Our Holy Father St. John of the Cross wore a crucifix beneath his scapular over his heart. It is believed that Our Holy Mother St. Teresa gave this crucifix to him when he joined her in the reform of Carmel. Today Discalced Carmelites are given a similar crucifix when making first vows. The profession crucifix is worn over the heart as a reminder that our hearts belong to Jesus Crucified. The crucifix is hidden by our scapular; under Mary’s protection, our heart is united to our Beloved forever.

The profession crucifix is a reminder that Carmelites are called to pattern their lives on the Crucified Savior and follow after Him all the days of our lives. Our Holy Mother St. Teresa reminds us to always look at Jesus Crucified: “Fix your eyes on the Crucified and everything will become small for you. (Interior Castle VIII.4.8).” In The Book of Her Life she implores us to follow after Christ Crucified: “For all who follow Christ, if they don’t want to get lost, must walk along this path that He trod (11.5).” Our Holy Father St John also makes it clear that one enters religious life to carry Christ’s cross: “. . . you should take care always to be inclined to the difficult more than to ease, to the rugged more than to the soft, to the hard and distasteful in a work more than to its delightful and pleasant aspects; and do not go about choosing what is less a cross, for the cross is a light burden. The heavier a burden is, the lighter it becomes when borne for Christ (Councils to a Religious on How to Reach Perfection, 6).” St John of the Cross in his Sayings of Light and Love gives us a final admonition: “What does anyone know who doesn’t know how to suffer for Christ (175)?”