St. Teresa of Avila is an unsurpassed teacher of Christian prayer, and in The Way of Perfection she is at her best. Now with the help of this study edition and its helpful commentary and explanations by Teresian expert Fr. Kieran Kavanaugh, everyone can enjoy the benefits of her wisdom. More Information A Study Edition, with Introduction, Commentary, Discussion Questions, and Glossary. St. Teresa of Avila is an unsurpassed teacher of Christian prayer and spirituality, and in The Way of Perfection she is at her best. Now, with the help of this study edition, everyone can enjoy the benefits of her wisdom. In The Way of Perfection, St. Teresa gives practical counsels and advice on prayer, destined originally for the few nuns who embraced the reformed Carmelite life she established. As a handbook for spiritual formation, it presented them with the basic Christian spirituality undergirding their Constitutions and Rule. Over the centuries, the book's appeal has reached far beyond the walls of Carmelite monasteries, and The Way of Perfection has become a spiritual classic. More and more today, Teresa's instructions speak to all those interested in prayer, providing them with basic guidelines for praying and showing how to avoid potential pitfalls. But as the readership and interest grow, so does the need for some help in working with this sixteenth-century text. The principles and teachings in Teresa's book, first presented within the limited horizons of her own situation, clearly lend themselves to broader applications, and can work well in all walks of life. This study edition-with its introduction, commentary, notes, discussion questions, and glossary-provides what is needed to assist contemporary readers in making these applications and delving more deeply into the text's spiritual riches.

A Study Edition, with Introduction, Commentary, Discussion Questions, Glossary, and a fully linked Index. St. Teresa of Avila is an unsurpassed teacher of Christian prayer and spirituality, and in The Way of Perfection she is at her best. Now, with the help of this study edition, everyone can enjoy the benefits of her wisdom. In The Way of Perfection, St. Teresa gives practical counsels and advice on prayer, destined originally for the few nuns who embraced the reformed Carmelite life she established. As a handbook for spiritual formation, it presented them with the basic Christian spirituality undergirding their Constitutions and Rule. Over the centuries, the book's appeal has reached far beyond the walls of Carmelite monasteries, and The Way of Perfection has become a spiritual classic. More and more today, Teresa's instructions speak to all those interested in prayer, providing them with basic guidelines for praying and showing how to avoid potential pitfalls. But as the readership and interest grow, so does the need for some help in working with this sixteenth-century text. The principles and teachings in Teresa's book, first presented within the limited horizons of her own situation, clearly lend themselves to broader applications, and can work well in all walks of life. This study edition-with its introduction, commentary, notes, discussion questions, glossary, and a fully linked Index-provides what is needed to assist contemporary readers in making these applications and delving more deeply into the text's spiritual riches.

St. Teresa of Ávila is the Doctor of Prayer. This special title—given to her when she was declared the first female Doctor of the Church—signifies that her teaching on prayer is to be universally cherished among the eminent doctrines of the Catholic Church. The cornerstone of Teresa’s teaching is her profound discovery that prayer “is nothing else than an intimate sharing between friends.” The spiritual life is demystified when we understand our lifelong journey in prayer as the deepening of our relationship “with Him who we know loves us” (Life 8.5). In The Intimate Sharing of Friends, Father O’Keefe presents an overview of St. Teresa’s teaching on prayer while emphasizing its relational aspect. For Teresa, the spiritual life consists of the degrees to which we are attentive and receptive to God’s presence within us. Like all relationships, this supernatural friendship profoundly changes us. O’Keefe guides us through Teresa’s various analogies and explanations of the soul’s personal transformation as it journeys from friendship with God to a more supernatural and deeply intimate union with him. Throughout, O’Keefe directs us to Teresa’s insistence that this transformation is measured not by its extraordinary effects, but by our growth in virtue—especially in charity. Supporting the book's central theme is a clear explanation of Teresa’s teaching on the transition from active to more contemplative forms of prayer. In an excursus, the author offers a critical comparison between contemporary contemplative practices and St. Teresa’s perennial teaching. As always, Father O’Keefe draws on scholarly sources and provides an engaging resource for anyone who desires to become an authentic student of St. Teresa’s school of prayer.

Christian Mystical Theology: A Way of Life. Mystical theology as a way of life is Bible based. It includes single and married laypeople and the religious who were mystics known throughout centuries up to contemporary times. Mystics are messengers into the Christian and human communities from their divine encounter with Jesus. In chapter 1, "Committed Eros," Patricia writes about her dual marriages--her human marriage to Richard F. Frisch, fifty-three years, and her mystical marriage with Jesus, thirty-five years. "Committed Eros" shows her longing for faithful community development. Part 1 chapters also explain mystical theology, the language of the mystics, references for the enrichment, and in-depth exploration of mystics from the Bible up to contemporary mystics and the development of the Trinity. Part 2 flows from part 1 with examples from the Gospels and the Christian history of committed mystical friendships through the presence of Jesus. A unique understanding of Jesus and his mother's relationship to the incarnation becomes the basis for the following chapters regarding committed mystical, agape friendships. Church leadership, intellectual pursuits, and everyday life are finding balance and harmony. Harmony is rising through the mystics, contemplatives, and ordinary people who enjoy peace through prayerful participation in contemporary mystical theology. The book ends with the hope that everyone finds ways to share their prayer journey with the communities. 1

