Centre for Applied Carmelite Spirituality
Called & Commissioned
A Two-Year Formation in Prophetic Discipleship & Witness
Applications now open for the cohort beginning Pentecost 2027
An invitation
Learn to hear God’s voice — and to answer it
Called & Commissioned is an unhurried, two-year journey for anyone drawn to live the prophetic calling of their baptism — to listen deeply for God amid the noise of our time, to discern that voice truly, and to bear courageous, credible witness to it in the Church and the world. Rooted in Scripture, the Carmelite tradition, and Catholic Social Teaching, it is formation for the long road, not a crash course.
Watch
A short introduction to the programme
The shape of the journey
One formation, two years, three Pentecosts
The programme runs from Pentecost to Pentecost. Complete the first year and you receive the Certificate in Prophetic Discipleship; continue through the second and you are commissioned with the Diploma in Prophetic Witness.
Year One — Hearing the Word
Prophetic identity, the Carmelite school of prayer, and the foundations of discernment. The year closes at Pentecost with the Affirmation of Calling and the Certificate.
Year Two — Bearing the Word
Deeper discernment, prophetic engagement with the Church and the world, and a personal Mission Project. The journey ends with the Commissioning at Pentecost and the Diploma.
The journey in five movements
Called · Contemplate · Discern · Witness · Commissioned
Discernment sits at the heart of it all — the thread that runs through the whole journey, and the hinge on which the two years turn.
The curriculum
A sense of what you’ll explore
Thirty sessions across the two years, grouped by movement. Switch between the years to see the full span of topics.
Called
- The Prophetic Vocation: Called by Name
- The Biblical Prophets: A Communion of Witnesses
- Encountering Jesus the Prophet
- Samuel & the Art of Listening
Contemplate
- Elijah & the Sound of Sheer Silence
- Teresa of Ávila: Prayer as Friendship
- John of the Cross: Listening in the Dark
- Lectio Divina & the Review of the Day
Discern
- The Marks of an Authentic Spirit
- Testing the Spirits & the Two Ways
- The Signs of the Holy Spirit
- By Their Fruits: The Beatitudes
- Righteousness as Discernment
- Reading the Signs of the Times & Naming Prophetic Gifts
- Toward the Affirmation of Calling
Discern — deeper
- The Signs of an Authentic Spirit: Going Deeper
- Teresa’s Discernment of Experience
- John of the Cross & the Ascent: Discernment toward Union
- Communal Discernment: The Jerusalem Council
Witness
- The Mystics as Prophets
- Contemplative Activism
- Prophets at the Margins
- Catholic Social Teaching: Advanced Praxis
- Prophetic Leadership & the Institution
- The Prophetic Imagination & the Arts
- Public Speech & Proclamation
Commissioned
- The Prophetic Mission Project: Discernment & Design
- Writing Your Prophetic Credo
- Mission Project: Shaping & Supervision
- Sending into the Mission Project
What it is built on
Three foundations, one thread
Scripture
The biblical school of discernment — Samuel learning to listen, Elijah’s “sound of sheer silence,” “test the spirits,” “by their fruits.”
The Carmelite tradition
The masters of prayer — above all John of the Cross and the Ascent of Mount Carmel — and Teresa of Ávila, Thérèse, Elijah of Carmel.
Catholic Social Teaching
Reading the signs of the times; justice, mercy and the common good as the shape of prophetic witness in the world.
How it runs
A rhythm that lets a vocation take root
Online, together
Fifteen sessions a year on Sundays (4:00–6:00 pm UK), two hours each — gathering and prayer, teaching, group sharing, contemplative practice, and a closing sending. Each year opens with a Pentecost retreat session.
Room to breathe
Three teaching blocks — summer, autumn and winter — with August and all of December kept free. In the breaks, small accompaniment groups keep the journey alive.
Formation, not information
A community of prophetic disciples who pray, discern and encourage one another — with a contemplative practice and a discerning journal woven through.
Key dates
The 2027–2029 cohort
The journey begins — opening retreat and the first year of formation.
Affirmation of Calling and the Certificate — and the opening of Year Two.
Mission Project presentations, the Diploma, and the sending forth.
Year One — 2027/28
- Opens — Pentecost, Sun 16 May 2027 (retreat session)
- Summer term — Sun 16 May to Sun 25 July 2027
- Autumn term — Sun 5 September to Sun 28 November 2027
- Winter sessions — Sun 9 January to Sun 23 January 2028
- Affirmation & Certificate — Pentecost, Sun 4 June 2028
Year Two — 2028/29
- Opens — Pentecost, Sun 4 June 2028 (retreat session)
- Summer term — Sun 4 June to Sun 13 August 2028
- Autumn term — Sun 3 September to Sun 26 November 2028
- Winter sessions — Sun 7 January to Sun 21 January 2029
- Commissioning & Diploma — Pentecost, Sun 20 May 2029
Sessions are fortnightly on Sundays; August and all of December are kept free, and spring is given to accompaniment and, in Year Two, the Mission Project.
The heart of Year Two
Your Prophetic Mission Project
In the second year you discern, design and carry out a sustained prophetic witness addressing a real need — in your parish, community, workplace or wider society. Shaped in the taught sessions, accompanied by a supervisor through the spring, and presented at the Commissioning. It may be a ministry, a community initiative, creative work, a formation resource, or a social-action project — whatever God is asking of you.
Who it is for
Open to all who feel the call
- Year One is open to all — no prior qualifications required, only a commitment to Christian discipleship and a willingness to engage prayerfully across the journey.
- Direct entry to Year Two is possible for those who can evidence prior formation (spiritual direction training, a theology degree, or recognised retreat-ministry experience), following an interview with the programme director.
- The programme is Catholic and Carmelite in root, and warmly ecumenical in spirit.
Fees
Accessible to serious disciples
Concessions and bursaries are available — no one should be prevented from attending by financial hardship. If none of the options above suits, please contact us at admin@cacs.org.uk and we will gladly arrange a payment plan that works for you.
Who leads it
A religious and lay team
Fr Alexander Ezechukwu OCD
Programme Director — Carmelite priest & Scripture scholar
John Dalla Costa
Programme Co-Lead — Theologian & ethicist; Catholic Social Teaching
Fr Rathan Almeida OCD
Programme Co-Lead — Systematic theology & Christology
Fr Liam Finnerty OCD
Tutor — Retreat ministry & mentoring
How to apply
Begin the conversation
Registration opens each year ahead of the Pentecost start, with an introductory Open Day. To register, enquire about bursaries, or simply ask a question, do get in touch.
Register“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” — Jeremiah 1:5