This was one of two volumes released close together from the pen of Matthew Kelly. The other being ‘The Seven Pillars of Catholic Spirituality’, it was really a tossup for which I would read first. And this one won the flip of the coin. The description of this volume states:
“You are standing on the threshold of a new frontier. If you're not open to undertaking substantial spiritual growth, you should put this book down right now. Walk away.
Some things, once seen, cannot be unseen. There are things that, once heard, cannot be unheard. You will not be able to unsee what you are about to discover. You will not be able to unhear the things that will be whispered in your ear.
The promise of this book is very You can transform your life by changing the way you speak.
Inspired by the often-ignored writings of Saint James, bestselling author Matthew Kelly has crafted a uniquely powerful guide based on one epic spiritual Governing your speech is a sure path to holiness. The simplicity and practicality of this great spiritual truth make it remarkable.
With each turn of the page you will discover insights and wisdom to help you…
• Harness the power of positive speech
• Eradicate negative forms of speech like gossip and profanity
• Flood your life and the lives of others with encouragement
• Revolutionize the way you talk to God
• Redefine the way you talk to yourself
• Grow in discipline and alignment with the truth
The one spiritual truth at the core of this book applies to everyone, everywhere, in every situation—and ignoring spiritual truth is perilous.
The Forgotten Way is a single truth that will reorient your life. The only question left Will you let it?”
The chapters in this volume are:
Beware: Proceed with Caution
Two Men Named James
The Forgotten Way
The Modern Tragedy
Holiness is Possible
The Power of Speech
A Disciplined Life
The Inner Life
Reality’s First Demand
Positive Speech
Eleven Encouragement
Loving-Kindness
Negative Speech
Gossip: The Everyday Evil
Profanity and Blasphemy
It’s Not Just What You Say
Self-Talk
Talking to God
Talking to the Devil
Humility
Crucial Conversations
The Challenge
Appendix A Scriptural Meditations
Appendix B The Prayer Process
Appendix C The Saint James Master Plan
I highlighted numerous passages while reading the book. So many that I exceeded the limit of what could be exported from the Kindle Edition. Most of the one’s I highlighted are:
“You are standing on the threshold of a new frontier. If you’re not open to undertaking substantial spiritual growth, you should put this book down right now. Walk away.”
“The promise of this book is very simple: You can transform your life by changing the way you speak.”
“This book is based on one epic spiritual truth: Governing your speech is a sure path to holiness. The simplicity and practicality of this great spiritual truth make it remarkable. This is why I feel compelled to caution you.”
“If we choose to ignore great spiritual truths that have been revealed to us, if we refuse to employ them in our daily lives, they torment our hearts, minds, bodies, and souls, because our whole being yearns for truth.”
“The Forgotten Way is a single truth that will reorient your life.”
“One question led to another and for the next hour the old priest explained the relationship between our speech and spiritual vitality. The origins of this forgotten way are found in the Book of James.”
“James planted Christianity on the Iberian Peninsula and it grew like a sequoia forest. It would eventually become one of the most intense concentrations of Christian populations in the world.”
“His body was transported to Spain by his disciples and buried in what would later become the spectacular Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. It marks the end of the Camino, also known as the Way of Saint James, the Pilgrimage of Compostela, the Old Road to Santiago, and simply, the Way.”
“The second James offers us The Forgotten Way. It is an inner Camino. This second Camino is in no way less powerful than the first.”
“The Forgotten Way is an inner Camino.”
“The Old Road to Santiago can be walked in thirty days. It takes a whole lifetime to walk this second Camino. The Forgotten Way is more grueling than the first Camino. It demands rigor and commitment, not for thirty days, but every day for the rest of your life.”
“The Forgotten Way—The Saint James Master Plan—is based on eleven words from the Book of James: “Someone who does not trip up in speech has reached perfection.” (James 3: 2)”
“What is James saying? Governing your speech is a path to Heaven. You can become a saint by taming your tongue. That’s what the old priest explained at dinner, “You can become a saint just by governing your speech.” That is The Forgotten Way.”
“Every word we speak aligns us with God and His truth or throws our character off course.”
“Words can change your life. Words can transform your character. The Forgotten Way is a powerful guide. It provides startling clarity in a confusing world.”
