What we call "Carmel" is really a way of life in which we try to be aware of the Presence of God in the most ordinary, every day things. We're contemplative, but we live out our service in the world. We're prayerful, but we're also practical. We were founded 800 years ago on a mountaintop, but we have our feet firmly planted in today's problems and concerns. Carmelites live together in groups so that we can support one another in our desire to live up to what God wants of us. We share prayer times, meals, concerns, and, sometimes, work. We are brothers to one another and call each other to accountability for our way of life. Carmelite friars are pastors, teachers, and spiritual directors. But, we're also lawyers, firefighters, and prison chaplains. There is no one career that defines a Carmelite. We pray for the freedom to respond to needs wherever we find them. *The Carmelite Way, John Welch, O.Carm. (Paulist Press: 1996)