Realizing Our Deepest Desires

From his Jesuit background, Bernie Owens has written a twenty-first-century version of Teresa of Avila’s sixteenth-century classic, The Interior Castle. He writes in an experiential, easy-to-read style with numerous contemporary stories taken from North American and African cultures to illustrate the seven stages of spiritual growth Teresa describes. His book is a map for those seeking guidance on how to grow into praying and living contemplatively and dispose themselves for entering the deeper stages of the spiritual journey. Finally, he names issues that frequently emerge during the spiritual journey, describes the way for becoming a Beloved Disciple of Jesus as a proven path for living intimately with Christ and the Triune God, and, lastly, presents the kind of God Teresa knew and fiercely loved.

Bernie Owens, Jesuit and priest, author of More Than You Could Ever Imagine: On Our Becoming Divine (2015), taught courses in Christian theology and spirituality for thirteen years at University of Detroit Mercy, led a formation program for spiritual guides for eighteen years, and recently was a missionary in Kenya, East Africa, for five years. He presently teaches Ignatian discernment at St. John’s Jesuit High School, Toledo, Ohio.