Reddit reviews Fire Within: St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross and the Gospel-On Prayer
We found 9 Reddit comments about Fire Within: St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross and the Gospel-On Prayer. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
That you are here asking questions and help is a good thing. It shows that God is working in your life. You used to have a close relationship with God and you miss it.
Are you back in treatment for your depression? First get yourself back into treatment for your depression. I would check out Catholic Therapists so that you have someone that is respectful of your faith. You can also probably get a name of a good therapist from your Priest.
There are plenty of Saints that have fallen into the darkness of depression combined with spiritual aridity.
St. John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila and Mother Teresa of Calcutta come to mind.
A prayer by St. Teresa of Avila
Let nothing disturb you,
Let nothing frighten you,
All things are passing away:
God never changes.
Patience obtains all things
Whoever has God lacks nothing;
God alone suffices.
Check this out: Fire Within: St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross and the Gospel on Prayer
I recommend https://www.amazon.com/Fire-Within-Teresa-Gospel-Prayer/dp/0898702631
>isn't this the ultimate goal of being a Christian, to become like Christ?
Sure. I think what we should be complaining about (rather than complain that there is too much legalism or doctrine) is that there is not enough asceticism, since that is sort of the first step.
Fr. Thomas Dubay is good. I'm currently reading Fire Within, which is excellent. I've also heard Deep Prayer, Deep Conversion is excellent, and seeing as it's less than half the length of Fire Within, it might be good to start with.
Also, read St John of the Cross with Father Dubay's Fire Within nearby.
> If you want to know what me following exoteric Catholicism would be like, would be spending all day being bored, attending church and maybe following the Law just because I have to, hoping I die and am over with it since I don't want to live this way.
Faith is gift. We can't force it. But there is a strong tradition of Catholic mysticism which firmly believes that attending church and following the law is just a prerequisite for a deeper connection with God: a burning love, which enriches your deepest self and changes your outlook on those mundane tasks. Since you have expressed interest into Vajrayana meditation, and since you haven't just quit this sub for greener pastures, let me recommend the fantastic book Fire Within from Thomas DuBay on Carmelite contemplation. Maybe that's something for you.
Interesting! I am reading something similar: The Discernment of Spirits: An Ignatian Guide for Everyday Living by Fr. Gallagher. I am also reading Fire Within by Thomas Dubay.
...and The Dark Elf Trilogy because it was recommended by a friend and given to me for free on the Kindle. I am on the third book of the trilogy now and hope to finish it within the week so I can move on to another fiction series.
Why did you delete your question about how to clean up Amazon links? Here was my response.
---
Reddit doesn't like Amazon links with extra info because they can contain affiliate links. Amazon links are structured like this:
> https://www.amazon.com/&lt;Book Title Goes Here And Is Ignored>/dp/<ISBN>/<Extra Crap>
Just remove the extra crap. You can also remove the title if you want.
For example:
==turns into==>
==or==>
> What is the general opinion of Catholic mystics?
The Church recognizes and canonizes them: check out St John of the Cross and St Teresa of Avila. To get a handle on what they are about, you may wish to read Dubay's Fire Within.
I was Buddhist before I became Catholic. I actually practiced several forms: Theravada (with a Thai sangha), Zen (Rinzai), Tibetan, Korean Zen (did koans), and probably a few others. I see you practiced Zen, which school?
As far as Thomas Merton, I see that he's been recommended. Still, I'd be a bit cautious about him. This article sums up my experience with his books (tl;dr avoid any of his writings from '66 onwards).
I felt the same way after I first rediscovered my Catholic faith. I read a lot by the Carmelite mystics, and I even thought about the Carthusians. As I continued to discern my vocation, I eventually saw my attraction to those orders as God growing my interior life rather than a vocation (I'm now happily married with my first child on the way!). Before diving right into St. John of the Cross or St. Theresa of Avila, I recommend reading Fr. Thomas Dubay.
Or better yet, if you have some theology or philosophy background already, read Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange or Fr. Adolph Tanqueray.
Carthusians: http://transfiguration.chartreux.org/
Benedictines in Norcia: https://en.nursia.org/
More Benedictines (I think): https://clearcreekmonks.org/
Fire Within by Thomas Dubay https://www.amazon.com/Fire-Within-Teresa-Gospel-Prayer/dp/0898702631/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1486491394&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=thomas+dubay+fire+within
Three Ages of the Interior Life by Fr. Garrigou Lagrange https://www.amazon.com/Three-Ages-Interior-Life/dp/1492390976/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1486491194&amp;sr=8-3&amp;keywords=garrigou+lagrange
The Spiritual Life by Adolphe Tanquerey https://www.amazon.com/Spiritual-Life-Adolphe-Tanquerey/dp/0895556596
Dark Night of the Soul by St. John of the Cross https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Night-Dover-Thrift-Editions/dp/0486426939/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1486491335&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=dark+night+of+the+soul
The Way of Perfection by St. Theresa of Avila https://www.amazon.com/Way-Perfection-Image-Classics/dp/0385065396