Reviews for Living the life of faith today

The average rating for Living the life of faith today based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2013-02-21 00:00:00 Jay Leray A quick, beautiful, poetic, deepening read. I have long loved St. John of the Cross's _The Dark Night of the Soul_, but have never read any of this other mystical works. _The Living Flame of Love_ is, in crude terms, the spiritual "sequel" to _The Dark Night of the Soul_. St. John describes what happens in the soul after God has purged it, quite painfully at times, of its attachments to the world and all its expectations not founded in God Himself. As such, this work is a little bit, shall we say, lighter, a little more uplifting than _The Dark Night_. (Although, I have to say -- I discovered _The Dark Night of the Soul_ at an incredibly dark spiritual time in my life, and reading his exposition of purgation was like a balm to my anguished heart. I would even say that nothing has ministered to me so powerfully as that book at that time of my life. But _The Living Flame of Love_ has a different purpose.) A few things I loved in my first (DEFINITELY not my last!) reading of _The Living Flame of Love_: 1. St. John is a consummate mystic in his understanding of deep, overwhelming human emotions and how they relate to the reaching towards God. (Though I find the label "emotions" to be a bit problematic in this context.) He understands and describes the intense suffering and joys capable in the spiritual life better than any writer I have ever read. Even though he is describing the mystical journey -- those who have forsaken the world entirely for a life of solitude and contemplation -- I always feel as though he is describing parts of my own spiritual journey, even as far removed and far less ... "impressive" than those whose journey he describes more completely. I am a very emotional *and* intellectual person, so to read someone discuss the inner life of someone possessing both those qualities was refreshing and comforting. For the intellectual part, so much of my own development consists in coming to terms with what I don't know. St. John, as one would expect of a Christian mystic, describes this lack of understanding in such beautiful terms that it takes some of the sting out of my times of confusion. Those times are not times of weakness, as they often feel, but are very often times of growth. It is so difficult in this age to accept uncertainty, yet there is so much beauty and spiritual deepening there. I absolutely adore the way St. John describes and examines that. 2. I was so drawn to St. John's description of the "caverns" of the human soul, and how God empties them so as to fill them first with a desire for Him alone, and then fully with Himself. St. John makes a direct link to how deeply we desire, how deeply we feel the pain of unmet desire (otherwise known as the Augustinian "longing") and the infiniteness of the Object/Subject of our desire. The more difficult it is to live without the fullness of Him Who we desire, the greater our fulfillment and joy will be when He has breathed into our souls all of Himself. The greater He Who fills our soul, the greater the void felt before His fullness has entered. 3. As someone who has had a difficult time finding a church/pastor/fellowship that helps me grow, I did appreciate St. John's advice to be slightly wary of all spiritual directors. He doesn't say to ignore all their advice, nor that we should never follow the direction of those God has placed in position of authority (always for good reason, if anointed by God), but rather that our absolute Director must always be God. No one else is on the same spiritual path or journey as another person; therefore, there are times when no one will understand the direction God is leading me. In those times, I will do more harm than good listening to the advice or direction of those in positional authority over or equality with me. In those times (not always easy to determine), it is best to listen and act according to God alone and respect church/spiritual authorities in other ways. 4. Finally, one of my favorite passages was St. John's discussion of when a soul is fully united with God (after the Dark Night and subsequent igniting with the Flame of Love) and how in that state we love God by giving God back to God. The profundity of that still makes me smile. We can love God perfectly through Him (He?) Who loves perfectly, and only in that way. To think that that is possible, that is possible to offer perfect love to the only Being Who absolutely deserves such perfection, is astounding. Astounding in its simplicity and depth. I think it's what every Christian might desire to attain to, might desire in itself, if he/she truly understood what that meant. This book, while written to describe a spiritual life 99% of people will not embark upon, is one that every Christian and spiritual person can benefit from. I will never retire to a mountaintop convent to spend my days pondering the mystery of God's unknowable nature (though the thought holds delicious appeal), but I will always endeavor to empty myself of attachments to the world (i.e., selfishness) and endeavor to be a soul fully led by God, rather than one resisting His movement even without knowing, simply because of my external attachments. I believe anyone can be united to God in the way St. John describes, though the details and degree will certainly differ. As such, everything in this book is worth reaching for, praying for, surrendering to. And surrender is probably the most important part. This is a truly beautiful work that I look forward to reading more slowly many times over, one that holds untold passages to be lost in for hours at a time. Pretty much one of the best "Jana" books ever.

Review # 2 was written on 2016-04-05 00:00:00 Bobbi Sue Usado en La Oración Contemplativa Pág.112-113 En un pasaje notable de La Llama de Amor Viva, en el cual San Juan de la Cruz describe detalladamente la transición de una devoción razonada a una intimidad espiritual con Dios, dice que cuando uno no puede discernir con la razón o hacer actos de la voluntad durante la oración, uno debería darle a esta situación una calmada bienvenida. Comenzará uno entonces a experimentar paz, tranquilidad y fortaleza, porque Dios ahora está alimentando el alma directamente, derramando su gracia sobre sólo su voluntad y atrayéndola misteriosamente hacia sí. Mente abierta corazón abierto Pág.12