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The Carmelite Novitiate

OUTLOOK

 

Published Monthly by the Discalced Carmelite Fathers, Our Lady’s Hill, Waverly, New York

Volume 1, No. 12                                                                                                         November 1962

 

Dear Friends of Carmel,

 

            Before all else, we wish to say hello to you who are receiving OUTLOOK for the first time.  When we asked you to sign our guest book the day you visited the monastery last summer, it was because we wanted to keep in touch with you by means of this monthly publication.  We hope that, after you read it (if you read it) you will not be sorry that you came to see this place.  Really, there are no strings attached, at least no visible ones.  We send this to you gratis.  If it earns us your good will we will consider it well worth the effort to publish it.

 

OUR ANNIVERSARY…

 

            This final issue of Volume I signals the approach of the anniversary of our arrival.  More and more we keep turning back in our thoughts to those first few days and weeks, and we can’t decide whether we should laugh or cry.

 

            Father Timothy and I were the first to take up residence in the new monastery, moving in on the evening of November 26, his birthday.  The first thing we had to contend with was the lack of a place to hang our clothes.  So we had to scurry around to find a couple of narrow boards that we nailed into the cement block walls to our cells.  Then we put some large nails into that and used them as clothes-hooks.  The rest of our gear we had to keep in our suitcases on the floor.  Then we tried to compose ourselves for sleep.

 

            That night was a nightmare.  We had no way of controlling the temperature because the thermostat system had not yet been completely installed.  On top of that, the air inside the monastery was saturated with a fine cement dust too light to fall to the floor and settle out.  There was also the monotonous drumming of the circulation pump in the basement.  We discovered only several months later that it vibrated so because it was not balanced properly.

 

            I can’t describe the waves of guilt that flooded my soul every time I heard Father Timothy coughing up dust and tossing and turning on his creaky board bed.  I had believed the architects and builders when they said the building would be ready for occupancy on November 1, and had insisted that we make our move on November 28, the 393rd anniversary of the founding of the first monastery of the Discalced Carmelite Reform.  I began to wish I had been dead that long.  But somehow we got through the night, and with the manifold distractions that came with daylight, we even seemed to return to normal.

 

            On the 27th a carload of novices arrived with all the bedding, which was to be set up to provide those who were to follow on the 28th a halfway decent place to sleep.  We set to work with a will to get the place straightened up and organized for a semblance of community life.  It was a losing battle, for the workmen were still coming in to work and re-creating the turmoil and confusion.  After they departed for the day and the rest of the novices arrived, we did manage to get an altar set up in the ‘glass house’ and Our Very Rev. Father Provincial, Father Christopher, said the first Mass at 8:00 p.m., right on schedule.  We all needed the consolation of that first Holy Sacrifice, and I am sure it was of profit to the rest.  But my guilt complex was not helped any by the presence of Father Provincial, who had to see and share the miserable conditions into which I had brought the entire community.  If I ever had any traumatic experiences, I had one then.

 

            For the next few weeks, things did not settle down to normal but seemed to get progressively worse.  For three full weeks the workmen kept returning to finish up their tasks.  There were plumbers, electricians, door-fitters, tile-setters, glaziers, roofers, and what all.  It was a rat race, and we were not winning it.  The men would come in whistling and singing while we were still at morning meditation; we would have to pick our way through and around them and their work as we filed in procession from chapel to dining room.  While we were having our meals (boy, did we bite the dust in those days!)  They would come in to get tools, piping and other sundry equipment they had stored in the dining room.  The chapel was as yet unheated, the walk-in refrigerator and deep-freeze had not been put in working order, and not all the windows had yet been installed.

 

            Well, why go on.  As I write this, it is Thanksgiving Day.  I am sitting here at my desk in comparative comfort, the Novices are downstairs in their recreation room laughing and joking, and the overall atmosphere is one of tranquility and restfulness.  We have indeed, a great deal to be thankful for.  We wish to thank all of you among our readers who have helped us.  God reward you.

 

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS…

 

            During the latter part of October and early November we had the good fortune of obtaining the services of Brother Charles, one of our most talented and experienced lay brothers.  He came to install some stainless steel kitchen equipment that he purchased second-hand for us for a song (and for a song and dance) from a hospital in Boston.  This was hailed with great enthusiasm by the Novices, for the units contain both a dishwasher and a garbage disposal.  Though much remains to be done to make the kitchen complete, the effect of Brother Charles’ work on the morale of the entire community has been noticeable.  We were lucky to get him, for he will set sail for our mission territory in the Philippine Island is February, to put in a six-year hitch helping our missionaries there.  We are grateful to Father Gregory Miller, O.C.D., Prior of our monastery in Brookline, Mass. for lending him to us for three full weeks.

