Loveless prayer

In one of our meetings last night we were discussing St Teresa’s Way of Perfection.  Much of our discussion centred on the connection between love and prayer.  Over the past fifty or sixty years there has been a widespread interest out there in the wider public in techniques of meditation – especially in TM (transcendental meditation) in earlier decades, and more recently in mindfulness.  These techniques may be helpful, but our Carmelite and Catholic idea of contemplative prayer is much more than a technique.  For we know from the teaching of Jesus that love of God and love of others cannot be separated, so that growing closer to God in prayer is impossible without a dedication to love of our fellow humans.  What was interesting about our discussion last night was that all of us had come to a point in our lives when we had realised that our spiritual quest was not making us better persons, and that this was an important part of our journey into Carmel.  Although each story of a journey into Carmel is different, there are many common themes.

Intercessions

F, S, L and L: All suffering from the lingering and significant effects of Covid.

Chris, currently in Intensive Care.