Excerpt from the Introduction: Father Valuy's work gives the religious practical means of achieving detachment from their own wills in order to practice the type of charity Our Lord demands of them. He strikes at the heart of that duplicity of spirit which can so easily put on the semblance of piety but which in reality is hypocritical in its dealings with other men. Fr. Valuy asks: "Am I one of those proud spirits who expose the faults of others in order to show off their pretended virtues?" His work includes the writings of the saints who show the religious (and all of us) the necessity of charity towards all. As an example, in discussing the problems of uncharitable speech, St. John Climacus states: "For mercy's sake cease such conversation! How would you wish me to stone my brethren— me, whose faults are greater and more numerous?" We should treat others as we would want to be treated. It is such a basic principle, yet how few take it to heart!
