Pathways

Ours is an exterior culture. We like to fix things, make things right—things we can see with our eyes, touch with our hands, and deal with in concrete terms. There’s nothing wrong with any of that; there are a lot of things in this world in need of repair. However, there is another brokenness that calls out to us from our innermost depths—that of the human heart, the life of the spirit.

Unseen and largely unnoticed, this “inner dialogue” of the wounded soul contributes greatly to the collective, exterior troubles of the world at large, which are really only symptoms of a much deeper problem.

Doubt. Anger. Malice. Sorrow. Fear. These are just a few of the spiritual trials that afflict the human heart—and if not faithfully and reasonably confronted, they can lead to great distress interiorly and exteriorly, individually and collectively. Our rich Catholic tradition offers us reliable guidance in this respect—not to remove our trials, but to transform them by God’s grace into good, for ourselves and the world around us.

This book contains five pieces originally published by Abbey Press as titles in the Catholic Perspectives CareNotes series. Presented are pieces of valuable insight into some of our spiritual trials, and the inspiration which can lead to renewed and strengthened faith, peace, mercy, joy, and love. We hope that you will read and reflect on them with the ear of your heart, so that God may be all in all (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:28).

NOTE: Above is the Introduction to Through Spiritual Trials, one title in the new Path of Life Publications book series called Pathways which I have edited. Each five-chapter volume focuses on themes originally published in the Catholic Perspectives CareNotes series. For more information on each of the three books published in the series thus far, please click on the corresponding title: Through Spiritual Trials; In Times of Grief; and When Life Is a Struggle. -- Br. Francis