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Books on Carmelite Saints

All available from the Carmelite Book Service unless marked with #

 

Teresa of Avila

 

Her writings

Collected works: three volumes, Translated by Kieran Kavanaugh OCD and Otilio Rodriguez OCD, ICS Publications, 2002

These volumes contain all Teresa’s writings except her Letters, with a biography of Teresa and excellent introductions.

Volume One: The Book of her Life, Spiritual Testimonies, Soliloquies 

Volume Two:  The Way of Perfection, Meditations on the Song of Songs, The Interior Castle 

Volume Three: The Book of her Foundations, Minor Works

 

The Writings of Teresa of Avila, Eugene McCaffery OCD, Teresian Press 2014 (116pp)  

Helpful and inspiring: an informative survey of Teresa’s writings.

 

Journey of Love: Teresa of Avila’s Interior Castle, Eugene McCaffery OCD, Teresian Press 2015 (74pp) 

A friendly and accessible reader’s guide. 

 

Interior Castle Explored, Ruth Burrows OCD, 1982, reprinted 2007 (122pp)

St. Teresa's teaching of the life of deep union with God. 

 

Her life

Teresa of Avila – An Extraordinary Life, Shirley du Boulay

2nd edition: Darton, Longman and Todd, 2004 (292pp) #

A beautiful, balanced portrait of this irreverent, intense and fiery Renaissance woman and her times.

 

Let Nothing Trouble you: Teresa, the Woman, the Guide and the Story-teller, Eugene McCaffery OCD, Teresian Press, 2015 (136pp)

Fr Eugene explores Teresa’s remarkable story and the influence of this charming, attractive, witty woman, who fits as easily into the twenty-first century as into the sixteenth. 

 

Prayer

Prayer: Journeying to God with St Teresa, Tomas Alvarez OCD, Teresian Press 2019 (120pp)  

This attractive little book is an invitation to fill our lives with prayer 

 

Praying with St Teresa: Through The Way of Perfection, Jerome Lantry OCD, Teresian Press 2015 (144 pp) 

Direct, lively and always practical book that shows us how we may become persons of prayer.

 

John of the Cross

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His writings

The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross, Tr. Kieran Kavanaugh OCD and Otilio Rodriguez OCD ICS Publications, 1991 (814pp) 

True meaning presented clearly, also giving the reader doctrinal and historical information.

 

The Ascent to Joy, Selected Writings of John of the Cross, Marc Foley OCD, ICS Publications (152pp) 

Ideal for readers just discovering John of the Cross and those wishing to revisit his works and teachings.

 

The Ascent of Mount Carmel, Reflections, Marc Foley OCD, ICS Publications 2013 (238pp) 

Marc Foley deftly weaves together insights from psychology, theology and great literature to make The Ascent of Mount Carmel both understandable and relevant to daily life.

 

The Dark Night, Psychological Experience & Spiritual Reality, Marc Foley OCD, ICS Publications 2018 (259pp) 

Describes the contemporary psychological underpinnings of St John’s spiritual experiences.

 

Relevance today

The Impact of God, Soundings from St John of the Cross, Iain Matthew OCD, Hodder and Staughton, 1995 (174pp) 

This popular book writes the experience of John into our lives, even transforms our lives.

 

John of the Cross: Seasons of Prayer, Iain Matthew OCD, Teresian Press 2014 (93pp) 

This book takes us on a divine adventure that can bring us inner healing and transformation

John of the Cross, Doctor of Light and Love, Kieran Kavanaugh OCD, Crossroads Spiritual Legacy Series, 1999 (216pp) #

This accessible book digs out the deep treasures to be found in John of the Cross.

 

John’s Life and times

The Life of St John of the Cross, P. Chrisogono,  Editorial de Espiritualidad 2012 (115pp) 

With homely stories, illustrations and photographs, this little book brings John into your heart.

