Discalced Carmelite Nuns

Do you sometimes wish there could be less distractions in life? It's so easy to escape reality, or to get wrapped up in being busy. We hide our feelings behind bingewatching and socialising, or find our identity in working late and scrolling social media. But who are we really, if you take away the many distractions our world so readily throws at us? It’s a scary question to ask!

When I arrived at the Carmelites, I was in a pretty distracted space, having had a stomach bug, feeling stressed about needing to publish some content, and trying to plan the next few weeks because I felt like my success lay in being on top of everything.

But as soon as I drove through the monastery gates, it was like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I could instantly sense that this was a place of peace, not busyness & distraction.

The Carmelite Nuns live apart from the world, enclosed in a monastery which they never leave (except for medical reasons). They spend most of their time in silence, with days woven with the Liturgy of the Hours, a collection of Psalms, hymns Scripture and prayers prayed at various times throughout the day by Catholics all over the world. As well as this they spend time doing chores (such as making altar breads for the diocese), spiritual reading and study, and a couple of hours of recreation where the Sisters gather together and share the joys and challenges of each day.

Carmelite Monastery, Mt Albert, Auckland

Once, a few years back, when I told a young person about the Carmelites, he asked “Are they robots?” It does take a bit to wrap your head around the idea that people would freely choose to be so secluded from the world, living an enclosed and detached life. But as Sister Francis, the Auckland Prioress said to me, the Carmelite call is “not an escape from the world, but an entering more deeply into it.” In dedicating themselves to a life of prayer, the Carmelites are very much aware of the suffering and struggles of our world today. For one thing, with such silence and dettachment from distraction, there is a lot of time to ponder on one’s own thoughts and feelings, and overcome personal struggles - plenty of time to answer the question I posed at the beginning about who we truly are. As well as this, the Sisters offer up constant prayers for our broken world, and pray for the specific requests of friends of the community. I think there is a stigma that Orders like the Carmelites are so removed from any worldly experience - just living on clouds of prayer and perfectness. But just because the Sisters live an enclosed life does not excuse them from the ups and downs of the human experience!

Now, on a brighter note, I cannot write about the Carmelite nuns without mentioning their joyfulness. As soon as I had parked and got out of my van, I could smell something delicious baking, and was told it was one of the Sisters birthdays. When I visited the Christchurch Carmelites a couple of years back, I distinctly remember them telling me that they'd never had as much ice-cream as they’d had since they became Nuns! And as my recording with one of the Sisters was disrupted by a lawn mower she just laughed it off. From my conversations with the Carmelites, I can sense such a deep happiness and peace at where they are, their way of life, and their relationship with the Lord. You’d think that being ‘shut off’ from the world would lead you to become disillusioned or reserved. But there is such a freedom in living with little to distract you, and much to keep you focused on the goodness of God! And such a freedom in discovering who you were created to be, apart from the distractions we so readily run to in today’s world. I believe some of this joy comes across in my interview with 21 year old Sister Marie of Saint Joseph.

Who are we really, if you take away the many distractions our world so readily throws at us? Not an easy question to think about, but one that once answered - whether you're a Carmelite or not - can bring such freedom.

FURTHER RESOURCES:

NZ Carmelite Websites: Auckland - https://carmelites.org.nz/ or Christchurch - https://www.christchurchcarmel.org.nz/
Story of a Soul - The Autobiography of St Thérèse of Lisieux 📚, a young Carmelite Nun who died age only 24. Well worth a read!
Sisters of Silence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inkrDDo26Bg - a short documentary filmed inside the Auckland Carmelite Monastery for 60 Minutes in 1996
Breaking Silence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fkcf8izKpNg - a view of the life of Carmelite Nuns at the Monastery in Christchurch, filmed in 2016 and featuring personal vocation stories.
The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila who reformed the Carmelite Order in the 1500’s
The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross a Carmelite Monk
Pop into the chapel at the Auckland or Christchurch Carmelite monasteries and pick up one of the many brochures or booklets of information📚
Do some Googling and you’ll find many more articles & videos on the NZ Carmelites

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