The Arrest of Christ
The Seven Last Words of Christ: Meditating on the Third Word
Reflections on the Passiontide
Jesus Goes to Jerusalem
St. Teresa of Avila’s Concept of Meditation
The Secret Impetus Behind St. Jacinta’s Mortification
Servant of God Sister Lúcia recalls how the vision of hell impacted her cousin, St. Jacinta. “But the vision of hell obsessed her, and she would ask anxiously again and again, ‘What are the sins those people commit to go to hell?’ “‘I do not know,’ I would respond. ‘Perhaps the sins of not going…
The Interior Castle: The Gate of Meditation and Prayer
Now let us return to our beautiful and charming castle and discover how to enter it. This appears incongruous: if this castle is the soul, clearly no one can have to enter it, for it is the person himself: one might as well tell someone to go into a room he is already in! There…
Meditation on Retreat: Who Are You?
Consider, with St. Bernard, that it has been in retreat that God has always pleased to signalize His greatest mercies toward men. It was in retreat on Sinai that Moses received the tables of the law; it was in the retreat of Carmel that Elias received the double spirit that animated him; it was in…
Admonitions Useful for Purifying the Heart
The voice of Jesus—Learn of Me because I am meek and humble of Heart; and ye shall find rest for your souls. The voice of the Disciple—These are the words of Jesus Christ, whereby we are commanded to learn and imitate the Virtues of His Heart, that we may be set free from all misery…
Habitual Grace
Day 1 God out of His infinite goodness wills to lift us up to Himself in the measure that our weak nature allows, and for this purpose gives us a principle of supernatural life; a Godlike, vital principle, which is habitual grace. It is called created grace in contradistinction to uncreated grace, which is the…
The Desire to Become a Great Saint
IN WRITING about this visit to Carmel, my mind goes back to my first visit after you had entered. I had been wondering that morning what name they would give me when I got there; I could not bear to lose my lovely “Thérèse,” yet I knew you already had a Thérèse of Jesus. I…
Heartfelt Prayer: The Miracle of St. Scholastica
I must tell you a passage concerning the venerable Father Benedict, that there was something he desired and was not able to accomplish. His sister Scholastica, who was consecrated to God from her very childhood, used to come once a year to see him; unto whom the man of God was wont to go to…
Mindfulness of Death: A Sure Remedy to the Vices
My friend, whenever you are plagued by some difficulty or adversity, or tested by some temptation, or find that your enthusiasm for good works is fading or waning, or divine worship begins to seem tedious and irksome to you, there is a sure and effective remedy for you! And I shall now tell you what…
