My Friend the Friar

Send a text We trace Brother Lawrence’s path from wounded soldier to humble Carmelite cook and explore how he learned to make prayer and work one seamless act of love. We share his hard decade of scruples, his breakthrough into peace, and practical ways to cultivate tenderness for Christ in daily tasks. • Brother Lawrence’s early life, war wounds, and spiritual awakening • Entering Carmel as a lay brother and serving in a large kitchen • Ten years of interior struggle and the turn to peace •...

Send us a text We open Season Four by catching up after a hard, grace-filled year and laying out a clear plan for what we will study next. We share travel, retreats, family loss, surprising audience growth, and the Carmelite themes we will explore with fresh focus. • season three stretch due to illness, loss, and surgery • retreats, parish missions, and formation work across several states • top episode on Jewish marriage customs and the Last Supper • audience in 80 countries and 700 plus ci...

Send us a text We trace the Carmelite path from Elijah’s quiet breeze to Teresa and John’s reform, exploring how silence, scripture, and daily Eucharist shape a life of allegiance to Christ. Along the way, we look at Mary’s role, major historical shifts, and why laypeople might discern the Secular Order. • origins on Mount Carmel and Elijah’s witness • the Rule of St Albert and daily Eucharist • shift to mendicant life and urban presence • crises, mitigations and the call to reform • Teresa ...

Send us a text Want a prayer life that feels like a real relationship, not a checklist? We dive into Lectio Divina—sacred reading—as a simple, time-tested way to hear God through scripture and grow in freedom. Rather than racing through chapters or playing Bible roulette, we slow down with a short passage, repeat it, listen for the phrase that stirs the heart, talk with God about it, and then rest in his presence. This isn’t study or analysis; it’s encounter with the living Word who gently co...

Send us a text We explore mental prayer through a Carmelite lens, moving from definitions and methods to the lived experience of silence, distraction, and trust. The theme is simple and demanding: prayer is a relationship, not a performance, and silence is where love learns to listen. • mental prayer as interior attention and loving presence with God • meditation using reason vs mental prayer using affection and attention • rosary as rhythm that steadies focus on the mysteries • how distract...