The Carmelite tradition could be understood as an 800-year commentary on the Song of Songs. Thinking they were seeking an elusive God, they returned from their search with the conviction that God had been pursuing them all along in love.

Fundamental themes of Carmelite spirituality emerge in this story of the human heart. These reveal a spiritual dynamism at the core of Carmelite life which can be described as "seasons of the heart." The intent of this discussion is to review these "seasons of the heart" in an attempt to identify the spiritual dynamic of the Carmelite life.

The five "seasons" are: a longing heart (our desire for God); an enslaved heart (the worship of false gods); a listening heart (contemplative prayer); a troubled heart (the tragic in life); and, a pure heart (the transformation of desire).

These "seasons of the heart," and Carmel's expression of them, are among the realities which gave rise to the Carmelite tradition, establishing it as one of the major spiritual paths for Christians.