The Fulfillment of All Desire: A Guidebook for the Journey to God Based on the Wisdom of the...

The Fulfillment of All Desire: A Guidebook for the Journey to God Based on the Wisdom of the Saints | Ralph Martin | Guidebook for Sainthood

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	The Fulfillment of All Desire: A Guidebook for the Journey to God Based on the Wisdom of the Saints Ralph Martin Emmaus Road Publishing, 2006 - 496 pages average customer review:based on 21 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Seven Spiritual Directors - The Doctors are In!

I am still reading this book - but I read a page or two - then rush to Amazon to order a copy for a friend who will love it; read another page or two or three - put it down, swooning a bit while running to the computer to order another copy for someone I know who will love it - at this rate I may never finish this book! But, this I know for certain - The Fulfillment of All Desire is going to be one of my favorite books of all time. It is already changing my life! I give it 10 stars so you must double my rating, Amazon!

Ralph Martin may have done his finest work and The Fulfullment of All Desire possibly will be his finest hour. This book does not just tell us what we need to do - and what we already know we need to do - it tells us how to do it!!! These Doctors of the Church have "been-there-and-back" and know how to help us find our way. As we listen and learn, we will begin to live the life of one with the Saintly Fulfillment of All Desire. Just order this book! I am working on "affection for sin" right now.

The Doctors are in! St. Augustine, St. Francis De Sales (I am in his office), St. Catherine of Siena, St. Bernard of Clairvaux, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Therese of Lisieux. I have a message from one of these doctors and it is this: "In the first place it should be known that if anyone is seeking God, the Beloved is seeking that person much more." That is from John of the Cross.

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Guidebook for Sainthood

This book is a must-read for anyone truly interested in following the teachings of Jesus and in being His disciple. In a very accessible style, Ralph Martin presents the teachings of six of the greatest saints in Church history, who by their lives and writings have bequeathed to us a treasury of wisdom. It's amazing how clearly Mr. Martin plumbs the spiritual depths of the likes of St. John of the Cross, St Augustine, and St. Teresa of Avila, among others, in such a way as to make their writings both compelling and comforting at the same time.

That being said, I warn you; if you don't want to be challenged in the way you are living your Christian life, then this book is not for you. With its penetrating exploration of Scripture and saints' writings, I can honestly say that "The Fulfillment of All Desire" has haunted me in a bittersweet way.

To sum up, I'm glad Ralph Martin wrote it, and by the grace of God, I will continue to muster up the courage to study it and most of all, try to live it. I can do no less, for Jesus taught, " Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for holiness, for they shall have their fill."-Matt. 5:6

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Is the Dr. In

The subtitle of this book is A Guidebook for the Journey to God Based on the Wisdom of the Saints. Ralph Martin, a leader within the renewal movement, has taught on this subject in many different settings and in many different ways. In this book he examines seven of the 33 Doctors of the church and how their writings contribute to the understanding of a spiritual journey. These studies are done through the three stages of spiritual growth.

Those three stages are: the purgative way, the illuminative way, and the unitive way. These are also the three major sections in this book. Yet throughout, he draws heavily upon our seven Doctors: Catherine of Siena, Bernard of Clairvaux, Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Augustine, St. Francis De Sales, and St. Therese of Lisieux. This book is at least a third quotations, which takes us back to the source documents and draws out the spirituality of these saints to help us grow in our own lives.

The strength of this work is its accessible language; it is well written and opens up topics and authors that are not always approachable. Martin takes us on a journey through the saints and through our own spiritual lives. This book can be a roadmap that you use for spiritual growth, renewal, and to enrich your life - and through that the lives of those around you. Martin states: "What really holds us back from a wholehearted response to the call of Jesus, of Vatican II, of the repeated urgings of the Spirit, is not really the external circumstances of our lives, but the interior sluggishness of our hearts. We need to be clear that there will never be a better time or a better set of circumstances than now to respond wholeheartedly to the call to holiness. Who knows how much longer we'll be alive on this earth? We don't know how long we'll live or what the future holds. Now is the acceptable time. The very things we think are obstacles are the very means God is giving us to draw us to depend more deeply on Him." p.7 This book is designed to help overcome that internal sluggishness.

Martin then uses the three stages to examine the spiritual journey deeper into God. "Various attempts to classify the stages of spiritual growth have been made over the centuries. The predominant classification, used by a number of the Doctors we are drawing from and many other writers as well, is the three-stage division of purgative, illuminative, and unitive." p.11 Martin outlines how each stage has a number of characteristics and how the saints can help us move through each stage as we grow closer to God.

The drawback of this book is that if you have struggled with the original writings of these saints, there are so many quotes you will feel like you are reading them again. The strength is that Martin brings years of experience teaching and trying to learn from the saints and live out what he has learned. He will open them up to you in new and exciting ways.

This book will be a great pick for many reasons - first if you want to grow deeper in your spiritual life, second if you want to understand some of the Doctors of the church more, and finally if you have struggled with some of the mystics, this book will help you understand them more. This book will be a great addition to any Catholic library.

A differrent review of this book was published in The National Catholic Register January 14th 2007 as 'The Doctors Will See You'.

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Trying to live a Holy Life?

For all those who have the DESIRE to live a Holy life, I feel this book
will be the greatest asset for your journey.

Superb Spiritual Training for the Moderately Gifted

In this book, Professor Ralph Martin gives us a glimpse into the minds of several of the seminal spiritual doctors of the church. We know him as a philosopher and teacher from viewing EWTN. And here we see a coherent and lucid thinker ably assisting those who would get to know the spiritual life with St. Francis de Sales, St. Theresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross and of course, St. Augustine, among others. He employs ample citation, meaty quotes and thoughtful interpretation in ordinary english language. It is a book for careful thinkers, though not what I would call a 'scholarly' work. Be that as it may, this is one of Dr. Martin's strong suits, he is able to render into clear thought, without stultifying, the profound treasure found in the writings of these great doctors of the church.

I do not give this the five star rating because in my mind 5/5 should be reserved to the optimal best, such as St. Augustine, or St. Thomas Aquinas' writings. 4/5 is hence a good score, as in my mind is a 'B' grade, reserving the 'A' for the greatest intellectual effort. We do great disservice to our students (and authors) if we grade them with the summum of grades, for example, the 'A' when, in fact, we realize that men like Immanuel Kant, or Edmund Husserl have published philsophical works which become the groundwork of thinking for thousands of years. In that case how do you distinguish a St. Augustine, or a St. Theresa Avila from a fairly diligent young, american student?

The title "the fulfillment of all desire" is a wonderful expression echoing St. Augustine's famous dictum: "My soul will not rest until it rests in Thee." A human soul that finds total satisfaction in the things of the world is most likely deceived without seeking the ultimate referent of good and happiness is, as Plato rightly observed, merely lving in a cave. The function of philosophy is to mature into true theology, and for those aspiring to such enlightenment this book is a great place to start.

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reviews: 1, 2, 3, page 4, 5

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