Gathered in Rome to review and update their Constitution our Friends of nearly a century, the Discalced Carmelites were received by Pope Francis.
The local Carmelite community of Schaarsbergen to whom the Mill Hill missionaries in Oosterbeek are closely connected for nearly a century now is represented by Sr Lucia van Steensel OCD, prioress.
This is what Pope Francis had to say:
“The path of contemplation is inherently a path of love,” that “makes us witnesses of the love we have received,” Pope Francis observed when welcoming superiors and delegates of Discalced Carmelites in the Vatican on Thursday.
Serving “as a ladder that raises us up to God,” contemplation, the Pope said, is not about separating one from the world, but grounding us more deeply in it.
Embracing the Lord’s calling
Recognizing that the religious are in the process of revising their Constitutions, the Holy Father acknowledged this “is a significant undertaking.” Not only does it respond “to a natural human need and the contingencies of community life,” he said, it also marks “an occasion” to devote themselves to prayer and discernment.
Source: Vatican News
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