The Carmelite Secular Order as a proper vocation within the Church

Abstract

From the inception of Religious Life, the laity always held an important space and role within the respective Religious Family. Aggregation to Religious Orders took various shapes and forms along the ages according to the Charism of the respective Order. Affiliations and aggregations led to the Mendicant Movement to be organised in the three classic ‘Orders’; the First Order for the friars, the Second Order for the cloistered nuns and the Third Order which has two further branches, the Regular branch for Religious Congregations and the Secular branch for Secular Institutes and secular tertiaries. This study focuses on the development of the Carmelite Secular Third Order along the ages, whilst taking into consideration the desire for a reappraisal of the way lay and seculars participate actively in the Charism, life and mission of the Carmelite Order. From information gathered through research and data collection from a questionnaire distributed amongst Carmelite Third Order Seculars, this study provides an overview of the historical development as well as proposals of new insights for the authentic living of Secular Carmelites within the Order.