The Practical Spirituality of St. Josemaria Escriva
Eric Sammons
Our Sunday Visitor
ISBN 9781592769445
Eric Sammons and Our Sunday Visitor have provided us with an amazing book and excellent resource for spiritual growth. The book walks us through the life and ministry of St. Jose Maria Escriva but does so in a way to emphasize his teachings, and the practical implications we can implement in our own day-to-day lives. The sections in the book are:
1. Called To Be Saints
2. A Modern-Day Saint
Part I - Laying The Foundation
3. Abba! Father!
Our Father God
Heirs to a King
Sons in the Son
4. Free to love
Created Free
Limits Lead to Freedom
Many Paths to Holiness
"The Truth Will Make You Free"
Free to Surrender
Free to Start Anew
5. Ambitious for Holiness
"Zeal for Your House Consumes Me"
Excellence in All Things
Fighting Lukewarmness
Hating Sin
Part II - Building a Saintly Life
6. Be a Contemplative in the Midst of the World
Live a Life of Prayer
Recognize the presence of God
Making a Plan of Life
7. Making Your Work a Way to heaven
Offer Your Work To God
Make the Secular Sacred
Take Flight from Fantasy
Work Out Your Salvation
8. Live in the Family of God
Follow the Pope
Love Mary
Honor St. Joseph
9. Proclaim Christ To The World
Be a Faithful Friend
Be an Apostle, Not an Activist
Be Transformed
The reason I include such an extensive table of contents in the review is it shows you the road map that Eric will walk us through. He does an amazing job of encapsulating the teaching of St. Jose Maria and making them easily applicable to day-to-day life. This book was so incredible that after I finished it the first time I went back and read it right away a second time. I tried to read a chapter a night and apply what I had read the next day. When I began reading the next night I would go back through the sections from the ends of the last few chapters to review and see how I was doing at applying the lessons. Each chapter ends with the following:
Read - either church document or Escriva
Meditate
Pray
Contemplate
For the Escriva readings it directs to the online version of his complete works. There is no way you could read this book with an open mind and heart and not come away a better person. This book will change lives and draw readers closer to God, and through that, service to others. This is one of the best spiritual books I have read in the last few years. I have already put it in the hands of a number of friends and that is the highest recommendation I can give. I cannot stop sharing how great it is.
Books by Eric Sammons:
Holiness for Everyone: The Practical Spirituality of St. Josemaria Escriva
Who Is Jesus the Christ?: Unlocking the Mystery in the Gospel of Matthew
The Old Evangelization: How to Spread the Faith Like Jesus Did
Be Watchful: Resist the Adversary, Firm in Your Faith
The Jesse Tree: An Advent Devotion
Bitcoin Basics: 101 Questions and Answers
…
Fiction:
The Profession
…
Contributed to:
Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue
The Passion of St. Edward, King and Martyr
…
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