 

John of the Cross, Man and Mystic, Richard Hardy, Pauline Books and Media, 2004 (178pp) 

16th Century Spain described in vivid colours and the story of reform in all its drama.

 

 

Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross

 

In Context: Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, and Their World, Mark O’Keefe OSB, ICS Publications 2020 ((272pp)  

A valuable background to 16th Century Spain and the social, cultural, intellectual and religious influences on these founders of the Discalced Carmelite Order.

 

Elizabeth of the Trinity

 

Her life

Elizabeth of the Trinity, The Unfolding of Her Message, Joanne Mosley, Teresian Press, 2012

    Volume 1: In the World and in the Community  (470pp)  

    Volume 2: In the Infirmary & After her Death (549pp) 

Informative, engaging and inspiring, these volumes take us on Elizabeth’s journey in life and death.

 

Elizabeth of the Trinity, her Life and Spirituality, Marian Murphy OCD, Gracewing, 2011 (140pp)

As a Carmelite nun, the author offers us deep insights into the development of Elizabeth’s inner life.

 

Her writings

The Complete Works, Volume 1, Major Spiritual Writings, ICS Publications, 1984 (191pp)  

The essence of Elizabeth’s spirituality in four spiritual treatises:

Heaven in Faith

The Greatness of our Vocation

Last Retreat

Let Yourself be Loved

The Complete Works, Volume 2, Letters from Carmel, ICS Publications, 1995 (375pp)  

In simple and tender language, Elizabeth shares the great themes of her joyful spirituality.

 

Her message

Your Presence is my Joy: Life and Message of Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity,  Conrad de Meester, Darlington Carmel Books, 1984 (88pp)  

A good introduction to the appeal this young French woman and saint has for us today.

 

He is my Heaven, the Life of Elizabeth, Jennifer Moorcroft.  ICS Publications, 2001 ((185pp)  £11.25

This book encapsulates Elizabeth’s message that appeals to all who want to deepen their prayer lives.

 

Let Yourself be Loved - Elizabeth of the Trinity, Eugene McCaffrey  OCD, Teresian Press, 2008 (81pp)  

This friendly book gives a vivid image of Elizabeth as a real person.

 

Thérèse and Elizabeth

 

Two Sisters in the Spirit - Thérèse of Lisieux and Elizabeth of the Trinity, Hans Urs Von Balthasar 

New edition: Ignatius Press, 1992 (499pp)  

Theological biographies that probe the depth of the contemplative mission and spirituality of these young Carmelites who both died in their 20s.

 

Thérèse of Lisieux

 

Her life

Story of a Soul: The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Tr. John Clarke OCD, ICS Publications, Third edition, 1996  (306pp)  

A faithful and unaffected rendering of Thérèse’s own words from the original manuscripts.

 

Story of a Soul, Study Edition, Mark Foley, ICS Publications, 2005 (459pp)  

Assist readers to apply the spiritual insights of Story of a Soul  to their lives. It provides introductions, reflections and discussion questions for each chapter of the text.

 

Saint Thérèse of Lisieux and her Sisters, Jennifer Moorcroft, Gracewing, 2014 (204pp)  

Thérèse’s four sisters, her cousin and the sisters in the Lisieux monastery who played an indispensable part in her life.

 

Her message

St Thérèse, the Gospels rediscovered, Jimmy McCaffrey OCD, Teresian Press, 1997 (64pp) 

Fr Jimmy brings his extensive knowledge of Scriptures to underscore Thérèse’s teaching.

 

Under the Torrent of His Love, Thérèse of Lisieux, a Spiritual Genius, Marie-Eugene of the Child Jesus, St Pauls, 2004 (154pp)  #

Founder of the secular Institute of Notre Dame de Vie, Fr Eugene helps us penetrate the heart of Thérèse’s message.

 

With Empty Hands – the message of St Thérèse of Lisieux, Conrad de Meester OCD, New Edition : Burns and Oates, 2002 (499pp)   

Explores how and why this young girl is not only loved and invoked by millions of people but is also a profound influence on theology, spirituality and missionary apostolate.

