This book offers one of the most fruitful and popular practices of Christian devotion: the Way of the Cross, or Stations of the Cross, from a Carmelite perspective. The reader has the opportunity to make the Way of the Cross with five inspiring Carmelite saints: John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila, Thérèse of Lisieux, Edith Stein (Teresa Benedicta of the Cross) and Elizabeth of the Trinity. In effect, the book provides five different Ways of the Cross which the reader can use for prayer. A complete set of reflections from each saint includes a brief Scripture passage, followed by a selection from the saint’s writings; footnotes identify the source document for each. These saints have a perennial message for us, helping us to mine, as St. John of the Cross described it, the deep, inexhaustible love and riches of Christ, especially demonstrated in his Passion, death and resurrection. The Way of the Cross with the Carmelite Saints is an ideal prayer resource for the Lenten season, or for personal prayer and reflection at any time throughout the year.

This book offers one of the most fruitful and popular practices of Christian devotion: the Way of the Cross, or Stations of the Cross, from a Carmelite perspective. The reader has the opportunity to make the Way of the Cross with five inspiring Carmelite saints: John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila, Thérèse of Lisieux, Edith Stein (Teresa Benedicta of the Cross) and Elizabeth of the Trinity. In effect, the book provides five different Ways of the Cross which the reader can use for prayer. A complete set of reflections from each saint includes a brief Scripture passage, followed by a selection from the saint’s writings; footnotes identify the source document for each. These saints have a perennial message for us, helping us to mine, as St. John of the Cross described it, the deep, inexhaustible love and riches of Christ, especially demonstrated in his Passion, death and resurrection. The Way of the Cross with the Carmelite Saints is an ideal prayer resource for the Lenten season, or for personal prayer and reflection at any time throughout the year.

Centered on prayer and contemplation, Carmelite spirituality seeks to awaken in its practitioners an intense thirst for an immediate and direct experience of God, from which can grow a deep and loving friendship with Him. Most fully developed by St. John of the Cross (d. 1591) and St. Teresa of Avila (d. 1582) and then further enriched by St. Thérèse of Lisieux (d. 1897), Carmelite spirituality flourishes in solitude and silence, nurtured by quieting external noise and turning away from interior distractions. Not at all limited to persons in monastic or convent life, Carmelite spirituality is meant for all who yearn for a deeper and sustained union with God. That is, it is meant for you. In this illuminating book, the Swedish Carmelite Cardinal Anders Arborelius shows you how, by praying, sacrificing, and meditating in your own particular circumstances, as the great Carmelite saints did in theirs, you, too, can awaken to the sweet presence of God within you and grow ever more eager to hurry toward Him in your daily pilgrimage toward eternity. With the help of good Cardinal Arborelius and these enlightening pages, you'll learn: Why true silence is necessary if you are ever to be transformed by the Word of God How to access — or create for yourself — such a transforming silence Why temptations are an essential part of every living spiritual life How, even amid tasks and temptations, you can recognize the enduring presence of Christ in your life How, if you ask with sincerity, the Holy Spirit will rush to your aid as you advance step by step toward an abiding intimacy with Jesus and with God the Father

Christian perfection consists in the twofold way of charity: service of neighbor and our direct quest for God's love. Many of us discover ways to love our neighbor, but few achieve intimacy with God. Why? Because we don't know how to prepare ourselves properly to reach this exalted goal. In these pages, Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen lays out for us a time-tested path toward achieving complete intimacy with God, the path first mapped out centuries ago by the Church's acclaimed master of the contemplative life, St. John of the Cross (1542-1591). St. John showed that God hungers for union with each of us but also requires arduous efforts on our part, the many details of which Father Gabriel explains in these enlightening pages. Do you perceive holiness as an unattainable goal for you? Or is fear of the fatigue of such an effort holding you back? Absorb this book, and allow gentle St. John to take you by the hand and lead you — as he has led so many others — to true intimacy with our Lord.

This book is a revised edition of the classic overview of the principal texts, themes, and teachings of Carmel: Elijah and Mary, the Rule of St. Albert, the Carmelite understanding of prayer, and the message of Sts. Teresa, John of the Cross, and Thérèse. Carmel is known above all for her priceless heritage of spirituality. For centuries, in the spirit of Elijah and the ancient prophets, Carmelites have sought to encounter the living God and to teach others the ways of prayer. In sixteenth-century Spain, Saint Teresa of Avila brought renewed vitality to this religious family by inaugurating a reform movement that became known as the Discalced Carmelites, a new and fruitful branch on an ancient vine. Carmelite Spirituality in the Teresian Tradition, first published in English in 1959, provides a concise and inspiring overview of Carmel's spiritual heritage from a Teresian perspective. Renowned Discalced Carmelite author Paul-Marie of the Cross identifies the principal texts, themes, figures, and teachings of Carmel: Elijah and Mary, the Rule of St. Albert and the Book of the Institution of the First Monks, the Carmelite understanding of contemplation and the degrees of prayer, the message of Saints Teresa, John of the Cross, and Thérèse of Lisieux. This classic essay, long out of print, is here updated and reprinted for a new generation of seekers longing to slake their spiritual thirst at the fount of Carmel.

This is a very unique calendar featuring a quote each day from one of the Carmelite Saints or Blesseds, followed by a personal reflection on that quote. The nuns at that time wished to honor two significant dates; the first being the two hundredth anniversary of the arrival of four Carmelite Nuns who bravely set forth by ship from Belgium to found the first Carmel in America, in Port Tobacco, Maryland. The second date they were honoring was the 400th Anniversary of the holy death of St. John of the Cross in 1591, who accompanied and greatly helped St. Teresa of Avila in her foundations. These reflections are the fruit of prayer, spiritual reading and Lectio Divina of these Nuns, and are a wonderful way to become acquainted with the vitality and freshness of Carmelite spirituality. The Authors: the authors were the Nuns themselves of the Carmels that were members of the St. Teresa Association in 1990. At that time there were twelve Carmels, and each Carmel assumed responsibility for one month. Then the Nuns of that particular monastery would write up a quote from one of their Carmelite saints, and added their own personal reflection or meditation on that quote. So each day is entirely unique filled with the spirit and wisdom coming from those whose entire lives are suffused with the love of Carmelite spirituality.