← [[essential-themes-asp|The Essential Themes for Aspirancy]] | [[aspirancy-handbook|Table of Contents]] | [[session-02-asp|Understanding the Vocation to Carmel as a Lay Person]] → # Who Is Called to Be a Secular Carmelite? Required Reading: Welcome to the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites (Welcome), Fr. Aloysius Deeney, OCD; pp. 9-21, Testing and Discerning a Vocation Side note: The chapter called “Testing and Discerning a Vocation to the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites” is central to what will be explored in depth during this year. “The vocation of the laity consists in seeking the Kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and directing them according to God’s will” (CCC Glossary). Essential points to discuss: • Understanding the specific vocation in the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites. • A vocation is not a privilege, but a responsibility. It is a sacred calling from God, in service to Him and to the Church. • There is an academic aspect to the formation of a Teresian Carmelite. There is an intellectual basis to the spirituality and identity of one who is called to the Order. Reading and study will always be involved. Formation does not end with the Definitive Promise. • Understanding the commitment to the local OCDS Community and to the Order. • The commitment of time is described in Welcome, pp 27-37. These practices are not an end in themselves, but a means to grow in holiness. 6 --- **Source:** Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites, *Aspirancy Handbook: A Journey in Carmel* (US National Formation Program, 2024).