Our Values
Community
The Carmel Catholic High School community encompasses students, families, alumni, faculty, staff, friends of Carmel, and members of our founding orders. Community is a way of life that calls us to identify, to live, and to grow together as members of Christ’s Body in order to build God’s Kingdom.
BVMs say of community: “BVM Spirituality is marked by its origins as a circle of friends committed to one another and to mission. There is a genuine acceptance of one another and of diversity." Community is also a charism of the Carmelite Order and is woven into the Rule of St. Albert. Carmelites understand community to be a “connection with one another...it is a lived experience, practiced day in and day out.”
Academics
Carmel Catholic High School’s academic program fosters each student’s development as a reflective thinker, a person who can look critically at culture and the world and make just decisions rooted in virtue. Each student is nurtured and formed in faith to realize his or her potential, to prepare for success in college and beyond, and above all, to ultimately work toward the good of society.
This Carmel value is grounded directly in a core value of the BVMs namely, education. Of this core value the BVMs say: "Through education, we recognize our gifts and develop our potential, and draw these out in others. We recognize our interdependence and become whole and integrated."
Carmel Catholic High School teaches the Catholic faith, celebrates the Eucharist, prays in diverse ways, and then calls our members to serve each other and the world. This model of life is prayer itself. Deep reverence for God calls us to be people of prayer.
A Carmelite charism, prayer has been at the core of the Order from its inception; therefore, it is essential to Carmel Catholic. "The first group of hermits set a Carmelite tradition of being attentive to God. They carried the Scriptures not in books, but in their minds and hearts. This tradition challenges us to be people of prayer in everything we do. Like the prophet Elijah, we try to be alert to the God who whispers in the wind. Like Mary, we try to have complete trust in the love of God, who comes to us through contemplation. We don’t prescribe or follow any one way of praying. Rather, we are listeners for the voice of the one who made us and who continually calls to us."
Mission
The mission of Carmel Catholic High School challenges us to be grateful stewards of the legacy of our founding orders. This is why service and justice are at the heart of Carmel values. Our call to serve is rooted in the principles of Catholic social teaching, namely the promotion of the dignity of human life and recognition of all people as brothers and sisters in Christ.
This call animates the Carmel Catholic Christian Service Program and enlivens our relationships with others. Both the BVMs and the Carmelites focus on justice and service to others. According to St. Therese of Lisieux, Carmelite Saint and Doctor of the Church, “Our Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, nor even at their difficulty, but at the love with which we do them.”
EnthusiasmThe root of this word is entheos, a Greek word that suggests the very spirit of God is within. This unique spirit flows through Carmel Catholic High School and breathes life into our community. Enthusiasm pervades academics, athletics, fine arts, liturgy, prayer, extracurriculars, Christian Service, and all community events.
Central to Carmelite identity is “zeal for the Lord”; this phrase is inspired by the words of Elijah in the book of Kings “I am filled with a jealous zeal for the Lord.” This same passion inspires our efforts at Carmel Catholic: we are called to think, learn, pray, serve, create, compete, celebrate, and lead with “zeal for the Lord”!
Mary Frances Clarke, BVM founder, was a leader who “saw her role as one of caring for and serving [others]...as opposed to having power over them.” We embrace and strive to emulate her model of servant leadership in every aspect of the Carmel community.