“If you take away the goal of the Christian life, you don’t make it easier for people—you make it impossibly difficult. You aren’t leading them to happiness. You are misleading them toward inevitable misery and hopelessness. This is the modern despair that has gripped our society.”
“It’s easy to look at the lives of the saints and get overwhelmed by their holiness. It’s easy to look at their lives and think that holiness is impossible. Their lives can be intimidating if we don’t look at them the way they lived them—one moment at a time. It’s a mistake to think of their lives as one huge yes to God. The lives of the saints were made up of Holy Moments.”
“Holiness is possible. This is a beautiful truth—and truth breeds joy.”
“Words are creative. They don’t just float away into the air. They create. They create within us, and they create in other people. Words act on people.”
“Stories are important. Stories help us discover who we are and inspire us to envision who we still can become.”
“You will only ever be as spiritually healthy as the stories you read, listen to, and tell yourself. We become these stories. That’s how powerful stories are.”
“And how you speak to yourself is quintessentially important. You are writing your own story with the words and narratives you tell yourself. If you don’t like the way your story is unfolding, change the way you speak to yourself.”
“The right words at the right time can be such a gift.”
“Discipline is intentional. Addiction is compulsive. Discipline is controlled. Addiction is out of control. Discipline is directed toward a long-term good. Addiction is fixated on a short-term pleasure. Discipline liberates. Addiction enslaves. Discipline creates clarity. Addiction creates confusion. Discipline strengthens your sense of self. Addiction undermines your personal identity. Discipline is order. Addiction is chaos. Discipline can be re-learned. Freedom can be reclaimed. Grace can overcome addiction. Live a disciplined life.”
“Decide today to become a person who can consistently hold confidences.”
“Quietly and alone. These are the prerequisites for developing a rich inner life: silence and solitude. Learn to be comfortable in your own company. Learn to enjoy silence.”
“The Forgotten Way is a rule of life. The genius of this rule of life is its simplicity. This simple rule of life brings focus to our efforts to develop a rich inner life amidst the complexities and distractions of daily life.”
“Truth is orderly. Virtue is highly functioning, and vice is complicated and dysfunctional. Virtue is truth in action.”
“The Forgotten Way isn’t just about speaking truthfully. It’s about becoming truth.”
“Your words are either holy or unholy. There is no neutral. Words that may seem mundane and neutral can be made holy or unholy by the other factors of speech. When, where, how, and why you speak can make even the most mundane words take on a positive or negative connotation.”
“Encouraging a person affirms her worth, offers hope, restores courage, and reminds her that life is worth living. But it isn’t enough just to encourage people. It is crucial to encourage them toward the right things. We have a responsibility to encourage people toward God, virtue, character, truth, justice, and toward love and service.”
“The Forgotten Way is an invitation to use your speech to encourage the people who cross your path each day. Let us live in the Holy Spirit and become great encouragers. Who will you encourage today?”
“God is love. God is kindness. God is loving-kindness. You were created in the image of God and so loving-kindness is one aspect of your soul capacity.”
“You were created in the image of God and He invites you to make loving-kindness part of your character too. But to be clear, we are not talking about nice here. One thing loving-kindness isn’t is nice. Loving-kindness is strong, bold, and decisive. Nice isn’t any of these things.”
“The modern conception of nice is centered on maintaining peace at all costs. It’s about not rocking the boat, minimizing friction, avoiding conflict, and working anxiously to smooth everything out. All this is based on the false notion that if you are nice everyone will like you.”
“We’ve made nice a religion, and we’ve made religion nice. Not teaching people that holiness is the goal of the Christian life is the most diabolical example of nice in the history of the world.”
“Loving-kindness and nice are not the same thing. Loving-kindness is dynamic. It is strong when strength is what the soul before you needs, and it is gentle when gentleness is what will best serve the person before you. It is never dishonest, deceptive, avoidant, or manipulative, but it is restrained and chooses the most appropriate moment to confront difficult truths. Loving-kindness is benevolent. It always honors the dignity of the other person in ways that don’t diminish your own dignity.”
“Unintended consequences are the fruit of our arrogance, and they bring us closer to evil than most of us even pause to consider.”
“The Forgotten Way offers a path to beatitude through the words we speak. This path establishes the dignity of each man and woman as God’s image-bearers and helps us each to grow in holiness. Profanity and blasphemy are the antithesis of The Saint James Master Plan.”
