Book Description

New - 3rd Edition!There is an ordinary path to holiness. Not common! Not usual. But simple, and true.It is not easy to hear whispers in a chaos of noise - and Truth comes in whispers.It is not easy to see Truth right before one's eyes, while looking for figments of imagination.It is not easy to grasp the firm anchor, racing with the crowd in stampede for escape.Bright, clear, unmoving and eternal - Truth exists! And He calls us into the holy, into the beauty, into the True - but we have to learn to listen so as to hear. We have to learn to walk all over again, as a learner - a disciple - following the true Teacher, no matter the cost. Jesus brought Truth, and it is here, and it is free and it alone is freeing. Why then is there so much confusion? Why so many "opinions" and so little certainty, or lasting happiness, or deep peace? Why? Many are too busy to really listen and be surprised by Truth! And learn, and follow His way to holiness.How do we work out our salvation? What ought we anticipate, and likely meet, on this journey through - and to - life? If we know the purpose of our life, do we have the wisdom we need to attain that purpose, even through the trials and temptations we are sure to encounter? We are called to holiness, and Jesus is the Way!Many holy saints have found in Him, the ways of His way. There is an "ordinary path" - many have walked it, and their wisdom has been treasured in His Church for centuries. Many seekers, however, have yet to find this path, and many contemporary teachers and spiritual guides have failed to teach this path, even to today. This ought not be.There are today many new attempts to renew, awaken, invigorate and vivify the Church and her members! There are many program packages, including guides, books, videos, training manuals, leaders, and so on. Many of these new programs promise much, but deliver little that is lasting, because they lack the depth, the wisdom and the unction that is needed for this task! They look for new insights, but fail to see what is there already, in the traditional wisdom of the Church.Persons sincerely seeking holy Truth, eternal Truth, no matter the cost, need God Himself to guide them. The wisdom, depth and unction that is needed was found by the holy saints, and embraced by the holy saints, and lived by them. Their examples, their writings and experiences are the foundations of the "renewal program" that the Church needs, and that you and I need personally, to grow in the life of Christ. He the Lord will guide us, in His Holy Spirit, if we will avoid the latest innovations that come and go, and receive instead, and cling tenaciously to all that is proven, trustworthy and true.This book presents the traditional Catholic spirituality that has been tested and proven in the lives of the saints. Our spiritual life develops and grows in a way not unlike our physical, emotional and intellectual lives. There are stages of human growth, stages common to our growth both in natural human life and in supernatural spiritual life. We have an "interior" life ordered to our calling to true, personal communion with God the Holy Trinity. That interior life is intended to grow, develop and mature. And if we will follow Truth, we will find all that we seek. This book is offered to help the sincere seeker find, and grow, toward the "all" He created us for: beatitude in Him.Author:R. Thomas Richard, Ph.D., has earned degrees in ministry and theology, as well as in physics. He has taught at the college and high school levels, has served as a Protestant pastor, and in missionary work among migrant farmworkers. After returning to the Catholic Church and earning a graduate degree in Catholic theology and ministry, he began work in religious education and especially the formation of adults. He is author of the book, The Interior Liturgy of the Our Father, and serves the Church today with his wife Deborah in adult faith formation.