Carmelite Spirituality

The Autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila is one of the most remarkable life stories ever written. For here, in a scrupulously accurate translation that is beloved by the Carmelites, the great Reformer of Carmel describes her life and the extraordinary workings of grace within her soul. St. Teresa's vigorous prose shows forth her robust common sense, as well as her strong Catholic faith, which embraces wholeheartedly those teachings of Christ which the world finds most absurd. St. Teresa describes her own spiritual struggles, her long period of spiritual laxity, her vision of her potential place in Hell, the great assistance she received from St. Joseph, her many mystical graces-including visions and locutions-her fears of delusion by Satan and the guidance she received from learned spiritual directors, such as St. Peter of Alcantara (1499-1562). Her ardent spirit shines forth as she writes of what she holds most dear: the faithful service of God-"His Majesty," as she calls Him-and her great eagerness for more souls to withdraw from the worthless pleasures of this earth and give themselves to Him. St. Teresa of Avila was one of the most admirable and colorful women of all time, who despite her mystical gifts, remained intensely practical and down-to-earth, such that she was much loved in her own lifetime. And The Autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila is an ever-fresh source of inspiration from which the reader will come to know the great Madre Teresa and to understand a -little better the Divine Majesty she served. As to fine and beautiful things, such as water, fields, perfume, music, etc., I think I would rather not have them, so great is the difference between them and what I am in the habit of seeing, and so all pleasure in them is gone from me. Hence it is that I care not for them, unless it be at the first sight: they never make any further impression; to me they seem but dirt. -Relations, I (page 429).

This book contains Letters from 1546 to 1577. Includes Introductions, Endnotes, Biographical Sketches and Index.

This is the second edition of volume One of The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, first woman doctor of the church. The translators have taken full advantage of all that recent scholarship has contributed to a better understanding of Teresa and her writings. This volume includes her first major work, The Book of Her Life, and two of her shorter works, the Spiritual Testimonies and the Soliloquies. Clear and contemporary, this rendering captures Teresa's spirit while remaining faithful to her thought. Includes general and biblical index.

While imprisoned in a tiny prison cell for his attempts to reform the Church, sixteenth-century Spanish mystic John of the Cross composed many of his now classic poems of the soul's longing for God. Written on a scroll smuggled to him by one of his guards, his songs are the ultimate expression of the spiritual seeker's journey from estranged despair to blissful union with the divine

After escaping his captors, John fell into a state of profound ecstasy and wrote Dark Night of the Soul. Later, he added an important commentary to his poem to guide other searching souls along the arduous path to communion with God. Here, for the first time, a scholar unaffiliated with the Catholic Church has translated this timeless work. Mirabai Starr, who has studied Buddhism, Hinduism, and Judaism, lends the seeker's sensibility to John's powerful text and brings this classic work to the twenty-first century in a brilliant and beautiful rendering

On the same summer day in 1942, Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) and hundreds of other Catholic Jews were arrested in Holland by the occupying Nazis. One hundred thirteen of those taken into custody, several of them priests and nuns, perished at Auschwitz and other concentration camps. They were murdered in retaliation for the anti-Nazi pastoral letter written by the Dutch Catholic bishops.

While Saint Teresa Benedicta is the most famous member of this group, having been canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1998, all of them deserve the title of martyr, for they were killed not only because they were Jews but also because of the faith of the Church, which had compelled the Dutch bishops to protest the Nazi regime. Through extensive research in both original and secondary sources, P.W.F.M. Hamans has compiled these martyrs' biographies, several of them detailed and accompanied by photographs. Included in this volume are some remarkable conversion stories, including that of Edith Stein, the German philosopher who had entered the Church in 1922 and later became a Carmelite nun, taking the name Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross.

Several of the witnesses chronicled here had already suffered for their faith in Christ before falling victim to Hitler's "Final Solution," enduring both rejection by their own people, including family members, and persecution by the so-called Christian society in which they lived. Among these were those who, also like Sister Teresa Benedicta, perceived the cross they were being asked to bear and accepted it willingly for the salvation of the world. Illustrated

Edith Stein's writings on woman are the fruit of both reflection and debate with other leaders of the Catholic feminist movement in German-speaking countries between the World Wars. Edith Stein has been called one of the most significant German-Jewish women of the 20th century. Includes topical and place index.

This second of three volumes of her Complete Works contains all of Elizabeth's surviving letters from Carmel. It includes 8 photos, background information and the horarium for the Dijon Carmel, as well as the floor plan for the monastery. In simple and tender language, writing to friends and family, Elizabeth returns again and again to the great themes of her spirituality: the indwelling Trinity, silence and solitude, living by love, becoming a "praise of glory" (laudem gloriae) by sharing in the dying and rising of Jesus Christ. Here too we find many of her best-known sayings, e.g., "I have found my heaven on earth, for heaven is God, and God is in my soul."

Reprint of popular introduction to the mystical way, based on the teachings of Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross, and written by a Secular Carmelite especially for lay readers. The wisdom of St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross has been distilled to help us understand the stages and experiences of the inner journey. The reader is guided through the classic works of these time-tested directors, in a logical, easily understood fashion.

Elizabeth of the Trinity (Elizabeth Catez) was a young French woman who became a Discalced Carmelite in the Carmel of Dijon. She was just twenty-one when she died in 1906. But those few years were enough for her to develop and deepen a distinctive approach to God, one that has since inspired countless people in their quest for a deeper relationship with the indwelling God. Although influenced by St. Thrse of Lisieux, Elizabeths spirituality is distinctive, highly biblical, simple to understand and to practice. Her perennial theme is the Blessed Trinitys indwelling within the human persona reality promised in the Gospel, discovered in the silence of prayer and adoration, and then lived out in love for God and neighbor.

A personal retreat based on St. Therese of Lisieux. A wondrous distillation of the teachings of St. Th r se of Lisieux on God's love and on confidence in Him; on humility, peace, and charity; on the Cross; and on abandonment to Providence. Learn to rest in God amid troubles, living joyfully with Him always.

Interior Castle guides the spiritual seeker through each stage of development until the soul's final union with the divine. Includes an introduction written by Teresa Tomeo.

Living the Mystery of Merciful Love: 30 Days with Thrse of Lisieux is the latest in the Navigating the Interior Life series, which brings the wisdom of the saints into the hands of today's readers. In this presentation of intimate letters from St. Thrse of Lisieux to her sisters and close friends, authors Anthony Lilles and Dan Burke lay out the Little Flower's program for complete self-offering to God through her Oblation to Merciful Love.

Millions love St. Therese of Lisieux, not only for her wisdom, but for her unwavering passion to serve God in life and in death. Listen with your heart as this most popular of saints speaks with simple charm about her life. These 120 readings excerpted from the writings of St. Therese of Lisieux will help you get to know first hand the pure, simple girl whom Pope Pius X called "the greatest saint of modern times.

The original guide to "practicing the presence of God"

"We must not grow weary of doing little things for the love of God, who looks not on the great size of the work, but on the love of it."
In this classic work, which has instructed and inspired millions, a humble 17th-century monk reveals the secrets of daily, moment-by-moment fellowship with God. "In the way of God, thoughts count very little," writes Brother Lawrence, who spent much of his monastic life in the kitchen. "Love does it all." Full of realistic honesty, friendliness, and simplicity, Brother Lawrence shows that it is possible to meet God amongst the pots and pans--in the ordinary, daily events of life. This edition, rendered from the original French into graceful, contemporary English, will nourish and delight all those who seek to practice the presence of God.