Secrets of the Interior Life

by Luis M. Martínez

“The ways of God are not our ways and the spiritual life is almost the contrary of what we fancy it.”So declares author Luis Martinez, the Mexican bishop and mystic whose wise spirituality, rooted in St. John of the Cross and St. Thérèse of Lisieux, shows you here how to enter into an intense, sustained communion with God.Bishop Martinez doesn’t offer new rules of prayer or demand that you abandon the forms of meditation that suit you. He simply reminds you that our God is a hidden God. To find Him, says Martinez, we have to seek Him, but through His ways, not ours. If we do that, the gaze of faith will always find Him right where He in the spiritual desolation that led us wrongly to believe He was far away. Martinez shows you how to live in the obscurity of faith, detached both from consolations and desolations, and why this is best for your soul. The Christian who learns to do this leaves behind the perturbations of the world that shake the faith of those who don’t. In the obscurity of faith, the Divine Master will listen to you, speak to you, and instruct your soul, but without the noise of words.Says “Once you know how to profit from faith and to live by faith, you will always find God. You will have solved your problem; you will have discovered the great secret of the interior life.” Let these pages teach you that secret!

Genres: Catholic

Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2003

About the author

Luis María Martínez y Rodríguez was the Catholic archbishop of Mexico and a member of the Academia Mexicana de la Lengua ("Mexican Language Academy").

He was born in Molinos de Caballeros, Epitacio Huerta, Michoacán. A philosopher of the scholastic tradition, his focus on the ultimate nature of things led him to theology. He was also a writer of spiritual poetry.

While his traditional values provoked his criticisms of some aspects of Mexico's modernization, he always retained a special relationship with the people. He presided over the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the coronation of Our Lady of Guadalupe, declaring, "I am Zumárraga" in order to draw Mexicans who has "wandered" back to the church. He joined the Academy in 1953, and many of his sermons were translated into French, Italian, and German.

He died on February 9, 1956 in Mexico City.

Reviews

[John Doyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stumbling upon this book while spending quiet time with God in the choir loft of the high school chapel where I teach, I decided to give it a read. I had heard good things about this long deceased Mexican bishop author; I found the book to be well-translated and easy to read. My soul resonated with several of the spiritual concepts that the good bishop explained such as the need for a strong childlike confidence in God, deep humility, and patience with God's ways-so unlike our own at times. While I agree with the author's insistence on not overemphasizing positive feelings and consolations as a guide to personal sanctity, as well as his constant reminders to willingly accept the crosses of life, I felt that the work could have been complemented by an exposition of the role that emotions and feelings are called to play in the spiritual life. Alas, such ideas are not present in this work. Still, overall it is a book that I would recommend for all in need of a refresher on important elements for growing in the Christian spiritual life.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent! Wonderful images that open the heart to faith. Chapter on disordered affections was very helpful.

[Denise Kawaii · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me by my mother. It is a very deep look at focusing on our internal self, and how to mold that self to be more united with God in all of His forms. The message repeated most loudly through this book is that even our most difficult times are actually blessings because they force us to grow.

This book is not light reading. It is very introspective and takes time both to get through, and to pull the deeper messages from.