'Contemplative Hunger' will be focus of book discussion

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SANDY — The Carmel of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Order of Carmel Discalced Seculars are sponsoring their second annual book discussion, which will be held on Oct. 5 at Blessed Sacrament Parish.

The book, “Contemplative Hunger” by Father Donald Haggerty, contains a series of short meditations on prayer and contemplative spirituality.  It is about “the hunger that begins to manifest itself in our deeper soul and in the longing for God, longing for time of prayer, how the contemplative manifestations that take place in our life in which the deeper need for silence, the desire for God becomes a more prominent reality in our prayer,” Fr. Haggerty said in an EWTN Bookmark Brief interview.

Fr. Haggerty, who is a priest of the Archdiocese of New York, also wrote “Contemplative Provocations,” to which “Contemplative Hunger” is a sequel.

“What I have in mind is not so much the cloistered sisters to read them, but to open up the love for prayer in people,” he said of his books.

Fr. Haggerty has been a professor of moral theology at St. Joseph’s Seminary in New York and Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Maryland. He is also the spiritual director for Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity.

The theme of the book fits well with the Order of Carmel Discalced Seculars’ mission, said Katie Goudie, director of formation.

“This is part of our apostolate, to help spread the good news about prayer,” she said. “The Carmelite voice is contemplation in and of itself. … ‘Contemplative Hunger’ is significant for us because there’s a temptation to consider prayers not as effective as other active means” of practicing faith, Goudie said. “We recognize the effect of our contemplation as a source of great benefit for the world.”

Monsignor Michael Winterer, a retired priest of the diocese who formed many of the members of the secular Carmelite  community, “told us, ‘We do not have time to read good books; we need to be reading great books,’” Goudie said. “This is a really great book and we want to spread the riches of the contents of what we have been immersing ourselves in.”

Those who are interested in attending the discussion may order “Contemplative Hunger” from Amazon or local Catholic bookstores. A few copies will be available for purchase the day of the discussion.

The Order of Carmel Discalced Seculars are lay people who have made commitments to turn their lives to prayer. In addition to individual devotions, members meet monthly to pray together and to study the lives of the Carmelite saints; the works of order founder St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross and St. Therese of Lisieux; the writings of Pope Francis, papal encyclicals and other works. There are three secular Carmelite communities in Utah in Salt Lake City, Ogden and Cedar City.

The Carmel of the Immaculate Heart Discalced Seculars, which meets at the monastery on the first Sunday of each month in the afternoon, currently has 15 members. The group will offer a new aspirant class beginning in January. At the book discussion, literature will be available about the secular Carmelite way of life. Community members will also be happy to share their vocation, Goudie said.

“We see ourselves as a resource for people who God has already imparted a hunger for himself to the person,” she said. “If they are looking for a way to feed that in their lives, then our Carmelite community wants to be available.”