Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Tombstone Tuesday: Order of Discalced Carmelites: Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin, Ireland

Discalced Carmelite Friars are men who follow a consecrated way of life inspired by the Rule of Saint Albert, as it was interpreted by Saint Teresa of Avila and Saint John of the Cross. The word 'discalced' comes from the Latin 'discalceatus' which literally translates to shoeless. In this case it is used to denote membership in a community governed by strict practice and renunciation of worldly comforts. A distinctive feature of the Discalced Carmelite way of life is the focus on meditative prayer. In addition to daily Mass and Divine Office, the friars spend two hours in personal prayer each day. They live in very small communities, usually comprised of only four to six people.


The mandate of the Carmelite Friars is to serve the larger community principally by helping people with their practice of prayer, whether they pray regularly or have forgotten how to pray. In the words of the Friars: "We try to give our celebration of sacraments or the way we run our parishes a prayerful quality that is distinctive. We invite people to join us in our prayer. We pray with and for people. We give individual accompaniment and retreats and courses on prayer."

For more information visit the Website for Discalced Carmelite Friars

*Click on photographs to view larger version.
All Photographs ©Copyright J.Geraghty-Gorman 2010
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