Blog | Carmelite Spirituality
Rediscovering the Rosary with Archbishop Jose Gomez
An excerpt from Archbishop Jose Gomez’s weekly column in The Tidings…
“May is Mary’s month and the Rosary is Mary’s prayer. It is a simple prayer, one that many of us learned as children. And as we grow older…
Schools Without Books
During the 1920s the government grew increasingly hostile to the Catholic Church and the schools became unsafe for Catholic children. The bishop had to tell all the Catholic families in his diocese not to send their children to the public schools anymore. So the good Catholics of the Los Altos region of Jalisco, Mexico, removed their children from the schools and taught them at home as best as they could.
The Scapular…a Sign of Mary’s Motherhood
Mary is no less concerned than our earthly mothers but her care lies primarily in the spiritual realm; thus she clothes us in garments that are a sign of our special relationship with her, a sign of her protection and of our dignity as Christians and in the case of the Brown Scapular of our belonging to the Family of Carmel.
How to Overcome Worry by Trusting God
Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength.
Mary…Mother of God, Mother of Mine
During Christmas our eyes are drawn toward the figure of Mary lovingly beholding the Infant Jesus lying in the manger or perhaps she is holding Him in her arms. Contemplating Our Lady in her role as mother and caretaker of Jesus as an infant and little boy, it is so easy to imagine her singing to Him, putting Him to bed at night, kissing a skinned knee if He fell while at play.
A Christmas Contemplation
Sometimes the early morning sky, just before the light of the new day dawns, is so still and quiet that I think I am at the threshold of heaven. The atmosphere itself is permeated in a prayerful stillness.
What is meant by “prayer life”?
ach human person is made up of two essential parts, body and soul. The body we can see; the soul we can’t see. The body is material; the soul is spiritual. God dwells in the soul through grace. We call this the “Indwelling Presence,” or the “Divine Indwelling.” From time to time, each person becomes aware of the soul through an interior nudging of the Holy Spirit.
St. John of the Cross…Window Gazer
St. John of the Cross was a “window gazer”. It was one of his ways of praying through God’s creation. Looking through his window, with his elbows on the window sill, he would become absorbed in deep prayer from the beauty of the flowers seen during the day to the majestic wonders of the star-studded sky at night.
The Heavenly Host: Carmelite All Souls
Just as the universal Church commemorates November 2nd as the feast of All Souls remembering those persons who have now died and may still be in Purgatory, the Carmelites set aside November 15th for those in their religious family who are still awaiting their entrance into heaven from Purgatory.
2 Doctors, 2 Ways, 1 Goal: St. Teresa and St. Therese
Mountain climbing offers us a picture of life. Just as mountain climbers are wise to choose experienced guides, so too in life we can benefit from those who have already made the journey up the mountain and reached their goal. During this month of October we celebrate two Carmelite Saints who scaled the heights of Mount Carmel.