Book Reviews

I wanted to call your attention to this new book from the Catholic University of America Press. It's written by Keith Egan and introduced by Fr. Steven Payne, OCD. It takes a thorough look at our Carmelite charism. I haven't read it yet, but perhaps a community member will and post a review.

www.cuapress.org

Vatican II initiated lively conversations about the identity of religious orders and congregations when the council pointed out that these religious communit...

A Carmelite priest once told me a story.

There was a man running in great fear from a pack of angry wolves in the late evening when it was dark. He came close to the edge of a cliff and paused. He heard the angry wolves, and then he heard a voice within say “jump.” Wrapped in his fears, he jumped and managed to catch a small tree growing from the side of the cliff. There he clung for some time. Finally, in total darkness, he heard the voice say “let go!” But he continued to cling to the tree as he could not see the bottom. The voice repeated: “let go!” so with a big sigh of surrender, he let go and fell to the bottom just three feet below his feet.

In Saint John of the Cross, Master of Contemplation by Fr. Donald Haggerty (Ignatius Press), he cautions…

I came across this book of meditations on the Beatitudes while looking for a different book at Ignatius Press, one of those moments I attribute to the Holy Spirit, causing me to pause and look at this one. It is published by Magnificat, who ask in the Introduction: "...what, concretely, does a holy life look like? The simple answer is: the Beatitudes."

In our Promises as Secular Carmelites we "promise to tend toward evangelical perfection in the spirit of the evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty and obedience, and of the Beatitudes...." This little book of meditations should help you go deeper into what it means to live the Beatitudes. It can be read in any order: randomly, from beginning to end, or by any specific Beatitude. But do read them quietly with time for meditation. And read them often. You will truly be blessed.

This Present Paradise: a Spiritual Journey with St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, by Claire Dwyer; Sophia Institute Press. (https://spiritualdirection.com/author/claire-dwyer

I came across this book during Lent from a recommendation by ICS Publications. So I checked out the author and several reviews and then ordered the book. While I am only half-way through it, I have found her writing style to be both conversational and reflective, geared appropriately towards the laity. The author weaves the writings of St. Elizabeth through each chapter as she reflects on incidents and encounters in her busy life as wife, mother, and author. At the end of each short chapter there are questions for reflection, giving it a strong lectio format.

Last night I read the short Chapter 16 titled “I Will Restore the Years.” It was a reflection on a scriptural text from Joel 2:25: I will restore to you the years which the swarming…