“But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart” (Luke 2:19), reflects Mary’s heart as Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Patroness of the Carmelite order, Our Lady of Mount Carmel serves as the perfect model of the interior life of prayer and contemplation. The devotion to Our Lady emphasizes the call to resemble Mary in the posture of our heart and the outflowing of our spirit. Mary’s enduring connection to and deep love for Christ guide us in our own spiritual lives as we too notice, treasure, and ponder the works of God in our heart and the world.
This dedication to nurturing the interior life is evident in the works of one of the well-known members of the order: Saint Teresa of Avila. Saint Teresa was a faithful member of the Carmelite order and worked diligently to reform it, alongside Saint John of the Cross. Much of Teresa of Avila’s writing echoes her order’s devotion to the interior life; specifically, her work ‘Interior Castle’ which charts our spiritual journey using the imagery of a castle within us all. The richness and beauty of her prayers, and the wisdom in her call for reform within the Church mirror those virtues esteemed in Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
Spain and many Spanish speaking countries hold a special devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel. An interesting connection exists between Mary’s titles as Stella Maris and Our Lady of Mount Carmel as the Stella Maris Monastery is situated on Mount Carmel and is considered the headquarters of the Carmelite order. Due to this close link with Stella Maris, veneration of Virgen del Carmen is prevalent in coastal towns of Spain.
As I researched how Our Lady of Mount Carmel’s feast day was celebrated, I found that Peru holds an annual festival known as Mamachu Carmen and in Williamsburg, NY her feast day extends over ten days. These multi-day, parading celebrations in Our Lady’s honor initially seemed to me at odds with her dedication to the interior life; however, doesn’t the tension of pageantry and devotion exist in most religious holidays? Learning more about the heart of the Carmelites to model Our Lady’s contemplative posture, I appreciate the festivals and parades as a form of joy expressed for a rich interior life – loud shouts in celebration of a quiet heart. Our inner lives are rarely something about which we have the chance to parade and dance in the States; perhaps the devotion shown to Our Lady of Mount Carmel provides us with a chance to do so in a beautifully outward expression of our inner life. After all, a rich interior life is meant to flow outward in love and service to others, as Our Lady of Mount Carmel models.
Comments