Previously I had a couple volumes of Divine Intimacy by Father Gabriel of St Mary Magdalen, O.C.D. So I was looking on Amazon to complete the two of four volumes I lacked.
Here is a summary of this work.
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.
Reading through the comments on Amazon I noticed some criticism of this version as being an edited one and “watered down.” There were multiple comments to this effect. Most suggested getting the original one volume set.
I saw that it was available via Baronius Press. I have other books from them and they are very high-quality leather-bound books. Since I wanted Divine Intimacy to be a daily companion for years to come, I ordered it from them.
The quality of the binding is just what I expected from Baronius Press. Just beautiful to look at and read through. The daily meditations follow the previous liturgical calendar as revised in 1962. The text is from the 1964 edition of this book.
The meditations are just excellent in going through and feeding you time in preparation for contemplative prayer. I need all the help I can get and I find this super helpful as it draws so heavily from Carmelite spirituality.
