WELCOME | SERVANTHOOD | A COMMENT ON CARMELITE SPIRITUALITY | RESURRECTION | ST. THERESE AND BLESSED ELIZABETH OF THE TRINITY | TERESA OF AVILA and OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL | SEEKING THE SACRED | PRAISES FROM A GRATEFUL HEART | CHAOTIC ORDER | HOW DEEP IS MY WELL? | THE HERMIT

Home

Carmelite Hermitage
A COMMENT ON CARMELITE SPIRITUALITY

The Carmelite way of life is a journey into the interior desert of our souls; and like the Sonoran desert, where prickly cactus, rocks and sand survive under a scorching sun, we seem to barely survive the drought sometimes. We feel prickly and irritable, our heart feels as hard as a rock, and the blowing sands of despair blind us to God's beauty. But, finally, when the rains come, like the Sonoran desert, we bloom. And in the desert the rains come with force and power, monsoon power, which thrills us with its intensity. It is then we find that under the sand, and between the rocks, hidden from sight were multitudes of seeds which when nourished by the monsoons become fields of wildflowers and the prickly cactus blooms. After our desert experiences, the seeds of love which God planted in us during the drought, explode into a beautiful new garden filled with the flowers of mercy and compassion. St. John of the Cross speaks of yearning for a life of little or no consolation, rather to love God and others with detachment, but I will admit that along the way to detachment come great moments of esctasy and joy to know that God loves us so much He is willing to water our love-starved hearts with His consoling rain.

St. John of the Cross

The soul cannot reach these hidden treasures unless it first passes through the thicket of interior and exterior sufferings. For even such knowledge of the mysteries of Christ as is possible in this life cannot be had without great suffering, and without many intellectual and moral gifts, and previous spiritual exercises. All these though are far inferior to the knowledge of the mysteries of Christ, and are merely a preparation for it.
St. John of the Cross

desert2.jpg