As Carmelites we seek to "live in the footsteps of Jesus Christ." As brothers and sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, we seek to "meditate day and night on the law of the Lord," so that the "sword of the Spirit that is the Word of God, rest abundantly in our mouth and in our heart." As sons and daughters of the prophets, "filling ourselves with zeal for the cause of the Lord." we seek to imitate Jesus in his role as liberator.

The liberator role of Jesus is fruit of his intimacy with the Father, nourished and deepened in long nights of prayer. The experience of God as Father is the root of the proclamation that Jesus made of the Reign of God.

The Doctor of the Law asked "Which is the greatest of all the commandments?"

Jesus responded "To love God above all things and to love your neighbor as yourself." Then he concluded, "There is no greater commandment than these." Jesus confirms the response of the doctor, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God!" (Mk 12: 28-34).

If God is Father, we are all brothers and sisters. This is the meaning of the law and of the prophets (Mt 7:12). The basic experience of God as Father carries us to a new view, helps us to perceive the deviations in human life and generates the new practice that the people hope for the return of the prophet of Elijah. "He will turn the heart of fathers toward their children and the hearts of children towards their father. (Ml 3:24). Remade on this basis, the interpersonal and communitarian human relationships can slowly bring about a new world, a more fraternal society, one which is more humane and just. This is the hope of all and is expressed through the motto of the World Social Forum "Another World is Possible."

This is also the objective and the reason for this booklet on the The Liberating Experience of Jesus: to look closely at that which Jesus Christ did to reveal the Father to the people, how he transmitted the fruits of his contemplation to the brothers and sisters, how he carried out the welcoming of the excluded, how he was able to make the poor feel themselves to be valuable and integrated into society, how he denounced wrongs, what would be the new way for humanity to live together in the way that he proposes, what is the source from which one receives the power to overcome difficulty and the resistance that one encounters in order to continue the liberating experience in favor of Justice and Peace.

The diary of Brother Rafael Tijhuis (1913-1981) has been published under the title Inner Journey in Dachau. It is the description of his five years as a prisoner in the Dachau concentration camp (1940-1945) and his account of the atrocities experienced there by thousands of victims of the Nazi regime including Carmelites Titus Brandsma, Hilarius Januszewski and many religious and priests. Brother Rafael wrote this account in 1945 highlighting the spiritual journey of himself, his colleagues and confreres.

© 2005 Discovery Books/Leeuwarden
www.discoverybooks.nl
ISBN 90-77728-02-3
140 pages

Fr. Rafael María López Melús, a Carmelite of the Argovalentine Province and prolific author of religious books, has published a new book on the occasion of the 150th anniversary (December 1854-2004) of the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. Includes a brief history of the dogma and its connection to Spain.

© 2005 AMACAR
amacaronda@hotmail.com
39 pages