Back in 1958, Father Edward J. Hogan of St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore observed, "There are countless souls ripe for sanctity, full of generosity and desire, and needing only the expert advice of a divinely ordained doctor of souls to advance toward sainthood. Yet how often they remain unattended!"
Why would any Catholic priest hesitate to reap such a rich harvest of potential saints? Father Hogan has the answer.
Many priests, he writes, suffer from "a feeling of inadequacy and of lack of the requisite knowledge for so sensitive an undertaking."
That's where the famed Msgr. Charles Hugo Doyle steps in. He guided a generation of priests in the time-tested methods of spiritual direction. In today's Church, Fr. Doyle can stand in as a guide for lay Catholics who want to progress in holiness but have yet to find their own spiritual director.
In one timeless volume, Msgr. Doyle lays out the classic principles of Catholic spirituality, and distills advice from the saints commonly regarded as the greatest spiritual directors:
St. Paul * St. Augustine * St. Francis de Sales * St. Teresa of Avila * St. Ignatius Loyola * St. Therese of Lisieux * St. Vincent Ferrer * St. Alphonsus Liguori * St. Bernard * St. Catherine of Siena * St. John of the Cross * St. Gregory the Great * St. Thomas Aquinas * St. Vincent de Paul * St. Bonaventure
How to advance in holiness:
- Why Identification with Christ is even more effective than imitation of Christ
- The art of maintaining a devotional spirit all day long by brief prayers and frequent small consecrations to God
- Understanding the differences between pious souls and fervent souls
- How to go about tedious daily duties
- How the purgative way helps beginners in spiritual development overcome passions
- Recognize the signs that you have arrived at the second level, the "illuminative" way
- The "unitive" way--the crown of the spiritual life--and how you can achieve it
- Making use of the "instruments of perfection" and how to recognize them
- The stumbling blocks to genuine meditation
- Telltale signs of a right intention
- 7 brief prayers that can increase your devotion at Mass
- 8 signs that you might be growing in holiness
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