When the Carmelite Institute of Britain and Ireland (CIBI) was launched on November 4th 2005, it was described in a press release as a new initiative to introduce the public to the treasures of Carmelite spirituality, one of the richest traditions of the Catholic Church.
The friars, nuns, sisters, hermits, and the growing number of lay people within the world-wide Carmelite Family, follow the Rule given to them by Saint Albert of Jerusalem early in the thirteenth century when the first Carmelites established themselves on Mount Carmel in the Holy Land. In a variety of contexts and lifestyles, Carmelites dedicate themselves to serving Jesus Christ, whom they recognise as their Lord and Saviour, by lives of prayer that are at the service of God’s people.
The Carmelite Institute of Britain and Ireland is a collaborative venture between the British Province of Carmelites, the Irish Province of Carmelites, and the Anglo-Irish Province of Discalced Carmelites, the three groups who make up the ‘Carmelite Family’ here and in Britain.
From September 2006, the Institute will offer a programme of courses designed to introduce people to the heritage and lifestyle of Carmel in a way that they can make their own. Over the centuries the Carmelite tradition has produced some of the greatest Christian saints, poets, and mystics, including Teresa of Jesus (of Avila), John of the Cross, and Thérèse of Lisieux, all three of whom have become ‘Doctors of the Church’ because of they way in which they have helped countless numbers of people to enter more deeply into the mystery of the divine life we share with one another, with Mary, our mother and sister in faith, and with Jesus Christ, our divine Saviour and Lord. In more recent times, the Carmelite Family has borne witness to the Christian Gospel in the martyrdoms of Titus Brandsma, Edith Stein, and Isidore Bakanja. The Carmelite Institute of Britain and Ireland hopes to communicate this rich heritage in a structured and scholarly, but also accessible, way to anyone who wants learn more about living in the transforming presence of the living God.
The Adult Education programme in Carmelite Studies is designed for beginners and no previous qualifications are needed. It is offered on a part-time distance-learning basis over two years, either online or by correspondence. The cost per module is about 25 Euro. Some of the 32 modules of the programme will also be available as a series of public talks.
The
various modules have been drawn up by internationally renowned academics,
retreat-givers, and speakers, including Ian Matthew OCD, James McCaffrey OCD,
and Wilfrid McGreal O Carm. Some of the modules will be directed by Carmelite
nuns from Ireland and Britain and there are also a number of lay Carmelites,
both women and men. Philip Brennan O Carm, Eoin Moore O Carm, Joseph Mothersill
O Carm, Christopher O’Donnell, O Carm, and Micheál O’Neill O Carm, who are
well-known here in Knocklyon, are included in the list.
Some further information about the Carmelite Institute of Britain and Ireland is available online at: www.cibi.ie. If you would like to find out more about the Institute, or if you would like more information about its programmes, please contact Pat Mullins O Carm in the Presbytery or write to: The Carmelite Institute of Britain and Ireland, Gort Muire Conference Centre, Ballinteer, Dublin 16.