We all suffer…but do we suffer well?  What a mystery!  What does it mean to suffer well?  What are the challenges and fears about suffering?  What are the gifts and blessings of suffering?

The feast of St. Joseph is March 19.  After the Blessed Virgin Mary, he is the greatest Saint of all time.  This year, 2022, the Knights of Columbus announced the selection of an icon of St. Joseph holding the Child Jesus as the centerpiece of this year.

In this presentation, Deacon Baldwin will address that truth and point out the use of  silence in prayer and particularly in the life of contemplatives and the gift of contemplation in prayer.

As a doctor of the Church,  St. Teresa of Avila has much to teach the universal Church and humanity at large.  She was quite the mystic.  We are so blessed that she wrote so much to help us grow in our union with God.

The hidden power source behind our actions in fulfilling our mission as Secular Carmelites in the Church is THE HOLY SPIRIT!!! The Holy Spirit is involved in the Spiritual formation in the life of the Christian.

Praying the rosary is a Marian Devotion that many Catholics practice.  As a Carmelite, it is a way of learning how to model Mary’s prayer life.

Advent is a beautiful time of reminding us to specifically prepare our hearts and wait with expectant hope and longing for the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.    We look forward to His presence with great joy.  It also tends to be a very busy time fil...

The visible material world is only part of God’s gracious creation.  The spiritual reality of creation is often overlooked by people in general, however, anyone aspiring to grow in their relationship with God, does well to meditate on these spiritual rea...

Anyone familiar with the writings of St. Therese of the Child Jesus knows that she struggles in dealing with difficult people, both as a young child and as a religious sister.  Importantly, she also triumphed in learning how to embrace difficult people. ...

God Feels Distant.  How often have you felt that way or heard another person say that?  How is this manifested?  Is it normal in the spiritual life?  How much are we attributing this to our feelings rather than our intellect?  What are some examples of w...

The Ratio Institutionis is a document found in The Book of Documents used in the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites as found at www.ocdswashprov/store/book.  It basically addresses how to put the Carmelite charism into practice in our daily lives.  It...

What is “discernment”?  That word is used frequently in Christian circles, especially in regard to answering the call to our vocation in life.  Many souls have a fundamental misunderstanding of what discernment is.  Deacon Baldwin clarifies what discernm...

After being fully professed by making the Definitive Promise in the Order, a member may choose to discern whether he/she is being called to make a vow.  What is a vow?  How does a vow differ from a promise?  What kind of vow can one make?  How is a soul ...

Aug. 9th is the feast of St.Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (aka Edith Stein).  Deacon Baldwin gives a short background on this wonderful Saint and then zeroes in on how she lived out the “love of the Cross.”  What was that like?  Who was she?  What did sh...

In John 17: 14-16, Jesus states that we do not belong to the world. Still, He prays not that we be taken from the world, but that we may have the strength to resist evil. What do the Carmelite Saints have to say about remaining in God while being in the ...

How are we (as Carmelites/Christians) to be to the world what the soul is to the body?  What do our Carmelite Doctors of the Church teach us?  How are we in the world but not of the world?  What is the soul?  How does it operate? What is its relationship...

Deacon Baldwin helps the listener to understand the word “mystery” as it applies to faith in God.  He explains how the mystery of God goes beyond our intellect and reason.  He then proceeds to introduce the steps to enter into the mystery of Divine Love.

4th in the Series:  featuring Père Jacques de Jésus, OCD (1900 – 1945) Père Jacques (aka Lucien Bunel) was a French Roman Catholic priest who became a Discalced Carmelite Friar.  He was born in France in 1900 and died in 1945.  He lived through two eart...

3rd in the Series:  featuring St. Maria Maravillas of Jesus, OCD (1891-1974) During the life of St. Maria Maravillas, a Discalced Carmelite nun and foundress, Spain was going through much upheaval.  Religious persecution increased daily.  In this convers...

Second in the Series:  featuring General Louis-Gaston de Sonis In this podcast, the conversation focuses on the life of General Louis-Gaston de Sonis, from France.  Born in 1825 and 1887.  He was a husband, father of 12, a military officer and a member o...

In our day, there is much social upheaval and unrest and a strident political atmosphere.  Additionally, living during the pandemic of Covid-19, has caused many pressures and struggles for the whole world. “Courage in the Face of Opposition” is needed as...

We all are called by Heaven, but how many of us hear it?  How many answer the call?  What help do we receive in order to answer the call and fulfill the call?  In this podcast, Deacon Rusty Baldwin, OCDS, examines the “call.” Here, he specifically addres...

Laura Reece Hogan is a is a professed Third Order Carmelite and the award-winning author of the chapbook O Garden-Dweller and a book of spiritual theology, I Live, No Longer I. Laura earned a law degree from the University of California, Los Angeles Scho...

The blessings from God are considered in this presentation in the light of Evangelical Perfection.