Since the General Chapter of 1971 we members of the Order have received some important documents: the new Constitutions of 1971. the messages of the Councils of the Provinces and of the General Congregation.
These were of help to not a few in the Order in the difficult task of orienting themselves in contemporary Carmelite life. Others however, have had only the most superficial acquaintance with these texts, some never even heard of them.
Naturally, no religious community live by paper alone. But to live by the living Word of the Lord in an ecclesial brotherhood of like-minded persons we need the inspiration of the brethren who have passed on their experience by means of written source and documents.
Have these documents and messages been sufficiently evaluated in the provinces? Have the fundamental values of our life, gathered and expressed in them, been incorporated in the reflections and efforts at renewal by the provinces and local communities of our Order?