A description of the soul's journey to full union with God
Contents (cont)
I. THE OBJECT OF THE THIRD PART AND THE LANGUAGE OF SPIRITUAL WRITERS COMPARED WITH THAT OF THEOLOGIANS
A. The Language of Spiritual Writers Compared with That of Theologians
B. The Question Raised by the Language of the Mystics
C. The Theological Bases of the Terminology of Spiritual Writers
D. The Principal Terms of the Language of Spiritual Writers
E. Mystical Hyperbole
F. Comparison of the Language of Spiritual Writers and That of Theologians
G. Which of These Two Terminologies Is the Loftier?
II. THE ENTRANCE INTO THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY
A. The Fact of the Second Conversion in the Lives of the Servants of God
B. The Necessity of the Second Conversion
III. THE SECOND CONVERSION ACCORDING TO SEVERAL SPIRITUAL WRITERS
A. The Second Conversion in The Dialogue of St.Catherine of Siena
B. The Second Conversion According to Blessed Henry Suso and Tauler
IV. THE PASSIVE PURIFICATION OF THE SENSES AND THE ENTRANCE INTO THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY
A. The Necessity of this Purification
B. How the Passive Purification of the Senses Is Produced
C. The Cause of This State
D. Note
V. CONDUCT TO BE OBSERVED IN THE NIGHT OF THE SENSES
A. Four Rules of Direction Relative to This State
B. Trials Which Ordinarily Accompany the Night of the Senses
C. The Effects of the Passive Purification of the Senses
VI. THE SPIRITUAL AGE OF PROFICIENTS: PRINCIPAL CHARACTERISTICS
A. The Knowledge of God in Proficients
B. The Love of God and of Souls in Proficients
VII. THE SPIRITUAL EDIFICE IN PROFICIENTS
VIII. PRUDENCE AND THE INTERIOR LIFE
A. Defects to Be Avoided
B. Acquired Prudence and Self-control
C. Infused Prudence
D. Holy Discretion and the Gift of Counsel
IX. THE DIFFERENT FORMS OF JUSTICE AND THE EDUCATION OF THE WILL
A. Commutative and Distributive Justice in Relation to the Interior Life
B. Legal Justice, Equity, and the Formation of Character
C. Justice and Charity
D. The Virtues Connected with Justice in Christian Life
X. PATIENCE AND MEEKNESS
A. Patience and Longanimity, Twin Columns of the Interior Life
B. Supernatural Meekness and Its Fruits
XI. THE VALUE OF CHASTITY AND ITS SPIRITUAL FRUITFULNESS
A. The Motive That Should Inspire Chastity
B. The Spiritual Fruitfulness of Chastity
XII. THE HUMILITY OF PROFICIENTS
A. Humility toward God
B. Humility toward Our Neighbor
XIII. THE HUMILITY OF THE WORD MADE FLESH AND WHAT OURS SHOULD BE
A. The Humility and Magnanimity of Christ
B. The Union of Humility and Christian Dignity
APPENDIX. THE GLORY OF THE CROSS
XIV. THE SPIRIT OF POVERTY
A. The Value of Voluntary Poverty
B. The Fruitfulness of Voluntary Poverty
C. The Merit of the Vows
XV. THE GRANDEUR OF OBEDIENCE
A. The Type of Servitude from Which Obedience Delivers Us
B. The Fruits of Obedience
XVI. SIMPLICITY AND UPRIGHTNESS
A. Defects Opposed to Simplicity
B. Veracity and the Interior Life
C. Superior Simplicity, the Image of That of God
XVII. THE SPIRIT OF FAITH AND ITS PROGRESS
A. The Nature of the Spirit of Faith
B. The Growth of Infused Faith in Us
C. The Excellence and the Power of the Spirit of Faith
D. A Practical Manner of Living by the Spirit of Faith
XVIII. CONFIDENCE IN GOD; ITS CERTITUDE
A. Defects to Be Avoided
B. The True Nature of Christian Hope
C. The Certitude of Hope
D. The Qualities of Christian Hope
