Introduction to the Spiritual Life: Walking the Path of Prayer with Jesus

Great book for individual or group study. Gets to the core of following Christ.

Really helpful in getting me to strengthen my prayer life and providing me a deeper understanding on how to get a deeper relationship with God.

I listened to the entire book read to me as I do most books now. There is so musch rich information in this book I hope Dr Pitre does a DVD of it. Personnaly I want to study to gather short talks on the many presentations to share with spiritual groups I belong to.

I accidentally bought this book on "Buy now with 1-Click" and now wanna buy the book for every one of my friends and family. I don't know what it is about Brant Pitre, but he has a knack for making the obscure plainly understandable. He's cool-headed in his explanations, which makes the content feel more genuine and not like a bombastic attempt at evangelizing the universe with only pen and paper in hand (not that Saint Paul is bad, but only extremely unique) -- Pitre lets Scripture and the Church Fathers do the talking. I found the explanations incredibly simple, maybe because I've read and researched all these topics before and didn't expect to find or learn anything new, but every time I left my time of reading -- my heart BURNED for God. I couldn't put the book down and have referenced it so many times over, made notes and tables on ways to improve my own prayer life, virtues, and love for neighbor and God. This book gave me the intellectual tools I need to live out the love I have always strived for and didn't quite have the words to pinpoint myself on the map. For example, I knew that anger was not a sin because it is a feeling. I also knew that righteous anger could lead to justice and that vengeful anger could lead to injustice. What I didn't know were the biblical examples that somehow engraved a living example of *how* to discern the difference and what to talk to God about in prayer. I realize that my own explanation is probably obscure and that I don't have the intellectual gift of Pitre, but I have to say that his writing somehow transformed my heart so that I felt myself more capable of learning and applying these virtues. If you ever wanted to learn how to be good, or a better person, or a better Christian, or a better Catholic... I would definitely start here. Easily understandable for anyone above the age of ten, I would guess. Might even make an outstanding Confirmation gift - just don't accidentally buy one for yourself!! (or do...)

As a fan of all of Brant Pitre's books, his online efforts, and his work with others—I was intrigued that he had taken up this subject. I had wondered how he would provide an introduction to a topic so much has been written on.I was not surprised to find how well his knowledge of the Old Testament and Jewish practices enlightened this book. This is an exciting meld of the discussion of the spiritual life and how to advance in it—mixed in with looking at the development of prayer for the Jewish people. We are given a list of well-selected quotes at the start of a chapter and sometimes also before a significant section in that chapter. For me, there was a lot to highlight and think about.I especially liked the scriptural exegesis with the source of practices and various etymologies. I find them helpful in seeing past what we have accepted and become immune to when we need to be shaken up and remember what a tremendous gift prayer is - to converse with our very maker.Most of this book concentrates on the Purgative Way, the first part of the spiritual life. There is a discussion regarding the Illuminative Way and the Unitive Way. Still, this book can be beneficial for beginners and those who want to go deeper into the spiritual life.I also really liked the various tables showing comparisons in scripture and the parallels that are often intended, but many of us miss. In this regard, his later chapter on "Lectio Divina and Jacob's Ladder" is phenomenal. I was thinking of these comparisons while at Mass, and not in a distracting way.There are four sections:- Prayer- The Spiritual Path- Vices and Virtues- Making ProgressI found, for myself, "Vices and Virtues" to be especially helpful with the distinctions made. Some things I had lumped together or not understood became clarified for me.This is a book that I will return to. I also bought the Audible version, which I have not yet listened to.

- Insightful analysis on capital sins and their opposing virtue- Different dimensions of prayers- All that rooted in jewish scripture, Jesus teaching (in the gospel) and ancient and modern Christians who studied fundamental ways to grow spiritually!

Great book for people in early stages of spiritual growth--or those who recognize that they want to grow and mature in their faith. Purchased this on recommendation from a priest at my church.

This is a very well researched, meaningful, powerful book. I would heartily recommend it!

What an amazing book. It is a biblical road map of the spiritual landscape that enables us to follow Jesus as our primary guide 🙏💕🙏

For all Christians