"Looking at the lives of the saints we see their heroism, extraordinary virtue, profound intimacy with our Lord. They can seem distant, if not in time and place, then certainly in experience and stature. A common misunderstanding is to think of them as the fortunate few, almost as if they won the divine lottery. When we read of St. Paul running his race, we, the spiritual hoi polloi, run the danger of contenting ourselves with observer status in this most existential and dramatic of all contests.The problem is that we too often think holiness some arcane subject, when all along, the Church has clearly laid out its itinerary for us through her own spiritual masters and teaching. Knowledge of the spiritual life requires understanding of the Church's teaching on grace. Spiritual theology deals with understanding mechanics of this teaching and how to employ it. Lacking this understanding, we are left with the descriptive method that tends to convert the spiritual life into a disjointed collection of experiences. We end up with a more psychological-experiential presentation of the spiritual life than a theological one. When God created man according to his image and likeness, he made human nature in a specific way, with a spiritual structure, though natural, capable of receiving the supernatural structure imposed by grace. For example, the intellect, a purely spiritual yet natural faculty within our nature, receives the light of faith through grace and thus assents to truths that can only be known supernaturally. The light of grace affords us the ability to understand things that would otherwise remain hidden to our natural mind. In heaven, in fact, God gives the mind what is called the light of glory, the supernatural grace of being capable of beholding his Face without self-destructing; for no man can see my Face and live (Ex 30:20). A cornerstone of the Classical Tradition teaches us that grace builds on nature. What this means is that God created human nature in such a way that it would be capable of spiritual actions in the natural order - like having a conversation, thinking syllogistically, etc. When grace is superimposed on human nature, the spiritual elements of the human nature - namely, the intellect and the will, become capable of realizing supernatural actions, working above and beyond their own nature, while employing it more fully. The theological virtues of faith, hope, and love are examples of this, as are the infused virtues. All of this is thanks to grace. And grace is the beginning of holiness and, indeed, eternal life. The measure or the perfection of the spiritual life is the degree of participation by the individual Christian in the sanctity and perfection of God. In other words, how holy you are is determined by the degree of sanctifying grace you have. "It is the will of Jesus Christ that the whole body of the Church, no less than the individual members, should resemble Him." The more you are like God and participate in his nature, the holier you are."This book is based on the perennial teaching of the Church on the doctrine of grace: what it is; what it does; and how to grow in it.It draws from Scripture, the writings of Thomas Aquinas, Teresa of Avila, and John of the Cross.

If You Knew the Gift of God: Grace: What it is, what it does, and how to cooperate with it according to Church Teaching and Tradition

Religion & Spirituality

Ermatinger, Cliff

Christian Books & Bibles

Padre Pio Press

Roaring Lion or Angel of LightThus Saints Peter and Paul described the enemy of human nature - Satan.Whether as a threatening adversary or coddling manipulator, how the devil works on us towards his ends depends, in great part, on where we are in the spiritual life. The great mystic and authority on all things spiritual, St. John of the Cross, is our guide and coach in this volume based on his writings.St. John of the Cross lays out the entire spiritual trajectory, punctuated throughout with the red flags along the journey. He reveals not only everything Satan is capable of doing to to us, but also his limitations.Learn:- If the devil can read your mind or knows the future.-How to distinguish between divinely inspired visions and those inspired by the devil.-Common pitfalls for beginners in the spiritual life - as well as those of the most advanced.-How to grow in prayer.-What are the most effective weapons in combatting the devil - as well as those the devil use against you to halt your progress.