 

THE PHOTOS…

 

            We are including this month some of the photos taken the day of the blessing.  We had thought of putting them in color, but the cost proved to be prohibitive.

 

            This month we take great pride in presenting a brief biographical sketch of our dear beloved Provincial Superior, Father Christopher of the Most Blessed Sacrament, O.C.D.  It is our good fortune to have on hand not only the biographical statistics sent in at our request by his maternal aunt, Mrs. Carl Jensen, but also a few notes graciously supplied by his uncle Carl.  After we record the cold statistical facts, we will quote the letter of Mr. Carl Jensen in its entirely.

 

            Father Christopher of the Most Blessed Sacrament was born Joseph Truman Latimer, son of Truman G. and Orra (Rich) Latimer in Hartford, Conn., on December 26, 1921.  Attending schools in both Hartford and Bloomfield, Conn., he graduated from Bloomfield High in 1938.  Father Christopher then continued his studies at Trinity College in Hartford, and graduated in 1942, the Valedictorian of his class.

 

            Following this, Father taught briefly at the Salisbury Prep School for Boys at Salisbury, Conn. where he taught, for one thing, the French language.  From 1943 to 1946 Father served with the Army Intelligence Corps.  During this time, in March 1944, Father entered the Catholic Church.  Having been separated from the Army, Father Christopher entered the Discalced Carmelite Novitiate in Brookline, Mass., and made his profession of first Vows on August 6, 1947.  From the Novitiate he went to Washington, D.C. to take up the study of Philosophy, (1947-1949) at Catholic University.  He then began the course of Theology at the Discalced Carmelite College in Washington, D.C. At the end of his third year of studies, on June 9, 1952, Father was ordained a priest.

 

            From the very first, Father Christopher was entrusted with important posts in the Province.  He was, in order, Rector of St. Joseph’s Minor Seminary, Peterborough, New Hampshire (1953-54), Master of Novices, Brookline, Mass. (1954-57), Prior of the Novitiate, Brookline, Mass.  (1957-60), and finally, Provincial Superior of the entire Province of Washington, D. C., which office he is at the present time discharging in a most praiseworthy manner.

 

            (We quote now the notes so kindly provided by Father’s uncle Carl.  We do not edit it because we do not want to lose the element of human interest).

 

“Dear Father,

 

            Briefly I can add that I have known Father Christopher since he was a small boy.  He and my son were pals and constant companions.

 

            They were both very outstanding scholars and attained the highest marks and honors in their class.  They ranked about equal, but greater credit was due to Father Christopher, because he had to work harder for his attainments than my son, as the latter memorized everything with very little effort.

 

            Both were different from the average lads in that their entire efforts were centered on scholastic studies; also they were quieter than most youngsters.  Of the two, my son was somewhat less shy.

 

            They were co-editors of a monthly news-sheet; a mimeographed affair, which was successful in most respects except it was operating at a constant financial loss.  I thought the illustrations were a bit crude, but this was perhaps due to my lack of artistic appreciation.

 

            They were both scheduled for Trinity College following graduation from Bloomfield High School.

 

            I took great pleasure in following Father Christopher’s progress during his college career and when attending graduation and heard the announcement that he was the Valedictorian, I felt as elated as if he had been my own son.

 

            Following a brief teaching period in a private preparatory school in Salisbury, Conn., he entered the U.S. Army and was assigned to a branch of the Intelligence Service, which operated with headquarters in Boston.  (This was during the war).  I saw less of him after that.  When I was informed of his conversion, contrary to others, I was not surprised.  It was doubtless a happy choice, and obviously it is a pattern of life in which he has found the peace and contentment, which he did not possess before.

 

            He is the only person I have known who through boyhood, youth and manhood has possessed a completely unsullied mind, incapable of any evil thought or action.  The fact that even after his graduation from college he remained the same quiet and unassuming lad I began to regard as a defect which perhaps would be a hindrance in attaining recognition during his journey through life.  It seemed like one hiding his light under a bushel.  – I was mistaken.

 

            After the incident resulting in my son’s death, he formed no other close friendship, but traveled the road alone, and with even greater seriousness than before devoted his energy to his studies.

