Displaying items by tag: Book Review

Presentation of the Book

La demolita chiesa di S. Nicola dei Cesarini a Roma

by Cristina Cumbo

Published by Edizioni Carmelitane

Speakers:

Ilaria Miarelli Mariani
Director of the Direzione Musei Civici della Sovrintendenza Capitolina

Giovanni Grosso, O. Carm.

President, Institutum Carmelitanum

Riccardo Santangeli Valenzani

Archeologist

Monica Ceci

Archeologist

Cristina Cumbo

Archeologist e Author

The program will take place Friday, May 17, 2024 at 17:00

Museo di Rome – Palazzo Braschi

Sala Tenerani

Piazza di San Pantaleo, 10

Rome

Entrance is free

Information:  06 0608

www.museodiroma.it

New Meditation on Gospel Mercy, the Peace of Christ, and Obedience to God

 Let Yourself Be Loved is a wonderful contribution towards exploring words and themes that are central to the Gospel message. Highlighted are such matters as the facts that mercy in the gospel is an amazingly beautiful thing that bears little resemblance to what the word means outside of gospel contexts; that the peace of Christ is much more than the absence of conflict and/or any of the other dictionary definitions of the English word ‘peace’; and that the notion of obedience to God is something far richer than anything we normally attribute to obedience in other contexts.

In English | 81 pages

Edizioni Carmelitane Editions published a new book by Ruggiero Doronzo—  Iconografia carmelitana al femminile nelle incisioni dell’Archivio Generale dell’Ordine dei Carmelitani di Roma fra Seicento e Settecento. To learn more about this work, we asked the author three questions:

We know that you are involved in the history of Apulian art and have taught a course on the subject at the University of Bari. You also published several essays and monographs on painting and sculpture in southern Italy in the modern period. How did the idea for this volume on Carmelite iconography come about?

 This book is the result of research commissioned by the General Archives of the Carmelites entitled: Engravers and Painters for the Virgin of Mount Carmel, Saints and Venerables of the Carmelite Order. These are from Sister Isabella Piccini, Sebastiano Conca, and other artists active between the second half of the seventeenth century and the early eighteenth century. While initially the study was to focus on the engravings by a few artistic personalities, as the research progressed, new discoveries continued to be made. Some were seemingly insignificant but others were extraordinarily important in order to broaden the iconographic and iconological analysis to all engravings depicting the female subjects of the Carmelite Order.

The book we have in our hands is a real catalog. How did you plan to set it up?

To make the work easier to consult, the criterion used in setting up the volume takes into account the subject and the chronology of the print. These are translations or d'aprés prints, made on a source model, which was almost always a painting. Then there are “reproduction” prints derived solely from the drawings. When signatures were to be placed at the bottom of the print, that of the author was placed on the left, according to a hierarchical order and in a better position, while the engraver's signature was on the right. The terms pinxit, invenit, and delineavit thus indicate the author of the original and the intellectual and creative person responsible. Facit and sculpsit refer to the engraver. For each engraving, in fact, the name of the draughtsman or painter, that of the engraver, the subject, the technique, the measurements, any inscriptions, the current inventory number and the bibliography of reference (if it is already published) are indicated. This is followed by an iconographic and iconological examination of the image. It was decided to draw up also a biographical profile of the draughtsman and the burinist, their field of reference, as well as to offer some indication of the commissioner where such is indicated.

The subjects represented include Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the great saints Teresa of Avila and Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi, and twenty-three blessed and venerable women. Which authors and engravings have impressed you most?

On the basis of philological analysis, it appears that the prints were executed by engravers active in Italy, Flanders, Spain, Bavaria, and Poland. But there are some signed by authors who have escaped the major repertories or others who are anonymous. But they still pose interesting questions both about their identification and their place in the history of engraving. I was most impressed by those for which I was able to find the model they started with. This was the case with an engraving by Leonardo Germo depicting the Virgin of Mount Carmel appearing to Antonio Chiavassa. There is also one by Gaetano Bianchi reproducing a painting of the Virgin preserved in the sanctuary of the Madonna delle Grazie at Colletto near Pinerolo. I also find great beauty in the engravings of Abraham van Diepenbeeck, a Flemish artist. He is capable of conveying theological and Marian messages through images drawn with meticulous graphic skill.

