The thought of describing the marvels of God’s union with the purified soul at the summit of the way of perfection makes even saints, who have experiential knowledge of what they would relate, have their misgivings and express their reluctance. If the experience of the Divine is always beyond the range of words, how much more difficult must it be to convey the crucifying delights (Read more … )
The practice of discernment is as old as Christian spirituality. To discern is to distinguish between good and evil in order to choose the good. It is to identify the will of God in order to follow it. In this sense discernment is applicable to any believer, whether or not this person has a spirituality, and whether it be profound or in its beginning stages. In this general form, discernment is often practiced instinctively according to the light of one’s own conscience.
There is, nevertheless, a more specific form of discernment particularly applicable to our concern: the subtle, deceitful temptations that lead to mediocrity. The tradition calls this form “discernment of spirit.” Here one is dealing not so much with explicitly distinguishing between good and evil, but rather with distinguishing the good spirit from the bad spirit, that is to say, distinguishing what is a call from God and what is temptation. This differs from the discernment of good and evil in that, even with good will, the two spirits are easy to confuse, since on this level (when dealing with spiritual persons) the temptations are subtle; at first sight they do not seem bad and could even be taken as inspirations from God.
The discernment of spirits is much more complex than any other type of discernment. It requires experience, sound doctrine, and counsel. This discernment has a long tradition in Christian spirituality; it is present, to varying degrees, in the teaching of all the great mystics and spiritual masters, beginning with the desert fathers and others. But not all of them have attempted to analyze the theme in a systematic way, nor have they always excelled as masters in the discernment of spirits. (Read more … )
In my 40 years as a religious and a pray-er, and my almost 28 years as a priest and spiritual director, I have come to value St. John of the Cross as one of the truly great directors—perhaps the greatest—in the history of Christian spirituality. (Read more … )
Here for your edification is November 2001’s contribution from the Carmel Clarion. It is a lengthy article and if you don’t read it at one setting, make note of where you left off.
Our Blessed Josefa Naval Girbes OCDS is a beautiful saint. Unloveliness, by this world’s standards, was not a problem. She answered Christ’s call to holiness and grew in the virtues of prayerfulness, humility, meekness, and heroic charity. Irma Estrada shows us a Secular Order Carmelite model who wanted to see God, and who was also a daughter of the Church.
Fr. Theodore N. Centala, OCD
Josefa Girbes Carmelite Secular, Virgin 1820-1893
Irma Estrada, OCDS
Translated by Ezequiel Machado, OCDS
and Alicia DeMedina, OCDS
The original records of the (Secular) Third Order of Carmel were lost, mainly due to the devastation and fires of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). (Read more … )