The Ascent of Mt. Carmel


This spiritual classic, about dark nights of the soul and how to start to achieve union with God through prayer, begins with a look at the "night of sense". The second book deals with the "night of faith". Then the third book deals with the "night of the memory and will".


The final two books of the five book treatise are generally printed separately and called The Dark Night of the Soul. They are not included in this reading.

Audio Files	128Kbps MP3
Prologue	17.2M
Bk. 1, Chs. 01-02: On a Dark Night	9.7M
Bk. 1, Chs. 03-04: Necessity of the Dark Night	24.0M
Bk. 1, Chs. 05-06: Putting God First; Bad Effects of Desires	24.6M
Bk. 1, Chs. 07-08: Desires Torment the Soul and Make You Think Stupid Things	17.5M
Bk. 1, Chs. 09-10: Desires Dirty and Weaken the Soul	15.5M
Bk. 1, Ch. 11: Even Little Desires Hold You Back	14.0M
Bk. 1, Chs. 12-13: Bad Effects of Specific Desires; How to Enter the Night of Sense	17.8M
Bk. 1, Chs. 14-15: The Rest of the First Stanza	5.4M
Bk. 2, Chs. 01-02: The Second Stanza, and the Night of Faith	9.7M
Bk. 2, Ch. 3: How Faith Is a Dark Night to the Soul	8.9M
Bk. 2, Ch. 4: How the Soul Must Be in Darkness to Be Guided by Faith	13.6M
Bk. 2, Ch. 5: What Is Meant by Union of the Soul with God	14.2M
Bk. 2, Ch. 6: How Faith, Hope and Love Perfect and Produce Emptiness and Darkness in the 3 Faculties of the Soul	8.7M
Bk. 2, Ch. 7: Wherein is described how strait is the way that leads to eternal life and how completely detached and disencumbered must be those that will walk in it. We begin to speak of the detachment of the understanding	18.8M
Bk. 2, Ch. 8: Which describes in a general way how no creature and no knowledge that can be comprehended by the understanding can serve as a proximate means of Divine union with God	11.9M
Bk. 2, Chs. 9-10: How faith is the proximate and proportionate means of the understanding whereby the soul may attain to the Divine union of love; Wherein distinction is made between all apprehensions and types of knowledge which can be comprehended by the understanding	8.6M
Bk. 2, Ch. 11: Of the hindrance and harm that may be caused by apprehensions of the understanding which proceed from that which is supernaturally represented to the outward bodily senses; and how the soul is to conduct itself therein	19.7M
Bk. 2, Ch. 12: Which treats of natural imaginary apprehensions. Describes their nature and proves that they cannot be a proportionate means of attainment to union with God. Shows the harm which results from inability to detach one self from them	13.5M
Bk. 2, Chs. 13-14: Of other delectable effects which are wrought in the soul by this dark night of contemplation; the last three lines of the first stanza explained.	29.6M
Bk. 2, Chs. 15-16: Begins to explain the second stanza, and how, though in darkness, the soul walks securely	27.4M
Bk. 2, Ch. 17: Wherein is described the purpose and manner of God in His communication of spiritual blessings to the soul by means of the senses. Herein is answered the question which has been referred to	16.7M
Bk. 2, Ch. 18: Which treats of the harm that certain spiritual masters may do to souls when they direct them not by a good method with respect to the visions aforementioned. Describes also how these visions may cause deception even though they be of God.	10.9M
Bk. 2, Ch. 19: Though visions and locutions come from God, we may be deceived about them through misunderstanding.	25.0M
Bk. 2, Ch. 20: Wherein is proved by passages from Scripture how the sayings and words of God, though always true, do not always rest upon stable causes.	11.9M
Bk. 2, Ch. 20: Wherein is explained how at times, although God answers the prayers that are addressed to Him, He is not pleased that we should use such methods. It is also shown how, although He condescend to us and answer us, He is oftentimes wroth.	22.5M
Bk. 2, Ch.22: Wherein is solved a difficulty -- namely, why it is not lawful, under the law of grace, to ask anything of God by supernatural means, as it was under the old law. This solution is proved by a passage from Saint Paul.	32.9M
Bk.2, Chs. 23-24: Which begins to treat of the apprehensions of the understanding that come in a purely spiritual way, and describes their nature. Which treats of two kinds of spiritual vision that come supernaturally.	20.7M
Bk. 2, Chs. 25-26: Of revelations, describing their nature and making a distinction between them. Of intuition of naked truths in the understanding, explaining how they are of two kinds and how the soul is to conduct itself with respect to them.	30.0M
Bk. 2, Chs. 27-29: Which treats of the second kind of revelation, namely, the disclosure of hidden secrets. Which treats of interior locutions that may come to the spirit supernaturally. Which treats of the first kind of words that the recollected spirit sometimes forms within itself.	28.9M
Bk. 2, Chs. 30-32: The interior words that come to the spirit formally by supernatural means. The substantial words that come interiorly to the spirit. The apprehensions received by the understanding from interior feelings which come supernaturally to the soul.	19.2M
Bk. 3, Chs. 1-2: Plan of Book 3. The natural apprehensions of the memory and describes how the soul must be voided of them in order to be able to attain to union with God according to this faculty.	21.8M
Bk. 3, Chs. 3-6: Three kinds of evils which come to the soul from not entering into darkness with respect to knowledge and reflections of the memory; The advantage of entering into darkness in this respect.	18.9M
Bk. 3, Chs. 7-12: Apprehensions of the imagination and supernatural knowledge. Five kinds of evils which come to the soul from not entering into darkness with respect to the imagination.	22.0M
Bk. 3, Ch. 13: The advantage of entering into darkness with respect to the imagination's understandings.	16.3M
Bk. 3, Chs. 14-15: Which treats of spiritual knowledge in so far as it may concern the memory. Which sets down the general method whereby the spiritual person must govern himself with respect to this sense.	8.3M
Bk. 3, Ch. 16: Which begins to treat of the dark night of the will. Makes a division between the affections of the will.	7.6M
Bk. 3, Chs. 17-19: Joy. Attaching joy to temporal blessings is a bad idea.	27.2M
Bk. 3, Ch. 20: Advantages of not rejoicing in temporal things.	9.3M
Bk. 3, Chs. 21-23: Rejoicing in natural things.	19.8M
Bk. 3, Chs. 24-26: Rejoicing in things of the senses.	22.8M
Bk. 3, Chs. 27-29: Rejoicing in moral good	23.9M
Bk. 3, Chs. 30-32: Rejoicing in supernatural good	24.0M
Bk. 3, Chs. 33-35: Spiritual good -- the motive kind	15.1M
Bk. 3, Chs. 36-38: Holy art	19.2M
Bk. 3, Chs. 39-42: Places of prayer	15.9M
Bk. 3, Chs. 43-45: Devotions and preaching	21.6M
Introduction by the translator, E. Allison Peers	23.6M