Topics
- Carmelite Spirituality
- History of the Teresian Form
- Carmelite Charism and Spirituality
- Prayer and Spiritual Exercises
- The Brown Scapular
- Carmelite Saints
- St. Teresa of Avila
- St. John of the Cross
- St. Therésè of Lisieux, the Little Flower
- St. Elizabeth of the Trinity
- St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein)
- St. Teresa Margaret Redi
- St. Teresa of the Andes
- Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection
- Carmelite Third Order
- Scripture and Liturgical Prayer
- Holy Scripture & Scripture Commentary
- Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- Divine Office
- Post-Vatican II Carmelite Resources (Novus Ordo)
Carmelite History and Spirituality
History of the Teresian Reform
- St. Teresa of Avila and the Carmelite Reform 🔗
Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J.
Carmelite Charism and Spirituality
- I Want to See God: A Practical Synthesis of Carmelite Spirituality (Vol I)
Bl. Marie-Eugène, OCD (1953) - I Am a Daughter of the Church: A Practical Synthesis of Carmelite Spirituality (Vol II)
Bl. Marie-Eugène, OCD (1955) - Carmelite Spirituality 🔗
Also available in print as Carmelite Spirituality Teresian Tradition
Paul-Marie of the Cross, O.C.D., Translated by Kathryn Sullivan, RSCJ, Edited by Steven Payne, O.C.D. Carmelite Spirituality in the Teresian Tradition, first published in English in 1959, provides a concise and inspiring overview of Carmel’s spiritual heritage from a Teresian perspective. Renowned Discalced Carmelite author Paul-Marie of the Cross identifies the principal texts, themes, figures, and teachings of Carmel: Elijah and Mary, the Rule of St. Albert and the Book of the Institution of the First Monks, the Carmelite understanding of contemplation and the degrees of prayer, the message of Saints Teresa, John of the Cross, and Thérèse of Lisieux. - Divine Intimacy
Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D. (1964). This Book of Meditations is a classic and is steeped in Carmelite spirituality. For every day it offers two meditations, arranged according to the liturgical season (1962 Missal), that enable the soul to enter the conscious presence of God and to reflect on the theme of the day. These are followed by a Colloquy that helps the person at prayer to start a friendly conversation with God where acts of praise and love, petition and thanksgiving are made, together with good resolutions for the future. Here we are at the very heart of prayer, which is a heart-to-heart encounter in faith with the living God.
Prayer and Spiritual Exercises
- The Carmelite Manual ; containing a selection of beautiful prayers, and various practices of piety 📖
Dublin, James Duffy (1846) - Novena and other approved prayers in honor of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel 📖
Carmelite Third Order Press (1951) - The Spirit and Prayer of Carmel 📄
François Jamart, OCD (1952) - Spiritual exercises to serve for the annual retreat of a Carmelite 📖
New Orleans, La., Monastery of Discalced Carmelites (1920) - Thesaurus Fidelium : a manual for those who desire to lead prayerful lives in the world 📖
London, Longmans, Green & Co. (1914)
The Brown Scapular
- Brown Scapular: a Silent Devotion (2008) 🔗
An article written by Discalced Carmelite Father Kieran Kavanaugh, on the devotion of the brown Carmelite scapular. - A Short Treatise on the Antiquity, Institution, Excellency, Indulgences, Privileges, etc., of the Ancient Confraternity of our Blessed Lady of Mount Carmel, called The Scapular 📖
Very Rev. R. J. Colgan, Perpetual Procurator-General of the Grand Carmelite Order (1850)
Carmelite Saints
St. Teresa of Avila
Descriptions by Fr. Kevin in ‘Way of Perfection for the Laity’, pp. 156-159
- Way of Perfection 🔗
This book was written specifically by St. Teresa at the request of her daughters to teach them how to pray and acquire the virtues needed in a soul which is devoted to prayer. - The book of the Foundations 📖
[St. Teresa] gives an interesting account of the founding of her monasteries, but does not neglect to intersperse accounts of edifying examples of virtues practiced by her nuns and others. - Minor Works of Saint Teresa 📖
This book gives the Poems and Exclamations in which the interior soul will find much food for affective prayer. - Letters of Saint Teresa Vol. I, Vol. II, Vol. III 📖
If we wish to know the strong and versatile character of St. Teresa we must study them. We see the great human side of St. Teresa, her extraordinary capacity for business which enables us to refute the common idea that contemplatives are impractical idealists, her admirable common sense and tact, all combined with the deepest holiness. - Interior Castles or The Mansion 🔗
This is the classic of mystic theology, describing the various stages of prayer or union with God up to the highest degree which can be reached on earth. - The Life of St. Teresa of Jesus, of the Order of Our Lady of Carmel 📖
One of the greatest autobiographies ever written, a work comparable to the Confessions of St. Augustine, in which the whole soul of St. Teresa is laid bare. - St. Teresa’s own words : or, Instructions on the prayer of recollection ; arranged from Chapters 28 and 29 of her Way of perfection for the use of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Darlington 📖
Arranged by James Chadwick, Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle (1910) - The Way of Prayer: A Commentary on Saint Teresa’s Way of Perfection
Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D.(1965)
St. John of the Cross
- The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross
Kieran Kavanaugh (Translator), Otilio Rodriguez (Translator), 2010. Included in The Collected Works are St. John’s poetry, The Ascent of Mount Carmel, The Dark Night of the Soul, The Spiritual Canticle, and The Living Flame of Love, as well as his letters and other counsels, including the Precautions and Council to a Religious on How to Reach Perfection. - The complete works of Saint John of the Cross of the Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Volume 1 📖
Translated from the original Spanish by David Lewis (1864) - The complete works of Saint John of the Cross of the Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Volume 2 📖
Translated from the original Spanish by David Lewis (1864) - The Secret of Sanctity of St. John of the Cross 📄
Fr. Lucas of St. Joseph, O.C.D. (1962). An in-depth study of the Precautions of St. John of the Cross.
