A Sip of Carmelite Water: A Journey Through the Three Ways of the Spiritual Life

Tracks On "A Sip of Carmelite Water": 0:00 The Purgative Way 2:55 A Nite of Sense 5:53 Illumination Station 9:12 A Nite of the Spirit 13:17 The Unitive Way 15:47 Matrimony 18:42 Apostolic Fruitfulness "A Sip of Carmelite Water: A Journey Through the Three Ways of the Spiritual Life" is an album that I created which is meant to musically reflect the three stages of the spiritual life, as well as the two dark nights, as laid out by St John of the Cross in his works The Spiritual Canticle, the Ascent of Mount Carmel, The Dark Night of the Soul, and Living Flame of Love (as well as the broader mystical tradition). Following the three stages of the spiritual life (The Purgative, the Illuminative, and the Unitive), I have made specific songs which are meant to artistically represent each stage. The first track on the album “The Purgative Way” is meant to depict the soul’s journey during the Purgative stage of the spiritual life. During the stage, the soul must begin to seriously purge itself of sin (including seven deadly sins), mortify itself, begin to practice the virtues, and pray (especially through meditation). This state can be painful, due to the fact that deeply embedded attachments (especially to mortal sin) must be broken, which is why this track is rather gloomy. However, since God also consoles the soul on this stage of the journey, this track is not extremely dark. The second track “A Nite of Sense” is illustrative of the “Dark Night of the Senses”. During this dark night, God purges the soul on a much deeper level than the soul could accomplish by its own efforts. God also purges the soul of the spiritual consolations (and the concomitant attachments to them) it was receiving during the Purgative way, and weans the soul off of mediation, introducing contemplation. This stripping away of consolation and meditation, along with the painful trails and temptations the soul is subject to during this state, can be extraordinarily painful. Hence, this track is rather dark; much darker than the first. “Illumination Station” mirrors the “Illuminative Stage” of the spiritual life, where a certain degree of proficiency and stability is present, hence the change in musical tone. “A Night of the Spirit” musically depicts the “Dark Night of the Spirit”, which is the second Dark Night the soul goes through on the spiritual journey. This is unquestionably the most painful part of the whole journey, and I have tried to reflet this through the music. The track "The Unitive Way" represents the final stage of the spiritual journey for which it is named. The track "Matrimony" is a reference to the spiritual marriage, also known as the transforming union, in which the soul is united to God in the deepest center of their soul. (Note: while the unitive way is an overarching period of the spiritual life, the spiritual marriage or transforming union occurs within this period.) Lastly "Apostolic Fruitfulness" is a reference to the fruit produced by the transforming union. Souls who have reached this high degree of sanctity are in a special place to assist in the conversions of others, as well as the building up of the Church, in some form or another. This is because their souls have been so purified, and hence God is able to act through them more easily than others. Ironically, this is more of a Teresian than a Sanjuanist idea, as St John of the Cross was more apt to hermit solitude. However, even the hermit contributes to the Church through a hidden life of charity, prayer, and penance for the good of the Church. Musically, this album uses dub reggae and was created with the use of AI. However, each song was, in so far as possible, was carefully crafted to try and capture (however feebly) the essence of each spiritual stage. Of course, one should not take my experiment to seriously. It is simply a fun way to introduce the mind to the doctrine of St John of the Cross. For those interested, here is my book review of Fr Garrigou Lagrange's book on the Three Ways of the Spiritual Life, a book which is a great starting point for learning the doctrine I have used as the template for this album: https://thecatholiccritic.com/three-a...