The Third Order of the Carmelites of the Ancient Observance
The Third Order of Carmel (TOC), or the Secular Carmelite Order (SCO) is an international public association of laity erected by Apostolic privilege with the purpose of working towards Christian perfection and of dedicating themselves to the apostolate. It does this at the very least by offering prayer and sacrifice for the needs of the Church and by taking its place in the world according to the Carmelite charism. It sets out to do this by living the Gospel in the spirit of the Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel under the supreme direction of the Order itself.
VISION AND IDENTITY
The Third Order of Carmel or the Secular Carmelite Order of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel commit to the spiritual nourishment of the Carmelite family in the Philippines and in the world. It shall be part of building and creating a Carmel responsive to the signs of the times, finding strength and motivation by “pondering day and night the words of the Lord.”
Responding to the challenges of the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines (PCP II, 1991), we seek to participate more fully in the life of the church and in its tasks of mission, together with the clergy and religious, as a community of disciples. The Secular Carmelite Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (historically known as the Third Order) is an association of mainly laypersons. Its members, responding to a special call of God, freely and deliberately commit themselves “to live in the following of Jesus Christ” according to the traditions and spirit of Carmel under the authority of the Prior General of the Carmelite Order. The members, though not in Religious Life, choose to live out their baptismal commitment according to the spirit of the Carmelite Order. Carmelite spirituality stresses purity of heart and “vacare Deo,” the emptying of self so that God can be our all. The call to Carmel, a call to seek God’s will in the ordinary circumstances of everyday life, roots Lay Carmelites in a love of those with whom they live and work, in the search for God’s face, and in solidarity with God’s people everywhere.
