Monks of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel

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File:Carmelitemonks.jpg
The Carmelite monks.

The Monks of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (also known as Carmelite Monks) is an enclosed religious community of diocesan right, founded in 2003 by the authority of Bishop David Ricken, D.D., J.C.L. in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cheyenne in Wyoming, with Fr. Daniel Mary of Jesus Crucified, M. Carm.[1] as the first and founding Prior of the community. They are known for their loyalty to the Magisterium and to the ancient traditions of Carmel including two hours of mental prayer and separation from the world in solitude.

Role of cloistered monks in Carmel

The Monks of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel are cloistered monks. Their priests are considered choir monks since the whole of their contemplative lives are devoted to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the chanting of the Divine Office in the choir and pursuing the heights of contemplation. They also share the fruits of their contemplative and solitary lives by engaging in confessions, retreats, and giving spiritual direction to people who come to the monastery.[2]

Since they are not active friars, they do not belong to either the Ancient Observance or Discalced branches of the Carmelite Order, who originated as hermit monks but have been mendicant friars[3] since the 13th century. In one of the first works of the Carmelite Order, "The Institutions of the First Monks," also known as the Book of the First Monks written sometime during this period,[4] the charism of the Carmelites was laid out as a hidden life of prayer performed by a monk. The Carmelite monks follow this same hidden monastic Carmelite life.[5]

Cloistered Carmelite nuns also consider themselves to be cloistered monastics or hermits. Their life is closer the Carmelite Monks' way of life as cloistered contemplatives.

Fr. Daniel Mary was trained for eleven years in a hermitage of the Ancient Observance and through a close relationship with several houses of cloistered discalced Carmelite Nuns. Fr. Daniel Mary was clothed as a Carmelite by members of the order and lived in vows in a house of the order for many years. The Carmelite Monks use the suffix M.Carm. to designate membership in their order.

Charism

The Carmelite Monks' spirituality and life are based on four pillars that are essential to their identity. The first pillar is filial union with the Blessed Virgin; the second, the Rule of St. Albert; the third, the traditional Carmelite Liturgy, and the fourth, the spirituality and monastic inspiration of the way of life of St. Teresa of Jesus and St. John of the Cross.

A young Carmelite Monk, Br. Simon Mary, described his community's charism in this way in a 2008 interview:

Carmelite monks are consecrated to God through the vows of obedience, chastity, and poverty. Our time is spent in prayer and penance for the salvation of souls, interceding for the Church and the world, as well as in the study of Scripture and the fathers and doctors of the Church . . . Our monks live strict constitutional enclosure -- we don't leave the monastery at all, . . . with[out] permission from the Bishop.[6]

Traditional liturgy

The Carmelite Monks of Wyoming use the traditional Latin liturgy of the Carmelite Rite, which is similar to the Tridentine Mass.[7] The Carmelite Rite, based on the Rite of the Holy Sepulchre, was used by the Ancient Observance branch of the Carmelite Order from the time of the first hermits on Mount Carmel in the Holy Land in the late 12th century, until Vatican II at which time the Carmelites began to celebrate the ordinary form of the Roman Rite Mass. The first Rule of Carmel was given to the Carmelites by Saint Albert of Jerusalem, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, who in that time was exiled in the city of Acre, Israel, from which place Mount Carmel was visible to the south.

Fr. Daniel, the founder of Monks of the Blessed Virgin Mary, had previously been sub-prior and novice master for the Hermits of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel,[8] a monastery in Minnesota of the Carmelites of the Ancient Observance (O.Carm), where the hermits have been studying the Carmelite Rite liturgy since the mid-1990s with a keen interest in updating it and changing it for today.[9]

New Mount Carmel

File:Young Monk Praying on the New Mount Carmel.jpg

Separation from the world for contemplative prayer is essential to the life of the Carmelite Monks,[10] their monasteries are founded in the mountains to ensure geographical enclosure.[11] In modern times where noise abounds, the monks desire true silence and an atmosphere of natural solitude. The monks explain how the mountains provide this: "In the mountains, often wild and remote, the soul can make a swift journey towards union with God; the beauty of the wilderness alone raises the mind and heart to the Eternal Father who created the things of this world. In the mountains the Carmelite monks will at last be in a place conducive to their life and in keeping with their Holy Rule."[12]

Thus Carmelite Monks have founded the New Mount Carmel, where the original Carmelite charism will be lived in the mountains of Wyoming.[13] This reflects the continual effort of Carmelites throughout the centuries to return to the eremitical life of a hermit in the mountains in imitation of St. Elias from the Book of Kings in the Old Testament. The Carmelite Monks have mountain property in Wyoming and are currently building their gothic monastery.

Mystic Monk Coffee

File:Symbol of Mystic Monk Coffee Image.jpg
Mystic Monk Coffee

The Carmelite Monks are often best known for roasting and selling gourmet coffee under the name Mystic Monk Coffee. Their coffee has won awards from famous coffee reviewers[14] and is known for its small batch quality and freshness.

Mystic Monk Coffee was established for founding and maintaining the Carmelite Monks' monastery in the mountains of Wyoming. The symbol of Mystic Monk Coffee shows the monk drinking coffee at the New Mount Carmel where the monks are currently building their permanent monastery.

References and notes

  1. ↑ Fr. Daniel Mary Schneider
  2. ↑ http://www.carmelitemonks.org/ChoirMonks.php
  3. ↑ Gregory Cleary, Friar in Catholic Encyclopedia
  4. ↑ http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03354a.htm
  5. ↑ http://www.carmelitemonks.org/HistoryCommunity.php
  6. ↑ Dale Vree. An Interview With A Carmelite August 29, 2008. Blog Post. -- Interview with Brother Simon Mary, 24 years old, about his life story and vocation, his thoughts about the monastic life, the nature and goals of the Carmelite Monks, etc.
  7. ↑ The Carmelite Monks use the full Carmelite Rite liturgy according to the printed books existent in 1962. They do not simply use elements taken from the Carmelite Rite, as do the Carmelite Hermits of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who experiment with the liturgy according to the needs of their hermits.
  8. ↑ Anthony Flott. "Wyoming's Catholic Boom". National Catholic Register, January 28- February 3, 2007 Issue. -- Situates the Carmelite Monks as a valued element within a larger trend of Catholic growth in Wyoming.
  9. ↑ Carmelite Hermits of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lake Elmo, MN
  10. ↑ http://www.carmelitemonks.org/HistoryCommunity.php
  11. ↑ http://www.newmountcarmelfoundation.org/vision.php
  12. ↑ http://www.newmountcarmelfoundation.org/property.php
  13. ↑ [1]
  14. ↑ http://www.coffeereview.com/allreviews.cfm?find=Mystic+Monk+Coffee

See also

External links

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