^ The Queen Beauty of Carmel, Mother and Patron of our Order

The first Carmelites placed themselves under the patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In her honor they built their first chapel on Mount Carmel. So they became known as the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel. Mary has always remained important in the life of the Order. She is our Patroness and our Mother. She is also our sister, the model of our life. In the silence of Nazareth she heard the Word of God spoken to her. She overcame fear and opened herself totally to the Spirit. Through this humble faith and self-emptying she brought Christ into the world. Mary, who kept all these things and meditated on them in her heart, is our model of contemplative fidelity.

She served the Lord and lived close to him in the simple home life of Nazareth. Wrapped in prayer she was at the heart of the early Church. She was united with all the believers when the Holy Spirit came upon the Church at Pentecost. We seek to share the fruitfulness and creativity of her life by living the values she lived. As a sign of this commitment we wear the scapular. It is a sign of her protection and of our desire to be clothed with her holiness.

The mystery of her inner life and her union with Christ is our ideal of personal consecration. The beauty of her life is an inspiration for us today.

“We are committed to a consecrated life of allegiance to Jesus Christ. In this we are sustained by the companionship, the example and protection of our Lady. Her life of union with Christ we regard, as it were, as the prototype of ours” (Constitutions, 15).