Mount Carmel
Mount Carmel was a sacred mountain because it was the location of the acts of Elijah. Nine hundred years before the birth of Christ, the great prophet, Elijah lived on Mt. Carmel in Palestine. Two thousand years afterwards – in the 12th century of the Christian era – a group of hermits from Europe settled on this same mountain.
These hermits imitated Christ in the solitary aspects of his life: in his fasting in the desert, in his watching by night in prayer, and in his surrender to the Cross. Therefore solitude, study, prayer (especially, the prayer of contemplation), manual work, fasting, vigils and works of mercy were the main elements in their life.
