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The Order’s expert on the Carmelite Rule, Reverend Kees Waaijman, O.Carm.
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By: Reverend Gregory Houck, O.Carm.
Thirty Carmelite students from all levels of initial formation— pre-novitiate, novitiate, internship, and theologate— gathered at Whitefriars Hall in Washington, DC, for the annual All-Students Gathering, which was held this year from January 4 through 7. This year the Carmelite Order celebrates the eighth century of the Carmelite Rule and who best to present at the Gathering but the Order’s reknown expert on the Carmelite Rule, Reverend Kees Waaijman, O.Carm.? Because of his schedule, the Gathering was held a bit earlier than usual which also allowed for a longer span for the whole Gathering.
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Carmelite students Edgar Lopez, Mark Zittle, Nigel Ali, Hasely King and Erick Saint John during the presentations
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Father Kees is from the Carmelite Dutch Province and teaches at the Titus Brandsma Institute at the University of Nijmegen. Kees’ magnum opus on the Rule is entitled “The Mystical Space of Carmel: A Commentary on the Carmelite Rule” (published originally in Dutch in 1999).
During the presentations, he gave special emphasis to the topics of Solitude and Community, Interiorization, and Working in Silence, as these are developed in the Rule. The participants were also led to reflect on the Rule through lectio divina and various discussion questions that Kees prepared.
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