Vocations
What is a Vocation
- An invitation from God to lead a life totally consecrated to Him
- A call to divine union and to the striving after religious perfection
- Persistent and at least periodic desire to give oneself generously to God and His Church
Qualifications
- 18 to 30 years of age
- Good health and sound judgment
- Good character and high moral principles
- Spirit of optimism and cheerfulness
- Love of prayer and desire for divine union
- Desire to commit oneself to Our Lord and His Church for the salvation of souls
- Confident belief in Christ’s promise to sanctify and unite Himself intimately with all those who give themselves generously to Him
Formation
Postulancy
6 months to 1 year, during which the candidate learns and experiences the cloistered Carmelite life
Novitiate
1 year, beginning with the reception of the traditional Carmelite habit; continued training and formation in the spiritual life and Holy Rule of St. Teresa of Avila
Temporary Profession
3 years under the religious vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience
Perpetual Profession
Reception of the black veil, a bride of Christ forever!
The Vows of Religion
First Profession Sermon
The three vows of religion, Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience are what consecrate a Religious completely to Christ. They are perfections of the three Theological virtues we receive with Sanctifying graces at Baptism, Hope, Charity, and Faith. To take the vows is to offer oneself as a complete holocaust to God by the giving up of all worldly attachments – attachments to material things, to natural loves and affections, and to your own will.
Poverty of Spirit
The freedom of true detachment from all worldly things and some of the things Carmelites do to achieve it
Chastity and Charity
How chastity, as both a virtue and a vow, lead us to the heights of Charity and love of God
Independence Through Submission
How the most difficult of the vows, obedience, strikes at the very root of all sin
…Many souls go to hell because they have no one to pray and make sacrifices for them…
Our Lady of Fatima
For men’s vocations see Servants of the Holy Family