Tag: Carmelite
Ask a Carmelite: “Is my prayer good enough?”
Dear Sister, My prayer experiences don’t seem good enough or holy enough, long enough or intense enough. Do you have any suggestions as to how I can pray better? Dear Friend, Yes, I do have a few suggestions. That’s easy… First of all, I suggest not using the expression “prayer experiences” at all. Hit the [...]
Ask a Carmelite: “Does this mean I’ve lost my faith?”
Dear Sister, “Sometimes I struggle in understanding God or some of the teachings of the Church. Does this mean I’ve lost my faith? How does one lose faith? Can faith be restored if it has been lost?” Dear Friend, If understanding certain aspects of the Faith is a struggle you are certainly not alone. As [...]
Ask a Carmelite: Prayer or Good Works?
Dear Sister, Growing up, I was taught that we needed to “pray, pray, pray” in order to save our souls. But recently, a friend told me that we need to do good works instead. Which is more important: prayer or good works? Dear Friend, I remember hearing it said many years ago in a Catholic [...]
Ask a Carmelite: Getting More from Holy Mass
Dear Sister, I don’t get much out of Mass. Do you have any suggestions? Dear Friend, I suppose you have already heard a couple phrases that have become aphorisms on this ‘issue’: “Don’t come to get – come to give” and “You will only get out what you are willing to put in”. While it [...]
Ask a Carmelite: Isn’t It Enough to Believe in Jesus?
Dear Sister, Do I really have to believe all the other things the Catholic Church teaches? Dear Friend, I do realize that the idea of ‘believing all that the Catholic Church teaches’ sounds excessive and even authoritarian to many ears, but it must be remembered that the Church has never asked – much less required [...]
What are Attachments… How Can I Determine if I am Attached to Something?
Dear Sister, In your series on getting stuck in spiritual growth (which was very helpful by the way) you mentioned the idea of “attachments.” I think I understand this as I have read a bit of St. John of the Cross. However, I would be grateful if you could help me understand it a bit better [...]
The Relationship of Faith and Suffering
Dear Sister, There is so much suffering in the world. Why does God allow people to suffer, especially good people? What is the relationship, if any, to faith and suffering? Dear Friend, There is indeed “so much” suffering in the world! I would recommend to you #302-314 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church which deals with this [...]
Yes Virginia, There is an Infant
by Sister Timothy Marie, O.C.D. Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles Dear Virginia, I am writing to tell you about something that has been on my mind for several weeks. It has bubbled up within me, percolating up and down my brain and saturating my thoughts. Like coffee grounds in a [...]
Waiting for the Christmas Miracle during Advent
by Sister Regina Marie, O.C.D., Vicar General Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles “There is in every human heart, be it the heart of a man or a woman, an empty cradle, waiting for the birth of Christ to fill it.” On the First Sunday in Advent, all over the world [...]
Daily Catholic Quote from Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross
“On the question of relating to our fellowman — our neighbor’s spiritual need transcends every commandment. Everything else we do is a means to an end. But love is an end already, since God is love.” (St. Edith Stein – Teresa Benedicta of the Cross) Please help us in our mission to assist readers to [...]
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