The Fulfillment of All Desire

Book arrived in good time and was in perfect shape.

Drawing from the writings of spiritual giants whose lived experiences span a thousand years, the author has made their wisdom comprehensible to spiritual hobbits like myself. I intend to reread this book regularly.

At the end of the Jubilee Year 2000, which ushered in a new Millennium, Ralph Martin responded to a call by Pope John Paul II, in his writing of "Novo Millennio Ineunte," to reconnect the whole Church with the mystical tradition of its Doctors. The Pope mentioned four specifically: St. Catherine of Siena, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, and St. Thérèse of Lisieux. These were some of the saints Ralph Martin had been teaching for years. My first contact with the work of Ralph Martin was in listening to a series of talks that he developed and presented in Ann Arbor, MI. They are as follows, and in the order I obtained and listed to them: Called to Holiness-Called to Mission: The Vision of John Paul II,  Union with God : Learning from St. Teresa of Avila,  Transformation in Christ : The Wisdom of St. John of the Cross,  Surrendered to Love: The Wisdom of Therese of Lisieux , St. Catherine of Siena: Growing in Love , Holiness in Everyday Life : The Wisdom of Francis De Sales, and  Bernard Lives: The Journey to God with Saint Bernard of Clairvaux . I have listened to these more than once. They are nothing less than a remarkable series of presentations on these saints, their teachings and their desire to instruct us and lead us to holiness. They are available through his organization: Renewal Ministries. In this book, seemingly published sometime after I had finished listening to the talks, I recognize so many of the traces of these talks, the research and the quotes from these Doctor/Saints. The book is arranged quite differently, however. Ralph begins again with the "Call to Holiness," but then branches off into the three traditional stages of the Spiritual Life: the Purgative, the Illuminative, and the Unitive. Each of these is subdivided, treating different aspects of each stage, like prayer, obstacles and effects, individually. He then brings in the particular saints mentioned above, adding St. Augustine too, to treat various subjects. In doing so, he effectively treats the total transformation one would/could expect possible in the entire Spiritual Life, according to the wisdom of these saints, and backed by their own personal experiences and writings. This is the journey a person would travel from Conversion up to and including the Transforming Union, the summit one can reach here on earth. In his work, "The Spiritual Combat," Father Lawrence Scupoli begins the first paragraph of Chapter 1 with: "CHRISTIAN SOUL! If you seek to reach the loftiest peak of perfection, and to unite yourself so intimately with God that you become one with spirit with Him, you must first know the true nature and perfection of spirituality in order to succeed in the most sublime undertaking that can be experienced or imagined." Recall also, Jesus advises us, if "wishing to construct a tower [to] first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion" (Lk 14:28). So it is with the Spiritual Life. To embark on this we must: know the goal; know what it promises; know what it takes to accomplish it; know the downside, pitfalls and obstacles; know the resources and tools that are available; and know the practices which have led to the success of others--and why go to anyone else but the saints for this. They have been to the summit. They know how to get there. Ralph Martin has given us an excellent blueprint for those who want to take the Spiritual Life seriously. These saints have followed the gospel to a heroic degree and can teach us to do the same. Highly recommended!

I read The Fulfillment of All Desire, by Ralph Martin, in preparation to give a prayer and spirituality retreat. This book offered much advice on how to live a more spiritual life with examples set by such greats as Augustine, John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila, Frances de Sales and God’s little flower, Theresé of Lisieux. I learned that the fulfillment of all desire comes from a life of prayer and modeling our behavior to that of Christ. For when we become more Christ-like we unite with the pinnacle of our desire – that of Christ himself.The book is lengthy, with numerous quotes from the works of the saints. Ralph Martin lets the saints tell the story of how one might develop the fulfillment of all desire. If I had one complaint, it is that the quotes were too numerous. I say that because I am familiar with Ralph Martin, having watched him on EWTN. The man is a brilliant and esteemed professor of Theology. With that said, I hoped that by reading this book, I would gain much insight from Mr. Martin’s views on the topic. Instead, he let the saints tell the story. One can’t complain too much when one gets to hear directly from the source!This book walks the reader through the three stages to holiness: 1) the Purgative Way, 2) the Illuminative Way, and 3) the Unitive Way. In a nutshell, to grow in holiness, we must first acknowledge our sinful ways and purge ourselves of the sinful life. Once emptied of sin, God can illuminate for us how to proceed on the path to holiness, with the ultimate culmination, that of union with God – seeing God face-to-face in heaven!If you are looking for ways to grow closer to Christ, then this book just might be for you. It is easy to read and understand. You never know, it might bring about the fulfillment of your own desire!

I can't recommend this book highly enough to anyone wanting to overcome obstacles in their spiritual life and grow closer to Christ. I've given away so many copies to others. Ralph Martin has compiled the writings of the Doctors of the Church with his extremely helpful commentary.The Doctors of the Church are declared so because their writings are of universal relevance and benefit to the whole Church. This also means the Doctors are often making the same points but using different terminology to express their ideas. Ralph collates these overlapping ideas while bringing out the nuances of each Saint. In doing so he has provided in a single text what would have otherwise have taken voluminous reading to ascertain.I turn to it time and time again discovering new riches each time. I am very thankful I came across this in a Catholic bookstore.

Ralph Martin has given us a remarkable and very comprehensive exploration of the spiritual and personal journey of faith,by which we may all be encouraged, no matter what point in our journey we are on, to persevere and continue by God's grace. Beautifully supported by the particular Saint's writings that are integral to this marvellous book.Ralph Martin has de-coded some of the Saint's writings making them very accessible. It is a book that once read through, one still wishes very much to dip into again and again.

Great service. Book looks like new and I can't wait to read it.Thanks for a great service.Mark

lots of worthy information by the saints very helpful.

So glad I bought this book, really amazing and in depth. I have learnt so much already and only a quarter of the way through it!