The Fulfillment of All Desire: A Guidebook for the Journey to God Based on the Wisdom of the Saints
Overview
Ralph Martin, drawing upon the teaching of seven acknowledged Doctors of the Church, presents an indepth study of the journey to God. This book provides encouragement and direction for the pilgrim who desires to know, love, and serve our Lord. Whether the reader is beginning the spiritual journey or has been traveling the road for many years, he will find a treasure of wisdom in The Fulfillment of All Desire. It is destined to be a modern classic on the spiritual life.
In the Logos edition, this volume is enhanced by amazing functionality. Important terms link to dictionaries, encyclopedias, and a wealth of other resources in your digital library. Perform powerful searches to find exactly what you’re looking for. Take the discussion with you using tablet and mobile apps. With Logos Bible Software, the most efficient and comprehensive research tools are in one place, so you get the most out of your study.
This volume is part of the Catholic Virtue and Holiness Collection (7 vols.). Take a look at the whole collection.
- Draws upon the wisdom of Doctors of the Church
- Provides spiritual insights and practical help
- Offers guidance to both newcomers to the faith and those long on the path to holiness
- Called to Holiness
- An Overview of the Journey
- Awakening and Conversion
- The Biblical Worldview of the Saints
- The Transformation of Thought, Desire, and Action
- The Struggle against Sin
- The Importance of Prayer
- Temptations and Trials
- A Certain Stability
- Growing in Freedom
- Growing in Love
- Growing in Prayer
- Help from Heaven
- A Deeper Purification
- Deep Union
- The Fruits of Union
- There’s Always More
Top Highlights
“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.” (Page 7)
“As for venial sins, I paid little attention; and that is what destroyed me.3” (Page 20)
“Human pride and self-reliance must be broken for salvation to break in.” (Page 44)
“Don’t seek feelings of consolations in prayer. Seek the Lord, seek to conform your will to His!” (Page 145)
“the three-stage division of purgative, illuminative, and unitive” (Page 11)
Ralph Martin has produced a gem of a guidebook for those who would set out on the path to holiness in language that readily engages the modern reader. Martin’s particular genius is to make the most profound spiritual treasures accessible to contemporary people. Like the masters whose wisdom he distills, he communicates a burning desire to respond to the Lord’s call. The result is an inspiring work brimming with insight and practical help for people at every stage of the spiritual journey.
—Fr. Peter Ryan, SJ, professor of moral theology, Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, Emmitsburg, MD
I am deeply moved by this work. There is a beauty in this book which draws the reader into intimate friendships with the saints and opens one to the Holy Spirit’s presence, increasing our desire for nuptial union. This book, with its synthesis of the saints’ teaching, is an extraordinary gift to the Church for the work of the new evangelization.
—Fr. John Horn, SJ, co-founder of the Institute for Priestly Formation, Creighton University, Omaha, NE
Many Catholics leave the church and seek refuge in eastern religions and in cult movements because they are seeking a spirituality and prayer of greater depth than they find in their own tradition. But they need not seek elsewhere. Ralph Martin opens up the sources of the rich, Catholic, mystical tradition and makes it accessible to all, clergy and laity alike.
—Fr. Kilian McDonnell, OSB, founder and president of the Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research, St. John’s University, Collegeville, MN
This reliable and challenging synthesis, which is obviously the fruit of lots of prayerful reflection and study, abounds in wisdom, offers practical guidance, and deserves to be a classic.
—Fr. Patrick Collins, CM, lecturer in spirituality, All Hallows College, Dublin, Ireland
Ralph Martin has written an excellent book that gathers together the wisdom of Bernard of Clairvaux, Teresa of Avila and others as well who have left us with a great store of wisdom about how we can cooperate with the transforming work of the Spirit. Without watering down the depth of these writers Ralph has made their teachings understandable and accessible and given us a true ‘guidebook’ for the journey to God. Men and women in all parts of the Body of Christ will find this book both inspiring and practically useful. A great help for our life of prayer.
—Pastor Mike Bickle, founder, International House of Prayer, Kansas City, MO
Ralph Martin transmits in an orderly and attractive manner the consensus teaching of some of the great representatives of the Western spiritual tradition. I would recommend this book particularly to young couples who wish to come to know God more deeply and allow him, with the help of genuine spiritual masters, to work a deep transformation in their lives, one that builds their family and endures for eternity.
—Fr. Francis Martin, SSD, Adam Cardinal Maida Chair in Sacred Scripture, Sacred Heart Major Seminary, Detroit, MI
- Title: The Fulfillment of All Desire: A Guidebook for the Journey to God Based on the Wisdom of the Saints
- Author: Ralph Martin
- Publisher: Emmaus Road
- Print Publication Date: 2006
- Logos Release Date: 2013
- Pages: 496
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subject: Spiritual life › Catholic Church
- Resource ID: LLS:FLFLLMNTLLDSRGD
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-03-25T19:43:36Z