"It is no longer I that live but it is
Mary who lives in me"

"Totus Carmelus Marianus". Carmel is "totus Marianus" – totally Marian. This is the way our ancient tradition and the Church's Magisterium defines Carmel .

Since its beginnings, Carmel has recognized its Marian physiognomy, feeling like a family consecrated in a special way to the honor and veneration of Mary.

Because of her religious profession, the Carmelite belongs to Mary in a special way and the wearing of her Scapular is a sign of this bond.

To Mary, "queen and beauty of Carmel " has been given the splendor of Lebanon and the beauty of Carmel and the whole Carmelite family radiates this inner beauty. Every Carmelite is conscious of this reality, whether she lives on the Holy Mt. Carmel geographically or is far from it, she enters into this wonderful "garden" to nourish her spiritual life, reaping its best fruit.

Nevertheless, living here on Mt. Carmel has a special and particular flavor because this is the house of Mary, where the first hermits sought to live in allegiance with Jesus Christ. They gathered under the protection of the Virgin Mother and made a covenant with her. In living here, one sense that the centuries have preserved the perfume of the intimacy of Nazareth and it reaches us, enabling us to enjoy its delicious aroma and it is in listening with the heart to the gentle breeze, that the soul of the Carmelite is immersed into the profound mystery of God.

The Carmelite, like the beloved disciple, receives "the mystery of Mary", the marvelous heritage of Marian grace which each one of us has experienced. The Carmelite of Mt. Carmel, in breathing in this perfume feels the desire to "identify" all the movements of her soul and her heart, to those of the Blessed Mother and to be able to say: "It is no longer I that live but it is Mary who lives in me" thus completing the call she has received and was predestined for: to become the very image of Christ.

"Yes, my sweet Mother has brought me to Carmel so that
I become a true image of her son Jesus, so that through Him,
and with Him and in Him, in union with the Holy Spirit,
I might give to the Father all honor and glory forever
and ever."
(Mother Maria Grazia-Chiaramonte)