Immersed in Mystery

Our world is challenged to have an interior life. An interior life is a life attentive to God whose presence is always with us. Attending to that presence within us helps us prioritize and live appropriately our various cares and concerns. Without an interior anchor in God, our outside preoccupations may fragment and dissipate us. An interior life is not a withdrawal from the world but an effort to have a true center in our life, It is an effort to have a spiritual life, a life guided by the Holy Spirit. The articles in Immersed in Mystery present transformations that result from living a spiritual life. The Paschal Mystery, the life, death, and resurrection of the Lord, emerges as a basic pattern necessary for a mature faith. The articles were originally written for a diocesan magazine which had the twin goals of evangelization and education. John Welch, O. Carm., the author, specialized in Carmelite spirituality and human development at the Washington Theological Union. For twelve years he served on the Carmelite International Commission for Charism and Spirituality, and he was president of the Carmelite Institute of North America from 1993 to 2001. He is the author of numerous books, including When Gods Die: An Introduction to John of the Cross; Spiritual Pilgrims: Carl Jung and Teresa of Avila; The Carmelite Way: An Ancient Path for Today's Pilgrim; and Seasons of the Heart: The Spiritual Dynamic of the Carmelite Life.