  We discuss the optical loading of a Bose-Einstein condensate in the
Thomas-Fermi regime. The condensate is loaded via spontaneous emission from a
reservoir of excited-state atoms. By means of a master equation formalism, we
discuss the modification of the condensate temperature during the loading. We
identify the threshold temperature, $T_{th}$, above (below) which the loading
process leads to cooling (heating), respectively. The consequences of our
analysis for the continuous loading of an atom laser are discussed.