“Profanity shapes character over time. It sets a poor example for others, especially the young and innocent.”
“Profanity is impulsive. It demonstrates a lack of creativity, intelligence, and self-control. It is beneath your magnificent sacred human dignity.”
“Blasphemy offends God and dishonors the sacred. It is a personal attack on holiness. It demonstrates a hardness of heart, spiritual recklessness, and rebellion toward the Creator. Speaking irreverently of God corrupts the conscience and diminishes the soul.”
“It can lead to indifference toward the sacred, which is worse than hatred. It weakens a person’s ability to pray and radically undermines the quest for personal holiness. It can make prayer seem superficial and blocks the soul from entering genuine communion with God.”
“Our words are a sacred gift entrusted to us by God. Each word we speak elevates or diminishes ourselves and others. Words are the original Butterfly Effect.”
“When we speak to ourselves harshly, we internalize negativity. This can make it difficult to believe in the new possibilities God is revealing to us. When we are overly critical of ourselves, this makes it difficult to believe in our God-given potential.”
“The internal and external dialogue we have with ourselves can have a profound impact on our spiritual development, relationships, and overall well-being.”
“Worshipping anything other than God knocks our whole life out of alignment.”
“Praise and worship are the purest ways to establish order in our lives. They honor God’s rightful place in our lives and our rightful place in creation as children of God.”
“Through prayer we discover the-best-version-of-ourselves, and are given the courage to celebrate and defend it in each moment of each day. In prayer we learn how to love and be loved, because we discover that we have been loved, are loved, and will continually be loved by God.”
“If you neglect prayer for a day, you are probably the only person who can tell. But you can tell. You have less patience and you are less focused. If you neglect prayer for a week, several people around you will notice a change in you. But if you neglect prayer for two or three weeks, almost everyone around you will recognize that you are not at your best.”
“Learn to pay careful attention to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Allow Him to guide your speech.”
“You are extraordinary. Make no mistake about that. You are a child of God, made in His image and likeness. But all that you have, you have received. All is gift. All is grace. Humility is simply remembering who the Giver of the gifts is.”
“A strong sense of self comes from knowing that you are loved, that you matter, that you are here for a reason in this world and that you have something to offer, that you are the son or daughter of a great King who has given you every gift and ability you need to live the unique life He created you to live.”
“Humility is truth: You are amazing because God made you amazing.”
“The goal of the Christian life is holiness. This is our common purpose and our responsibility to each other. I have a sacred calling to help you become a saint, and you have a sacred calling to help me become a saint.”
“Governing your speech is principally concerned with the virtue of temperance. Temperance is the virtue of moderation, balance, and self-control. It helps you to regulate your desires, emotions, behaviors, and speech so as to live in alignment with God’s vision for your life.”
“Holiness is possible. You can become a saint. Let this be your one great thing. It is the one thing you were created for.”
“I want to challenge you, so I implore you to listen closely. I may be the only person who ever issues this challenge to you: Make holiness the primary goal of your life.”
“May the grace of God guide your speech every day for the rest of your life. May all His holy angels and saints accompany you as you set off on this inner Camino.”
I really hope those quotes give you a feel for this volume. I read this volume over several days. I had planned to read a chapters a day, but once I got going I could hardly put it down. I read this volume at a very opportune time. It was a message I really needed. This is one of the best volumes I have read from Matthew Kelly, and maybe one of the most important I have read in years. When I was in university, I was involved with Campus Crusade for Christ, there was a series of booklets by the founder Bill Bright, called Transferable Concepts, and by reading them many times you could almost memorize them and the message so that you could share it. And though I have said that about a few books obey the years, I state it about this one, and not only for Catholics but for any Christian. I truly believe any Christian would benefit from reading this excellent volume.
I love how Matthew Kelly used the theme of Camino and tied it to Saint James, and specifically to way Kelly calls his master plan, James 3: 2b-18. The challenge at the end of the volume is to read this passage twice a day for 30 days. I have set up calendar reminders to pop up in my email to do so. The challenge includes 2 others steps, but you will need to read about them in this great book.
This is a slim volume. But it is packed full of excellent information. It is as stated a book any Christian would benefit from reading. If you only plan on reading one book this year outside the Bible I would challenge you to give this one a read. A fantastic book I can easily recommend.