On April 20, the latest volume of the prestigious TPM (Texts for a Millennium) collection, entitled "Flowers of the Carmel of Andalusia", was presented at the Carmelite Monastery of Seville. It is the work of Fernando de la Corte (1685-1759), a Carmelite from Granada, in which he recounts the founding of some of the most important monasteries of the contemplative Carmel in Andalusia: Seville (Santa Ana), Seville (Belen), Villalba del Alcor, Cañete la Real and Utrera. De la Corte also presents the lives of a series of venerable figures of the Andalusian female Carmel. It is, in short, a very valuable work to know the evolution of the Carmel in this part of Spain in the post-Tridentine period. The book also includes an extensive introductory study by historian Pedro Godoy Domínguez, in which he frames the founding of these convents in their historical context.

The book was presented by Doña Rosario Vera, Prioress of the Third Order of Carmel of Seville, and Father Fernando Millán Romeral, O.Carm. and the editor of the book, Pedro Godoy Domínguez, intervened. Both highlighted the contribution of this work to the Carmelite historiography and the need to make known these texts that form the living history of the Carmel of a certain historical period.

A book of 30 meditations by John of St. Samson inviting us to listen in on his prayers of aspiration as the Church makes its way through the liturgical year and through the various Mysteries of Christ and His Church. John of St. Samson was a French Carmelite and mystic. He is known as the soul of the Touraine Reform of the Carmelite Order, which stressed prayer, silence, and solitude.

John was blind from the age of three after contracting smallpox and receiving poor medical treatment for the disease. He insisted very strongly on the mystical devotion of the Carmelites. After a series of healings word spread and the local bishop asked his theologian his opinion of the healings. The theologian replied, "If people had the faith of Br. John, and lived as authentically as he, the gift of healing the sick would be far more common."

Donatien of St. Nicholas, a disciple and editor of his works "it is certain that this illuminated blind brother has been chosen and given to us by God to be the teacher and director of the spiritual life of our Reform." Donatien later wrote "his face was frequently beheld to be divinely radiant, resplendent with as it were some luminous ray, as I myself and other very trustworthy brothers have witnessed." John of St. Samson has been referred to as the "French John of the Cross" by students of Christian mysticism.

The work is expertly translated from the French by Carmelite nun Sr. Veronica of the Immaculate Heart of Mary of the Wahpeton cloistered Carmel. In his preface to the book,  Fr. Charlò Camilleri writes "Notwithstanding the fact that blindness impeded him from using visual imagery to clarify his ideas, and that the texts are generally full of crowded ideas, digressions, and loosely connected concepts, his doctrine is sound and inspires the reader to live radically the call to divine transformation."

For more information on the book

The second volume of Blessed Titus Brandsma’s writings has been published by Edizioni Carmelitane in Rome. The volume is entitled Titus Brandsma: Letters to the Family. The book contains over 500 pages and includes any writings still extant of the many cards and letters that Blessed Titus Brandsma wrote to his family. Included are the text of 292 letters and postcards. The correspondence are presented in chronological order and placed in their context. There are reproductions of the many postcards sent by Brandsma, which he sent primarily when he traveled. Included is the final letter he sent to his family from the Dachau Concentration camp on July 12, 1942. The first is a letter he sent to his mother, Tjitje on October 14, 1895, when Brandsma was 14 years old and studying at the Franciscan school in Megen.

This is volume two of a planned seven volume series on the writings, speeches, and letters of Brandsma.

The book can be purchased directly from Edizioni Carmelitane or from other webstores around the world.

Click here to access the many fine publications at Edizioni Carmelitane.

To place your order please contact:

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This work of 176 pages collects some of the presentations given at the 2016 International Course for Formators and Vocation Promoters of the Order in Batu, Malang, Indonesia. So one would logically think it is for those involved in Carmelite formation programs. And you would be correct.

The title however, with its subtitle Growing in the Contemplative Dimension of One’s Life, would indicate its focus on something much larger than topics in Carmelite formation programs. And you would be correct. In fact, I picked the book up because of its apparent focus on how to develop one’s contemplative side. I was not disappointed.

This book really has four possible audiences: formators but not necessarily of Carmelite programs; those interested in the Bible as a source of contemplation and specifically the Carmelite history of contemplation; some of the psychological aspects of human development; and vocation ministry. There is something for people of each focus in one or the other parts of the book.

The schedule of the conference called for conferences to be held in the morning and practices of contemplative prayer in the afternoon—a purposeful integration of theory and practice.

