Dear Friends, We are approaching a very special day in the Church and one that is particularly important to me. July 16th is the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. It is a kind of second birthday to me as it was the day I was confirmed and received into the Church.

This year I am asking that you celebrate this day and join with me in a special prayer for a special group of people by praying a novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel with and for them. This special group of people are the first students of the Avila Institute who begin their studies in spiritual theology on September 11th.

My desire in this novena is to beseech Our Lady for special graces for their professor Dr. Anthony Lilles and these students that they might come to know and love Christ in ways they never thought possible through their diligent and prayerful engagement with our Lord through the lives and Spirit-inspired wisdom of the great saints. As well, this prayer will be part of an act of consecration of the Avila Institute to Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

Please join with us beginning the novena this tomorrow for these intentions:

1. That the students of the Avila Institute will come to a deeper and more profound relationship with Christ through their studies, prayer, and engagement with the Institute and other students.

2. That the financial needs would be met for each student who desires to attend.

You can find the daily prayers HERE or on the Avila Institute website at www.Avila-Institute.com under the “Student Link” tab and select “Calendar.” There you will find the prayers for each day leading up to the feast.

We are grateful to you for your prayers and support and hope to see each one of you in attendance at the Avila Institute one day.

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Art for this post on the Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel: The Virgin of the Carmen with Saint Theresa and Saint John of the Cross, Juan Rodríguez Juárez (1675 – 1728), PD-US, Wikimedia Commons.

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Dan Burke

Dan Burke is the past President and C.O.O. of EWTN's worldwide news
network. He is presently the founder and President of the Avila Institute for Spiritual Formation, which offers graduate and personal enrichment studies in spiritual theology to priests, deacons, religious, and laity in 90 countries and prepares men for seminary in over 40 dioceses.

Dan is the author and editor of numerous books on authentic Catholic spirituality and hosts the Divine Intimacy Radio show with his wife, Stephanie, which is broadcast weekly on EWTN Radio. Past episodes can be found, along with thousands of articles on the interior life, at SpiritualDirection.com.

In his deep commitment to the advancement of faithful Catholic spirituality, he is also the founder of Apostoli Viae, a world-wide, private association of the faithful dedicated to living and advancing the authentic spiritual patrimony of the Church.

Most importantly, Dan is a blessed husband, father of four, grandfather of one—and grateful to be Catholic.