Carmelite history and prayer begin with Elijah on Mount Carmel. From Elijah has descended a long line of saints who have heard the voice of the Lord calling them to leave everything and come "drink from the stream". This book is an invitation for you to come and pray with the holy men and women of the Carmelite order.
The prayers and meditations in this book will help the reader listen to and pray with the saints of Carmel throughout the ages, from Elijah through the twentieth century. In these prayers are stories of particular times, places, longings, sometimes suffering, at other times ecstatic joy. These prayers allow one to enter into the most intimate depths of the souls of Carmelite saints. How better to learn than from the masters themselves.
This book is made up of the prayers and meditations of more than twenty-five saints, along with a short biography of each saint, and numerous illustrations. In addition to helping one with prayer and meditation, it also provides prayer for specific topics. Whether one is a beginner or highly advanced in prayer, there is a prayer suitable for nearly every occasion. These magnificent prayers echo from prison cells, hospital beds, battlefields, and even treetops. It gives special emphasis to the prayers and meditations of the three great Carmelite mystics: Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, and Thérèse of Lisieux. But the other twenty-two saints include a wonderful variety, with Elizabeth of the Trinity, Simon Stock, Titus Brandsma, Edith Stein, and many more. Illustrated