A Vocation of Prayer

In accord with The Rule of St. Albert, the Discalced Carmelite seeks to pray always and everywhere. The community comes together daily for the celebration of the Eucharist and for the chanting of the Liturgy of the Hours, the Prayer of the Church.

In addition, each friar is dedicated to an hour of personal prayer in the morning and another in the evening, to seek union in friendly, solitary conversation with the God we know loves us.

All our prayer, private and communal, has an apostolic dimension for it is always within and for the Church, especially for those who are most in need, those who are abandoned, and those who never pray for themselves. And, faithful to the desires of St. Teresa of Jesus, we pray always for the unity of the Church, that the day may soon come when all the baptized will gather around the one table of the Lord to celebrate the loving mercy of God.

Vocation of Community

Called together by the Spirit of God, the Discalced Carmelite friars live in a community of shared responsibility and support, praying, working and recreating together, sharing their lives, their concerns, their hopes and their needs.

Members in each monastery know that we belong to the larger community of our Province of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (represented in the Midwestern and Eastern United States as well as Nairobi, Kenya) of the Discalced Carmelite Order (represented internationally in more than seventy countries) and most especially within the larger community of the Holy Roman Catholic Church, the Mystical Body of Christ.

Within community we strive for a creative balance of solitude and fraternal interaction in the spirit of brotherly love that St. Teresa desired for her followers.

A Vocation of Ministry

St. Teresa of Jesus, along with her collaborator St. John of the Cross, founded the Discalced Carmelite friars to be of manifold service to the Church, combining a deep spiritual life with meeting the needs of God’s people in a variety of ways. Because our holy parents are acclaimed in the Church as masters and models of intimacy with God the Discalced Carmelite friars strive to characterize their role in the Church by a special apostolic involvement in promoting a deeper spiritual life among the faithful. That is how they serve the Church according to their charism, and faithfully carry on the spiritual tradition of the Order.
A Day in the Life...

What's it like to be a friar?

Learn more about our atmosphere, our community life, and a typical daily schedule.
A Day in the Life...