Ama MacArthur: : In your video, you spoke of a couple of articles that got the facts mixed up? Is that true? Can you say which articles they are?
Yes, certainly we can give you the links to the articles/ The first one is an article by Mary Cuff at Crisis Magazine, “The Beauty of Austerity”. Ms. Cuff speaks of “the Teresian rule” and the Rule of St. Teresa. St. Teresa never wrote a Rule. She herself wrote “We observed the rule of our Lady of Mt. Carmel and keep it without mitigation as ordained by the Friar Cardinal Hugo of Saint Sabina and given in 1248, in the fifth year of the pontificate of Pope Innocent IV.” (“Life”, 36.26). Non Veni Pacem makes the same mistake, writing about abandoning “the Rule of St. Teresa.”
The other error is in the interview given by Fr. Maximilian Mary Dean given to Jim Hale of LifeSiteNews on Aug. 31st, 2021. At one point, Fr. Dean says, “Well, the nuns, ah, their major superior would be Father General of the Discalced Carmelites Order.” (See 42:00 minutes into the interview.) The Fairfield Nuns follow the 1990 Constitutions of the Discalced Carmelites Nuns, and #133 of the 1990 Constitutions states: “As regards their juridical condition, our monasteries, conserving spiritual unity with the entire Order, have no other major superior above the Prioress, except the Holy See, nor are they associated with the Discalced Brothers in such wise that the Superior General should have any power over them whatsoever.” (1990 Constitutions # 133)
Praised be Jesus Christ!
Could you please share the text of the varies Constitutions that govern the OCD nuns and the vows professed? I think this would be most helpful to those discerning, and I don’t understand the logic behind not making them public (the Carthusians publish their statutes on the website).
After all, the end goal of the discernment (practically speaking) is final profession to live in obedience to the Constitution.
Thank you for creating this wonderful site & God bless!
Dear Angela, Thank you for your comment and request. The files of the 1990 and 1991 Constitutions are rather large, but I will see if I can post them on this website on the Relative Documents page. If they are to large for that, I will put them in Google Drive and send you the link to them. It may take me a couple of days so please be patient.
I’m glad you appreciate the website! Please make it known to as many people as you can. That would be most helpful.
God bless you.
Sr. Gabriela of the Incarnation, O.C.D.
Dear Sr Gabriela:
Are there other OCD Constitutions beside the two you mentioned?
In theory, could each Carmel have their own unique Constitution, with Papal approval? Thank you.
Sincerely in Christ,
Angela
Dear Angela, Legislation for religious institutes have several layers. As the foundation, there is the Rule. There are a number of Rules, the Carmelite Rule, the Rule of St. Benedict, the Rule of St. Augustine, etc. Each Rule has various groups that follow it. The Rule of St. Albert, which the Carmelites follow, is the foundation of the Carmelites of Ancient Observance, the Discalced Carmelites, the Carmelites for the Aged and Infirm, as well as the various Secular Orders of Carmel. There are a number of groups that follow the Rule of St. Benedict.
Each group has its own Constitutions, and it is these that distinguish them from the other groups. Normally, each group only has one set of constitutions because the constitutions are what distinguish that group from the others and at the same time unite all the houses in that group. It is unusual for the Carmelite nuns to have 2 sets of constitutions. Actually, there are 2 and a half sets of constitutions because there are 2 groups that follow the 1990 constitutions. One group does not have anything to do with the Father General, and the other group, about 8 or 9 Carmels around the world, have a certain bond with him. Having more than one set of constitutions is a sign of a division which is very regrettable.
Then in each group, there are codes and customaries which set down how the individual communities live the life.
I’m sorry if this sounds complicated. When you are inside a community it makes a lot more sense than it does reading about it like this.
Don’t hesitate to ask any other questions, and please share the news about us!
God bless you.
Sr. Gabriela