Fr Aloysius Deeney RIP

How many of us have benefited from the little book by the late Fr Aloysius Deeney about what it means to be a Secular Carmelite! I know I did, when the time for the big decision came. What I remember above all from it is what Fr Matt Blake OCDS also tends to emphasise to us - the intangibility of the call, the mystery of it all, even the strangeness of it. Fr Deeney says that a person can love Our Lady, can love studying the writings of the Carmelite saints, can practise contemplative prayer - and yet there may be something else missing that is essential for the call to the Seculars. Carmel is assuredly very beautiful - but equally very mysterious. However, given the fundamentals of membership - that a person is an active Catholic and drawn to contemplative prayer - a deep love for one or more of the Carmelite saints is in my experience a very positive sign of a vocation to the Seculars. If you google Profile of an OCDS you will find a condensed version of Fr Deeney's view of the subject, with six basic requirements for genuine call.