DAY TWO Loving God, you taught St. Thérèse how to find a direct way to you through the “little way” of humility and simplicity. Grant that we may never miss the grace there is in humble service to others in family and neighborhood. Let us with St. Thérèse our sister model and intercessor, come to You with our petitions, relying on your grace and mercy. (Here mention your petitions quietly) Hear these petitions we make in trust ...

St. Thérèse believed that the people of her time lived in too great fear of God’s judgment. The fear was stifling and did not allow people to experience the freedom of the children of God. St. Therese knew from her life that God is merciful love; many scripture passages in the Old and New Testaments bore out that truth. St. Thérèse once wrote that she could not understand how anyone could be afraid of a ...

For the Carmelite, after the Holy Bible, the most important document in our lives is the Rule of St. Albert. Despite being the shortest rule of all the religious orders with under 1,500 words it has nevertheless been a bedrock for Carmelite life in all its facets for 800 years. St. Albert, whose feast day we celebrate today, was a brilliant mind who managed to fashion tremendous wisdom in such a compact text. Of all ...

On July 26, 1942, 75 years ago, Titus Brandsma, a soft spoken professor and one of our Carmelite brothers, was murdered by the Nazis for his courageous resistance to their genocidal agenda. Titus embodied the Gospel message and lived his life with a radical spirit which is one of the reasons he is so special. People of all faiths have much to learn from Titus, what his sacrifice represents on the 21st century ...

“[From] prayer is born good works and good works alone.” St. Teresa of Avila In our spiritual founders, Mary and Elijah, Carmelites recognize models of prophetic action that have been nourished and guided by prayer. The call to be a prophetic contemplative is as relevant in the days of the prophet Elijah as it is today. As our constitutions state: “Carmelites seek the face of the living God through fraternity, and through service in the midst ...