The slopes of Carmel, a high ridge that runs down the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea at the altitude of Galilee, are dotted with numerous natural caves, beloved by hermits. The most famous of these men of God was the great Prophet Elijah, who in the ninth century before Christ strenuously defended the purity of faith in the one true God from contamination by idolatrous cults. Inspired by the figure of Elijah, the contemplative order of Carmelites arose. It is a religious family that counts among its members great saints such as Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Thérèse of the Child Jesus, and Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (in the world: Edith Stein). The Carmelites have spread among the Christian people devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, holding her up as a model of prayer, contemplation, and dedication to God.
Indeed, Mary was the first, in a way which can never be equaled, to believe and experience that Jesus, the incarnate Word, is the summit, the peak of man’s encounter with God. By fully accepting the Word, she “was blessedly brought to the holy Mountain” (cf. Opening Prayer of the Memorial) and lives forever with the Lord in body and soul. Today, I would like to entrust to the Queen of Mount Carmel all communities of contemplative life scattered throughout the world, especially those of the Carmelite Order, among which I recall the Monastery of Quart, not far from here, that I have had the opportunity to visit in these days. May Mary help every Christian to find God in the silence of prayer. (16 July 2006)
THUMBNAIL PHOTO: VIRGEN DEL CARMEN DE OROTAVA http://comunicacionobispadodetenerife.blogspot.com/2013/07/la-imagen-de-la-virgen-del-carmen-en-la.html
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