SECULAR ORDER
DISCALCED CARMELITES
Mary Queen of Carmel Community
Clearwater, Florida |
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The Formation
Program
The Program |
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Mary
Queen of Carmel OCDS Community meets monthly
in the Parish Center. Several
classrooms are available for our use.
The facilities allow for formal classes and for individual conferences. |
The actual class teaching is done by members of the Community who have made a Definitive Promise and are qualified to teach. They are assisted by those who are in Temporary Promises, who are serving a teaching internship under their direction. |
The
Formation Director and the Spiritual Assistant are responsible for spiritual
direction and counseling. They
do not teach classes, except in an emergency, however they do function
in a supervisory capacity. The
Formation Director is responsible for maintaining a record of each member's
formation progress. Records
are updated annually. |
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Aspirants, as required by our Constitutions, must attend and successfully complete the assignments for six consecutive class sessions in order to be enrolled in the Formation Program. The Professed, some of whom teach the Aspirants and the Candidates, meet as a group, beginning after the conclusion of the Candidate class. Absences from monthly meetings are very rare and are pre-arranged only with very good reason. |
Guests |
| Mary Queen of Carmel is not a prayer group, but a school of spirituality. Each member diligently prepares for meetings with much study, prayer and written homework on a specific assignment. Without much preparation, it would not be possible to profitably participate in a meeting. As the Community only meets for a few hours each month and the Formation Program is very structured, drop in visitors cannot be accommodated. |
Aspirants |
All
inquirers will have received some promotional material, a standard Carmelite
brochure, a class schedule, a materials list, and an explanation that
this Introductory Course on Carmelite Spirituality is an academic
endeavor with home study and home practice in the art of mental prayer
required. They are given to understand that this is not a prayer group |
| About 20 - 25 students actually show up for the first class, and realizing that for some of them this one class is the only opportunity we'll ever get, we try to teach them as much as we can about the practice of mental prayer. We give them a simple explanation and start them meditating on the "Our Father" as a daily class assignment. |
There's a homework assignment and also ancillary reading and listening from supplementary material that we provide. There's a lot of work required. A notebook with homework assignments, other Carmelite materials, and a list of all books, videos and tapes is turned in at the end of the six classes. In addition, The Spiritual Assistant and Formation Director have individual conferences with the students to keep tabs on what they're doing. Students are taught to chant the Liturgy of the Hours, and they learn the rubrics and the applicable sections of the General Instruction for the Liturgy of the Hours. After the fourth month students are prepared to participate in the Liturgy of the Hours with the Community. |
At the end of the six classes, those who have persevered are told that their classes have satisfied the requirements for Aspirancy and that if they wish to continue their formation studies, they must apply to the Council for admission to the formation program as a Candidate in Formation. They fill out an application form, write a letter petitioning for admission and submit their notebooks. |
Preparation for First Promises |
| Those who are newly admitted to the Formation Program study The Way of Perfection and Commentary on the Rule. They are given the guidelines that will be required of those who will be approved by the Council to make First and Final Promises. Progress in meeting those guidelines is expected to be gradual and progressive. There are written assignments for each class session; homework assignments are discussed in class as they are completed. |
| Study continues on Commentary on the Rule, the Beatitudes, the Promises, history of the Order, selected writings of selected Discalced Carmelite Friars, prayer life, pitfalls of beginners, Liturgy of the Hours, the Sacrament of Penance, and selections from I Want to See God that are applicable that are not covered in the combined Professed and Candidate Class. |
| Candidates have individual conferences with both the Formation Director and Spiritual Assistant. Additional individual study is supervised by the Formation Director and tailored to the needs of each Candidate. At the end of the two-year preparation period, each Candidate submits a letter to the Council asking to be approved for First Promises. The Council and Spiritual Assistant then review the suitability of each Candidate and each Candidate must be approved by the Council. |
Preparation for Final Promises
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| Those who have made their First Promises
continue in the Formation Program approved by our Provincial Delegate
on his provincial visits. The
Interior Castle, The Life of St. Teresa of Jesus of Avila,
The Ascent of Mount Carmel, The Story of a Soul, The Living Flame, The
Dark Night, and The Spiritual Canticle and the appropriate
commentaries in I Want to See God are studied. There are written assignments with discussion
questions that must be prepared for each meeting. |
| Individual conferences with the Formation Director and Spiritual Assistant aid those who are preparing to make a Final Promise. Progress in meeting the required guidelines, which were given at the beginning of the formation period, is supplemented by additional individualized study supervised by the Formation Director. |
Each Candidate for the Final Promise submits a letter to the Council requesting approval to make the Final Promise. The Council and the Spiritual Assistant review the letter of request and make an appropriate determination. |
Definitively Professed
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| It is expected that those who satisfactorily complete the five-year Formation Program will be able to function as teachers and spiritual guides for those who follow them in the Formation Program. In addition to their teaching responsibilities, they are expected to pursue additional independent study. Definitively Professed transferees from other OCDS Communitites may be expected to remedy any deficiencies in their previous formation as a condition of their transfer. |
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