Devotion to Mary
Carmelite devotion to Mary
Father Aloysius Deeney, O.C.D., General Delegate
Jan. 1, 2008
Dear Carmelites,
Happy New Year, but more importantly, Happy Solemnity of the Mother of God.
I thought that today would be a good day to address the question of Mary in the life of Carmel in the spirit of the Constitutions of the O.C.D.S. The church begins the calendar year with a solemn act of liturgical devotion to Mary by dedicating the Mass and the Office to honor her, the Mother of our Savior and Lord.
Carmel is Marian! One of the 6 M's about which I speak often as the components of the life of a Secular Order member is the 4th one, Mary. And as many of you have either heard me say or read that I said, what makes Carmel Marian is NOT that Carmelites pray to Mary (since all Catholics do) but that Carmelites pray as Mary prayed, by meditating in our hearts (Luke 2:19, 50-51). The Constitutions recommend in Article 31, the liturgical devotion to Mary, this means celebrating her feasts in the liturgical year, as well as celebrating liturgical each Saturday of the year in her honor. There are many feasts of Our Lady throughout the year, Jan. 1, Feb. 11, March 26, Aug. 15, Dec. 8, etc. And add to that the Saturdays of the year and we have many occasions to honor her as our Constitutions urge us to do.
The last sentence of the 31st article says: "They (O.C.D.S.) will practice, in faith and love, the devotional exercises in her honor." Obviously, Carmelites practice devotions to Mary. We wear the scapular (or scapular pin). In nearly every Carmelite monastery of either friars or nuns each day, usually after Vespers, the communities recite the Litany of the Blessed Virgin, plus offer a prayer of devotion in honor of Saint Elijah, Saint Joseph, Saint Teresa and Saint John of the Cross. The church highly recommends the rosary, and many Carmelites recite the rosary faithfully or carry the rosary on their person. Personal devotional practices to Our Lady and Our Holy Parents are very much encouraged.
There is a distinction between liturgical devotion (Mass and Office) and personal devotion (all the other acts, even the rosary). The distinction is that the first is public and the second is private. The first we may speak of as required in many circumstances (as today, 1 January). No separate personal devotions are required by the church or by the order. We must promote liturgical devotion to Mary, we may SHARE personal devotions with others. The problem can sometimes happen that some people do not share but push their personal devotions on others, distracting the focus of formation or community meetings, insisting on personal revelations as almost equivalent to the message of the Gospel, spending too much time on diffusing messages that may or may not be from Mary.
As Carmelites we have the role of promoting the scapular as our specific devotion as an Order, of promoting the liturgical feasts of the year in honor of the Mother of God and our Mother. We all have the right to those devotions which express our love for Mary, but no one has the right to promote personal devotions in the name of Carmel. Again, we may share our devotion, especially by testifying to how those devotions have increased our faith, hope and love. We may share information with others, of course. If certain devotions and movements in honor of Mary are more important to persons than those Marian elements of Carmel, then I believe that indicates that those persons need to look at their membership in Carmel and, with the Council or spiritual assistant, evaluate their vocation.
Many Carmelite books and works published in the days when we used Latin ended with a monogram, LDVM: Laus Deo Virginique Mariae. Praise to God and to the Virgin Mary.
That is our life, Praising God and His Most Blessed Mother!
Father Aloysius Deeney, O.C.D., General Delegate
Jan. 1, 2008
Dear Carmelites,
Happy New Year, but more importantly, Happy Solemnity of the Mother of God.
I thought that today would be a good day to address the question of Mary in the life of Carmel in the spirit of the Constitutions of the O.C.D.S. The church begins the calendar year with a solemn act of liturgical devotion to Mary by dedicating the Mass and the Office to honor her, the Mother of our Savior and Lord.
Carmel is Marian! One of the 6 M's about which I speak often as the components of the life of a Secular Order member is the 4th one, Mary. And as many of you have either heard me say or read that I said, what makes Carmel Marian is NOT that Carmelites pray to Mary (since all Catholics do) but that Carmelites pray as Mary prayed, by meditating in our hearts (Luke 2:19, 50-51). The Constitutions recommend in Article 31, the liturgical devotion to Mary, this means celebrating her feasts in the liturgical year, as well as celebrating liturgical each Saturday of the year in her honor. There are many feasts of Our Lady throughout the year, Jan. 1, Feb. 11, March 26, Aug. 15, Dec. 8, etc. And add to that the Saturdays of the year and we have many occasions to honor her as our Constitutions urge us to do.
The last sentence of the 31st article says: "They (O.C.D.S.) will practice, in faith and love, the devotional exercises in her honor." Obviously, Carmelites practice devotions to Mary. We wear the scapular (or scapular pin). In nearly every Carmelite monastery of either friars or nuns each day, usually after Vespers, the communities recite the Litany of the Blessed Virgin, plus offer a prayer of devotion in honor of Saint Elijah, Saint Joseph, Saint Teresa and Saint John of the Cross. The church highly recommends the rosary, and many Carmelites recite the rosary faithfully or carry the rosary on their person. Personal devotional practices to Our Lady and Our Holy Parents are very much encouraged.
There is a distinction between liturgical devotion (Mass and Office) and personal devotion (all the other acts, even the rosary). The distinction is that the first is public and the second is private. The first we may speak of as required in many circumstances (as today, 1 January). No separate personal devotions are required by the church or by the order. We must promote liturgical devotion to Mary, we may SHARE personal devotions with others. The problem can sometimes happen that some people do not share but push their personal devotions on others, distracting the focus of formation or community meetings, insisting on personal revelations as almost equivalent to the message of the Gospel, spending too much time on diffusing messages that may or may not be from Mary.
As Carmelites we have the role of promoting the scapular as our specific devotion as an Order, of promoting the liturgical feasts of the year in honor of the Mother of God and our Mother. We all have the right to those devotions which express our love for Mary, but no one has the right to promote personal devotions in the name of Carmel. Again, we may share our devotion, especially by testifying to how those devotions have increased our faith, hope and love. We may share information with others, of course. If certain devotions and movements in honor of Mary are more important to persons than those Marian elements of Carmel, then I believe that indicates that those persons need to look at their membership in Carmel and, with the Council or spiritual assistant, evaluate their vocation.
Many Carmelite books and works published in the days when we used Latin ended with a monogram, LDVM: Laus Deo Virginique Mariae. Praise to God and to the Virgin Mary.
That is our life, Praising God and His Most Blessed Mother!
Aloysius Deeney OCD, genrl. delg.
Labels: article, winter 07-08
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