Notes on the Carmelite Rule (Part 12)

(According to P. Kees Waaijman, O.Carm.)

Petitio (request) (chap. 22–23)

We have previously mentioned the analogy used by Albert's contemporary regarding the proper structure of a letter: it is like a building. Its foundation is laid by the premise (in our rule, these are chapters 2–3), the exposition (the body of the letter) can be compared to the four walls of the house (in the rule, it includes articles 4–21).¹ The roof, which completes the entire structure, is then compared to the request (petitio). Just as a house, a letter is also a unified 'architectural' work, a whole.

In other terms: the premise contains some general statement (maior), the exposition focuses on some specific issue (minor), and the request establishes the conclusion (conclusio).² In our rule: all religious must follow Christ (premise, maior), the way of life of the Carmelites is one way of religious life (exposition, minor), therefore the Carmelites must walk in the footsteps of Jesus (request, conclusion).

The Prior Brings the Messiah to Presence

When Albert writes: "You then, brother B., and whoever will be appointed as prior after you..." it is clear that he assigns the role of the prior a long future. The succession of priors must never end.

The prior in his office brings the coming Messiah to presence (eschatological perspective) to the extent that he distances himself from ordinary power practices and draws closer to the serving Christ.³ "Always keep in mind and act according to..." – here Albert imposes on the prior and his successors to accept Jesus' word about service at the level of reflection, knowledge in the mind, but at the same time, he requires them to practice the fulfillment of this command. It is similar to when, right at the beginning (chap. 4), he urged the Carmelites to promise obedience to the prior and also to strive to "truly" observe it in action. The prior is chosen from the midst of the brothers to serve all. In this way, he resembles the Son of Man. Albert's rule is focused on Christ (it is christological), but in such a way that the institutional form of the community fully harmonizes with it.

Seeing Christ in the Prior

Other brothers also have the opportunity to contribute to the prior serving in the community in Christ's place. They should strive to see Christ in the prior.

Here, too, there are two levels: recognition and practicing. Recognition must not stagnate on the outside, on the institutional side of the community. This would occur if the brothers saw only the person of the prior himself (this person with his strengths and weaknesses) and the fact that they chose him themselves. Then only a working goal (skopós) would be achieved: outwardly they would be obedient, but they would not reach the ultimate goal (télos), they would not be attuned to thinking about Christ, who – the text of the rule tells them – has "set this man above your heads." This phrase is a citation from Ps 66:12 and means that the community acknowledges a religious authority above them and that it is a religious community.⁴ The brother who forms the head of the community brings to presence the One who is the head of the church and of all creation (Eph 1:10; Col 1:18). The prior symbolizes Christ. He is the center of the community, in Him mutual reconciliation, forgiveness, and unification among the brothers takes place. The prior is a sign of this. The prior is a visibility of the unity that the community created upon his election, but also of the unity that Christ creates among people.

The practice of these thoughts consists in the respect that the brothers show to the prior. When the rule imposes on them to listen to him, it means that they should truly recognize Christ in the prior. Here are cited the words of Scripture (Lk 10:1–6), where Jesus tells the disciples that those who reject their message in towns and villages do not only reject them, but this rejection carries much greater weight. Carmelites listen to the prior they have chosen as to someone greater: Christ, who speaks to them through him. This is the ultimate goal (télos) of the prior's election. Thus, skopós of the prior's election consists in the community being structured by the performance of the entrusted office by the prior; télos consists in the fact that Carmelites can hear someone greater in the prior than the one they have chosen, namely Christ.

For Saint Albert, this focus on the Messiah is not something trivial. Obedience to Christ in the prior is crucial for the final judgment: "So that you do not come before the judgment for contempt, but deserve the reward of eternal life through obedience." Those who rule by serving, and those who listen to him as to Christ, follow the path of Jesus to the end. Eternal life and the Kingdom of God, which we expect to be fulfilled only when "the end of times" comes, are thus already applicable before that end: here and now.

Connection

In a poorly structured letter, the premise and the exposition do not relate well. In faulty reasoning, the conclusion drawn results from the premises only rigidly. Conversely, in a successful letter, there is a creative confrontation between the premise and the exposition, and from it emerges the request.

