Who are the Carmelites?

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It just occurred to me I wear a Carmelite scapular, but I don’t really know much about Carmelites.

Some things I know - I think Carmelites are contemplative, a popular religious order among nuns, St. Therese of Lisieux was a Carmelite and so I think was St. Theresa of Avila.

But what can you please share with what you know about Carmelites, feedback, your testimony, links, etc?

Where do Carmelites rank, so to speak, among Franciscans, Benedictines, Dominicans, etc among the Church?

What is their origin, what scripture passages in Bible are linked to the Carmelites?

And why won’t spellcheck recognize the name Carmelite?

Thanks -
 
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Catholics do not “rank” their religious orders.

People join a particular order because they feel called to the particular lifestyle and charisms of the order. Not because it’s ranked 4th overall in most prestigious or most popular orders.
 
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If you want to learn more about them, read about Mount Carmel, the Blessed Virgin Mary. Discalced and Calced Carmelites, and Saints who were in the order.

Religious orders are not ranked. I spent time living in a Carmelite Monastery, not because it was fashionable or more cool than being a Domincan or something that wordly. I got invested in the Brown Scapular because I felt drawn to their charisms.
 
Please don’t take my wording of “rank” literally. I am just trying to get a feel for where Carmelites stand in the Church among other orders, etc.
 
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The Carmelites are one of the three orders founded in the Holy Land at the time of the Crusader State, the others being the Knights Templar and the Knights Hospitaler. The Carmelites lived as a community of hermits on the slopes of Mount Carmel, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea in what is now the city of Haifa, Israel. There is still a Carmelite Monastery there, though it was built much more recently, in the 19th century. You can read about the early history of the Carmelite order here:

 
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A lot of great saints have come from the Carmelites. To get a good sense of their spirituality, read Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Therese of Lisieux, Edith Stein (Benedicta of the Cross).
 
There is quite a good play, Dialogues des Carmelites by the French author Georges Bernanos. It deals with the travails of a house of Carmelites during the French Revolution. It was made into a 1960 film starring Jeanne Moreau, and Francis Poulenc made an opera out of it. I have not seen the film, but I have seen the opera, and it is quite moving. I also have a coworker who is an oblate of a local house of Carmelites. I am afraid that is the extent of my knowledge of Carmelites.
 
Here’s a good history…

https://www.myvocationislove.ca/web/index.php/en/carmel

Oh, don’t worry about not knowing the differences between religious orders. I didn’t know the differences when I first converted. When still a Baptist, I participated in the Rosary Rally in my hometown. The Catholic lady who was my chaperone pointed out the priest in white flowing robes, and said, “He’s a Dominican.” The word was equivalent to Martian, as far as I was concerned.

Please click the first link under my signature, and learn about the Cloistered orders of the church.

Blessings,
Mrs Cloisters OP
Lay Dominican
http://cloisters.tripod.com/
http://cloisters.tripod.com/charity/
http://cloisters.tripod.com/holyangels/id9.html/
 
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