Author Archives

Diane M. Korzeniewski, OCDS

I am a secular Carmelite with the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Community in Detroit, Michigan. I made my Definitive Promise on March 3, 2012, taking the name Diane Marie of the Eucharist. I served as Formation Director from 2017 to 2020.

This is a personal, online journal. All opinions and thoughts expressed here are my own, and do not necessarily reflect those of my community, the Washington Province, or the Order of Discalced Carmelites.

An Unexpected Journey – in the Castle Corridors

Life is filled with unexpected journeys, and they happen in the spiritual life. Writing is a passion, and one that helps me to think through life, especially in my life as a Catholic. Like many of you, I grew up during an era of fluff-catechism – the kind that always told us how much God loved us, but never got around to telling us how to love Him back. Just coming to grips with that is a journey. Yet, this is what we were made for – to know, love, and serve Him.

In 2016, after blogging for the better part of 10 years at Te Deum Laudamus, I retired that site and began using social media exclusively out of convenience. For the most part, it was okay, but what was lacking was the ability to share across many different types of social media more complex thoughts along with references and formatting.

A few years ago, I wanted to write some random thoughts about J.R.R. Tolkien’s, The Hobbit, and what seemed like some themes out of St. Teresa of Avila’s Interior Castle. I also felt connections to certain writings of St. John of the Cross. I often wondered if the author had spent time studying the writings of St. Teresa and St. John of the Cross. That made me think of the idea for a new blog with a new focus – one that has been sitting in online storage for a couple of years now.

In Teresa’s Interior Castle there are many rooms. How we get to those rooms is through the corridors. They do not represent any room, but allow us to look in with wonder about what they hold and how we might grow in them. I thought if I could somehow show these connections in Tolkien’s writings, and perhaps other authors, with points made by the Carmelite saints, it might get another generation interested in these treasured Catholic spiritual books.

That is one area I will focus on, but not exclusively. There are many other things concerning Catholic spirituality I want to write about – things that make me think deeply and to love my faith even more because the more I learn, the more I can love God back.

These days, things move through social media so the site will be kept simple. If you read something you like, there should be share buttons below to share to social media. It’s easier to manage this way. I work full time and, there’s prayer life, chores, family, friends, parish life, and time needed to unwind. I’ll be writing as I find time on no particular schedule. This blog will be a work in progress for a while, so pardon the construction dust.

If you are interested in getting notified of new posts, add your email to the field for that in the sidebar.

Welcome!