God knew when he set me on this path that I could never attain theosis as an escetic, and am far too weak to walk such a path. So he gave me St. Therese who loves little souls and said essentially, " Just stay very small, and love." That is my core spirituality, living inside what l spelled out in part one. When I first began this walk forty years ago, I got to the breaking point very quickly. In my heart God said, "Doug, it is essential that you endure." Abraham endured

The Spiritual life is a journey with maps and landmarks (theology), but the trip is very hard, and that is why the writings of the Fathers and others who have traveled this road are so important. We can orient ourselves and "sort of know" what is coming up ahead. Since every soul/heart is different (St. Therese says souls are as different as faces!), made so by God's own breath when he breathed it into us, one spirituality does not fit all. And since a soul must seek God

Continued quotes from one: "We must unite mind and heart in order to learn true mental prayer, in other words, we must pray with our whole inner being, with all our mind and heart. How can God give ear to our prayer if we do not even agree with the words we are saying? And how can we agree with the words when we do not pay attention to their meaning? If we want God to heed our entreaty, we ourselves must be totally present in the words we offer up to Him. It is good f

Here is a quote from Orthodox Archimandrite Zacharias, taken from his book, "Hidden Man of the Heart". "But it often happens that we call upon the Lord, desiring to enter into His presence only to find ourselves unable to do so; it is as if we are beating the air. Then we realize that the fault is our attitude and that we are calling upon His Name in a manner that is unworthy. We must then bow our head, and bowing our mind even lower, let us say, 'Lord, I have sinned

Some believe God is emotionless, and loves, but in some exalted impersonal way. I recall asking a priest how a mom and dad could enjoy heaven while their son roasted in hell. He responded that God would explain it to them so gloriously that they would rejoice in God's perfect justice and be fine with their son's damnation. Really? So when St. Paul says love never ends, is he adding, "except when...."? Theology is necessary to preserve the Faith and guide us, but sometim