Publisher's Synopsis
This book sets out conclusive evidence that the teaching of the three stages and three conversions of the spiritual life are the correct interpretation, and true hermeneutic of continuity, pertaining to the Universal Call to Holiness, as requested in the Documents of Vatican II. As such, it is the Doctrine of Acquiring Christian Perfection, which is a phrase written in the Council Documents, but so far this phrase has not been explained to the laity in relation to the Second Vatican Council. It is in effect, the Hermeneutic of Deification. This work also contains practical teachings for those unfamiliar with the three-fold path.
There has been a clarion call from Cardinal Sarah and Cardinal Burke for this generation to finally provide correct interpretations of what the Documents of Vatican II actually requested. As such, this work illuminates key teachings concerning the 2000-year-old tradition of the Three Stages and Three Conversions of the Spiritual Life, as evidenced from scripture, the doctors of the Church, mystical theologians, & the Summa Theologica. This evidence has subsequently been cross referenced with the documents of the Second Vatican Council, the Catechism, and recent papal documents. As such this work is epiphanic in that it finally applies the authentic traditional spirituality of the Church Fathers into the life of the Church by answering Vatican II's call for Christian perfection. By finally cross referencing the traditional spiritual language with the conciliar documents it presents a true hermeneutic of continuity, and the only solution to reignite spiritual vitality within the Church, and therefore the Universal Call to Holiness. The Three Stages and Three Conversions of the Spiritual Life are more than just a spiritual teaching. This is because they teach us how to restore the Divine Order. The Divine Order supersedes all orders. It heals man's imperfection and replaces it with God's perfection. Schism, and more recently confusion, have come about within the Church, and worldwide the original perfection has been replaced by that which was not in the original design. This has caused a crisis within the Church, the world, and the family. This Divine Order was created by God and involves all baptised Catholics practicing 'the way of perfection'. It is the spirituality of the Church in which all spiritualities are contained. This perfect order can be formed in all those who wish to co-operate with actual and sanctifying grace, so that the perfection of charity can be practiced more abundantly throughout the world. It efficaciously draws the Church deeper into true discipleship, so as to follow Christ with one mind and one heart, from the beginning to the end. We thus hear the words of Our Lord, 'Be you perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect'. Whilst many Church initiatives have concentrated on what is known as the First Conversion, which takes place at the beginning of the spiritual journey, this work now looks at the true nature of the spiritual life and moves us forward to the Second and Third Conversions. Without a Christian moving through the Second Conversion it is not possible to love both God and neighbour with the Christian perfection that is requested fifty-seven times in the Documents of the Second Vatican Council. This Second Conversion is also highlighted in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Catholics often state that the three ways of the spiritual life follow on from the kerygmatic stage, but now it is time to finally set forth this reality. The antidote to the current crisis in the Church is to state that the future vitality of the Catholic Church lies in the Three Stages and Conversions of the Spiritual Life. Only here do we discover an intrinsic formation in the Divine Order of Christian perfection, which above all leads us to the perfection of charity and love of neighbour, as was repeatedly requested in the documents of the Second Vatican Coun
