OUR SLOW JOURNEY OF LOVE INTO GOD’S WORD-III

The God of the Bible Is the God of Our LifeA centerpiece of this journey for God’s people was the Exodus: the liberation from slavery, the passage through the desert and the entry into the Promised Land. The power of this experience guided the people all through an often-torturous history. Again and...

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OUR SLOW JOURNEY OF LOVE INTO GOD’S WORD-II

The Chosen People’s Experience of GodI recall a simple gesture in one my classes some time ago. A husband arrived late and gave a short, affectionate kiss to his wife of many years as he sat down next to her. That kiss was quite modest yet expressive of a deep reality. It was not just a display of affection....

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OUR SLOW JOURNEY OF LOVE INTO GOD’S WORD

Reflection IIt was 1954, nine years before Vatican II. I was completely packed to leave for the Carmelite seminary. My dilemma was that I still had a gift of a large bible. Like most Catholics at the time, I had no interest in the bible. However, I had great love and respect for my parish priest who...

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THE THIRD DWELLING PLACES

Part Two The third dwelling places make clear that deep personal prayer is the way to move beyond the restraining power of our personal brokenness. It is faithfulness to the discipline of daily prayer that opens the way to freedom and healing, service and love for others.Settling for LessWe have arrived...

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THE INTERIOR CASTLE: THE THIRD DWELLING PLACES

Part OneThe third dwelling places is where the “good guys” become “bad guys”. Only when they recognize themselves as “bad guys” are they able to truly begin the journey to become authentically “good guys” through humility and the mercy of God. It is like the Gospel that repeats over and over again,...

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THE SECOND DWELLING PLACES

Part Two(In the second dwelling places it becomes clear that Teresa is not primarily interested in offering a method of prayer. Her goal is to describe the individual’s growing awareness of the experience of God. She is describing the journey to the center where God awaits. Prayer is the way forward...

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LEARNING HOW TO PRAY

A Call to Deep Personal PrayerThis is first in a series of reflections of learning to pray in the context of Carmelite Spirituality.ITeresa’s Fundamental InsightI have read Teresa of Avila’s classic, The Interior Castle, many times. I have paid a bit more attention to the third, fourth and fifth dwelling...

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THE DARK NIGHT CRISIS AND ELIJAH OUR MODEL

Section One For john of the Cross the Dark Night, contemplation and the transforming action of God in our lives are all intimately connected realities. For John, “Contemplation is none other than a secret, peaceful and loving infusion of God, which if the soul allows it to happen, infuses a spirit of...

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THE DARK NIGHT AND THE TRAGIC IN LIFE

Trouble will be there until the end. We see the mixture of good and evil in all levels of reality: the family, our community, our parish, our society and, most of all, within ourselves. In the parable of the weeds and the wheat (Mt: 13:24-30) Jesus captures one of the deepest aspects of our human experience.I...

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WHAT HAPPENS IN THE DARK NIGHT?

John of the cross was both a theologian and a mystic. As a theologian explaining the Dark Night, John seems to pursue endless definitions and clarifications. In the end however, John is more mystic than theologian.In setting up the analysis of the Dark Night, John develops two sets of major categories....

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THE DARK NIGHT BEGINS-2

In our day, John of the Cross’ Dark Night really needs a creative press agent. His great teaching suffers from misinformation on all sides.Here are some common misrepresentations of John’s teaching on the Dark Night. Many people believe:It is just for truly holy people.It is almost applied to any serious...

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THE DARK NIGHT-01

Preamble to a Few Reflections on the Dark Night In the Interior Castle, Teresa draws a rather attractive picture of a person in the Third Dwelling Places. On the surface the person is prayerful and virtuous. There is a feeling of real progress in the spiritual life. Then Teresa goes on to show that...

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CONTEMPLATION

In the fourth dwelling places something different happens. There is a profound but subtle change. The experience of God in prayer at this new level is totally different. Up to this point, the mind and imagination have played the critical role to get us in touch with God. Now, God takes a new role. This...

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CHRISTIAN MEDITATION

Christian Meditation enriches but does not replace other prayers such as Lectio Divina, the liturgy, spiritual reading and devotions. Christian Meditation is the foundation of a rich and committed spiritual life. If practiced daily over a period of time, perceptible changes in one’s life will occur....

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CHRISTIAN MEDITATION

Fr. Ernest Larkin, O. Carm. was a highly respected spokesperson for the Carmelite tradition. He was a pioneer of modern Carmelite spirituality. Vatican II challenged him to the core but eventually freed him. This new wisdom helped him develop original insights of relevance in the Carmelite tradition....

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CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER

Homecoming for Contemplative Prayer For several centuries contemplative prayer was all but forbidden. It was considered appropriate for a few exceptional individuals who were considered very advanced in the spiritual life. It was extremely restricted. Discursive meditation, a more complicated method...

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DESCRIPTION OF THE INTERIOR CASTLE

Teresa sets the stage for the journey with the image of the castle. In reality, she is talking about the human person. The path is to God at the center, the ultimate destiny of all. The trip through the seven dwelling places is a description of the experience of God. It all begins when the individual...

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THE INTERIOR CASTLE: A SUMMARY

This is a brief description of Teresa of Avila’s classic, The Interior Castle. The first and obvious question when approaching this spiritual classic is, why concern ourselves with a book written for a small number of cloistered nuns over four hundred years ago? The reason is that the text is a spiritual...

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