Christ the Ideal of the Monk (Unabridged)

The centenary of Abbot Marmion's Christ, the Ideal of the Monk is an apt occasion for any monk (really, any Christian!) to become familiar with one of the greatest spiritual works of the early 20th century. In his noble yet simple style, he directs the soul through a two-fold movement of ""abnegation"" i.e., where we separate the heart and the body from worldly attachments, and then, onward, to find our way to union with Christ through the Church's most perfect prayer, the Opus Dei - the Divine Office. This treatise for monks and believers alike can only be rivaled by St. Francis de Sales' Introduction to the Devout Life and St. Therese of Lisieux's Story of a Soul.-Fr. Gregory Schweers, O. Cist., Our Lady of Dallas Cistercian Abbey Christ, the Ideal of the Monk, by Blessed Columba Marmion is one of the surest guides to understanding thoroughly the vocation of the religious life. It is a gift to the Church that Blessed Columba's conferences are once again available in print. The material beauty of the present volume produced by Silverstream Priory reflects the rich spiritual treasure of the conferences. Since the teaching of Saint Benedict of Nursia, the Patriarch of western monasticism, is the basis of all subsequent forms of religious life, Christ the Ideal of the Monk is an excellent source of teaching and inspiration for all religious, and for all those who wish to understand more fully the high calling of the vocation to the religious life.-Mother Maria Regina of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, F.L.M., Foundress and Superior of the Filiae Laboris Mariae