Hermits they were. Silence and solitude seemed especially significant here in the place of Elijah, the fiery prophet of Carmel. Here they wrestled and argued with God, as Elijah himself had done, struggling to find the most perfect and direct way to live as Jesus taught.
Hermits had always spent long hours contemplating the presence of God, but this band living on the slopes of Carmel also prayed the psalms in a manner similar to the monks in established monasteries. But their prayer of the psalms was largely private. Once a day they did leave their individual cells, located a respectful distance apart, to share the Eucharist in their common chapel.
Leopold Glueckert, O.Carm.
(from his soon to be released Short History of the Carmelites )
Contact Primitive Carmel:
