It is our conviction as a Carmelite community that the chapel we are building is for Mary – to honor her, and thereby give glory to God. St. Teresa, when making a foundation, would always rejoice when she could reserve the Blessed Sacrament in the tabernacle of the chapel because it would be another place where God would be present in this world. In her own words: “…I was very happy because for me it is the greatest consolation to see one church more where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved…” (Foundations., Ch. 3, 10). Yet, in Carmel, we are not just building a physical structure. All the time, we are at work raising up a spiritual edifice to God. St. Paul speaks to the point: “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (1 Cor 3, 16). This is why a Carmelite vocation is so precious.
The Carmelite is another sanctuary where the Spirit of God can dwell. The heart of a Carmelite is an altar where the sacrifice of a life is made upon the heart to God. This is what the Apostle calls spiritual worship, a rational sacrifice (cf. Rom 12,1). I would be wrong to reserve such a reality to Carmelites only, because what I am saying is true of all baptized Christians. You also are a temple of God, and in your heart, you can worship and adore him at all times.
Carmel is Mary’s home and she it is, who builds up this place. If I may, I would like to apply a text from Proverbs to prove my meaning:
“Wisdom has built her house; she has set up her seven pillars. She has slaughtered her beasts, she has mixed her wine, she has also set her table. She has sent out her maids to call from the highest places in the town, ‘Whoever is simple, let him turn in here.’ To him who is without sense she says, ‘Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. Leave simpleness, and live, and walk in the way of insight.’” (Prov 9, 1-6).
I find Mary here in the figure of Wisdom. With Mary’s help we are about to set up the columns of our chapel so that we can celebrate the Eucharist as a community with the public. We are very excited about this work.
Just as exciting are the pillars that we are continually raising up in spirit. There is a deeper insight here. The chapel we are building is an image of all that we are doing, spiritually, in Carmel. Using the image taken from the Book of Wisdom, I will indicate the seven pillars that support Carmelite life. These pillars are the support structure for prayer and contemplation, which is, “the way of insight” that we are to walk in and live.
The seven pillars of Carmelite life are: sacred reading, work, liturgy, silence, solitude, self-denial, and unceasing prayer. The capstone for this temple of the Spirit is union with God. Without all the supporting pillars, contemplative life would come tumbling down to the ground. The structure of Carmelite life provides balance and measure between activity and rest, work and prayer, silence and speech, solitude and time in community. Each pillar has its proper place and contributes to the strength of the spiritual temple that is being built.
In these articles we will describe each one of these pillars. In examining these supports of the interior life, hopefully you will see how these basic elements of the Rule of St. Albert might also be helpful for you in building your own temple in the Spirit. They are essential for any form of contemplative life, or life of prayer for that matter. You too, are God’s temple, and with Mary’s help you can build up a life of prayer, an edifice in spirit!