The Life of Union with God And the Means of Attaining It, According to the Great Masters of Spirituality |
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| Author:
| Saudreau, Canon |
| Associate Editor:
| Hermenegild, Brother |
| ISBN: | 978-1-4935-3415-9 |
| Publication Date: | Oct 2013 |
| Publisher: | CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
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| Book Format: | Paperback |
| List Price: | USD $16.95 |
Book Description:
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THIS book is addressed to the fervent, to those who entertain the noble ambition of rising to a high degree of virtue, and have formed a firm and generous purpose of increasing daily in the love of God. Far from seeking to throw cold water on their holy desire, we can only congratulate them and encourage their legitimate aspirations. In fact, the first condition for great progress in the spiritual life is to have a great desire and hope of attaining a high degree of perfection.St...
More DescriptionTHIS book is addressed to the fervent, to those who entertain the noble ambition of rising to a high degree of virtue, and have formed a firm and generous purpose of increasing daily in the love of God. Far from seeking to throw cold water on their holy desire, we can only congratulate them and encourage their legitimate aspirations. In fact, the first condition for great progress in the spiritual life is to have a great desire and hope of attaining a high degree of perfection.St Teresa tells us to have great confidence and not to limit our desires, and to believe that, supported by God and sustained by his grace, we shall arrive by constant effort at the perfection which so many saints have attained. Had they never entertained these great desires and gradually realized them, they would never have reached such a high state. God expects and loves generosity, accompanied with humility and self-distrust. "Never," she writes, "have I known such a one left in the first stages of the spiritual life. Neither have I ever found a shrinking character sheltering under the cloak of humility make as much progress in many long years as the generous make in a short time. I am lost in astonishment when I behold the rapid progress of those whose courage has enabled them to undertake great things. Fr. Surin says: "A very ordinary temptation of many of God's servants is to limit their love and to entertain too petty and low ideas in the service of God. I know of no evil so universal nor so insidious and difficult to cure. . . . Were I urged to give the reason why there are so few saints while so many profess to serve God, I would reply that it is because they have not high aspirations".For the director of souls it is the first principle of spiritual science to bring to light, to develop, and to maintain in others these great desires and hopes.