St. Therésè of Lisieux, the Little Flower
- Story of a Soul: The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux
Translated by John Clark, O.C.D. (1997). There are many Public Domain versions of this book; however, they are all based on versions of the manuscripts first published in 1898 which were a highly edited version of the original. I highly recommend you read and study this translation of the book. - Collected Little Flower Works 📄
Rev. Albert H. Dolan, O. Carm. (1949). A compilation of eight popular books, written by one of the earliest and most passionate devotees of Little Thérèse, Father Dolan was able to gather stories from “repeated visits to Lisieux” and “lengthy interviews with the Saint’s living sisters and with all persons who had been connected with her”.
St. Elizabeth of the Trinity
- The Complete Works of Elizabeth of The Trinity, Vol I
Translated by Aletheia Kane, O.C.D. - The Complete Works of Elizabeth of The Trinity, Vol II
Translated by Anne Englund Nash - He Is My Heaven: The Life of Elizabeth of the Trinity
Jennifer Moorcroft
St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein)
- Edith Stein: The Life of a Philosopher and Carmelite
Teresia Renata Posselt, O.C.D.; Edited by Susanne M. Batzdorff, Josephine Koeppel, O.C.D. and John Sullivan, O.C.D. Teresia Renata Posselt, O.C.D. was the Novice Director, then Mother Prioress of the Cologne Carmel when Edith Stein lived there. - Edith Stein: Her Life in Photos and Documents
Amata Neyer, O.C.D.; Translated by Waltraut Stein, PhD - The Collected Works of Edith Stein, Volumes 1-12
Edith Stein (Teresa Benedicta of the Cross), Translated by Josephine Koeppel, O.C.D.
St. Teresa Margaret Redi
- God Is Love – Saint Teresa Margaret: Her Life
Margaret Rowe (1964) - The life of Sister Teresa Margaret Redi, of the Heart of Jesus : a barefooted Carmelite nun, whose body is preserved incorrupt in the Convent of S. Teresa, Florence 📖
Albergotti, Agostino, Bishop of Arezzo (1848)
St. Teresa of Jesus of the Andes
- God is All Joy: The Life of St. Teresa of the Andes
Jennifer Moorcroft (2009) - God, the Joy of My Life: A Biography of Saint Teresa of Jesus of the Andes
Michael D. Griffin (1995) - St. Teresa of the Andes Miniseries (3-DVD set)
From the Amazon.com description: A beautiful, epic mini-series produced in Chile that tells the story of the inspiring life of the new young Carmelite saint who lived in the 20th century, died at the age of just 19 years old, and was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1993. St. Teresa of Jesus of the Andes, known officially as “St. Teresa of the Andes”, grew up in a close-knit, upper middle class Catholic family in Santiago, Chile, was very popular with her friends and relatives, entered Carmel at age 19, and died before her 20th birthday. So what is it about this young, modern American saint that caused the Church to recognize her heroic virtue and sanctity at such a young age? Though she was a Carmelite for less than a year, she possessed a refreshing sanctity and message that will resonate with all lovers of Christ, especially with the youth of today. That inspiring story of Chile’s first saint, and America’s newest and youngest saint, is revealed in this definitive film on St. Teresa of the Andes. This DVD includes the following language tracks: Spanish with English subtitles.
