Carmelite Symbols – A Way to Prayer
by Fr Kevin Alban, O.Carm

Fr Kevin looks at the symbols of Carmelite spirituality and how they might help us in our relationship with God.

Before discussing the first of the symbols I have chosen, I would like to explain briefly what I mean by symbol. When we are driving, we see the number 40 on a disc with a white background and a red trim, we automatically look to see if we are driving more than 40 miles per hour. If we are, we slow down and watch our speed. There is a connection between that 40 mile sign and our knowledge and behaviour. A symbol is an object, a place even a person that leads us from the reality we experience to a greater reality beyond our senses. We are all familiar with the shards of pottery that are found on various digs around the country. To us they look like bits of broken pottery. Trained archaeologists can see that the fragment is part of an object like a jug or a pot that can no longer be seen, but can be reconstructed in a sketch, often with dotted lines. That process of moving from the fragment to the whole is the same process as the creation of a symbol.

One further clarification, the symbols that Carmelite spirituality uses are not unique. Water, fire, mountains, gardens and so on figure in many Christian writings and teachings. Here the image of a house is useful: the basic materials in the West are bricks, mortar, wood, glass, steel and so on. These can then be used to build a vast range of different houses. So Carmelite spirituality is expressed by these well-known images or better symbols in a particular way. The Carmelite house is a distinct arrangement of common elements that we find in the spirituality of many religions.

In this reflection, I will be looking at a central symbol: the mountain. At the most basic level, our Order takes its name not from a person, but a place Mount Carmel. The very name Carmelite reminds us of our origins on the slopes of the mountain range that stretches down the promontory south of Haifa. Mountain is embedded into our identity. Mountain is also a key symbol in the Bible. At root this image expresses the connection between heaven and earth. Humanity raises its gaze beyond the earth to seek out the beyond, the transcendent. On a high mountain we can look out over the earth any survey it. We can look up to the pure sky and see the beauty of the dark blue sky, the product of the blackness of space meeting our world. Mountain is meeting. Two particular incidents which are fundamental to Israel’s religious experience occur on a mountain.

First, in the book of Exodus the author describes the arrival of the people of Israel at the foothills of Sinai and Moses’ first encounter alone with God. It is on this occasion that God outlines the relationship he desires with the people:

“Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites.” (Exodus 19:5-6)

This is the basis of the connection between the two parties which will mark out Israel’s history and which will be taken up in the New Testament in the person of Jesus as the New Covenant – the embodiment of the fundamental meeting of God and humanity.

The book of Exodus also describes very powerfully the appearance and presence of God:

On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, as well as a thick cloud on the mountain, and a blast of a trumpet so loud that all the people who were in the camp trembled. Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God. They took their stand at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke, because the LORD had descended upon it in fire; the smoke went up like the smoke of a kiln, while the whole mountain shook violently. As the blast of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses would speak and God would answer him in thunder. (Exodus 19:16-19)

First, in the book of Exodus the author describes the arrival of the people of Israel at the foothills of Sinai and Moses’ first encounter alone with God. It is on this occasion that God outlines the relationship he desires with the people:

“Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites.” (Exodus 19:5-6)

This is the basis of the connection between the two parties which will mark out Israel’s history and which will be taken up in the New Testament in the person of Jesus as the New Covenant – the embodiment of the fundamental meeting of God and humanity.

The book of Exodus also describes very powerfully the appearance and presence of God:

On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, as well as a thick cloud on the mountain, and a blast of a trumpet so loud that all the people who were in the camp trembled. Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God. They took their stand at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke, because the LORD had descended upon it in fire; the smoke went up like the smoke of a kiln, while the whole mountain shook violently. As the blast of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses would speak and God would answer him in thunder. (Exodus 19:16-19)

Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”  While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” (Matt 17:1-5)

Mountain expresses the possibility for a meeting with God. It is no surprise in the Carmelite tradition that mountain occupies a special place and finds perhaps its best and highest expression in Saint John of the Cross.

The Ascent of Mount Carmel is a treatment of the spiritual life in pursuit of mystical union with Christ. John shows how the Soul sets out to leave all worldly ties and desires behind to achieve “nothing less than transformation in God”. This transformation occurs at the top of the mountain, where our gaze is purified and we can feel the starkness of God’s presence. 

Mountain as encounter, as meeting, as the place of newness of life, as the place of openness to God’s presence. When we think of mountain, these are some of the thoughts that can inspire us and lead us from the reality we can perceive with our senses to the reality we can intuit in our souls.