shall be made to share more fully in the mystery of Christ and his Church.

In this way our profession, which binds us in a special manner to our Lady, and which we have put in her hands, will become a reality in our life. That too is what the scapular we wear symbolizes: that we belong to Mary and that we strive to be clothed with her virtues so as to mirror in the world the beauty of her holiness.