Watch Excerpt on YouTube
Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection
- Practice of the Presence of God: The Best Rule of Holy Life 📖
From CCEL.org – Brother Lawrence is one of the most admired and imitated sons of the Catholic church. He worked for a time as a soldier before entering the Discalced Carmelite Prior in Paris. Lawrence was uneducated, and so had to enter the monastery as a layman. He worked in the kitchens and as a cobbler there for the remainder of his life. Lawrence is known for his devotion and ability to bring God into every aspect of his life. For Brother Lawrence, “common business,” no matter how mundane or routine, was the medium of God’s love. The issue was not the sacredness or worldly status of the task but the motivation behind it. “It is enough for me to pick up but a straw from the ground for the love of God.” - Lawrence of the Resurrection 🔗
Very Rev. Camilo Maccise, OCD; Superior General
Carmelite Third Order
- Manual of the Third Secular Order of our Blessed Lady of Mount Carmel and St Teresa of Jesus 📄
Rule of the Third Order Seculars (OCDS – Discalced Carmelites) from March 1921 until the changes after Vatican II in October 1970. - The Carmelite Third Order: Our Lady’s Cloister in the World 📄
Rule and Manual of Third Order Carmelites (TOC – Ancient order, affiliated with O.Carm) until changes promulgated after Vatican II. Contains many great essays on understanding and living Carmelite spirituality. - Way of Perfection for the Laity: A detailed explanation of the Discalced Carmelite Third Order Rule 📄
“Those who are not specially interested in our Carmelite Tertiaryship [or who are unable to do so – Ed.], but desire to obtain a knowledge of Carmelite spirituality, are advised to read from chapter xi to chapter xv of this book … We trust readers will find in those pages in simple language all that is necessary to give them such an appreciation of the spirit of those saints as will make them resolve the take the means to acquire it.” - Third orders : Carmelite, Dominican, Franciscan, and Servite 📖
Basic introduction to the Third Order of Discalced Carmelites
Scripture and Liturgical Prayer
Holy Scripture & Scripture Commentary
- DRBO.org – Douay-Rheims Bible Online 🔗
Douay-Rheims Bible + Challoner Notes, includes Latin Vulgate - CatholicBible.Online 🔗
Created by Baronius Press – Latin Vulgate, Douay-Rheims and Knox Bible side-by-side.
Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- The Little Office of Our Lady; a treatise theoretical, practical, and exegetical 📖
Taunton, Ethelred L. (1903)
Divine Office
- DivinumOfficium.com 🔗
Full text of daily Masses and Divine Office, including a version of the Little Office of BVM - 1962 Carmelite Propers 📄
Propers of Carmelite saints from the traditional Carmelite ordo for the 1962 Divine Office - The Divine Office : a study of the Roman Breviary 📖
Quigley, E. J (1920).
Post-Vatican II Carmelite Resources (Novus Ordo)
- General Curia of the Teresian Carmel Official Page 🔗
OCD / Discalced Carmelites - Discalced Carmelites of the Australia-Oceania Region 🔗
Great English site to learn more about Discalced Carmelites today. - Spiritual Talks page – Discalced Carmelites of the Australia-Ociania Region 🔗
Audio conferences by Fr. Greg Homeming. Fr. Homeming was appointed as bishop of Lismore, Australia by Pope Francis on December 12, 2016. - Order of the Carmelites official page 🔗
OCarm / Calced Carmelites / Ancient Order - Discalced Carmelite Proper Offices of Carmelite Saints and Blessed in the Liturgy of the Hours 📄
2007 – Second edition
DISCLAIMER:
St. Teresa of Avila states in many of her writings[1] that it is a “most common temptation of beginners” to “help others and kindle their fervour with its own”, and “in order to profit their neighbours, talk freely and without restraint”. I do not claim nor mean to imply that any of this will be of any use to anyone’s soul; and some of these spiritual disciplines could even be damaging without the guidance of a good and holy spiritual director.
This compilation of books and essays contains sources from both Discalced and Ancient Order Carmelite spirituality. This website has no official approval or recognition by either the Order of Discalced Carmelites (O.C.D.) or the Order of Carmelites (O.Carm.).
The contents of this site have not been reviews or approved by any member of clergy. However, the webmaster has tried to keep personal commentary to a minimum and only share from resources that contain ‘Nihil Obstats’ and ‘Impramaturs’. The ‘Nihil Obstat’ and ‘Imprimatur’ are official declarations made by ecclesiastical authority that a publication is free of doctrinal or moral error.[2] Attempts have been made to document all primary sources of any content provided, and any undocumented use of content or perceived plagiarism is not intended.
All books provided in their entirety via PDF are assumed to be in the public domain due to their publishing date as well as their ‘Out of Print’ status. If anyone has written proof that any selections are not PUBLIC DOMAIN, please notify me at traditionalcarmelite (@at) gmail.com. Those selections will no longer be made available on this website. Please do not take any of these reproductions and sell them for profit in any way. Any documents that were previously unavailable online and were converted to digital form for distribution on this site are shared for the good of souls alone. They are being provided free of charge in perpetuity.
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[1]Interior Castle, The Fifth Mansions, ch. iii,1; The Life of St. Teresa of Jesus, of the Order of Our Lady of Carmel, ch. vii, 16; Way of Perfection,ch. xli, 8. ↩
[2]More on the authority behind these two declarations can be found in Canon Law (Cann. 822 – 832) and Instruction on Some Aspects of the Use of Social Communication in Promoting the Doctrine of the Faith created by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (1992, Joseph Card. Ratzinger,Prefect).↩