top of page

The Carmelite Tradtion

​

Back to Ministry Resources

Carmelite  Spirituality Resources

​

​

​

BOOKS

​

Please send us a list of Your recommended books

​

​​

Works by Saint Teresa of Avila https://www.icspublications.org/collections/teresa-of-avila

  • The Interior Castle: St. Teresa of Avila 

  • The Way of Perfection by St.Teresa of Avila:

  • The Autobiography of Saint Teresa of Avila: The Life of St. Teresa of Jesus

  • St. Teresa of Avila: The Book of Her Foundations: A Study Guide by Marc Foley, OCS


Shorter Works by St. Teresa of Avila

  • Spiritual Testimonies — short accounts written for her confessors describing her stage of prayer.

  • Soliloquies — brief personal reflections and prayers.

  • Meditations on the Song of Songs (Conceptions of the Love of God / Meditaciones sobre los Cantares)

  • Poems — a collection of roughly 31 poems attributed to her.

  • Letters — a large surviving correspondence, often published in multi-volume collections (e.g., The Collected Letters of St. Teresa of Ávila).


Father Kieran Kavanaugh, O.C.D. (1928–2022) was a Discalced Carmelite priest best known as the premier English translator of St. Teresa of Ávila and St. John of the Cross. Here are his major works:

Major Translations (with Fr. Otilio Rodriguez, O.C.D.)

  1. The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross — includes The Ascent of Mount Carmel, The Dark Night, The Spiritual Canticle, The Living Flame of Love, his Letters, and Minor Works (first published 1964; revised edition 1991). 

  2. The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Ávila, Vol. 1 — includes The Book of Her Life, Spiritual Testimonies, and the Soliloquies (1976). 

  3. The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Ávila, Vol. 2 — includes The Way of Perfection and The Interior Castle, along with Meditations on the Song of Songs (1980). 

  4. The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Ávila, Vol. 3 — includes The Book of Her Foundations and her Minor Works.

  5. The Collected Letters of St. Teresa of Ávila (2 volumes) — with Fr. Rodriguez.


Other Books
6. God Speaks in the Night: The Life, Times and Teaching of St. John of the Cross — a pictorial biography commemorating the 400th anniversary of St. John's death, which Kavanaugh translated into English.
7. Several study editions on the works of St. Teresa, written (not just translated) by Kavanaugh himself, exploring her teaching and spirituality.

​

https://www.icspublications.org/collections/john-of-the-cross

  • The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross Trail. Kavanaugh, OCD, and Rodrigues, OCD

  • The Ascent of Mount Carmel: St John of the Cross Reflection by Marc Foley, OCD

  • Love Awakened by Love: The Liberating Ascent of Saint John of the Cross by Mark O'Keefe, OSB

  • The Dark Night: Psychological Experience and Spiritual Reality by Marc Foley, OCD

  • The Dark Night of the Soul by Gerald May, MD

  • St. John of the Cross: Master of Contemplation by Fr. Donald Haggerty

​

​​​

​Works by Saint Teresa of Lisieux

Major Work

  1. Story of a Soul (Histoire d'une Âme) — her autobiography, written as three separate manuscripts: one in 1895 for her sisters recounting her childhood, one in 1896 for her sister Marie reflecting on her last private retreat, and one in June 1897 for her prioress reflecting on her religious life. These were combined and published posthumously. 


Other Original Writings
2. Letters — published in two critical volumes: Volume I covering April 1877 to September 1890 (childhood through her novitiate), and Volume II covering September 1890 to September 1897 (novitiate through her death), translated by John Clarke, OCD.
3. Poetry — a complete collection of her poetry, translated from the French critical edition, including well-known pieces like "Living on Love" and "Why I Love You, O Mary."
4. Prayers — a collection of her prayers, including major ones like her Profession prayer, the Act of Oblation to Merciful Love, and the Consecration to the Holy Face.
5. The Plays of St. Thérèse (Pious Recreations) — short theatrical pieces she wrote for her community's recreation.
6. Her Last Conversations (Novissima Verba) — accounts of Thérèse's final words during her last months, recorded by her sisters, including famous sayings like "I will spend my heaven doing good on earth."

​

https://www.icspublications.org/collections/therese-of-lisieux

  • Story of a Soul: The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux

  • The Context of Holiness: Psychological and Spiritual Reflections on the Life of St. Therese of Lisieux by Marc Foley, OCS

​​​

  • Conversion: Spiritual Insights into an Essential Encounter with God by Fr. Donald Haggerty 

  • Fire Within: St. Teres of Avila, St. John of the Cross, and the Gospel on Prayer  by Thomas Dubay, SM

  • The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, OCD 

​

  • The Practice of Contemplation According to John of the Cross by James Kinn

  • The Impact of God: Soundings from St. John of the Cross by Fr. Lain Matthews

  • Guidelines for Mystical Prayer, by Ruth Burrows​​

​​

​

​

​

​

​

​​​​​​​​​​​

bottom of page