 

                                                                                                (Signed)  Carl Jensen”

 

            I myself would like to add to this that Father Christopher has so many good qualities it is difficult to enumerate them all.  Though he is of a basically serious nature, he does possess a ready wit and a dry but nonetheless delightful sense of humor, to which he frequently gives vent.  He is outstanding in his prudence, tact, and respect for the feelings of others, charity, gentleness, devotion to the ideals of the Order.  Above all, he is self-sacrificing almost to a fault.  We pray the Lord to prosper him and give him many more fruitful years in office.  On this Thanksgiving Day I can say on behalf of all of us here that of all the blessings we have received during the past year, the greatest was the concern, sympathy, assistance and encouragement given us by Father Christopher.

 

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            In several of the past issues of OUTLOOK, mention has been made of the Carmelite way of life, the discipline of Carmel, her ideals, and her doctrine.  You may have wondered at the time what we were referring to.  This month offers us a fitting and opportune occasion to speak of them, for on November 24, we celebrated the Feast of St; John of the Cross, a saint all Discalced Carmelites call their Holy Father.  He is worthy of this title not only because he was the first Carmelite Friar to embrace the Reform (that is, the return to the original austerity of life and the full spirit of prayer and penance which had been mitigated during the time of the Black Plague), but also because we owe him our spiritual formation and physiognomy.  He was the one who molded the souls of the first members of the infant Reform, and they in turn have passed along to us the spiritual heritage he left to them.

 

            St. John of the Cross is the official spokesman of Carmel.  His works were written at the request of the Friars and Nuns who were under his direction, and in them he has captured the entire genius of the Carmelite Spirit and Ideal, and of its ascetical and contemplative character, He is further, an official spokesman of Holy Mother Church, for She has designated him her Doctor (a teacher of the highest weight and authority) of Mystical Theology.  This branch of theology is concerned with the mysterious and obscure ways in which God communicates Himself in an experimental manner to the Christian soul, and of the various terms of intimacy that can exist between God and His human creature.

 

            The discipline of Carmel necessarily flows from the goal of the Carmelite Life.  In one of the oldest and most revered of the early documents of the Carmelite Order, the Book of John, the 44th Patriarch of Jerusalem, the objective is stated thus:

 

            “The goal of this life (the Carmelite) is two-fold.  One part we acquire, with the help of divine grace, through our own efforts and virtuous works.  This is to offer to God a holy heart free from all stain of actual sin”.

 

“The other part of the goal of this life is granted us as a free gift of God, namely, to taste somewhat in the heart and to experience in the soul, not only after death, but even in this mortal life, the intensity of the divine presence and the sweetness of the glory of heaven.”  In his ascetical writings St. John of the Cross points out to us the safest, surest, most direct road to the attainment to this goal.

 

            We speak of a single two-fold goal and not two separate ones because it is the age-old conviction of Carmel that to him who, with the help of Divine grace, does offer to God an unspotted soul, the Lord will bestow the other, the experimental knowledge of Himself.  St. Teresa of Avila says the same thing in words to this effect:  God will not fail to give Himself wholly to him who gives himself wholly to God.

 

            The bulk of the major writings of St. John of the Cross is concerned with the means to purge our souls from every stain of actual and habitual sin.  In the book, the Ascent of Mount Carmel, he tells us what we on our part must do to initiate the work of purification.  In the book, The Dark Night of the Soul, he tells us what means God Himself employs to further and complete this work.  It is essential that we know how to recognize the divine action in our souls, and how to respond to it so as to avoid anything that would render it ineffectual.  St. John of the Cross makes it clear that the process of purification is a purgatory, for it brings about the complete destruction of disordered self-love, which, as we shall see later, is analogous to darkness and death.  Because it is a purgatory, this phase of the journey is most difficult to cover.  Even stouthearted souls are likely to grow faint.  But once it has been traversed, then one begins to “taste in the heart and experience in the soul the intensity of the divine presence and the sweetness of the glory of heaven”.  The characteristics of this second of the essential aspects of the single goal St. John skillfully sets forth in his ‘mystical’ works The Spiritual Canticle and The Living Flame of Love. 

 

            To give you an example of how exacting are the demands made by the Holy Father of Carmel, we quote this one excerpt from the XIII chapter of the first Book of the Ascent of Mount Carmel:

 

“Strive always to choose:  Not that which is easiest but that which is most difficult.

    Not that which is most delightful but that which is most unpleasing.           

    Not that which is restful but that which is wearisome.

    Not that which gives consolation but that which makes disconsolate.

    Not that which is greatest but that which is least.

    Not that which is loftiest and most precious but that which is lowliest and most                          

                                                despised.

                                          Not that which is a desire for anything but that which is a desire for nothing.

                                          Strive not to go about seeking the best of temporal things but the worst.

