Summary of Lukewarmness: The Devil in Disguise by Francisco Carvajal

Lukewarmness: The Devil in Disguise by Francisco Caravajal, Sinag-tala Publishers, 1978 Joy Joy should be normal for a Christian because "he always has in him the source of his joy" (7). As a result, regardless of whatever trials and difficulties … [Read more...]

Summary of In Sinu Jesu: When Heart Speaks to Heart – The Journal of a Priest at Prayer by A Benedictine Monk

In Sinu Jesu: When Heart Speaks to Heart - The Journal of a Priest at Prayer by A Benedictine Monk, Angelico Press, 2016. Adoration [Jesus]: “Adoration is the wordless confession of My divinity. Adoration proclaims that I am all and that all else is … [Read more...]

Summary of How to be Holy: A Festooning of Abandonment to Divine Providence by Peter Kreeft

Peter Kreeft’s How to Be Holy: A Festooning of Abandonment to Divine Providence is not your typical self-help manual on holiness. As Kreeft himself humbly puts it, "This book is not a great chef serving up a gourmet dinner; it is one desperately poor … [Read more...]

Summary of Live Today Well: St. Francis de Sales’s Simple Approach to Holiness by Fr. Thomas Dailey

Live Today Well: St. Francis de Sales's Simple Approach to Holiness by Fr. Thomas Dailey, Sophia Institute Press, 2015.  PART 1: SALESIAN SPIRITUALITY St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622), "an exemplary witness of Christian humanism" in the words of Pope … [Read more...]

Summary of Fill These Hearts by Christopher West

Fill These Hearts: God, Sex, and the Universal Longing by Christopher West, New York: Image Books, 2012.  What this Book is About "In short, the simple and, at the same time, lofty goal of this book is to help us aim our desire according to … [Read more...]

“Seek and you shall find” this Christmas

This Christmas, we must enter into the spirituality of the wise men. We must engage the deepest desires of our hearts and have the courage to follow the inner ache until we kneel before the infant Christ. Listen to these words of Pope Benedict … [Read more...]

Summary of Into Your Hands, Father by Wilfrid Stinissen

Into Your Hands, Father: Abandoning Ourselves to the God Who Loves Us by Wilfrid Stinissen, Ignatius Press, 2011. Quick Summary of the Book: Based on the life of Christ (see Hebrews 10:7, Luke 23:46), Stinissen puts forward surrender as the central … [Read more...]

Escaping from God for a “Spiritual Life”?

So two different books I've been reading lately seem to be calling me out for something I've been guilty of many times - that of having an impurity of heart at times in striving for a good thing - "the spiritual life" - but doing so to escape from … [Read more...]

Summary of Donkey Bells: Advent and Christmas Stories, Traditions and Meditations by Catherine Doherty

Donkey Bells: Advent and Christmas Stories, Traditions and Meditations with Catherine de Hueck Doherty, Compiled and edited by Mary Bazzett, Madonna House Publications, Combermere, Ontario, 2008. Book 1 – Meditations “Advent is a short season, yet … [Read more...]

Summary of The Life of St. Teresa of Jesus

Teresa of Ávila. The Life of St. Teresa of Jesus. Edited by Benedict Zimmerman. Translated by David Lewis. Fifth Edition. London: Thomas Baker, 1916. Charity "I never spoke ill in the slightest degree whatever of any one" (35). "Let us labour, … [Read more...]