Christmas Preparation for Carmelites

What can we do to be better predisposed to receive God’s Grace leading to Union with Him?  We know that “only the pure of heart see God.”  So, how do we purify our hearts most effectively?  Discalced Secular Carmelite Deacon Mark Danis gives us great insights on this topic and quotes St. Elizabeth of the Trinity to help us understand.

Mountains play a prominent role in Carmelite Spirituality and in Prayer.  What does the mountain represent?  In the scriptures, we read about the Prophet Elijah and mountains.  What did the mountains represent for Elijah?  Even our Lord went to the mountains many times in His life.  How does that connect to our lives today?

How did the title of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel come about?  What is the connection with the Prophet Elijah?  How did the spirituality of Elijah spread across the world?  What happened on July 16th that is so significant to Carmelites?  What is the connection of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel to the Church approved apparitions of Our Lady in Lourdes and in Fatima?  How are we connected today?

In marriage preparation, Catholic couples are instructed about the Covenant of Love.  The elements  in particular that are addressed are being free, full, faithful, and fruitful.  Deacon Rusty Baldwin, OCDS, analyzes these same elements as it relates to Carmelite spirituality.  It is very enlightening and enriching. 

The “Will” in the Prayer of Contemplation (Ch. 13 of the book).   Soren Kierkegaard said, Purity of Heart is to Will One Thing. This one thing of course is God's Will. St. John of the Cross speaks about the activity of the will as much if not more than any of the other faculties of the human person. The other two are intellect and memory. But it is the will that most significantly drives human behavior. The will is perfected through the virtue of charity, which is to say, all our thoughts, words and actions must be simple expressions of love. In this program, St. John of the Cross's words explain how we must overcome the natural tendency on the part of our will to seek satisfaction in prayer. We must never try to recapture or recreate gratifying experiences in our time in prayer. This would only serve as an attempt on our part to create our own image of God, one we both could then relate to and find our own satisfaction in. The most appropriate explanation here is that we should never attempt to find ourselves in God, but rather we should seek to find God in us. This road to union with God requires a radical purification of all that our senses and imagination could create; God is beyond all that. The only way for us to encounter God is through a process of naked faith, a letting go of all within us that is not God. A deep poverty of spirit is necessary, we must empty ourselves of all self-love, we must follow the example of Christ crucified. For it is a truth of the mystical life that the degree to which our will is united with the will of God determines the depth of love within our soul.   Books:    “Saint John of the Cross:  Master of Contemplation” by Fr. Donald Haggerty; Ignatius Press.   “The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross” by John of the Cross; ICS Publications.    

During this Lenten season, and by focusing on a few important points in the scripture passage on the Samaritan Woman, Deacon Mark Danis uses the lense of contemplation to highlight the importance of coming to know the truth about ourselves so that by coming into the light, we may be transformed by God.

So often in the spiritual journey, we can run into roadblocks. We can mistakenly perceive that we have gotten off course, and we might immediately seek to turn back to find the right path again. However, if we are walking the path of contemplation, there will most certainly be times of darkness, instances where we may feel we have done something wrong, and where we are no longer experiencing the satisfactions we once knew in prayer. It is in these times when we need to continue our prayer with a deeper degree of faith and even a more intense desire to encounter God. At this more advanced stage of the spiritual journey, God is intentionally withholding the experience of His presence so that He can do a deeper work of purification within our souls. In addition, He is asking us to practice a purer faith, and to allow Him to do this work in us. This conversation walks through the experience of this phase of prayer, and Mark and Frances describe how the soul should respond when God is calling it to this new and deeper encounter.    Books:  “Saint John of the Cross:  Master of Contemplation” by Fr. Donald Haggerty; Ignatius Press. “The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross” by John of the Cross; ICS Publications.

If you feel as though you have reached a plateau in your prayer life, or after many years of active prayer, you feel as though you are suddenly stuck, it may be the Lord is calling you to a deeper encounter with Him. The spiritual life is not static, it moves through different phases. And, like any relationship, if it is going to continue to grow, there must be changes in the way we approach prayer. There eventually comes a time in our prayer life when the Lord takes a more active role, and He needs us to begin to detach ourselves from our usual way of finding Him in prayer. This is a process of the Lord moving from our more comfortable and active practice of meditation, to a more destabilizing but interior practice of contemplation. Our primary response must be surrender and receptivity. In this next phase of the journey to God, we must be willing to allow Him to draw us toward Himself, into a place of quiet serenity. This conversation outlines both the prerequisites for this movement and the disposition the soul must develop in order to continue to make progress.   Books:  “Saint John of the Cross:  Master of Contemplation” by Fr. Donald Haggerty; Ignatius Press. “The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross” by John of the Cross; ICS Publications.      

What is like to enter into the 7th Dwelling Place?  What was it like for St. Teresa?  Then we turn to a discussion about spiritual marriage.  We focus on what this experience/union with God was like for St. Teresa.  These chapters truly help us to have Holy Amazement!   RESOURCES:  “Interior Castle, Study Guide, 2nd Edition” by St. Teresa of Avila; Translated and Prepared by Kieran Kavanaugh, OCD; ICS Publications. “The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila,” Vol. 1 (includes “The Book of Her Life, Spiritual Testimonies, Soliloquies”) by St. Teresa of Avila, Translated by Kieran Kavanaugh, OCD and Otilio Rodriguez, OCD; ICS Publications. “The Ordinary Path to Holiness” by R. Thomas Richard, PhD; St. Pauls, 2003. “Journey into Divine Intimacy with St. Teresa of Avila” by Sr. Leslie Lund, OCDH; Carmelite Sisters of Mary Publishers, 2019. “The Interior Journey Toward God:  Reflections from Saint Teresa of Avila,” by John Paul Thomas; My Catholic Life! Inc., 2022. “I Want to See God” by P. Marie Eugene, OCD; Christian Classics. “The Spiritual Life:  A Treatise on Ascetical and Mystical Theology” by Adolph Tanquerey, SS, DD; Tan Books. “Divine Intimacy” by Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, OCD; Tan Books.    

Deacon Mark Danis, OCDS, shares ways to prepare during Advent for the birth of our Lord. He provides suggestions specific for Secular Carmelites. This talk was given during a Holy Hour.