For many of us, our understanding of the Carmelites is limited to the lives and times of the sixteenth-century Spanish mystics, Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross. However, Wilfrid McGreal shows that if we want a way into Carmelite spirituality, we need to go back to its origins. How has the vision of the pilgrims and hermits who settled on Mount Carmel been sustained for some eight hundred years? What is the key to it, and how has it been re-imagined in different eras and cultures?

Throughout the ages, the Saints have testified to the fundamental truth of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the unity of those baptized in him--we do not advance in the life of the Spirit and in him alone, but in union with all believers. Among the first to recognize and closest to the Son of God, was St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Head of the Holy Family. In this 33 Day Consecration, modeled on the names of St. Joseph from the centuries old Litany, through prayer, fasting and charity, we promise devotion to this beloved Saint and invite his aid that we may draw higher and closer to our Lord, Jesus Christ. Each days offers a short meditation in coming to know Joseph and the work that he continues to accomplish for the Church. The daily prayers are culled from the long tradition of devotion to St. Joseph and written by many of the Saints we know, and some we do not.By Consecrating ourselves to St. Joseph, we ask the man chosen to be the Foster Father of the Son of God to become our Spiritual Father, as Mary is our Mother and Mother of the Church.

Presents the life of Edith Stein while going behind the well known labels--Jewess, philosopher, Carmelite nun, martyr of Auschwitz--to reveal the inner struggles of a truly inspirational person. Draws on her writings on prayer, some of which are not yet available in English.

Eight hundred years ago, Albert of Jerusalem gave the hermit-penitents of Mount Carmel a way of life to follow. Since then, this rule has inspired and formed mystics and scholars, men and women, lay and ordained to seek the living God. In The Carmelite Tradition Steven Payne, OCD, brings together representative voices to demonstrate the richness and depth of Carmelite spirituality. As he writes, Carmelite spirituality seeks nothing more nor less than to 'stand before the face of the living God' and prophesy with Elijah, to 'hear the word of God and keep it' with Mary, to grow in friendship with God through unceasing prayer with Teresa, to 'become by participation what Christ is by nature' as John of the Cross puts it, and thereby to be made, like Thérèse of Lisieux, into instruments of God's transforming merciful love in the church and society." The lives and writings in The Carmelite Tradition invite readers to stand with these holy men and women and seek God in the hermitage of the heart. Steven Payne, OCD, of the Washington Province of Discalced Carmelite Friars, is a member of the Carmelite Friars' formation team at the Monastery of St. John of the Cross near Nairobi, Kenya, and director of the Institute of Spirituality and Religious Formation (ISRF) at Tangaza College, a constituent college of the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) in Nairobi. He is the past editor of ICS Publications and of Spiritual Life magazine and the author of several works in philosophy of religion, theology, and Carmelite spirituality. He is a member of the Carmelite Forum and of the Carmelite Institute in Washington DC, of which he is a past president. "

Widely admired for his paintings of exquisitely beautiful Madonnas, Florentine Renaissance friar-artist Fra Filippo Lippi (c. 1406-69) gained renown also for his love affair with the nun Lucrezia who bore their son, Filippino Lippi, later a well-known painter himself. In this beautiful and compelling book, Megan Holmes shines new light on Lippi's life and career, from the first paintings he created while a friar in Santa Maria del Carmine to the later works he painted when living outside the monastery for the Medici family, their supporters, and other patrons. Focusing especially on the fascinating conjunction of Lippi's work as a painter and his experiences as a Carmelite friar, Holmes transforms our understanding of Filippo Lippi and of the way art was produced and viewed in fifteenth-century Florence. Unlike most monastic artists, Fra Filippo learned to paint only after joining a religious order. In the first section of the book, the author considers how the doctrines, rules, rituals, and practices of the Carmelites shaped Lippi's art and manner of envisioning sacred subjects. In the second section, Holmes discusses Lippi's life and painting after he left the monastery, demonstrating how his mature work broke new ground but continued to draw upon Carmelite influences. The final section of the book looks closely at three altarpieces Fra Filippo painted for monastic institutions and sets them in a broader social and religious context.

DIV It illumines the Bible like a searchlight, pointing out the mysteries of God. There still is much confusion and misuse of the office and the responsibilities of the prophet and the intercessor in the Christian arena. John and Paula Sandford explain how prophets are called and trained. With a great passion and urgency, they challenge all intercessors to realize and understand their vital role in the world today and how closely they must work with the prophets. John and Paula Sandford clearly explain: What it means to be called and trained as a prophet or intercessor How to understand dreams and visions and hear directly from God Why it is important for the body to work in unity This book is filled with spiritual discoveries that will effect dynamic changes in every reader. About the Authors John and Paula Sandford have applied the principles of this book with great success in their parenting of their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. The founders of Elijah House, the Sandfords are well known around the world for their contributions of teaching, counseling, writing, and leading in the fields of family living, inner healing, prophecy, social concerns, human behavior, and theology. They have written thirteen books. /div

Interdisciplinary studies on medieval mystics and their cultural background.