William McNamara

Christmas Message from Abba Willie

Dear Friends, Advent is the four weeks before Christmas, November 27 — December 24. A time for seeking the dynamic simplicity that God and nature require for us to become Christened and united with all creatures large and small, wild and tame. Go Buy Kamagra Cheap Online d is not separate, but distinct; therefore active [...]

The Importance of Doing Nothing

The Suffering God

Christ is present in all the pain and suffering of the world, not safely separated from it but immersed in it to the hilt. “In all our affliction, he was afflicted” (Is. 63:9). The cross of Christ is the sign to us whenever nature is red in tooth and claw and whenever men have to [...]

The Disciplined Wildman

Editorial note:  This original, recent article by William McNamara was received by the editors of this website in late June 2009.  It represents a return to one of McNamara’s longstanding themes, dating all the way back to The Human Adventure, that of the mystic as a “disciplined wildman” who follows the dangerous path blazed by [...]

El Camino de Santiago Grafitto by Abba Willie

A pilgrim on El Camino de Santiago, the thousand-year old pilgrimage route in northern Spain, found this graffito written years ago by William McNamara. It is a tradition to write spiritual messages at various locations along the Camino.

William McNamara Today, Age 83

This is a photo of the mystic and spiritual writer William McNamara taken by the editors of this website on Wednesday, April 29, 2009, near the beach in Orange County, California.  Diagnosed with a terminal illness, frail and using a cane, he is nevertheless remarkably bright-eyed and full of plans.

Carmelite Pioneer: William McNamara

Until you’ve kept your eyes And your wanting still for fifty years, You don ‘t begin to cross over from confusion. – Rumi Reflecting recently on the future of Carmel, Superior General Camilo Maccise, O.C.D called for “risk,” “daring,” and “structural changes” in “an ever-valid charism and identity.” He challenged Carmelites to adopt a “creative [...]

Interview with What is Enlightenment Magazine

Here is an interview Abba Willie gave to What is Enlightenment Magazine in 2000: WIE: Father McNamara, you are a Carmelite monk, a contemplative in one of the most respected monastic traditions in the world. What inspired you to renounce worldly life and set your feet to the path of asceticism and solitude? FR. WILLIAM [...]