The Spiritual Life A Comprehensive Manual for Catholics Seeking Salvation / Fr Jean Nicholas Grou

We found this lost classic among the cherished works that French Catholics risked everything to save when the Church was under attack — in the frenzied days of the French Revolution and its aftermath.

Written by Fr. Jean Nicolas Grou, The Spiritual Life might seem on the face of it an odd choice for the embattled Catholics of France to preserve. After all, it only gives a few small hints here and there of the great crisis that was engulfing France.

Yet preserve it they did.

A closer look at its contents reveals why: it’s a tough, uncompromising handbook to help you deal with all the obligations and problems of the spiritual life. As such, it teaches you what you need to know and to do when the comforts and supports of life have been swept away.

Indeed, Fr. Grou reminds you right at the beginning that salvation is only won at a great price. He wrote this book for those who are willing to pay that price themselves. His focus is firmly on Christ, whom he maintains should be the model for your own spiritual life — not just in theory, but in the hard fact of sacrifice and love so great as to pierce your heart.

Our times are not so far removed from the Godless irrationality that swept across France in Fr. Grou’s day. That’s why, in our own tumultuous age, The Spiritual Life is so desperately needed. It’s the one guide that offers you real help to navigate the treacherous spiritual waters of today’s world, and through it all, to keep the Faith.

• Not sure you're ready to live solely for God? Why you'll never find peace in even the greatest pleasures of the world.

• Are you too weak for hard times? How to strengthen your soul now.

• Spiritual dryness: why God sometimes withdraws His consoluations, and what you must do when he does.

• Do you fear sinning and forfeiting God's grace? How this very fear may be the Devil's entryway into your soul.

• How you can eradicate the ingratitude toward God that creeps into your soul.

• If you died today, would you be perfectly happy with your spiritual state? What you can do now to make sure the answer is "yes."

• Five things you should do every day (and right now) in order to prepare your soul for the trials that are sure to come.

• What God has a right to expect from you: are you measuring up?

• And much, much more to help you make real progress in the spiritual life!