This is the period before entering the monastery, the initial “getting to know each other” for the enquirer and the community. During this time every care is taken to help the aspirant to discern God’s will.
This marks the beginning of religious life, the period when a woman enters and begins to learn about and participate in the life of Carmel. During this time, the postulant makes the transition into religious community life. The postulancy will normally last one year.
The novitiate begins with the formal Rite of Initiation into religious life which is marked by the giving of the habit and the white veil. “The novitiate, by which life in our Order is begun, has for its chief purpose the interiorisation by the novice of our spirit in following Christ in the form specific to the contemplative Teresian Carmel.” Constitutions 152
The novice is instructed in the ways of prayer, scripture, Carmelite spirituality, the religious vows, the life of the Church, liturgy, worship and human development. The novice mistress oversees the training and instruction of the novice with the help of other sisters. The most important part of formation, however, is the community: that lived experience of Carmelite life in solitude and community whereby the novice witnesses and absorbs the spirit of Carmel. The novitiate lasts at least two years.
During the period of novitiate the novice and the community engage in ongoing discernment so that God’s will may be done. When they mutually agree, the novice is admitted to the profession of simple or temporary vows of chastity, poverty and obedience for at least three years. During this time the sister continues her studies and training and is more integrated into the life of the community. The recent document from the Holy See 'Cor Orans' now stipulates that after three years the sister renews her vows annually for another three years before solemn profession.
This is celebrated in a ceremony within the Mass wherein the sister publicly professes her vows of perpetual chastity, poverty and obedience in the presence of her sisters and the Church community. She receives the black veil as a sign of her solemn consecration.
St Teresa wanted her sisters to deepen their knowledge of God so that they could continue to respond generously to their vocation. In this spirit and in keeping with the wishes of the Church, all the sisters, both individually and as a community, aim “to pursue their spiritual, doctrinal and practical formation for their entire lives.” Constitutions 169
This is the period before entering the monastery, the initial “getting to know each other” for the enquirer and the community. During this time every care is taken to help the aspirant to discern God’s will.
This marks the beginning of religious life, the period when a woman enters and begins to learn about and participate in the life of Carmel. During this time, the postulant makes the transition into religious community life. The postulancy will normally last one year.
The novitiate begins with the formal Rite of Initiation into religious life which is marked by the giving of the habit and the white veil. “The novitiate, by which life in our Order is begun, has for its chief purpose the interiorisation by the novice of our spirit in following Christ in the form specific to the contemplative Teresian Carmel.” Constitutions 152
The novice is instructed in the ways of prayer, scripture, Carmelite spirituality, the religious vows, the life of the Church, liturgy, worship and human development. The novice mistress oversees the training and instruction of the novice with the help of other sisters. The most important part of formation, however, is the community: that lived experience of Carmelite life in solitude and community whereby the novice witnesses and absorbs the spirit of Carmel. The novitiate lasts at least two years.
During the period of novitiate the novice and the community engage in ongoing discernment so that God’s will may be done. When they mutually agree, the novice is admitted to the profession of simple or temporary vows of chastity, poverty and obedience for at least three years. During this time the sister continues her studies and training and is more integrated into the life of the community. The recent document from the Holy See 'Cor Orans' now stipulates that after three years the sister renews her vows annually for another three years before solemn profession.
This is celebrated in a ceremony within the Mass wherein the sister publicly professes her vows of perpetual chastity, poverty and obedience in the presence of her sisters and the Church community. She receives the black veil as a sign of her solemn consecration.
St Teresa wanted her sisters to deepen their knowledge of God so that they could continue to respond generously to their vocation. In this spirit and in keeping with the wishes of the Church, all the sisters, both individually and as a community, aim “to pursue their spiritual, doctrinal and practical formation for their entire lives.” Constitutions 169