Divine Intimacy - Part One of a Series

Divine Intimacy - Introduction

In this series I am going to provide links to devotional pages of the book Divine Intimacy, by Father Gabriel of Saint Mary Magdalen, O.C.D., available from Aquinas and More.

The text of this book is laid out following the liturgical year of the Traditional Latin or the Extraordinary  Form of the Mass.  It is divided into seven sections of meditational readings. Part Two of this series will include links to the readings for The First Sunday of Advent to The Fifth Sunday After Epiphany

Book review by St. Monica's Tears - I do not have the words within my vocabulary to describe the immense treasure of spiritual wealth contained within the pages of this meditational goldmine.

Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, has taken select writings of the great spiritual pillars of the Faith; St. John of the Cross, St. Teresa of Jesus, St. Teresa Margaret of the Heart of Jesus, St. Theresa of the Child Jesus and Sr. Elizabeth of the Trinity as well as selections from the Gospels, Epistles, the Roman Breviary and the Roman Missal and woven them into a masterful tapestry of spiritual nourishment.

Each daily selection is soaked with deep, profound insight into the spiritual life which draws the soul into a breath-taking experience of overwhelming love, deep devotion and spiritual union with Jesus Christ Our Lord - our living and Triune God.  

Beginning the day with meditations from this spiritual treasure are a must for me to set the proper atmosphere and focus for the remainder of my day.

General Description: From the Aquinas and More website

Divine Intimacy - Meditations on the interior life for every day of the Liturgical year

This Book of Meditations is a classic and is seeped in Carmelite spirituality. For every day it offers two meditations, in liturgical arrangement, that enable the soul to enter the conscious presence of God and to reflect on the theme of the day. These are followed by a ‘Colloquy’ that helps the person at prayer to start a friendly conversation with God where acts of praise and love, petition and thanksgiving are made, together with good resolutions for the future. Here we are at the very heart of prayer, which is a heart-to-heart encounter in faith with the living God.

Divine Intimacy is the highest state attainable on earth. In this union of love, the soul produces acts of love which have an immense apostolic influence on a multitude of souls. This knowledge of the ways that lead to God, according to the teaching of the renowned Spanish mystics, is distilled into the pages of this book.
 

“This book of meditations is meant for all priests, seminarians, religious, the devout laity, all who aspire to greater union with God: that is, to divine intimacy.”

Pope John XIII

“This Book of Meditations on the interior life for every day of the liturgical year is a pearl of great price. For spiritual reading and personal prayer, it is a treasure, providing sound guidance on the journey of prayer, and a safe companion on the road to holiness and to intimate union with God.”

Bishop Philip Boyce O.C.D, Bishop of Raphoe, Ireland.

About the Author:
Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D., was a Discalced Carmelite priest who became one of the most revered masters of the spiritual life. He acquired a vast knowledge of the ways that lead to holiness and to union with God. His experience with souls, whom he guided to the heights of perfection, was outstanding. He was an expert in the spiritual and mystical doctrine of St. Teresa of Jesus (Avila) and of St. John of the Cross. The Discalced Carmelite nuns of the Monastery of St. Joseph in Rome were the heirs of the Father Gabriel’s vast output of published works and private manuscripts. For ten years, he guided these nuns as their confessor and spiritual director, and it was they who helped him to arrange his material in line with the course of the liturgical year, while following the ascent of the soul to transforming union with God, or to ‘Divine Intimacy.’