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Midnight CarmelitePractical Wisdom for a Deeper Prayer Life Author: Andrew Gniadek
Andrew Gniadek from Luminous Tradition dives deep into the doctrine of St. John of the Cross and the broader Carmelite tradition so that you can grow in hope in God and face all the necessities, trials, and difficulties that life brings and integrate the spiritual life more into your daily living. Realize that you do not need to be a religious, that you are capable of holiness, so that you can experience a greater personal love of God and those nearby and strengthen your union with God in this life right now. Andrew has spent more than a decade as a philosopher until he encountered St. John of the Cross and the Carmelite tradition. After reading everything St. John of the Cross ever wrote, he saw that without a spiritual life built on the personal love of God and those nearby he was not fulfilling his obligation to Christ. Andrew shares his insights into Saint John of the Cross and Carmelite spirituality and uses reason, the law and doctrine of the Gospel, and his own experience, giving special attention to a variety of obstacles and trials along the way. Midnight Carmelite will challenge you both intellectually and spiritually: bringing forth insights from the life and doctrine St. John of the Cross and other Carmelite saints, engaging Scripture in the original Greek, learning philosophy of the human person, meditations on the life of our Blessed Lord, and commentary on Andrew's articles about Carmelite spirituality and philosophy. Hit subscribe now and start your journey up Mt. Carmel today. Language: en Genres: Christianity, Philosophy, Religion & Spirituality, Society & Culture Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Stripping the Intellect and the Illusion of Understanding
Episode 8
Wednesday, 25 February, 2026
The Midnight Compass: Stop treating the Dark Night like a mood disorder. You don't need another devotional; you need a map for the void. Get the bi-weekly field guide featuring exact translations and the "Reflect-Pray-Act" micro-disciplines to turn your daily silence into presence and encounter: midnightcarmelite.com/compassNew Here? If the silence is deafening and you need immediate triage, start with my free guide: The 5-Minute Prayer Reset: https://midnightcarmelite.com/darknightSt. John of the Cross warns us against relying solely on our understanding to map out the spiritual life. If you are experiencing spiritual dryness, it is often because you are treating the Divine Mystery as a biological trigger or a data set to be mastered rather than an infinite reality to be encountered through faith. This episode performs a metaphysical surgery on our need for "understanding," demonstrating why trying to grasp God's essence with our intellect leads to a self-imposed gnosticism. We must actively strip away our limited perceptions and allow the darkness of faith to be our true guide.Clinical Notes:The difference between identifying an object (like a rose) and truly understanding its essence, which remains impossible when it comes to the mystery of God.How faith acts as the necessary darkness that helps us see and understand the formal structure of reality proposed by the Church.The specific danger of reducing your spiritual life to a dopamine hit or a closed biological system rather than a relationship with the Divine.The true nature of mercy (Luke 6:36) as an unpredictable gift that requires us to let go of our affairs and desire for vengeance once justice is acknowledged.
