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Between
the years of 1206 and 1214, there existed a group of hermits living in Mt.
Carmel in Palestine that had formed themselves into a group under the leadership
of a man named Brocard.
This
group proceeded to ask Albert, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, to provide them with
a "formula vitae" or rule of life which became the Carmelite rule.
Because
of the association of Mt. Carmel with the Prophet Elijah, these first Carmelite
hermits took him as their "Dux et Pater", or leader and father.
They
also had a particular devotion to Our Lady, building an oratory dedicated to her,
and by doing so pledged themselves to her service and placed their community
under her patronage and protection. Hence they later became known as "the
Brothers of St Mary of Mount Carmel."
Hermits,
belonging to ancient Orders or New Institutes, or being directly dependent on
the Bishop, bear witness to the passing nature of the present age by the inward
and outward separation, from the world. By fasting and Penance, they show that
man does not live by bread alone but by the work of God. Such a life "In
the Desert" is an invitation to their contemporaries and to the ecclesial
community itself, never to lose sight of the supreme vocation, which is to be
always with the Lord.
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