E. Admirable Effects of Living Hope Confirmed by Trials
XIX. THE LOVE OF CONFORMITY TO THE DIVINE WILL
A. The Signs of Imperfect Love
B. The Nature of Charity and the Marks of Its Progress
C. The Love of God and Our Natural Dispositions
D. Progressive Conformity to the Signified Divine Will
XX. FRATERNAL CHARITY, RADIATION OF THE LOVE OF GOD
A. Why Our Love of God Should Extend to Our Neighbor
B. Efficacy of the Love of Charity
C. The Compass and Order of Charity
D. How to Make Progress in Fraternal Charity
XXI. ZEAL FOR THE GLORY OF GOD AND THE SALVATION OF SOULS
A. The Motives of Zeal
B. The Qualities of Zeal
C. The Sources of Spiritual Progress and Divine Intimacy
XXII. DOCILITY TO THE HOLY GHOST
A. The Inspirations of the Holy Ghost
B. The Ascending Gradation of the Gifts
C. Conditions Required for Docility to the Holy Ghost
D. Acts Which Prepare the Soul for Docility to the Holy Ghost
E. The Harmonizing of Docility to the Holy Ghost with Obedience and Prudence
F. The Fruits of Docility to the Holy Ghost
XXIII.THE DISCERNING OF SPIRITS
A. The Signs of the Spirit of Nature
B. The Signs of the Spirit of the Devil
C. The Signs of the Spirit of God
XXIV. THE SACRIFICE OF THE MASS AND PROFICIENTS
A. Adoration
B. Reparation
C. Petition
D. Thanksgiving
XXV. THE COMMUNION OF PROFICIENTS
A. The Holy Table and the Unity of the Mystical Body
B. Communion and the Growth of the Mystical Body of Christ
C. Communion and the Gift of Oneself
XXVI. DEVOTION TO MARY IN PROFICIENTS
A. True Devotion to Mary
B. The Degrees of This Devotion
C. The Fruits of This Devotion
XXVII. THE UNIVERSAL ACCESSIBILITY OF THE MYSTICISM OF The Imitation.
A. The Mystical Character of The Imitation
B. The Dispositions Required or the Asceticism of The Imitation
XXVIII. CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER
A. The Passage from Acquired Prayer to Initial Infused Prayer
B. The Passage from Meditation to Contemplation According to the Traditional Teaching Expressed by St. Francis de Sales
C. The Principles of This Traditional Teaching According to St. Thomas
D. The Acquired Prayer of Recollection and Passive Recollection According to St. Teresa
XXIX. THE ERRORS OF THE QUIETISTS ON CONTEMPLATION AND PURE LOVE
A. The Quietism of Molinos
B. Semi-Quietism
C. The Problem of Pure Love
D. In What the Practice of Pure Love Consists
XXX. THE DEGREES OF CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER IN PROFICIENTS
A. The Progress of Prayer and the Virtues
B. The Prayer of Quiet
C. The Prayer of Simple Union
D. Contemplative Prayer and Fervent Communion
XXXI. QUESTIONS RELATIVE TO INFUSED CONTEMPLATION
A. The Principal Problem
B. Accepted Definitions
C. Intimate Nature of Infused Contemplation
D. The Progress of Infused Contemplation
E. What Infused Contemplation Does Not Necessarily Require
F. The Call to Contemplation
G. The Direction of Souls in Relation to Contemplation
XXXII.THE NEW ELEMENTS IN INFUSED PRAYER
A. Whether the Character of Newness Always Appears Clearly
B. The Explanation of This Transition
C. Reply to a Difficulty
D. The Special Illumination of the Holy Ghost
E. The Special Illumination of the Gift of Wisdom Sufficient for Infused Contemplation
XXXIII. THE AGREEMENT AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ST.TERESA AND ST. JOHN OF THE CROSS
A. The Cause of These Differences
B. Whether These Differences Have a Common Basis
C. A Recent Objection