I wish to focus here on the first two talks. The first talk, The Bible as the Source of Contemplation, is, as its author Carmelite Berthold Pareira states upfront, “not about contemplation in the Bible but about the Bible as the source of contemplation.” Fr. Pareira takes the reader through a myriad of examples to bring home this point. What is most appreciative is that it a practical guide to liturgy, the psalms, the Song of Songs, and contemplation.

The second talk is a historical review of contemplation in Carmelite history by German Carmelite Michael Plattig. But do not let yourself fall into thinking this is just another history lesson. I have had the pleasure of hearing Plattig “live” on a couple of occasions. But his written word is just as engaging. The material he presents is thought provoking even for those who have heard conferences before on the Order’s long history with the practice of contemplation.

Other chapters in the book focus on two talks by Quinn Conners, O. Carm.: “The ability to give love and give of oneself” and “The capacity for responsible are and stewardship, expressed in ‘service in the midst of the people;’” and two talks by Spanish Carmelite Desiderio García Martínez: “With other eyes: accompanying formandi in a multicultural community that grows through contemplation” and “We are going to build ourselves a city: accompanying formandi growing in contemplation in the presence of the influence of technology.” The book concludes with two chapters on vocations ministry. One is by Daryl Moresco on “The theological basis of vocation promotion.” The other is by Irvin Mangmang on “Rising to the Challenge of Vocation Ministry in the 21st Century: the Philippine Experience.”

The book is published by Edizioni Carmelitane, and the price is 10 euros.

Click here to access this and other many fine publications at Edizioni Carmelitane.

To place your order please contact:

Libreria Nardecchia
TEL.: (+39) 06-5373901
FAX: (+39) 06-5373902
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Edizioni Carmelitane
TEL.: +39-0646201807
FAX: +39-0646201808
C.C.P.: 14069009
BIC/SWIFT: BPPIITRRXXX
IBAN: IT67 Z076 0103 2000 0001 4069 009
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Edizioni Carmelitane announces that the first of a multi volume series of the writings of Titus Brandsma is now available. The book has received very positive reviews with great anticipation for the publication of the remaining volumes. What sets this series apart is that it captures Brandsma in his own words and not through the filter of later studies.

Entitled Titus Brandsma: Mysticism in Action, this first volume of 287 pages, shows Titus as “a philosopher, priest, leader of Catholic schools and Catholic journalism, as a brother to Carmelites, member of his family, native Frisian, a free and authentic thinker, a champion of peace, activist against poverty, pro animal welfare, a prisoner, and a faithful martyr.” The book brings Brandsma alive by reprinting letters from Brandsma to a variety of friends and family as well as others, as well as some of his speeches and entries he authored in encyclopedias.

Among the writings included is Brandsma’s famous address, The Idea of God (Godsbegrip) to the community of the Catholic University of Nijmegan when he became rector magnificus in 1932. Brandsma’s very wide range of interests in many areas of life are represented here. He developed an explicitly Christian perspective on whatever topic he studied. Of course, we see the beginnings of his commitment to truth. It was this commitment that brought him into direct confrontation with the Nazi authorities and ultimately led to his murder for the faith.

Whether you consider yourself an expert on Brandsma or this is your first encounter with this fascinating Carmelite, this book will hold your interest.

To access the many fine publications at Edizioni Carmelitane, click here.

To place your order please contact:

Libreria Nardecchia
TEL.: (+39) 06-5373901
FAX: (+39) 06-5373902
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Edizioni Carmelitane
TEL.: +39-0646201807
FAX: +39-0646201808
C.C.P.: 14069009
BIC/SWIFT: BPPIITRRXXX
IBAN: IT67 Z076 0103 2000 0001 4069 009
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Available in other Carmelite Bookshops Worldwide

Sometime before 1214, Albert, as Patriarch of Jerusalem, wrote a Formula Vitae to guide the lives of the community on Mount Carmel into greater holiness.

Read more here

Watch the Reflections on St. Albert of Jerusalem with Br. Patrick Mullins O. Carm here

Watch the Interview with Br. Patrick Mullins O. Carm, an expert on  St. Albert, here

Our latest book on Titus Brandsma

We are happy to announce the publication of an English translation of the authoritative biography of Titus Brandsma, O. Carm., by Miguel Arribas, O. Carm.

Watch this short presentation of the book here