St. Albert of Jerusalem, Bishop & Lawgiver of Carmel

1149-1215 – Feast - September 17

Albert Avogadro was born in Parma, Italy, about 1149, probably to a noble family. He became a canon at the Holy Cross Abbey in Mortoba. In 1184 he was appointed as the bishop of Bobbio, Italy, and soon after he was named to the see of Vercelli. It was during this period of service as the bishop of Vereelli that he served as mediator between the pope and emperor.

In 1205, Albert was appointed the patriarch of Jerusalem, a post established in 1099 when Jerusalem became a Latin kingdom in the control of Christian crusaders. Jerusalem, however, was no longer in Christian hands, as the Saracens recaptured the city in 1187. The Christians needed a patriarch, but the position was open not only to persecution but to martyrdom at the hands of the Muslims. Albert accepted and he proved himself not only diplomatic but also winning in his ways.

The Muslims of the area respected him for his sanctity and his intelligence. Because of the Muslim presence in Jerusalem, Albert took up residence in Acre (now called Akko), a northern port. There he became involved in a concern that assured his place in religious history. Overlooking the city and bay of Acre is the holy mountain called Carmel. At the time, a group of holy hermits lived on Mount Carmel in separate caves and cells.

St. Brocard (who was the prior or superior of the group of hermits) approached Albert. In 1209, the hermits asked Albert to draw up a rule of life for them, a rule that would constitute the beginning of the Carmelite Order. Albert's rule regulating the monastic life of these men included severe fasts, a perpetual abstinence from meat, silence, and seclusions. Pope Innocent IV mitigated the rule in 1254, allowing that it was too rigorous. Albert mediated the dispute among various groups in Palestine and conducted Church affairs. He was called to the general council of the Lateran in 1215, but was assassinated before leaving Palestine. The Master of the Hospital of the Holy Spirit stabbed & murdered him in St. John of Acre, during the procession on the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, on September 14, 1214.

Let us begin with the reminder that this is Formation. We come here not just to learn a rule, but also to be formed by it. As we go through the Rule of St. Albert and parts of the journey our forerunners have taken, let us listen with our hearts. Carmel is not just Spirituality or a place where we enjoy being, a place where we find peace; it is a way of life. Carmel is a vocation. That spark. And that desire to live our lives in a particular way. It is a call from God, a gift from Him. We must pay particular attention that we do not dilute it into something it is not. Just considering ourselves a part of them for one or two meetings a month does not form our communities. Our community becomes as much a part of our lives as our immediate family. The concerns of the community are our concerns, the burdens of the community are our burdens, the joys of the community are our joys, and the growth of the community is directly related to our own growth. Our vocation calls us to Union with God, which can only be attained through His grace and growth in the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love. The greatest act of community love was and is mutual correction.

If the main reason we come to community is to be fed, either spiritually or emotionally, to become a mutual admiration society, or to round out our social life, then we have lost the fruits of our vocation. The call to Carmel is a call to be everything we can be, a man or woman fully human, fully alive, and living in the spirit of truth, not for our own reward or satisfaction, but for the greater glory of God and His church, to unite all our thoughts, words, and actions to His very presence. Our Rule is built on the rock of sound doctrine.

Carmel did not begin with the Rule of St. Albert, but hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of years before. The Carmelite Order derives its name from the holy mountain of its beginning. In the eastern land where every mountain has its own memories, Mount Carmel has some of the most holy. Carmel is a name that is familiar in every part of the Catholic world; and its natural beauty seems to be exactly in keeping with its gracious association.

The rule of life given to the Carmelites by St. Albert Avogadro between the years 1206 - 1214, was finally approved as the true and proper Rule of Carmel by Innocenzo in 1247 and later underwent mitigations, which were not in the original text.

The Carmelite Rule states that which is basic for a Carmelite to "live a life in allegiance to Jesus Christ - how, pure in heart and stout in conscience, he must be unswerving in the service of the Master". To live a life of allegiance to Jesus Christ, the Carmelites bind themselves especially to:

• Develop the contemplative dimension of their life, in an open dialogue with God

• Live as brothers & sisters, full of charity

• Meditate day and night on the Word of the Lord

• Pray together or alone several times a day

• Celebrate the Eucharist every day

• Do manual work, as Paul the Apostle did

• Purify themselves of every trace of evil

• Live in poverty, placing in common what little they may have

• Love the Church and all people

• Conform their will to that of God, seeking the will of God in faith, in dialogue and through discernment.

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St. Albert was Patriarch of Jerusalem and patron of the Carmelite Order. He was an outstanding ecclesiastical figure in the era in which the Holy See faced opposition from Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa. Serving as a mediator in the dispute between the emperor and Pope Clement III, Albert was made an imperial prince, a sign of favor from Barbarossa.