Carmelite Conversations

This particular program aired on the eve of the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. This feast recalls not only the Lord's arrival at the temple, but also the preparation of the two individuals who were able to recognize the Lord, Anna and Simeon. It is written that both these contemplative souls had prepared themselves well through prayer and fasting, and that they waited with heroic patience and perseverance for the arrival of the Lord. In a very real way they serve as models of the persons of prayer we are all called to be. In this program Mark and Frances pick up the conversation on the book by Fr. Donald Haggerty entitled "Contemplative Provocations." Here they discuss the clear signs that a person has begun to enter into contemplative prayer, and they provide recognizable affirmations that the can assure the soul they are not actually regressing or losing time in prayer. They also discuss the importance of not being led by our emotions in prayer, and how we must seek to go beyond a felt experience. Finally, Mark and Frances discuss the role of the mind in contemplative prayer, and most especially what we can do about the wild thoughts that so often try to distract us away from our loving focus on the Lord.

 

RESOURCES

Books:

“Contemplative Provocations” by Fr. Donald Haggerty, Ignatius Press.

 

“The Practice of Contemplation According to John of the Cross” by James W. Kinn, ICS Publications.

 

“Union with the Lord in Prayer” by Rev. Venard Poslusney, O.Carm, 101 Foundation.

 

“My Only Friend is Darkness: Living the Night of Faith with St. John of the Cross” by Barbara Dent, ICS Publications.

 

“The Dark Night” from “The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross,” Translated by Kieran Kavanaugh, OCD and Otilio Rodriguez, OCD, ICS Publications.

This program originally aired on the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. During this conversation Mark and Frances first discuss the event of Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus. What is most striking about this event is the presence of the unbearable light that Paul cannot view with his human eye. Instead, Paul is gifted with spiritual vision and provided an encounter with Christ that, in some way, we are all called to. We are called to this light because we are all called to ever deepening levels of conversion. The conversation then moves on to look in detail at our individual call to a contemplative encounter with Christ. For this conversation Mark and Frances are using a book entitled "Contemplative Provocations" by a Fr. Donald Haggerty. Fr. Haggerty gives due credit to St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross for many of the insights he shares in this series of reflections. This first in a series of discussions on this book focuses on how and why God often conceals Himself when we seek Him in contemplative prayer. Mark and Frances also discuss how we must continue to respond in faith to these early and often confusing first stages on contemplative prayer.

 

RESOURCES

Books:

“Contemplative Provocations: Brief, Concentrated Obersvations on Aspects of a Life with God” by Fr. Donald Haggerty, Ignatius Press.

 

“The Practice of Contemplation According to John of the Cross” by James W. Kinn, ICS Publications.

OCDS stands for Order of Carmel Discalced Seculars. Many have never heard of this 3rd part of the Order of Carmel. Guest, Colleen Sollinger, a professed Secular Discalced Carmelite, answers lots of questions on this topic. What is an OCDS? What kind of people are attracted to and suited for the OCDS? What happens at their meetings? How do you discern if you are being called to Carmel? What is required? This program sheds light on what one might expect when making their first visit to an OCDS meeting.

 

RESOURCES

Books:

“Welcome to the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites” by Fr. P. Aloysius Deeney, OCD

 

“Carmelite Spirituality in the Teresian Tradition” by Paul-Marie of the Cross, OCD

 

“The Springs of Carmel” by Peter Slattery

 

“Climbing the Mountain: the Carmelite Journey” by Johan Bergstron-Allen, T.O.C.

With these words St. Paul is intending to encourage and lift the spirits of the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 2:9) to whom he is writing in this letter from the New Testament. In this uplifting conversation about reflecting on the Glory of Heaven, Mark and Frances discuss what so many of the Saints have written and spoken about the remarkable joy that awaits us in our final home. After a brief explanation of the various definitions of what the Catholic Church teaches about the nature of Heaven and how the faithful will dwell there, Mark and Frances go on to describe what matters now, what should we and must we be doing in this life to prepare ourselves, both for entry into and the fullest experience of our life to come. Drawing from the reflections of the Beautiful soul known as Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity, this conversation emphasizes that we are in possession of eternity even now, but we still have a role to play in bringing clarity to our vision of it, “We will be glorified in the measure in which we have been conformed to the image of His Divine Son.” (Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity, the Complete Works) This is a program that will provide great consolation as it reflects on the Glory and Majesty of our future, but will also challenge the listener to step out in faith and do whatever our Lord asks of us that we might more fully conform ourselves to His image.

 

RESOURCES

Visions of Heaven

Article by Tim Staples at  http://www.catholic.com/blog/tim-staples/what-is-heaven

 

Book: “Inside Heaven and Hell: What History, Theology, and the Mystics Tell Us about the Afterlife” by Thomas W. Petrisko, St. Andrew’s Productions.