                                          Strive thus to enter into complete detachment and emptiness and poverty

                                                for Christ’s sake.

           

            Before we explain why the observance of these rules paves the way to the high estate of union with God, let us point out that these rules should not be applied to one’s own life without the aid of a director, that is, a regular confessor or spiritual advisor.  Everyone knows that a certain modicum of material possessions and well-being is indispensable, ordinarily, to the faithful discharge of all one’s obligations, spiritual and otherwise.  There are times when one is obliged to strive for the best for the sake of his family, or for the sake of the common good, or for the sake of a third party.  St. John clarifies the meaning of these rules in other places in his writings, where he makes it perfectly clear that it is neither the possession of, nor the enjoyment of, the riches and pleasures of this life that hurt the soul, but the desire for them (if we do not have them) or the attachment of our heart to them (if we do).  Any disordered desire, that is any desire for a created good thing for its own sake and not as a stepping stone to union with God (it is in this way that we are to trample them underfoot) wearies, torments, darkens, defiles and weakens the soul, and stands in the way of its attainment to the second part of the two-fold Carmelite objective.  It is the counsels that we have mentioned that mortify these desire altogether.

 

            It is relatively easy to show why it is imperative for any serious-minded Carmelite, or anyone interested in reaching the state of Divine Union as we have described it, to observe the rules given by St. John.  The reason is found way back in the Old Testament.  It was first revealed to the Israelites under Moses.  God strictly forbid them to make any image to represent Him or any of His attributes.  The purpose of this was to impress upon them the fact of His utter transcendence.

 

            Though it is true that every creature in existence mirrors in some faint way one or more of the divine perfections, the degree of difference separating it from God is so great as to make it appear His opposite when placed side by side with Him.  For example, the ocean and a drop of water have in common the quality of being moist.  But the moisture in a tiny drop of water compared to the moisture in the ocean is, for all practical purposes, the same as dryness.  So it is with God and His creatures.

 

            The logical consequence of God’s utter transcendence is simply this:  (and this summarizes succinctly what St. John is telling us in his ascetical works):  That no creature can be a proximate or proportionate means of uniting our souls with God, whether by itself or in virtue of the ideas and concepts that can be gained from it.  Thus, if we want to attain to Divine Union we must empty our hearts of all creature content; we must strip our soul of all that clings to it of creatures, and of the knowledge and pleasure they afford.  In other words, God is so far above and beyond His created universe that no sense perception can experience Him, no image can be formed of Him, and no idea or concept can comprehend Him.

 

            This way of emptiness and detachment is called night because when we compare the faculties of sense, imagination and intellect to the eye, and compare sense perceptions, phantasms and ideas to light, then to deprive these ‘eyes’ of their ‘light’ puts them in darkness.  This way called a ‘death’ because the human soul ‘lives’ by the exercise of its faculties.  Mind you, we are not saying total privation of these faculties, for we must remain in this world and use it till the Lord designs to take us from it, but to borrow the terminology of St. Paul, we must use the things of this world as though we use them not.

 

            The truth is, that God alone can satisfy the longing of the human heart.  To seek personal fulfillment in creatures, then, does Him an outrageous injustice.  On the other hand to seek fulfillment in Him alone is to give Him great honor and glory.  This is why it is not presumption to seek to attain it; that is why the great saints considered themselves under strict obligation to strive after it.  To detach the desires of our heart from all creatures and fasten them on God alone is to remain in an attitude of continual adoration.

 

            Lest we be frightened by the negative and privative aspect of St. John’s doctrine, we should also make known that whosoever follows St. John of the Cross in the path he has marked out will also one day be able to say with him: 

 

            “Mine are the heavens and mine is the earth; mine are the people.

            The righteous are mine and mine are the sinners; the Angels are mine…

            and the Mother of God.

            And all things are mine; and God Himself is mine and for me,

            For Christ is mine and for me.”

 

            It is the experience of Carmel that when we depart from all things, then it is that we come into possession of God.  And when we possess Him, we possess all things in Him.

 

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            We hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving.  Keep us in your prayers.  We remember all the readers of OUTLOOK.  God bless you all.

 

                                                                                               

Cordially yours in Our Lady,

Father Bruno, OCD, Prior

                                                                                               

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Note to the reader:  This newsletter was written in the 60’s and Waverly Novitiate no longer exists, however, the Carmelites are always in need of funds to carry out their work.  If anyone wishes to contribute to the cause of the Discalced Carmelite Friars, please send your donations to: In appreciation for Fr. Bruno's Works, Mission Procurator, P.O. Box 270136, Hartford, WI 53027.