Albert constructed his letter to the Carmelites very well: the request arises internally from both the premise and the exposition. In the stimulating tension between the premise and the exposition, awareness of what is important arises – and this is articulated in the request.
The request articulated by Albert (petitio) arises internally from the premise (the entire religious and spiritual life always rests in obedience to Christ and in service to Him) and from the exposition (what the way of life of the Carmelites is). Whoever creatively connects both of these sees at once that (the described) Carmelite way of life is service to the Messiah.

To show this creative way of understanding his rule and the process of this knowledge, Albert chooses as an example obedience, with which he began the exposition (narratio) of his letter. Let us look closely at the individual layers,⁵ which ultimately converge into the request established by Albert. This will help us clarify, on a concrete paradigm – the role of the prior and the obedience of the brothers – how dynamic the structure of the request (petitio) of Albert's rule is.

1. The election of the prior is prescribed as the very first instruction. Through this establishment, a community is formed from hermits. With each subsequent election of a prior, this establishment continues to be updated. This is the level of having a prior.
2. In that "having a prior," the brothers must practice: on a principled level by promising obedience to the prior; on a practical level by keeping this promise.
3. The service of the prior and obedience to him opens access to the armor of God. According to the words of the request (chap. 22-23), the prior and his successors are to "keep in mind" and "act according to" the word of the Lord in the gospel: whoever leads, let him humble himself. Similarly, the brothers, in their respect for the prior, should think of Christ's words: whoever hears the Lord's servant, hears the Lord. In this way, both the prior and the brothers will be clothed in the armor of God because they fulfill the request: "And whatever you do, let it be done according to the word of the Lord..." (chap. 19).
4. The prophetic-eschatological focus – as an ever deeper preservation of contemplation – is already evident in the first words of the request (petitio): "Whoever comes after you..." These words open a view into an unlimited future. Moreover, the quotes from the gospel that Albert used come from the so-called eschatological speech of Jesus. Most importantly, however, the prophetic-eschatological focus of the entire request: the re-evaluation of everything in connection with the coming of the Messiah (the greatest will be the servant, the first the slave), the final judgment, and the reward of eternal life. By listening to the Word in the prior (who strives to be faithful to Christ), the Lord of the end times comes to meet the brothers. Such a form of leadership and listening carries us beyond the boundary of the present temporal life, for which the desire for power and ambition is characteristic.
5. The essence of the request articulated by Albert is that in it the exposition is creatively related to the premise. By creatively relating the premise and the exposition through the example of obedience, St. Albert shows where the rule tends, what this letter is about, what it demands.

Literarily, it might seem that the request represents an inclusion (conclusion) to the chapter on the election of the prior (chap. 4). The same words are repeated. However, as we have said, the request connects the general principle expressed in the premise with the specific guidelines of the exposition. And then, the repetition of the same words shows a shift in meaning! While the exposition (chap. 4) binds the brothers to obedience to the elected prior, the request (chap. 22) imposes on the prior to direct himself in the exercise of the accepted service according to the word of the Lord. Therefore, Albert returns in the request to the obedience he spoke of in the exposition, but does so in light of the premise of the letter, thereby endowing it with new meaning. Hence, it is not an inclusion, but rather a "prelude." Just as the chapters on work and silence (chap. 20–21) content-wise represent a conclusion to the chapters on what the brothers should practice (chap. 4–17), from a spiritual perspective, they aim for constant internalization through a prophetic-eschatological understanding of life, the request likewise, though content-wise concluding chapter 4 of the rule, holds spiritually: the request expressed by Albert represents a challenge to perceive the entire proposed model of life (in chap. 4–21) anew and in relation to Christ:⁶

Albert articulated his request (petitio) only by the example of obedience. The other regulations prescribed to the brothers in the rule do not elaborate on this. He leaves that to the brothers themselves. But the example he provided is a sufficient guide for how to contemplate the rest.

We could say: the request is an encouragement for the brothers to view the entire Carmelite model of life as an icon of Christ. The petitio requires meditating on Christ: based on the presented guideline for life, seek Christ. And look at the Carmelite way of life through the eyes of Christ. The request leads us to embark on the path of searching: to learn to live the Carmelite way of life as salvation, as healing (salutatio) in the Lord. Thus, we will increasingly experience what it means to be "children of God beloved in Christ."

According to the notes of Sister Petra of the Resurrected, OCD,
processed by P. Gorazd, O.Carm.