Presentation

[Note: page 9 of the volume (beginning of the Preface) was not acquired in the PDF scan. The text resumes from page 10.]

both in the numerous publications on St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus and St. Teresa Margaret of the Heart of Jesus.

He was also a member of the Roman Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas and Consultor of the Sacred Congregation of Rites.

Through his word and writings, this great religious and distinguished master of the spiritual life became an ardent animator of the spiritual movement in Italy.

In 1941 he founded the review Vita Carmelitana, which in 1947 became the Rivista di vita spirituale which from then on continues to spread that doctrine of life of which souls today, more than ever, feel an imperious need.

Fr. Gabriele was profoundly aware of the spiritual needs of our times and equally understood the characteristic mission of Carmel in the Church, which is to lead souls to a life of intimate union with God through the practice of mental prayer.

From this came the idea of a Work which, inspired by the great masters of Carmel, would set forth the whole doctrine of the spiritual life in the form of simple but substantial meditations, and would initiate souls into intimate prayer.

Divine Intimacy therefore seeks to order the daily meditations “in such a way that, in the course of a year, the fundamental problems of the spiritual life are reviewed, all the supernatural realities with which the interior life brings us into contact” (Preface).

To carry out this plan, he solicited the collaboration of the Discalced Carmelite Nuns of the Monastery of St. Joseph in Rome. For this purpose he provided them with all the vast material at his disposal (his publications, the texts of his conferences, instructions, sermons, etc...), then outlined the plan of the entire Work and directed its composition.

This collaboration requested of his spiritual daughters of Carmel was truly providential.

After the sudden death of the distinguished master, the Carmelites, in possession of all his manuscripts, were able to bring to a happy conclusion the publication of the Work of their venerated Father.

The first edition of Divine Intimacy, quickly exhausted, was received with true enthusiasm by spiritual souls. Its translation into various languages was requested. And the very numerous letters from high Prelates, from Directors of Seminaries, from Superiors and Superioresses of religious houses, from Priests and from the laity attest to the good that souls receive from this publication.

In subsequent editions the calendar of meditations has been simplified, abolishing the division into months and following solely the order of the liturgical weeks. Consequently, the meditations of the fixed feasts have been gathered at the end of each volume. (Exceptions are the meditations for the feasts of Christmas, the Circumcision, and the Epiphany, which, following general usage, are inserted within the course of the liturgical weeks. The same has been done for the feast of the Immaculate Conception.)

The cycle of meditations for the weeks after Epiphany has been completed.

The changes to adapt to the new arrangement of the Work have been reduced to the indispensable minimum. The program, the arrangement of the material, as well as the text remain totally unchanged.

May this new edition of Divine Intimacy awaken in many souls the need for a profound interior life and lead them to intimate union with God, source of a truly fruitful apostolate in the Church.

Fr. Beniamino of the Most Holy Trinity, O.C.D. Director of the “Rivista di vita spirituale”.

Rome, feast of St. Anne, July 26, 1955.

Notice

Except in certain cases where we believed it more appropriate to keep the texts of the first edition unchanged, the citations of Sacred Scripture and of the principal Carmelite authors have been revised and corrected according to the following Works:

THE HOLY BIBLE. Translation in collaboration with Abbot Giuseppe Ricciotti and annotated by him. - Salani - Florence, 1940.

THE PSALMS. Edited by the Pontifical Biblical Institute - Salani - Florence, 1949.

St. John of the Cross - WORKS. Single volume - O.C.D. Postulation - Rome, 1955.

St. John of the Cross - SPIRITUAL CANTICLE edited by Fr. Gabriele of St. Mary Magdalene - Florentine Bookstore - Florence, 1948.

St. Teresa of Jesus - WORKS, Single volume - O.C.D. Postulation - Rome, 1949.

St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus - STORY OF A SOUL - L.I.C.E. - Turin, 1943.

St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus - LETTERS. - O.C.D. Postulation - Rome, 1955.

Sister Elizabeth of the Trinity - SPIRITUAL TESTAMENT - O.C.D. Postulation - Rome, 1950.