Clearly the life of a person discerning a religious vocation will already have signs of prayerfulness, service, simplicity of life, seeking God's will and a growth in chaste living. As a part of the discernment process the Vocation Director will arrange for the individual to spend time in a number of our communities. In this way it is possible to see Carmelite Life and ministry at first hand and to experience something of the flavour of Carmelite Community. Normally this whole process takes around a year so that there is ample time for prayer and to reflect on the experience of our communities. Throughout this time the Vocation Director will be able to advise good material to read and provide an introduction to Carmelite Spirituality.
Discernment is never a one way process but always involves the community.
At every important stage there is a joint seeking of God's will by the individual and the community. A person who applies to join the Order will normally be at least 21 years old. Should an individual ask, after a period of discernment, to test their vocation with the Order the next appropriate step is the novitiate. Prior to this we ask that each individual have a full psychological assessment. Sometimes motivation can be very complex and the purpose of the assessment is not to say whether or not someone should be accepted but to see if there is a reasonable possibility that an individual can grow and be happy with us.