Father Dubay begins this book by speaking about a hunger people have--something he has found people hungering to hear. He learned this from decades of preaching, giving retreats and seminars, and the reaction of people to all of it. He says he regularly and repeatedly encounters people who are yearning to hear the message of: "the universal call to holiness and to a deep prayer life." In chapter one, he gives two brief examples that he uses. First, he says, Saint Paul told his hearers, laymen and laywomen for the most part, that they should aspire to be "filled with the utter fullness of God" (Eph 3:19). Second, Saint Teresa of Avila, expressly writing of generous married people seriously living their gospel obligations, forthrightly said that there is no reason why people in the world should not attain to the very highest mansions of prayer growth, to the "transforming union." This is an idea he says is so attractive and so lofty that many people assume that it is something they cannot realize in their own lives. Using the gospel, Saint Teresa and Saint John of the Cross especially, two saints who have been declared Doctors of the Church, precisely for what they have to say about this type of spiritual growth and how to reach it, he says, "These two Carmelites have been to the summit of the mountain: they know what it is like and how to get there. Unlike oriental gurus who promise much but produce at best an apersonal state of awareness, or at worst immoral chaos, these two saints point to nothing but what the Gospel already promises: 'A joy so glorious that it cannot be described.' A delight that is complete such that 'hearts will be full of joy' that no one can take away" (see 1 Pt 1:8, Jn 15:11; 16:22). Not bad!--as far as gifts are concerned. That's what they are--take 'em or leave 'em! If you leave them, that's a personal choice. It may even result in an eternal choice. If you want to take them, then you'll find: it's for those who want these gifts, that Father Dubay wrote this book. It is not written for contemplatives, although anyone who reads it will profit from it. Father synthesized the pages of this book from the works of Saint Teresa and Saint John of the Cross for everyday people, who are hungering to hear these saints and what they teach. He sees this as his mission. He says, "Because we are all without exception called to the heights of holiness, this volume is emphatically intended, also without exception, for all men and women in every way of life. When later we examine the inner reasons why this must be so, it shall become clear why our two saints are accurate in their assessment and fully in accord both with Scripture and the mind of the Church." And so, it's a safe book, in case you're worried! Although the call is "without exception for all," Father indicates, at least indirectly, that not "all" can answer it. As Father was certain of the accuracy with which these saints depict the elements of this spiritual journey, he was also clear as to the determination necessary for those who wish to drink in their doctrine and follow them to the summit of the mountain. In one example, he uses Saint Teresa. In doing so, he says, "Faintheartedness was not one of the saint's traits, and it may not be a trait of anyone who embarks on a contemplative life with the all-holy God." For those who wish to embark on a life of serious prayer, Saint Teresa says, "It is most important--all-important, indeed--that they should begin well by making an earnest and most determined resolve not to halt until they reach their goal, whatever may come, whatever may happen to them, however hard they may have to labour, whoever may complain of them, whether they reach their goal or die on the road or have no heart to confront the trials which they meet, whether the very world dissolves before them." Surprisingly, you do not read or hear about people who followed these saints and were sorry. All must have been more than pleased at what they found. Jesus himself tells us that the payoff is quite substantial! He assures anyone who is interested, "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand" (Jn 10:28). Saint Teresa givers us an additional insight about this life. She says the payoff is here! We need not wait for the next life.This is probably the most comprehensive book on the spiritual life in print. The cover says it's about prayer. It is, but it's also about the many dimensions of prayer: experiencing God, freedom, spiritual growth, conditions for growth, the purification process, holiness of life, transformation and all that entails, right down to the mystical experiences that these two saints encountered, experienced and explained. It's filled with advice that is rarely found in one source, between one front and back cover. I had it on my shelf for quite some time before I actually read it. I also had several false starts. That's not uncommon. This is a giant step. We all have excuses. Sooner or later, however, it should go without saying to those who know Saint Teresa--that she did not have much interest in, or pay much attention to, the excuses people might dredge-up in this regard. I guess she heard them all. In the The Way of Perfection pg 136, from which the above quote comes, and immediately after speaking about her literal "determined determination," she comes up with her litany, "Again and again people will say to us: "It is dangerous", "So-and-so was lost through doing this", "Someone else got into wrong ways", "Some other person, who was always praying, fell just the same", "It is bad for virtue", "It is not meant for women; it may lead them into delusions", "They would do better to stick to their spinning", "These subtleties are of no use to them", "It is quite enough for them to say their Paternoster and Ave Maria." I guess today she would simply say, "Give me a break!" Or in Brooklyn, simply "fuggedaboutit!"Since you are already on the website reading about this, now might be as good a time as any!