Discalced Carmelites revise and update Constitution

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Source: Vatican News

Gathered in Rome to review and update their Constitution, the Discalced Carmelites were received by Pope Francis on Friday. The local Carmelite is represented by Sr Lucia van Steensel OCD, prioress.

Pope Francis said: "The path of contemplation is inherently a path of love," that "makes us witnesses of the love we have received," Pope Francis observed when welcoming superiors and delegates of Discalced Carmelites in the Vatican on Thursday.

The Pope said serving "as a ladder that raises us up to God, is not about separating one from the world, but grounding us more deeply in it."

Recognizing that the religious are in the process of revising their Constitutions, the Holy Father acknowledged this "is a significant undertaking." Not only does it respond "to a natural human need and the contingencies of community life," he said, it also marks "an occasion" to devote themselves to prayer and discernment.