"Carmel Teaches the Church how to Pray." - Pope Francis

The Enduring Wisdom of Carmel: Prayer as Presence

Prayer as Presence

“Genuine prayer begins in the real world, in our real selves, with all the relationships with other people and our tasks in life. Prayer is not an escape. It is contact with God where He comes to us. That means real life, in the depths of our own identity, in our human contacts with one another.”

The Enduring Wisdom of Carmel: Amazing Grace

Book cover featuring Fr. Ernest E. Larkin, O.Carm., beside the title 'The Enduring Wisdom of Carmel' on a beige textured background.

Fr. Ernest Larkin is an American Carmelite theologian and teacher. He gave the keynote address at the first Australian Catholic Charismatic Conference in Melbourne on 1 June 1974; this article is the text of that address.

Contemplative Prayer in Carmelite Spirituality

Carmelite Crest Stained Glass

In Carmelite spirituality, contemplative prayer is the practice of becoming present to God so that God may increasingly become present within us. It is less about saying something to God and more about creating the interior silence in which we can listen, receive, and simply remain with God.