23 July 2018

Word(s) of the Day: Calced & Discalced

CALCED. Wearing shoes or sandals. Distinguished from the discalced among the men and women religious who do not wear shoes as a form of austerity. Customs differ among religious institutes, notably the Carmelites, who have two main branches of the order, one calced and the other discalced. (Etym. Latin calceus, shoe.)

DISCALCED. Barefooted. A term applied to religious congregations of men and women who are unshod or wear sandals, such as the Discalced Carmelites, Augustinians, and Clerks of the Holy Cross. It was introduced into the West by St. Francis and St. Clare as a form of austerity. (Etym. Latin discalceatus, unshod, barefoot.)
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Blessed Titus Brandsma,  O.Carm. (23 February 1881 - 26 July 1942) was a Dutch Carmelite, Martyred by the National Socialists, of the Carmelites of the Ancient Observance (calced). He was also a scholar of Sta Teresa d'Avila, the Foundress of the Teresian Carmelite Reform (discalced). When asked why he, a calced Friar, had become interested in the Doctor of Prayer, he replied, 'I'm calced during the day, but at night, when I'm asleep, I'm discalced'!

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