The Fulfillment of All Desire: A Guidebook for the Journey to God Based on the Wisdom of the Saints

Second to none! This saintly leadership into holiness through lives of seven saints speaks to the very core of what God expects of all humans, to recognize the purpose for what God placed each and every person on the face of this earth to be. God desires us to love Him, will not force us, can exist without us, and yet guides us through the examples of others to serve Him in a capacity that we can all attain. The examples of prayerfullness are levels of deep communication with God and He with us. You will find yourself in holiness in this book or it will find you at a depth that you can emerge to become more holy.

The subtitle of this book is A Guidebook for the Journey to God Based on the Wisdom of the Saints. Ralph Martin, a leader within the renewal movement, has taught on this subject in many different settings and in many different ways. In this book he examines seven of the 33 Doctors of the church and how their writings contribute to the understanding of a spiritual journey. These studies are done through the three stages of spiritual growth. Those three stages are: the purgative way, the illuminative way, and the unitive way. These are also the three major sections in this book. Yet throughout, he draws heavily upon our seven Doctors: Catherine of Siena, Bernard of Clairvaux, Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Augustine, St. Francis De Sales, and St. Therese of Lisieux. This book is at least a third quotations, which takes us back to the source documents and draws out the spirituality of these saints to help us grow in our own lives. The strength of this work is its accessible language; it is well written and opens up topics and authors that are not always approachable. Martin takes us on a journey through the saints and through our own spiritual lives. This book can be a roadmap that you use for spiritual growth, renewal, and to enrich your life - and through that the lives of those around you. Martin states: "What really holds us back from a wholehearted response to the call of Jesus, of Vatican II, of the repeated urgings of the Spirit, is not really the external circumstances of our lives, but the interior sluggishness of our hearts. We need to be clear that there will never be a better time or a better set of circumstances than now to respond wholeheartedly to the call to holiness. Who knows how much longer we'll be alive on this earth? We don't know how long we'll live or what the future holds. Now is the acceptable time. The very things we think are obstacles are the very means God is giving us to draw us to depend more deeply on Him." p.7 This book is designed to help overcome that internal sluggishness. Martin then uses the three stages to examine the spiritual journey deeper into God. "Various attempts to classify the stages of spiritual growth have been made over the centuries. The predominant classification, used by a number of the Doctors we are drawing from and many other writers as well, is the three-stage division of purgative, illuminative, and unitive." p.11 Martin outlines how each stage has a number of characteristics and how the saints can help us move through each stage as we grow closer to God. The drawback of this book is that if you have struggled with the original writings of these saints, there are so many quotes you will feel like you are reading them again. The strength is that Martin brings years of experience teaching and trying to learn from the saints and live out what he has learned. He will open them up to you in new and exciting ways. This book will be a great pick for many reasons - first if you wa

This book is a must-read for anyone truly interested in following the teachings of Jesus and in being His disciple. In a very accessible style, Ralph Martin presents the teachings of six of the greatest saints in Church history, who by their lives and writings have bequeathed to us a treasury of wisdom. It's amazing how clearly Mr. Martin plumbs the spiritual depths of the likes of St. John of the Cross, St Augustine, and St. Teresa of Avila, among others, in such a way as to make their writings both compelling and comforting at the same time. That being said, I warn you; if you don't want to be challenged in the way you are living your Christian life, then this book is not for you. With its penetrating exploration of Scripture and saints' writings, I can honestly say that "The Fulfillment of All Desire" has haunted me in a bittersweet way. To sum up, I'm glad Ralph Martin wrote it, and by the grace of God, I will continue to muster up the courage to study it and most of all, try to live it. I can do no less, for Jesus taught, " Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for holiness, for they shall have their fill."-Matt. 5:6

I wish I could give this outstanding book a "10." The author weaves a sublimely beautiful tapestry on the spiritual life and man's search for God, guided by seven doctors of the Christian Church who were magnificently blessed from beyond the natural realm with overflowing gifts of wisdom and supernatural advice. The most profoundly moving sentence of this nearly 500-page book that exquisitely summarizes it can be found on page 229: "...we're all in desperate need of God, of His forgiveness, of His love, of His Holy Spirit, and all of us need to abandon our pride, admit our need, and come to the foot of the Cross to receive mercy and forgiveness. And we need to stay there." I have never read a truer or more touching description of the human condition. Providing us abundant hope and consolation amid this valley of tears we call Earth is the incredible quote from St. John of the Cross on the 3rd page from the book's end: "In the first place it should be known that if anyone is seeking God, the Beloved is seeking that person much more." This book is saturated with Scripture and the holy writings of seven of the greatest canonized saints in the history of the Church. It is a "keeper" to be read again and again. To ignore this book is to do yourself a great injustice. It is simply wonderful beyond words.