What Makes Carmelites Mendicants?

What does it mean to be a mendicant?

For more than 800 years, the Carmelite friars have lived as a mendicant order.

But what does that mean?

The word mendicant comes from a Latin word meaning to beg.

In practice, this means that unlike monks who live primarily within a monastery,
mendicant friars live among the people,
serving the needs of the community in many different ways
and relying on the generosity of those they serve.

From their origins on Mount Carmel in the Holy Land,
Carmelites carried a simple but powerful calling
to live lives rooted in prayer, community, and ministry.

Being mendicant means the friars are sent outward
into parishes, schools, retreat centers, hospitals, universities,
neighborhoods, and communities of every kind.

It means walking with people in their everyday lives,
bringing the Carmelite tradition of contemplation
into the heart of the world.

Because of this, many and varied are the ways the Carmelite friar ministers.

Some preach and teach.
Some accompany people in spiritual direction.
Some work in missions, social outreach, or pastoral ministry.
Others guide people through retreats and moments of prayer.

Different ministries, different places,
but one shared calling
to live the Carmelite Journey of faith
and to help others encounter God
in the midst of ordinary life.

That is the spirit of a Carmelite friar.