← [[session-02-asp|Understanding the Vocation to Carmel as a Lay Person]] | [[aspirancy-handbook|Table of Contents]] | [[session-04-asp|The Importance of Community]] → # Introduction to the Main Legislative Documents Required Reading: The Rule of St. Albert. The New OCDS Legislation and the Vocation to Carmel, pp. 22-37 of Welcome to the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites (Welcome) Side note: Our focus is on the brief introduction to our three legislative documents. The whole Order follows the Rule of St. Albert. The Secular Order follows the OCDS Constitutions and each province follows its own local Statutes. • The Rule of St. Albert • OCDS Constitutions • Local Statutes – Stressing the importance of community life. Essential Points to Discuss: The Rule of St. Albert: • “After the Holy Land had been reopened to Christians during the time of the Crusades, a number of pilgrims and crusaders settled on Mount Carmel in the latter part of the twelfth century to lead an eremitical life in imitation of the prophet Elijah, who had dwelt there two thousand years before. In the year 1209, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Albert of Vercelli, composed a rule for them, and in 1226 Pope Honorius III gave official confirmation for the rule. That is the point of origin of the Carmelite Order” (excerpt from Journey to Carith chapter 1THE BIRTH OF AN ORDER). OCDS Constitutions: • The 2003 Constitutions replaced the 1979 “Rule of Life.” • Our identity, value and commitment: “The great Teresian Carmelite family is present in the world in many forms. The nucleus of this family is the Order of Discalced Carmelites: the Friars, the Nuns, and the Seculars” (Preface of the Constitutions.). Local Statutes • A brief introduction to the Local Statutes. “… within a fundamental unity established by this legislation [the OCDS Constitutions], there is preserved openness to pluralism in expression demanded by the various social, cultural and ecclesial contexts. To achieve this, particular Statutes may be drawn up to complete and adapt the general laws where permitted in these Constitutions” (Const. Preface). • Discuss the importance of community life. Every Secular Carmelite will strive to place the good of the community and fraternal charity above self-interest; give the community meeting primacy of place in the ordering of his/her schedule; the desire and ability to attend community meetings are signs of an authentic vocation. 8 --- **Source:** Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites, *Aspirancy Handbook: A Journey in Carmel* (US National Formation Program, 2024).