In this first week of January in the year 2016 we will again celebrate the Epiphany of our Lord. This is a celebration rich with Meaning for our individual spiritual lives, and it is important to understand some of the major symbols of this event, and also for us to each enter into a personal reflection of what the Epiphany means for us. In this conversation Mark and Frances begin by exploring some of more significant meanings around the Church's understanding of Epiphany, including Divine Manifestation, Royal Kingship, The Light that Comes into the World, and finally, the Royal Nuptials, or the analogy to the Wedding Celebration. During the second half of the program, Mark and Frances walk the listener through an actual Lectio Divina on the Epiphany, taken from the verses describing this in Matthew 2:1-9. This is a wonderful opportunity to prepare for Epiphany, or to reflect, at any time of year, on the meaning of the Lord's revealing of Himself to our world - a world so desperately in need of this encounter with our Living God.

 

RESOURCES

Website: http://ocarm.org/en/content/lectio

The great philosopher Soren Kierkegaard once said, "The present state of the world and all of life is diseased. If I were a doctor and were asked my advice, I should reply: Create Silence! Bring men to Silence. The word of God cannot be heard in the noisy world of today. This conversation focuses on the celebration of the Feast of St. John of the Cross. We briefly discuss the theme of silence in John's own writings and the importance of it in his life, but then we go on to see how John's writings and teaching on the theme of silence so profoundly impacted Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity, and how she married John's poetry to her own experience of entering into a silent and intimate encounter with the Lord. Since this is December, the conversation also reflects on our own need to enter into silence in anticipation of the arrival of the Lord, and how the Blessed Mother was for John, Elizabeth and can be for us, the model of the interior soul, waiting in silence for the arrival of the gift of her son.

 

RESOURCES

The Twelve Degrees of Silence by Marie-Aimee of Jesus; Trans. from the French by Souer Ginette, Missionary Recluse

 

The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross, ICS Publications.

 

Elizabeth of the Trinity: The Compete Works, Vol. 1: General Introduction, Major Spiritual Writings,” ICS Publications.

 

A Soul of Silence: Sister Elizabeth of the Trinity  by Mary Amabel du Coeur de Jesus,OCD

At the request of one of our listeners, Mark and Frances chose to have a conversation about one of the most important Carmelite Saints in the recent history of the Church, St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, or Edith Stein. After a brief biographical sketch, Mark and Frances discuss a very special, but lesser known work of St. Teresa Benedicata of the Cross, a Lecture she offered to a group of Catholic academics entitled, 'The Mystery of Christmas.' In this short but profound work, Edith Stein offers a powerful reflection on the mystery of the Incarnation, and what this mystery means for each of us who call ourselves Christians. The centerpiece of this reflection is the importance of relying on God's Will in all things - this is truly the virtue of Faith lived out in the midst of the often difficult and confusing reality of the human experience. Even though speaking at the time as primarily an academic, Edith Stein none-the-less shows great spiritual wisdom in challenging us to give up our reliance on earthly wisdom and earthly solutions, and instead to abandon ourselves into the arms of our Father, just as the Christ Child did when He willing came as the light of the world to a small stable in Bethlehem.

 

RESOURCES

Pamphlet (Lecture): Mystery of Christmas: Incarnation and Humanity by Edith Stein (aka St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross); Trans. from the German by Sister Josephine rucker, S. S. J.; Printed at Darlington Carmel

 

Marian Consecration Books:

Preparation for the Total Consecration according to Saint Louis Marie de Montfort; Montfort Publications; By Shore, New York.

 

In the End My Immaculate Heart Will Triumph: Consecration Preparation for the Triumphant Victory of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Queenship Publishing Company; Santa Barbara, California.

 

Consecration to Jesus through Mary: Following the Plan of St. Louis de Montfort, Children of the Father Foundation; Newtown Square, Pennsylvania.

 

33 Days to Morning Glory: a Do-It-Yourself Retreat in Preparation for Marian Consecration by Michael E. Gaitley, MIC; Marian Press.

 

Website: www.myconsecration.org

 

Four Common Tactics of the Devil

 

The Five D's of the Demonic

This program originally aired just after the first Sunday of Advent. Here Frances and Mark explore a little about the meaning of Advent and the Liturgical Calendar for the Season. They discuss each of the four weeks of Advent and their individual focus on some aspect of preparing for the arrival of Christmas. They also offer a somewhat more challenging message about the coming of the Lord from a reflection written by a woman who understood that there are two Comings of Christ, and each individual Advent Season is designed to better prepare us for His eventual Second Coming. Finally, this program discusses some of the important symbols of the Advent Season, goes over the Mass Readings for the first two weeks of Advent (2015), and then offers some very practical advice on how we might individually prepare ourselves for the Coming of the Lord.

 

RESOURCES

Advent prayers and commentary