The Devil's Role in the Spiritual Life: St. John of the Cross' Teaching on Satan's Involvement in Every Stage of Spiritual Growth

Fifth-century Christianity was a theological battlefield. With the Messalian heretics and their experientialist spirituality on the one side and the intellectualist school on the other, representatives of both extremes found themselves condemned by the Church. In this milieu of subjectivist notions of grace and negative anthropology, there appeared a true mystic, Diadochus, Bishop of Photike in Epiros. His is a theology whose two poles are God's grace and man's ability to cooperate with it by way of discernment of spirits. Diadochus's ability to salvage what was orthodox from the Messalians and the intellectualists proves that, rather than a reactionary, he was a true theologian capable of synthesis, open to the truth even if found in his adversary, and yet firm in his faith, unwilling to compromise. He is among the earliest witnesses of the Jesus Prayer.
Diadochus is the most important spiritual writer of his century, whose influence can be found in the writings of Maximus the Confessor, Simeon the New Theologian, Gregory of Palamas, and the author of The Way of the Pilgrim.
This is the first translation of his complete works in English.
Cliff Ermatinger is a Chicago native and works as associate pastor of two parishes in that archdiocese. He is the author of several books on Byzantine and Carmelite spirituality as well as one on philosophy. He has written articles for Spanish, English, and German language periodicals. Along with his priestly duties, he coaches rugby, fly fishes, and competes as a bagpiper in Highland Games throughout the U.S.

Following the Footsteps of the Invisible: The Complete Works of Diadochus of Photikë (Cistercian Studies Series) (Volume 239)

Cistercian Publications

On Christmas Eve, 1886, a young girl, Therese Martin, received special grace. Although it was the littleness of the Christ Child that reached out to this girl and taught her to give up the defects of childhood, the grace was by no means small. Her long bout with scruples and empty fears was not completely over, yet in her own words, 'since that night I have never been defeated in any combat, but rather walked from victory to victory.' Such was her experience of God's mercy that she decided then and there to give her life to the mission of converting sinners. This book by Cliff Ermatinger presents us with deep theological insights into the meaning of the seemingly simple life and journey of St. Therese of Lisieux. This little book treats of a love story that began on January 4, 1873, the day of Therese's baptism. On that day God began to court the soul of this little girl who would remain just that a little girl. She would also learn to correspond with her baptismal grace, thus maturing into a strong-willed woman and ultimately into the faithful bride of her divine Spouse. Her formal relationship with Christ and her new insertion into his life began fittingly on Christmas. Also fittingly, her relationship with him on earth ended on Calvary. Tracing St. Therese of Lisieux's life, we discover that she begins with the life of grace, going from child of God to child in the Son. She then advances to a theological existence; from theological existence to union; and from union to its culmination in espousals with Christ: the ordinary terminus of the spiritual life to which everyone is called. Having arrived at such union with the divine Spouse, Therese was next inducted into the victimhood of Christ. The author then examines the relation between the type of victimhood St. Therese experienced and the type of sin she was expiating: atheism.

St. Therese of Lisieux: Spouse and Victim: The Itinerary of Grace at Work in Her Soul from Baptism To Spiritual Marriage and Self-Offering

Biographies & Memoirs

Leaders & Notable People

ICS-Publications

Turn your Prayer from Something to do to Someone to MeetThe Desert Fathers of the East, the Church's first monks and hermits, left the tumult of the cities for the silence of the uninhabited spaces. But it wasn't solitude per se that they sought. It was a place - in the world and in their interior life - where they could practice contemplative prayer with focus and discipline. Their ultimate goal: divine intimacy.Many of the monks who followed after them wrote down their thoughts and observations. With "Letters from the Desert", Father Cliff Ermatinger guides us into the hearts and minds of those holy men. A collection of 200 brief yet profound quotes from the monks' writings, this book opens the Byzantine monastic experience to everyone seeking the same encounter with Christ.Those who do so via these selections will be richly rewarded. "My intent is not to come up with the correct answer to the question 'What is prayer?' writes Father Ermatinger in his Introduction, "but to assist the reader in [the] inward and upward journey toward the Face of Christ."

Letters from the Desert: Two Centuries on Prayer in the Byzantine Tradition

Independently published

Common Nonsense: 25 Fallacies about Life...Refuted

Politics & Social Sciences

Philosophy

The Trouble with Magic: Our Failed Search for More and Christ's fulfillment of our Desires

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