THE DISCALCED CARMELITE COAT OF ARMS

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THE DISCALCED CARMELITE COAT OF ARMS

Just as nations, organizations, and individuals have their coats of arms, seal, or crest which are expressive of important facts in their history, or characteristics typical of them, so the order of Discalced Carmelites has its own crest, significant of its rich spirit and antiquity. Each part stands as a reminder of elements that make the Discalced Carmelite Order one of the most ancient, best established and ever beloved orders of the Roman Catholic Church.

In the center of the seal is Mount Carmel, cradle of the order, its tip reaching to the sky. It refers to Mount Carmel, the Carmelite’s place of origin in Haifa, Israel. In the 9th century BC the prophet Elijah lived and had a profound experience of God there. In that same place in the early 12th century some hermits, inspired by the memory of Elijah, gathered there, with a desire “to live a life of allegiance to Jesus Christ” (Rule of St. Albert). The cross on the summit of the mountain was added in the 16th Century as a distinctive mark of the Discalced Carmelites. On the seal there are also three, six pointed stars which represent the three great epochs in the history of Carmel; the first, or prophetic era, represented by the star inside the mountain, denotes the time of the prophet Elijah to the time of St. John the Baptist; the second indicates the era of those hermits living on Mount Carmel before the arrival of the Latin Crusaders; and the third signifies the present epoch spanning from the first Carmelite community living under the Rule of St. Albert until the end of time. Another meaning of the stars is that they stand as a remembrance to the members of the Carmelite order. The star inside the mountain represents the Carmelites who are still on their way to the summit of Mount Carmel (heaven), the other two stars in the sky represent all the Carmelites who have gone before us and have reached the goal of their life’s vocation; union with God in love in the eternal joy of heaven.

The banner surrounding the seal carries the Order’s motto. Taken from the mouth of the prophet Elijah it cries out with his prophetic spirit and absolute dedication to the one, true, God; “Zelo zelatus sum pro Domino Deo exercituum” [“With zeal have I been zealous for the Lord God of Hosts”] (1 Kings 19:10).

Above the seal and through the banner is an arm and hand which holds a flaming sword. This, too, is a symbol of Elijah, his fiery spirit and his passion for the one, true, and absolute God whose words “burned like a torch” (Eccl. 48:1). For Carmelites, Elijah is the solitary prophet who nurtured his thirst for the one and only God and lived forever in His presence. Elijah is the biblical inspiration of the Carmelite life and, like him, Carmelites seek both to continually carry in their minds and hearts “the sword of the spirit, which is the Word of God” (Rule of St. Albert) and to live constantly with a loving, contemplative awareness of His presence.

The crown of gold represents the Kingdom of God, who is the Sovereign Lord of Carmel. Carmelites indeed endeavor to serve God faithfully with “a pure heart and a steadfast conscience” (Rule of St. Albert). They see their vocation as a calling to unswerving allegiance to their Lord and King, Jesus Christ. In their service to this King they take their inspiration from the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose patronage they enjoy, and Saints Teresa of Jesus and John of the Cross, the great reformers of Carmel.

The halo of twelve stars above the crown represents the prerogative of every Carmelite’s acclaim-the Blessed Virgin Mary, whom St. John saw in an apocalyptic vision as: “a woman clothed with the sun… on her head a crown of twelve stars” (Rev 12:1). In the coat of arms of the Discalced Carmelites these stars also signify the twelve points of the rule, which are: obedience, chastity, poverty, reconciliation, mental prayer, the divine office, chapter, abstinence from meat, manual labor, silence, humility, and supererogation

(defined as those works or good deeds performed by saints over and above what is required for their own salvation, the merit of which is held to be transferable to others in need of indulgence).

 
 
 

Sanctus

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* 가르멜의 세번의 신기원
1.가르멜산의 중앙의별: 예언적 시대- bc 9c 예언자 엘리야 시대부터 - ad 1c 세례자 요한 시대까지.
2. 좌측의 별: 십자군들의 이전에 가르멜산에 살고 있던 맨발의 은수자들,
3. 우측의 별: 현재시대로 알베르또 규칙아래 살고있는 초기가르멜 공동체시대부터 현재까지 가르멜인.

* 다른 의미:
1. 가르멜산 정상으로 향하는 가르멜인
2. 완덕의 길에 도달한 사람들
3. 하느님과의 합일을 이룬 사람들

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* 영혼의 칼: 하느님의 말씀 : 알베르또의 규칙

* 12개의 별
태양을 입고.. 머리에 열두개 별로 된 관을 쓴 여인" (묵시 12,1) : 순종, 정결, 가난 청빈, 화해 ,묵상기도, 성무일도, 총회공동체.
금육, 노동, 침묵, 겸손,적선:나눔