A Spiritual Primer

by John O’Connell

The Ordinary Path to Holiness
by R. Thomas Richard
Conversion Publishing
192 pp.

I believe that it is best to learn from the masters. This is true for any discipline but especially in the interior life. Go to the works of St. Augustine, Thomas à Kempis, St. Bernard of Clairvaux, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Catherine of Sienna, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Francis de Sales, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, et al., if you wish to learn about prayer and the spiritual life. Yet for many Catholics today, who lack even the most rudimentary knowledge of Catholic spirituality, these works may seem intimidating or abstruse.

What then is needed for such a person? A primer in Catholic spirituality pointing out the basics in the way to holiness. The Ordinary Path to Holiness is a book that seeks to fill this need, and, on the whole, does so admirably.

The book contains an explanation of the three traditional stages of growth in the spiritual life. Richard relies chiefly on St. Teresa, St. Thomas Aquinas (and his distinguished twentieth-century disciple Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P.) to elucidate the three stages. Then the author goes on to apply the three stages of the spiritual life as key to understanding the use of Scripture, prayer life, the sacraments, and the Mass. Here is what the author has to say about the Bible and beginners in the spiritual life:

Beginners, in need of repentance and purgation, will find in scripture the promise and the presence of Christ our salvation. Through allegory and prophecy in the Old Testament, through the literal meaning in the New, Christ is made present and the word of salvation and renewal is heard. Through listening, the beginner hears the reality now of Christ, for us and in us.

    Dr. Richard makes extensive use of St. Teresa’s seven mansions of the soul in his chapter that discusses growing in holiness through prayer. He also has included a chapter on the Our Father in which he relates the seven petitions of the Our Father to The Interior Castle of Teresa of Avila. For those who are unfamiliar with Teresa’s writings, these two chapters serve as a good introduction to the spirituality of the great Spanish mystic and Doctor of the Church.

    Doubtless it is necessary for the Christian to live a holy life, but it is of supreme importance to die a good and holy death. Dr. Richard’s penultimate chapter examines how to find holiness in suffering and dying. This chapter will surely be a help in meditating on the reality of death and the need to discern the supernatural meaning underlying suffering and death.

    For the Catholic seeking holiness this book will open a world of spiritual treasures (the riches of Christ and His saints). After reading The Ordinary Path to Holiness, the reader will be better prepared to drink from the deep fountains of spiritual wisdom found in the teachings of the great Catholic mystics and saints.

    To order a copy of The Ordinary Path to Holiness send $10.50 (includes shipping and handling) to Conversion Publishing, 11 Starwood Dr. Norwich, CT 06360.

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