Ten members of the Institute of Carmelite Studies contribute to this volume honoring their Carmelite brother and colleague, Father Kieran Kavanaugh, OCD on his fifty years as a Catholic priest. The ten essays and their respective authors are as follows: Jesus Christ, Friend and Liberator: The Christology of St. Teresa of Avila by Daniel Chowning, OCDFair is Foul and Foul is Fair: An Interpretation of Chapter Fourteen of Book One of The Dark Night of St. John of the Cross by Marc Foley, OCDJerome Gratian's Constituciones del Cerro: An Example of Teresian Humor by Michael DoddThe Holy Spirit, Mary, and Thérèse of Lisieux by Emmanuel Sullivan, OCDBlind Hope in Divine Mercy, by Charles Niqueux translated by Salvatore Sciurba, OCD"Something Surprising:" Reflections on the Proclamation of St. Thérèse as "Doctor of the Universal Church" by Steven Payne, OCDTwo Concentration Camp Carmelites: St. Edith Stein and Père Jacques Bunel by John Sullivan, OCDLearning How to Meditate: Fifty Years in Carmel by Kevin Culligan, OCDThe Contemporary Influence of the Carmelite Mystical School by Denis Read, OCDAfterword: The Third Millennium: St. John of the Cross and Interreligious Dialogue in Asia by William Johnston, SJThe Bibliography of Kieran Kavanaugh, OCD Compiled by Regis Jordan, OCD Through his translations of the works of Saints Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross and his other writings and ministries, Kieran Kavanaugh has been a a major proponent of the Carmelite heritage in the English-speaking world. In his honor, his brothers offer spiritually enriching essays on Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Thérèse of Lisieux, Edith Stein and Père Jacques Bunel. In his afterword, William Johnston, SJ, an internationally recognized authority on mysticism, stresses the importance of Saint John of the Cross for the future of interfaith dialogue in Asia. Readers of this volume of this tenth volume of Carmelite Studies will find nourishment for their souls and a deeper appreciation of the Carmelite tradition.

The Way of Transformation is a play on the title of St. Teresa’s classic The Way of Perfection. Written for her Discalced Carmelite nuns, it is nonetheless considered Teresa’s “operations manual” for anyone genuinely committed to the spiritual life. But by “perfection” she doesn’t intend the futile pursuit of idealized flawlessness, as some might think. Rather, Teresa means achieving an authentic human fulfillment—a true becoming of that person we are meant to be. Offering a fresh perspective on St. Teresa’s thought, Father Mark O’Keefe draws our attention to the central fact that she considers the virtues—especially love of neighbor, detachment, and humility—as the essential and ever-relevant foundation for her spirituality of prayer. This very human Doctor of the Church teaches that—whether in the 16th century or the 21st— prayer is intimately and necessarily linked with personal transformation. Authentic prayer is never divorced from our daily living: God, Teresa reminds us, “walks among the pots and pans.” With attention-catching quotations, helpful questions for personal reflection or group discussion, and its comprehensive index, The Way of Transformation is an excellent resource for any serious student of St. Teresa of Jesus and a must-read for everyone looking to explore Christian spirituality and prayer more deeply and authentically.

This devotional book is made up of her sayings from Teresa's masterpiece The Interior Castle. It is the perfect pocket-/purse-sized gift book for those who have a devotion to St. Teresa and to Carmelite spirituality in general.

Saint Rafael Arnaiz was born in Burgos, Spain, on April 9, 1911. When he was twenty-one years old, he left behind the comforts of his wealthy family and an unfinished degree in architecture to join the Trappist-Cistercian abbey of San Isidro de Dueñas. A sudden onset of diabetes and the beginning of the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) turned his monastic journey into an unusual one. In these unfavorable circumstances and despite the shortness of his life (he died soon after his twenty-seventh birthday), Rafael developed a solid spirituality, which in its simplicity is a straight path to holiness. He has been compared to mystics like Teresa of Ávila and John of the Cross, whose writings inspired him, and his theology of the cross, born from his prayer, places him in continuity with the best of the monastic tradition. In his letters and journals, compiled in this volume, his heart speaks of the joys and struggles of striving to live for God alone.

Examines the influence of religious identity on the wider social community from the perspective of theology and religious studies.

The Interior Castle is considered St. Teresa of Avila’s masterpiece. She wrote this last work in just a few months in 1577, five years before her death. At this point in her life she had been granted the highest mystical graces; this book is the fruit of her lived experience and a deep-felt praise of God for it. More than a book, The Interior Castle is a powerful image of the mystery of the human person. It is, in a very real sense, Teresa’s soul. Using the image of a castle, Teresa describes the soul’s progressive inner journey through seven dwelling places, until finally reaching the center where, now transformed, it is united with God. Reading the works of Teresa herself is indispensable. This second, revised study edition has been completely redesigned as a springboard to reading and understanding Teresa’s text. The book presents a chapter of The Interior Castle itself, followed by a review of the development of her thought and the principal ideas in each chapter. Interpretive notes after each chapter cover doctrine, history, and sociology. Expanded questions for reflection and/or discussion conclude each chapter. A glossary of terms offers definitions as well as their specific and sometimes unique meaning in Teresa’s writings. Comprehensive indexes of key themes and figures, castle imagery, and biblical references make this volume an indispensable reference resource.