The Practice of the Love of Jesus Christ (A Liguori Classic)

This is a beautiful book. It is short- only 200 pages- and broken up into several chapters, so it lends itself to naturally be read in bite size chunks. The goal of the book is of course to turn you into a saint, and this is accomplished by giving advice as to how to live our lives in many respects. The saint considers things that we ought to do like of course prayer and how we should treat others, but also what not to do, like how to avoid sin and the steps that one should take when one is tempted. Speaking on this, St Alphonsus discusses how temptation to despair will always be a very real part of the life of any believer. He gives advice on how to overcome this and how to know whether or not you have given into temptation. To that end, this is apparently one of St Alphonsus' "gentler" books. It is still of course very intense. and the Saint forces us to reconsider many little things in our lives that may not be in conformity with God's will. For example, one chapter deals with submitting ourselves to God's will in all things. This includes being sick and other situations which are normally undesirable. St Alphonsus even goes so far as to tell us that if we are unable to make meditations or attend mass because we are sick, we should rejoice in this as it too is part of God's will. This is a comforting thought. It is very easy for us to think that the slightest inconveniences are great travesties and injustices towards us, but of course, these can be used as moments of sanctification. Many other wonderful pieces of advice and solid Catholic teaching are offered in this book. It is a very good spiritual read that is also easy to understand. One does not need to be a great scholar or learned man in order to appreciate and live out the teachings that St Alphonsus puts forward.

Saint Alphonsus Liguori was a true lover of Jesus Christ. He devoted himself to developing his passion for loving Jesus and disciplined himself to likewise grow in his love for others. His holy passion exudes from the pages of this devotional book that flows from his meditation on Chapter 13 of Paul's First Letter to the Church in Corinth.He shines a light on the loveliness of Jesus and encourages meditation on our Lord and Savior. He writes, "Who upon seeing a crucified God dying for our love, could resist loving him? Those thorns cry out too loudly, those nails, that cross, those wounds, and that blood, all seeking to make us love him who has loved us so much. One heart is too little with which to love this God who is so in love with us." I think that as you sincerely read this book you will feel the love for Jesus grow in your heart.No matter how much you are familiar with Paul's "Love" chapter, this book will take you deeper into the Scripture and into a life of love. This is a book for disciples who are ready and willing to follow Jesus in the way of the cross for love's sake. Liguori leads readers in the death of self in order to live for Jesus.I used this book as part of my daily devotions. It required slow reading and meditation and often inspired prayer from the text in addition from the "Prayers of Love and Affection" that concluded each chapter. These Prayers of Love and Affection are useful and can be prayed as they are. I have encouraged their use in our church's prayer life. The chapters consist of short sectional paragraphs that contribute to meditation and daily devotional reading.I especially recommend this book as a spiritual tool to counter the busy, noisy lives of many Christians today. Liguori practiced silent retreats and disciplined prayer, and his writing will help readers today enter into a deeper prayer life. This book will also help readers grow in sanctification and lead more holy lives that display the splendor of Jesus.Liguori intentionally and frequently cites the earlier saints of the church, men and women. He accesses their devotional works and gains from them insights into a deeper relationship with Jesus. Liguori challenges readers on every level including the reading of the Church Fathers and Mothers. He also challenges readers to expand their imagination in the ways that God communicates to his children who diligently seek him.Protestant readers may find Liguori too "Roman Catholic" for their tastes; however, I encourage Protestant readers to approach these matters prayerfully and consider the guidance of the Lord. Liguori is a lover of the Eucharist and encourages readers to receive the Sacrament of Christ's Body and Blood frequently and to engage in Eucharistic Adoration. You can see that this encouragement arises from his own devotion and love of Jesus in the Sacrament. Liguori was also very devoted to Mary the Mother of Jesus and his prayers to her may create discomfort to some readers. Again, I think it is good to consider the source and reason for his devotion rather than being offended by it. These are small matters in the grander scheme of practicing the Love of Jesus Christ that Liguori helps readers to do more effectively.

Nice book to help develop high standards for living.

Anything, and I mean anything, written by St. Alphonsus Liguori is excellent and I highly recommend buying and reading anything you can get your hands on. I guarantee you will not be disappointed. This book "the Practice of the Love of Jesus Christ" is indeed a Liguori classic and a must read. Can you tell I am a big fan of St. Alphonsus? This book should be read by all Catholics but I also recommend this book to all my Protestant brothers and sisters as well. Once you have a taste of what Catholic saints write about you will not stop with St. Alphonsus but move on to other saints as well, such as, St. Francis de Sales, St. Ignacius, St. Teresa, the little flower, St, Theresa of Avila, St John of the Cross, St. Catherine and many many more. So what are you waiting for - order your copy of "The Practice of the Love of Jesus Christ" and start practicing the love immediately. God bless and happy reading!

The book is used, but the condition is good. Now for paying of attention to all the wonderful teaching in it!

If you've discovered this book by its simple and direct title then it is probably what you're looking for. The author counsels on practicing loving Christ.Note: This edition by publisher "Liguori" is the superior of two Kindle editions here on Amazon, by virtue of its careful production. It includes properly flowed paragraphs, a working and accurate TOC, formatted headings, linked footnotes (of which Liguori provides numerous so this is very helpful), plus a useful introduction. The other edition published by "Perfect Library" has none of this and is difficult to use.

Wonderful book - have read it many times- great spiritual reading- especially before bedtime - only problem is binding tends to lose pages- when that happens I just get another copy