CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, SEPT. 6, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Being Christian is not about espousing ideas or making moral choices, but about encountering a person, says Benedict XVI.
The Pope expressed this in a message he wrote to Father Joseph Chalmers, prior-general of the Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, who are gathered for their general chapter in Rome through Sept. 22.
The general chapter marks the 800th anniversary of the approval of the Rule of St. Albert of Jerusalem.
Referring to the text of the rule, the Holy Father said it was this "that inspired the Latin hermits who set up residence 'near the spring on Mount Carmel.'"
The approval was the "first recognition by the Church of this group of men, who left everything to live in reverence of Jesus Christ, imitating the sublime examples of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the prophet Elijah," the Pontiff said.
The first Carmelites, "welcoming the lordship of Christ over their lives, made themselves available to be transformed by his love. This is the fundamental decision that every Christian faces," he added.
Benedict XVI referred to his first encyclical, "Deus Caritas Est," and said that "being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction."
"If this is true for the Christian, how much more must the Carmelite feel this call, whose vocation is the journey up the mountain of perfection," he added.
Not easy
"It is not easy to live this call faithfully," the Pope recognized. "In a certain sense, there is need to protect oneself with armor from the hidden dangers of the world."
Despite the difficulties, he affirmed, there are many men and women who have achieved holiness "living the values of the Carmelite Rule with creative fidelity."
Looking to them, as the Second Vatican Council in "Lumen Gentium" reminds us, "we are inspired with a new reason for seeking the city that is to come and at the same time we are shown a very safe path by which among the vicissitudes of this world, in keeping with the state in life and condition proper to each of us, we will be able to arrive at perfect union with Christ, that is, perfect holiness," the Holy Father continued.
The Pope commented on the theme of the general chapter: "'In Obsequio Jesu Christi': A Prayerful and Prophetic Community in a Changing World."
He said the theme "well highlights the particular manner in which the Carmelite Order seeks to respond to God's love, through a life infused with prayer, fraternity and the prophetic spirit."
"With their eyes fixed on Christ and trusting in the help of the saints who during the last eight centuries have incarnated the dictates of the Rule of Carmel, each member of the Order of Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel feels called to be a credible witness of the spiritual dimension of every human being," Benedict XVI said.
The lay faithful, the Pope added, can find in Carmelite communities authentic "'schools' of prayer, where the meeting with Christ is expressed not just in imploring help but also in thanksgiving, praise, adoration, contemplation, listening and ardent devotion, until the heart truly 'falls in love.'"
ZE07090606 - 2007-09-06