Way of Perfection

by St Teresa of Avila, Paula Huston (Foreword by)

Overview

God will always give us more than we ask for.

Millions have read and benefited from this book since it was first written nearly 500 years ago. St. Teresa's message of humility, simplicity, persistence, and faith is replete with language that is at times earthy, and full of self-deprecating humor.

Rendered here into contemporary English, St. Teresa's words, with their warm-hearted approach to Christian transformation, will help you look deeply into what it really means, sometimes in the smallest of details, to have a relationship with Jesus.

"Teresa lays out the time-tested path of Christian transformation and union with God for those of us who will never be monastics, much less desert-dwelling hermits. Who among us does not need to know how to turn trouble into spiritual good, how to lovingly bear minor slights and major wounds, how to forgive and offer compassion?"
Paula Huston, from the Foreword

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781557256416
Publisher:	Paraclete Press
Publication date:	03/01/2009
Series:	Paraclete Essentials
Pages:	183
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Teresa of Avila (1515 - 1582), also called St. Teresa of Jesus, is one of the world's most beloved saints. She spent her entire life in Spain and was the leader of a reform movement in within her Carmelite Order. She was named a "Doctor of the Church" in 1970.

Table of Contents

Foreword Paula Huston ix

Introduction xi

Book Called The Way of Perfection

1 Why I Founded This Convent and Established Such Strict Rules 7

2 Why We Should Ignore the Body's Necessities and the Good that Comes from Poverty 10

4 The Three Things that Are Important for the Spiritual Life. Appeal to Love One's Neighbor and a Warning About the Harm Done by Individual Friendships 15

6 Perfect Love 21

7 Spiritual Love and Some Advice on How to Achieve It 26

8 The Benefits of Detachment from all Earthly Things 32

9 Why We Must Avoid Our Families and How We Can Find Our True Spiritual Friends 35

10 How to Attain the Virtue of Self-Detachment and Humility 38

11 On Self-Sacrifice and How to Attain It Even in Times of Sickness 42

12 Why the True Lover of God Must Not Care About Life and Honor 45

13 How True Wisdom Can Be Attained by Sacrifice and Renunciation of the World's Standards of Wisdom 50

14 Why We Should Not Bear Witness to Any Spirit That Is Not God's Spirit 54

15 Why We Are Not Exempt from Unjust Accusations and the Gains Such Accusations Bring 56

16 The Difference Between Perfect Contemplation and Mental Prayer 60

17 Why All People Are Not Destined to Be Contemplatives and the Long Road to Contemplation 66

18 Why the Trials of Contemplatives Are Greater than Those of Others 70

19 On Prayer 75

20 Why We Always Have Consolation on the Road of Prayer 84

21 Why It Is So Important to Have Great Determination in the Practice of Prayer 88

22 Mental Prayer 93

23 Why It Is Important to Continue Along the Road of Prayer and Not Turn Back 97

24 Vocal Prayer 101

25 The Great Blessings of Practicing Vocal Prayer Perfectly 104

26 The Great Blessingsof the Practice of Vocal Prayer 106

27 The First Words of the Our Father and God's Great Love 111

28 The Prayer of Recollection and the Ways We Can Make It a Habit 114

29 The Prayer of Recollection 120

30 The Words in the Our Father: "Hallowed be your Name, your kingdom come" 124

31 The Prayer of Quiet 128

32 The Words of the Our Father: "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" 135

33 The Words of the Our Father: "Give us this day our daily bread" 142

34 The Words of the Our Father: "Give us this day our daily bread," and Why These Words are Perfect for Reading after the Reception of the Most Holy Sacrament 146

35 The Recollection that We Should Practice after Communion 153

36 The Words of the Our Father: "Forgive us our debts" 156

37 The Excellence of the Our Father 162

38 The Words of the Our Father: "Do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil" 165

39 Different Temptations and How We May Be Freed from Them 169

40 Why We Should Always Walk in God's Love to Avoid Temptations 172

41 The Fear of God and Why We Must Avoid Venial Sins 176

42 The Last Words of the Our Father: "Deliver us from evil" 180

Editorial Reviews

"In reading this edition, I felt like Theresa was speaking directly to me.... I suspect that multiple readings are warranted because, in each reading, we are different people and will hear different things." --Robert Trube, Bob on Books

From the Publisher