|
Rating:  - Read to Perfection ! ! !
The "Way of Perfection" is Teresa of Avila's classic book on how to pray
(the Our Father).No one in my opinion wrote more clearly on the subject than she.What's amazing about the "Way of Perfection" is that she wrote it straight through unedited (taken out of her autobiography)on the floor
of one of her convents by a sunlit window.It attests to her amazing skill
as a writer!
What makes the audiobook so good though is the reader,Julie Clapp.I've listened to a lot of audiobooks and she's as good as I've heard! You get
the feeling that you were hearing Teresa speak herself.Few readers can do that.
The price is high,(I'd like to see a 30% discount Amazon) but worth it
to fans of Saint Teresa of Avila/Jesus (the greatest woman mystic writer
IMO) and authentic audiobook readers!
Rating: - A Classic
This work is a classic in Catholic thought on mystical theology. St.Teresa's style is simple and down to earth; her ideas are profound and can be meditated on for much spiritual benefit. She covers prayer from the simple formal variety to the prayer of mystical union. Her ideas in this book are more of an outline. For more in depth treatment you might want to try her book The Interior Castle.
Rating:  - Mr. Carrigan, Leave it Alone, Please.
Mr. Carrigan takes it upon himself to omit essential material in the books he edits--this and 'Ascent of Mount Carmel' are two. He ignores that these were written by religious for religious, and is presumptuous and arrogant to assume that the entirety of these saints' writings is not important. I purchased this book here, then after reading the preface, immediately auctioned it off and found an *accurate* copy.
My suggestion: If you want to read the great Carmelite mystics, give Mr. Carrigan's versions wide berth.
Rating: - Good introduction to this Doctor of the Church
OK, let's say you have made a beginning on the way of prayer, and you have been looking for good sources to read. You have heard a lot about St. Teresa of Avila. After all, she was one of the first women ever named a Doctor (in the Latin meaning of "teacher") of the Church. But lo and behold, you have found her Life puzzling and The Interior Castle just about impossible to understand.
Then this is the place to start. Yes, Teresa was writing 400 and more years ago, and her audience was cloistered contemplative nuns. But this was written almost like a letter. The personal tone gives it great charm and readability. Very little of it is hard to understand, and almost all of it can be applied to our lives here and now.
My only difficulty with Peers' translation is the huge number of footnotes. They would be invaluable to a scholar, but I can never keep myself from looking at them, and they are not really necessary or even helpful when your desire is to learn the spiritual wisdom of one of our greatest saints. I love her and love this book, and highly recommend it.
review by Janet Knori, author of Awakening in God
Rating:  - Saintly Holiness & Its Application to Us
Teresa of Avila was a carmelite nun who wrote this book as a means to guide the nuns in her convent onto the path of holiness, not for their own sake but for love of God.
Accordingly, much of what is written applies strictly to the setting of the convent. However, the spiritual values expressed are timeless. The Saint extols ascetical poverty. While we in the world cannot, or do not, practice ascetical poverty we can derive the spirit behind the vow - that of detachment from things that do not lead us to Christ.
The hallmark of this work, however, is the several chapters written on the Our Father. St. Teresa explains the perfection in Our Lord's Prayer and its message to, and demands upon, all of us Christians.
There is immeasurable value in this. This book fills up the soul.
|
