← [[session-07-f1b|Session 7: Formation in the School of Carmel]] | [[formation-I-b-handbook|Table of Contents]] | [[session-09-f1b|Session 9: The Local Council — Understanding the Function of the Council]] → # Session 8: Organization and Government of the Order and Community Note to the Formator: Every professed member may be expected to serve on the Council at some time. Given the lasting harm caused by a dysfunctional Council, it is extremely important that the candidates thoroughly understand the points discussed in this session. Note to the Council: It would be appropriate to use parts of this session for community formation periodically, especially in the months before the triennial elections. “In order to be an image of God, the spirit must turn to what is eternal, hold it in spirit, keep it in memory, and by loving it, embrace it in the will.” – St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) Required Reading: Const. art. 46-55. Welcome to the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites, How Ought the Council Function, pgs. 81-96. Letter to OCDS Communities nos. 3-8, Fr. Saverio Cannistra, OCD, Superior General, Rome March 6, 2019 (the entire letter is in Appendix M). Additional Reading: Entire Letter to OCDS Communities, Fr. Cannistra. Ratio 11, on the Council’s role in formation. Essential Points to Discuss: Duties, Responsibilities and Characteristics of the Local Council: • The Council is comprised of the President, Formation Director and three Councilors. The authority of the Council is shared among these five members. The entire Council shares responsibility for the community, not just one or two members of the Council. “It should be an authority lived ‘with a mother’s love’ and with ‘discretion’...Its exercise requires active co-responsibility, both within the Council itself in the choices and decisions to be taken, and in encouraging the active and responsible participation of each member of the community in decisions concerning the good of the community” (Letter to OCDS no. 4). • In Carmel – as in Christian life – authority is not about control, it is about service to the community. “Control is not service. Guidance, instruction, leadership – that is service” (Welcome pg. 94). • “The primary responsibility of the Council is the formation and Christian and Carmelite maturing of the members of the community” (Const. art. 46). Every member of the Council is expected to get to know the candidates as individuals in order to aid their formation and properly discern for the Promise. “Today more than ever, in the face of social and ecclesial reality, a solid formation is necessary that leads to practice of discernment in community. The community is then the fertile sphere of this; it should lead each member to be co-responsible for the community, its formation and its mission” (Letter to OCDS, no. 4). 19 • Council members are obliged to respect the confidential nature of meetings and council business. • The President is not the superior of the community or of the Council. He or she is a spokesperson and is at the service of the community. The President: ° convokes and presides over meetings of the community and the Council ° shows fraternal service to all the members of the community ° is careful to avoid any demonstration of preference for some members over others ° aids the Formation Director and Spiritual Assistant in carrying out their responsibilities (See Const. art. 51) • “Formation Director …has the responsibility of preparing the candidates for first and definitive promise” (Const. art. 53). The formators cooperate as a team with the Formation Director to carry out the directions given by the Council. • The three Councilors: ° share responsibility for the community equally with the President and Formation Director ° attend and participate in the council meetings, taking an active role in the discussions and decision-making ° participate in implementing the formation program of the Province ° take an active interest in the wellbeing and formation of the community and the individual members ° participate in discernments for the Promise • “From these duties, we see that the Council carries out a fundamental role of accompanying and leading the Community in its mission. For this reason, it ought to walk together towards it, encouraging the communal character of the Christian Carmelite vocation and look upon each of the members with God’s eyes” (Letter to OCDS 3). • In the practical exercise of dialogue, all must have the patience of listening – which requires humility, patience, willingness to understand, and an effort to respond in new ways. So, it is not a question of tenaciously defending one’s ideas, but of seeking the truth together with others in humility. In this form of dialogue, conflicts in the community are harmonized by the unity of the spirit. There is a need for training in communion which helps to move from the selfish “I” of the old person to the “we” of the new person (see Letter to OCDS 6). • “Humility also requires having our eyes fixed on God, the true centre of each and every one, not considering oneself the center of the world and of oneself... Only with humility and detachment from self can we overcome the temptations of factions, rivalries and vainglory in the community” (Letter to OCDS 7). • Fellowship is an integral part of the community meetings and the Council is responsible for fostering the sense of “togetherness” in the community. While study and prayer are important, meetings also need to include time to relax together as friends (see Welcome pgs. 94-95). 20 • “...the members of the Council must know well the documents that govern the OCDS and let themselves be guided by them... To carry out this service, the members of the Council must look to Jesus, who came to serve and give his life for others. This leads authority to be respectful towards the community, understanding it as a gift from above that must be guarded and as a place where the Risen One is present” (Letter to OCDS 4-5). Assigned Meditative Reading: • Luke 22:24-27 – “let the greatest among you become as the youngest” • Matt 23:10-12 – the greatest must serve the rest • Philippians 2:1-4 – be united in love • Heb 13:17 – confidence in superiors • The Collected Letters of St. Teresa of Avila, Vol. II, Letter 321. To Madre Maria Bautista, Valladolid: “You should know that I am not the same when it comes to governing. Everything is done with love. I don’t know whether this is because I have no reason for acting otherwise, or because I have come to understand that things are better dealt with in this way.” --- **Source:** Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites, *Formation I Year B: I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life* (US National Formation Program, 2024).