The vocation of a Discalced Carmelite nun is prayer.  Therefore, she who is aspiring to live our life must be a woman of prayer.  To be able to live a life of prayer—to dedicate one’s whole being to prayer, and to persevere your whole life praying—is one of the greatest graces that God can bestow.

A Discalced Carmelite nun cannot exist without prayer because prayer unites her with her Spouse, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and with His work of redemption.  In a silent, hidden, and mysterious way His life becomes her own.  Only in this way that she is able to love as He loves and can offer her life completely for the glory of God and for the salvation of souls.

There is a special place in the heart and prayer of a Discalced Carmelite nun for priests.  St. Thérèse of Lisieux expresses her understanding of our vocation:

 

Discernment of one’s vocation does not end with being certain that one is called to be a Discalced Carmelite nun.  A woman must enter into a formal discernment process with the community she believes she is being called to live with.  This process is meant to assess not only the presence of God's call, but also the suitability and actual ability of the person to cooperate with God’s grace and human mediation in order to fulfill her vocation.  It also prepares the person for a lifetime commitment to live our particular way of following Christ.  This nine-year process is called “initial formation.”  Initial formation has the following stages:

Aspirancy (one year): The aspirant and the community discern her Carmelite vocation together.  The aspirant continues her life in the world, but she is invited to experience life in the cloister, sometimes for extended periods of time.
 
Postulancy (one year): The candidate gets both practical experience of and instruction in the religious life and moves gradually from the life of the world to that of the novitiate.

Novitiate (two years): Membership in the Order begins with the novitiate.  Its chief purpose is to enable the novice to have firsthand knowledge and personal experience of the essential requirements of the following of Christ in the way of life proper to our Carmelite and Teresian calling.

Simple Profession (five years): By her public profession, the novice pledges to live according to the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience and is consecrated to God for a period of three years.  She renews her vows for two more years, for a total of five years before making solemn vows.  The simply professed sister will continue her instruction in Teresian spirituality and live it on a practical level.

Solemn Profession: The religious pronounces her vows forever and becomes a permanent member of the community and the Discalced Carmelite Order.  Throughout her life she will continue to keep her eyes fixed on Christ by means of ongoing formation which will help her deepen her knowledge of God and the Church.

These are the preliminary requirements for those who would like to discern their vocation with our community:

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