I Am a Daughter of the Church

This is an excellent book that explains and blends the teachings of Sts Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross in a nice way. This is Fr. Marie Eugene's second volume (this first being I Want to See God). The previous title (I Want to See God) dealt primarily with the Teresian Mansions I-III and this volume continues with Mansions IV-VII. Fr. Marie Eugene's writing is easy to understand and he beautifully explains the Saints' writings. I also recommend Fr. Dubay's The Fire Within -- which is a quick overview of contemplative prayer, but is not as detailed as these two books.

This book is an outstanding synthesis of Carmelite spirituality. It takes over where Fr. Marie Eugene left off with "I Want to See God". This book begins with St Teresa's 4th mansions and St. John of the Cross's Dark Night of Sense. Fr. Marie Eugene shows how St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa complement each other and together give a complete description of the interior life from the beginnings of mystical prayer to the transforming union. He explains how St. John deals more with the transformation of the intellect in darkness while St. Teresa deals mainly with the transformation of the will through love. He shows that each one covered one aspect of mystical prayer- and he shows how both of their descriptions of the inner life fit together. I've read all of St. John's and St. Teresa's works a number of times and this is an excellent synthesis of their thought. He is a master of explaining and synthesising their spirituality. I would also recommend his work "Under the Torrent of His Love"- It's the best synthesis about the sprituality of St. Therese of Lisieux that I have read.