Saint Therese of Lisieux: A Gateway

by Mary Davidson and Maureen O'Riordan for "Saint Therese of Lisieux: A Gateway"

Photo credit:  Elif Milim Yagur, GFDL

The Carmelite Order originated in the Holy Land, specifically on Mount Carmel, a small range of mountains in Israel. Carmel was the site of the spring of St. Elijah, where the great prophet was fed by ravens, raised the widow’s son from the dead, and showed his great zeal for the Lord (I Kings 17-19). When Elijah sought the Lord, he found that the Lord was not in the hurricane, nor the earthquake, nor the fire, but in the murmuring breeze--in other words, in the silence. It is from the lips of St. Elijah that the Carmelites take their motto: “With zeal I have been zealous for the Lord, God of Hosts” (I Kings 19:14).

In the 13^th century, a small group of hermits came to Mount Carmel to establish a spiritual community in the prayerful tradition of St. Elijah. They became known as the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel. For over 800 years, this holy mountain (120 km from Jerusalem) has been the spiritual home of all Carmelites.   This history is part of the Carmelite formation, and certainly Therese and her Carmelite sisters at Lisieux were familiar with it.  Therese refers to this mountain when she writes “I left on my dear King’s arm to climb Mount Carmel.” 

Today the Carmelite Order has two branches.  The Carmelites of the Ancient Observance include friars, sisters, and lay members descended from those first Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel.  Most of the friars and sisters write “O. Carm.” (for “Order of Carmelites”) after their names, and the lay members write “T. O. Carm.” (for Third Order Carmelite). 

The other branch of the Carmelite family, and the one to which St. Therese belonged, is called the Discalced Carmelites.   “Discalced” means “barefoot,” and it refers to the practice of wearing sandals, not shoes.   St. Teresa of Avila founded the first monastery of Discalced Carmelite nuns in Avila in 1562, and this Order is also sometimes known as the "Teresian Carmel."  This branch also includes friars, nuns, and lay members.  The friars and nuns use the abbreviation “O.C.D.”  The lay persons are members of the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites and use the abbreviation “OCDS.”    Some of the Spanish Carmelites formed by Teresa came to France and established Carmel there, and that led to the founding of the Carmel at Lisieux in northern France 1838.  St. Therese entered that monastery fifty years later.   The monasteries of Discalced Carmelite nuns are commonly called “Carmels,” but this name is shorthand for “monastery of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel.”