Fifty year ago, a lecture tour in the United States resulted in this modest volume of no scholarly pretensions. The author referred to them as historical sketches. Nevertheless the work has merit as the first attempt at an historical synthesis of Carmelite Spirituality. It also provides insights into its author, Titus Brandsma, the Dutch Carmelite who died a martyr’s death in Dachau concentration camp.
In describing the beauty of Carmelite spirituality, Brandsma reveals the sources of his own profound Christian love. On November 3, 1985, at a beatification liturgy at St. Peter’s in Rome, Titus Brandsma was honored by the Church with the titles of Blessed and Martyr.