About this ebook
Carmel is known above all for her priceless heritage of spirituality. For centuries, in the spirit of Elijah and the ancient prophets, Carmelites have sought to encounter the living God and to teach others the ways of prayer. In sixteenth-century Spain, Saint Teresa of Avila brought renewed vitality to this religious family by inaugurating a reform movement that became known as the Discalced Carmelites, a new and fruitful branch on an ancient vine.
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. This classic essay, long out of print, is here updated and reprinted for a new generation of seekers longing to slake their spiritual thirst at the fount of Carmel.
About the author
Paul-Marie of the Cross, OCD, was born Paul Hayaux du Tilly in Paris in 1902. He studied at the Sorbonne and the Institute Catholique. He was ordained a diocesan priest of Paris in 1933, and served as the assistant director of the Ecole Gerson before entering the Discalced Carmelites in 1941. As a Carmelite, he became director of the college of St. Thérèse at Avon after the arrest of Père Jacques. He was later prior of the Carmelite monastery at Lille, and in charge of the Écoles d’Oraison Carmélitaines. He died in 1975. Among his many writings are The Biblical Spirituality of St. John (Staten Island, NY: Alba House, 1966) and The Spiritual Message of the Old Testament, 3 vols. (St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co., 1961–1963).
