The Habit of the Discalced Carmelites
“Since we belong to a family specially dedicated to our Lady, we wear the habit of her Order as a sign of our consecration.”
– Constitutions 79
The Tunic and Cincture
From time immemorial, the first hermits on Mount Carmel wore a habit (a tunic or long robe) of undyed, “rough” wool which was grayish brown in color. The brown tunic of the Carmelites is fastened with a long cincture (leather belt). The belt is an indication of the eremitical roots of Carmel, our striving for solitude and intimate union with God, as well as the vow of chastity.
The Scapular
For Carmelites, the scapular is the most essential part of our habit; it is an outward sign of our deep relationship with the Blessed Virgin Mary, our Sister, Mother, Patroness and Queen. It is an effective symbol of Mary’s protection of the Order of Carmel. The Blessed Virgin has shown her patronage over the Order of Carmel from its earliest days. The scapular is a sign of the love of Mary and a sign of our love for her. By wearing it, we demonstrate our desire to imitate Mary in our allegiance to Jesus Christ. The scapular thus symbolizes “that we belong to Mary and that we strive to be clothed with her virtues so as to mirror in the world the beauty of her holiness” (Const. 49).
Stories and legends abound in Carmelite tradition about the many ways in which the Mother of God has interceded for the Order, especially in critical moments of its history. Most enduring and popular of these traditions, blessed by the Church, concerns Mary’s promise to St. Simon Stock who was Prior General of the Carmelites in the middle of the thirteenth century. The Carmelite Order has always been anxious to share this patronage and protection with those who are devoted to the Mother of God. Carmelites thus see the scapular as a great gift, a genuine form of devotion, and a sign of consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The Mantle
Carmelite Friars also wear on certain occasions a hooded white mantle. The mantle points back to the prophet Elijah, who serves as a biblical inspiration for our life. When Elijah passed on his prophetic spirit to Elisha, the mantle became the visible sign of following in the spirit and power of the prophet Elijah (cf. 2 Kings 2). The original mantle of the Carmelites was striped and completely closed without a hood. The mantle was striped with seven bars, four white and three black. The black bars could have symbolized the burns suffered by the mantle as Elijah ascended to heaven in the fiery chariot. White is the color associated with purity and black that of penance. Additionally, the seven bars could have referred to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit or the seven virtues, three theological and four cardinal. When the Carmelites came to Europe they changed the striped mantle for a completely white one at the Chapter of Montpellier in 1287. Also in 1287, the mantle was opened to show the scapular. The white mantle increasingly became the symbol of Mary’s Immaculate Conception. Armed with the white mantle and the scapular, Carmelites took the lead in defending and promoting the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
St. Teresa of Jesus & St. John of the Cross
St. Teresa of Jesus, the Mother of the Discalced Carmel, was greatly devoted to the Carmelite habit. She said of it, “So I say now that all of us who wear this holy habit of Carmel are called to prayer and contemplation. This call explains our origin; we are the descendants of men who felt this call, of those holy fathers on Mount Carmel who in such great solitude and contempt for the world sought this treasure, this precious pearl of contemplation that we are speaking about” (Interior Castle V.1.2). For St. Teresa the habit pointed to living in a state of higher perfection, striving to practice the virtues, in surrendering our will to God in everything, in bringing our life into accordance with what the Lord ordains for it, and in desiring that His will and not ours be done (cf. Life 38.21, Interior Castle III.2.6).
According to tradition, the first habits for the Discalced Friars were designed and sewn by St. Teresa and her nuns at San Jose; among the first to wear this habit was St. John of the Cross in the first monastery of the reformed friars in Duruelo, Spain in 1568. The habit was very similar to what the Carmelite Friars were wearing at the time, but less ample and of a more coarse fabric. It symbolized a stricter observance and the embrace of evangelical poverty. At the beginning the reformed friars did not wear any covering on their feet. This gave rise to the name Discalced – ‘without shoes.’ However, instead of going barefoot, St. Teresa soon ordered the friars to wear simple sandals in order to bring balance to their penitential practices.
Clothed with the New Man
Today the Friars continue to revere the holy habit and wear it proudly as a sign of their consecration in the Discalced Carmel. When a young man enters the novitiate he is first clothed with the brown tunic of the habit. The tunic is a sign of a man who has renounced the world and has taken on the life of Christ. “May the Lord clothe you with the new self, created in God’s image, in justice and holiness of truth.” The cincture, or belt, is then fastened around his waist. The Rule of St. Albert indicates that “our loins are to be girt with chastity (cf. Eph 6:11).” “When you were young, you girded yourself and walked where you would; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish to go” (Jn 21:18).
The new friar is then given the brown scapular. The scapular is a sign of Mary’s love for Carmelites and also represents the yoke and the cross of obedience. “Receive the sweet yoke of Christ and His burden that is light.” The capuche, or hood, a sign of humility, is then placed over the head of the friar. In the words of our Rule, “On your head set the helmet of salvation (Eph 6:7) and so be sure of deliverance by our only Savior, who sets His own free from their sins (Matt 1:21).” Finally, the friar is clothed with the white mantle. The mantle recalls the Elijan tradition and serves as a reminder of Our Lady’s immaculate purity which we are called to imitate. “Therefore let your vesture be ever unspotted as a token of interior purity.” The habit is traditionally complemented with sandals and a large rosary which hangs from the cincture. Finally, a profession cross is given that is worn over the heart and underneath the scapular.
The habit is a sign of our consecration to God, our intention and promise to devote ourselves entirely to Him in the life of prayer and self-giving charity. It serves to remind us of the immensity of what we have vowed: complete dedication to God and to the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ. St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross encourages us to strive for great fidelity in our blessed vocation: “When we receive the holy habit of Carmel, we pledge ourselves not only to extraordinary service to our divine Bridegroom, but also to his holy Mother . . . . By taking on the garment of righteousness, we thus oblige ourselves to strive for perfection with all our strength and to preserve the holy garment intact. There is no better way to serve the Queen of Carmel and to show her our gratitude than by contemplating her example and following her on the way of perfection.”
Here’s an extra quote on the scapular that may be useful:
“If she [Mary] is so great and so strong to those who wear the scapular, how much more, Reverend Fathers, will she be to you who have vowed to do so until the grave and have discarded everything to be so dressed completely.”
– St. Claude la Colombiere, Apostle of the Scapular, from a retreat given to the Discalced Carmelite Friars