← [[session-06-f1b|Session 6: Origin and Basic Identity of the Secular Order]] | [[formation-I-b-handbook|Table of Contents]] | [[session-07-f1b|Session 7: Formation in the School of Carmel]] → # Part Ii: OCDS Constitutions and Statutes A Deeper Understanding of Our Formation, Community, and the Promise Note to the formator: Cross reference the corresponding sections of the local Provincial Statutes when discussing related topics in the OCDS Constitutions, and vice versa. For example, when discussing what the Constitutions say about the local Council, also direct the candidates’ attention to what the Statutes say about the Council. # Session 7: Formation in the School of Carmel “Awaken and enlighten us, my Lord, that we might know and love the blessings which you ever propose to us, and that we might understand that You have moved to bestow favors on us and have remembered us.” — St John of the Cross Required Reading; OCDS Constitutions, articles 32-36. Welcome to the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites, The Role of Study in the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites, pgs. 78-80. Essential Points to Discuss: • “The central object of the process of formation in the Secular Order is to prepare the person to live the charism and spirituality of Carmel in its following of Christ and in service to its mission” (Const. art. 32). • “Both initial and ongoing formation in the teachings of Teresa and John of the Cross help to develop in the Carmelite Secular a human, Christian, and spiritual maturity for the service to the Church…” (Const. art. 34). • “… study in formation of the OCDS is not reduced to some sort of academic pursuit of knowledge…” (Welcome pg 79). • “…study in formation of the OCDS does not have a point at which one says, ‘The End’” (Welcome pg 79). • A basic definition of ‘study in formation of OCDS’: the process whereby we attempt to deepen our understanding of the relationship with God in the light of Catholic and Carmelite doctrines, traditions and teachings (see Welcome pg 79). Assigned Meditative Reading: (weekly) The Rule of Saint Albert – one or more provisions each week; reflect on how each applies to secular life. --- **Source:** Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites, *Formation I Year B: I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life* (US National Formation Program, 2024).