Keith J. Egan (ed.), Carmelite Prayer: A Tradition for the 21st Century

Abstract

This modest volume is a collection of papers presented at the Carmelite Forum held in Washington, D.C., in 2000, as Keith J. Egan, the  editor, puts it in his foreword, by “a group of scholars whose lives of deep faith and knowledge of the Carmelite classics are truly  inspiring” (p. 2). Keith J. Egan also points out in his own paper entitled ‘Carmel: A school of Prayer’: “This book of essays is an effort to  share interpretations about contemplative prayer gained by members of the Carmelite Forum through their study of Carmelite classics” (p. 15). The classics referred to here are the works of Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross and Thérèse of Lisieux, with one major  contribution by Constance Fitzgerald on Edith Stein and minor references to Titus Brandsma and John Soreth. The contributors are  Carmelites, religious and lay, from both branches of the Order, the Ancient Observance (O.Carm.) and the Discalced Carmelites (O.C.D.). The volume is dedicated to Ernest E. Larkin, O.Carm., in recognition of his immense lifelong contribution to Carmelite  spirituality.