Carmelite Conversations
An Enslaved Heart – The Worship of False Gods

Wednesday 13 May 2026
10.30am – 12.00pm (Melbourne, Australia Time)

[You are welcome to join from other time zones, for example: Perth: 8.30am • Singapore/Malaysia: 8.30am–10.00am • Philippines: 9.30am–11.00am • Timor-Leste: 9.30am–11.00am • Japan/Korea: 10.30am–12.00pm • New Zealand: 12.30pm–2.00pm]

The human heart longs for fulfilment.

Yet often, without realising it, we give our hearts to what cannot satisfy. We become attached to things that promise life but leave us restless, burdened, or unfree.

The Carmelite tradition calls this an enslaved heart — a heart that has lost its freedom through disordered desire.

But the heart can be set free.

In this session of Carmelite Conversations 2026: Seasons of the Heart, we explore the deeper spiritual dynamic at work within us — the tension between desire, attachment, and the call to freedom.

Drawing on the wisdom of the Carmelite tradition and the insights of Fr Jack Welch O.Carm, we reflect on how the human heart is not called to reject desire, but to have it transformed and re-oriented toward God.

This session will explore:

What draws us away from God
The attachments that shape our lives
The call to freedom of the heart

“As we cling to idols we are unfree, our heart’s desire cannot hear the invitation of the Beloved... The solution is liberation of the heart.”
— Fr Jack Welch O.Carm

“The soul that is attached to anything, however much good there may be in it, will not arrive at the liberty of divine union.”
— St John of the Cross

Each session includes a guided presentation, space for contemplative reflection, and the opportunity for shared conversation.

Drawing upon the wisdom of Seasons of the Heart by Fr Jack Welch O.Carm, each session will feature:

a presentation focusing on the central insights of an Enslaved Heart as outlined by Fr Jack Welch O.Carm.
a space for contemplative reflection and conversation

Join us as we listen again for the approach of God —
and rediscover the freedom your heart is made for.

The Carmelite Centre
214 Richardson Street
Middle Park VIC 3206

The Carmelites of Australia & Timor-Leste

Contact the host of Carmelite Conversations :: 13 May 2026