Sometimes real breakthroughs in your spiritual life come about only after searing self-examination. Dom Hubert van Zeller encourages “seeking the face of the Lord always,” adding that “the whole of our effort of faith, exercised throughout life, amounts precisely to this.” When it is pursued properly and consistently, countless benefits, spiritual and otherwise, soon follow. A Carthusian monk, Dom van Zeller produced works that became exceedingly popular in the 1950s. He had the rare gift of translating monastic spiritual wisdom, developed over centuries, into clear, practical advice for ordinary Catholics seeking to deepen their prayer lives. The Inner Search, one of his most enduring and readable books, takes as its point of departure the psalmist’s exhortation to seek the Lord’s face continually and reveals: The single most powerful “vitalizing factor” in the spiritual life Five things that foster the gift of spiritual “discernment” What spiritual “over eagerness” is, and how it can hamper the action of grace The bad habit to which almost every excess in the spiritual life can be traced The worldview that leads to perpetual frustration — and the worldview that leads to happiness Three ways God “exactly fits” our spiritual sufferings to our souls’ specific needs and capacities Dom van Zeller explores false ideas about God’s will that impede our progress toward sanctity and explains how to recognize and correct them. He also explains the root cause of unhappiness and the single issue on which our lives will be judged. (Can you guess?) You will come to understand the relationship between the ascetical life and mystical life and the importance of mental prayer and charity. You will also be consoled by the way the Holy Spirit works to make us contemplatives in the midst of the world. Moreover, you will see what it means to “discover Godpresent in the soul” (an important step in spiritual progress) and how best to attain this union with the Holy Trinity here on earth. “The saints are those in whom there is least obstacle to the life of Christ within the soul,” van Zeller reflects. In this profound and penetrating classic, you will find out how to open your heart more fully to receive all the graces God wants to give you.