 

Her relevance today

The Love that Keeps us Sane – Living the Little Way of St Thérèse of Lisieux, Marc Foley OCD, Paulist Press, 2000 (93pp)      

A Carmelite psychologist describes the sanity of Thérèse’s teaching for our lives today.

 

The Context of Holiness: Psychological and Spiritual Reflections on the Life of St Thérèse of Lisieux

Marc Foley OCD, ICS Publications, 2008 (159 pp)    

A profound insight into the reality of Thérèse’s life and its applications for our own spiritual and mental health.

 

Holiness for All, Themes from St Thérèse of Lisieux, Aloysius Rego OCD, Joshua Horgan, 2009 (499pp)    

Reaffirms the teaching of Vatican II on the universal call to holiness.

 

Holy Daring: The Fearless Trust of St Thérèse of Lisieux, John Udris, Gracewing, 1997 (92pp)

We discover the real and relevant Thérèse and see how she opens up new life for us today.

 

Louis and Zélie Martin

 

Rooted in Love.  Louis and Zelie Martin: Models of Married Love, Family Life and Everyday Holiness,  Annette Goulden, ICS Publications 2021

 

The Extraordinary Parents of St Thérèse of Lisieux, Hélène Mongin, 2015 (159pp)  

Shows in vivid detail how Louis and Zélie balanced their joyful Catholic home and working life.

 

Louis and Zélie Martin, the Seed and the Root of the Little Flower, Paulinus Redmond Quiller Press, 1995 (278pp)  

The story of Louis and Zélie Martin is written in the form of letters to their daughter, Thérèse, and illustrated with many fascinating photographs.

 

A Call to a Deeper Love: The Family Correspondence of the Parents of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus 1863 – 1885, Edited by Francis Renda, St Paul’s, 2011 (420pp)   

The 218 letters of Zélie and 16 letters of Louis Martin provide a treasury of rich insights into this first couple to be  canonized together in October 2015.

 

The Story of a Family, the Home of St Thérèse of Lisieux, Stéphane-Joseph Piat, OFM P.J. Kenedy & Sons, New York, 1948 (459pp)   

The Martins endured the loss of four children, financial trouble and the cancer that caused Zélie’s death.

 

Edith Stein 

 

Her Life

Life in a Jewish Family 1891 -1916, An Autobiography, Edith Stein, Collected Works I, ICS Publications, 1986 (548pp)  

Unabridged autobiography depicting herself as a child and young adult, the text abruptly curtailed by her arrest and deportation to Auschwitz.

 

Edith Stein, Woman of Prayer, Joanne Mosley Gracewing, 2004 (158pp)  

Canonized in 1998 and co-patroness of Europe, this book presents Edith’s life and her ideals.

 

Edith Stein: a biography, Waltraud Herbstrith, Ignatius Press, 1992 (207pp)  

This fine biography presents a witness of a courageous, intelligent and holy woman for our time.

 

Her writings

The Hidden Life, Essays, Meditations, Spiritual Texts, Edith Stein Collected Works IV, ICS Publications, 1992 (155pp)  

An inspiring collection of her shorter spiritual wrings and some beautiful poetry. 

 

Essential writings, John Sullivan OCD Modern Spiritual Masters Series, 2002 (158pp) 

The five chapters reflect the major axes of what Edith did and propounded in her truncated life.

 

Selected Writings, Tr. Susanne Batzdorff, Templegate Publishers, 1990 (158pp)  

Edith’s niece gives us comments, reminiscences prayers and poems by her aunt, with the original German and copies of Edith’s hand-written texts.

 

An Edith Stein Daybook, to Live at the Hand of the Lord, Tr. Susanne Batzdorff, Templegate Publishers, 1994 (124pp)  

Edith’s life over 25 years: as a youthful atheist, teacher and philosopher, great contemplative.

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