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This Tremendous Lover
Sixty years on, Boylan's remarkable spiritual classic is one to which Catholics continually return. In This Tremendous Lover, a Trappist monk speaks clearly and perceptively to the world of priests, religious, or laity still "in the world." Boylan explains God's plan for our happiness, and how we are each called to participate in this divine plan as members of the Mystical Body of Christ. This Tremendous Lover has been called a modern version of Introduction to the Devout Life, the timeless sixteenth-century classic by St. Francis de Sales, and it is one of one hundred works on the Catholic Lifetime Reading Plan. This new edition includes a foreword by Lawrence S. Cunningham, a professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame.
373 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1946
87 people are currently reading
730 people want to read
About the author
Eugene Boylan
20 books14 followersDom Mary Eugene Boylan, O.C.R. (1904-1964), was an Irish priest, Trappist monk, and spiritual writer. He entered the Cistercian order in 1931 and was ordained in 1937. Drawing from his experience as a confessor, spiritual director, and retreat master, he published This Tremendous Lover in 1946, which was translated into several languages and became an international bestseller. Dom Boylan lectured extensively in the United States. He taught theology and philosophy at Mount Saint Joseph Abbey in Rosecrea, Ireland, and was elected as its fourth abbot in 1962, where he served until his untimely death in an auto accident in 1964.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
June 24, 2024
"All then that is necessary for any Christian in order to seek the summits of divine love, is to live in faith, hope, charity, humility, and willing abandonment to God's Will.
The teaching of the popes, the tradition of the whole Church proclaim that all God seeks is our love. He does not ask for miracles, for great achievements, for extraordinary success, for outstanding personal development. The only thing He asks is so extraordinary - for it is a love entirely beyond our powers - that we must rely upon Him to give it to us Himself; hence no one need despair of achieving it."
The teaching of the popes, the tradition of the whole Church proclaim that all God seeks is our love. He does not ask for miracles, for great achievements, for extraordinary success, for outstanding personal development. The only thing He asks is so extraordinary - for it is a love entirely beyond our powers - that we must rely upon Him to give it to us Himself; hence no one need despair of achieving it."
May 2, 2024
This was our men’s group book for the school year and it was insane. Talks in depth on major Christian topics from Creation to the Mystical Body of Christ to pretty much all the ways that Christ is a tremendous lover. It honestly changed the way I see Grace working in me and how I go about my work with students
November 14, 2020
The central theme and most valuable lesson of this book is our oneness with Christ. When Scripture speaks of our unity with Him and our being His Body, it is not mere allegory or sentiment, but descriptive of a true reality.
Once this is established, the book moves on to deal with the implications of this for our prayer, devotion, day-to-day lives, and vocations.
This books is the perfect balance of being deeply theologically, while practically devotional. Great for anyone wishing to deepen their devotion to Christ, mental prayer, or understanding of what it means to be a member of His Church and Mystical Body.
Once this is established, the book moves on to deal with the implications of this for our prayer, devotion, day-to-day lives, and vocations.
This books is the perfect balance of being deeply theologically, while practically devotional. Great for anyone wishing to deepen their devotion to Christ, mental prayer, or understanding of what it means to be a member of His Church and Mystical Body.
March 11, 2015
A beautiful challenge
Initially the book explains church teaching beginning with Genesis. As it continues, the author explores layers of surrendering oneself to Love, offering great wisdom and simple explanations on how to yield to this amazing God. I will re-read this often on my own spiritual journey to live through Him, with Him and in Him.
Initially the book explains church teaching beginning with Genesis. As it continues, the author explores layers of surrendering oneself to Love, offering great wisdom and simple explanations on how to yield to this amazing God. I will re-read this often on my own spiritual journey to live through Him, with Him and in Him.
May 22, 2019
Really loved this book! A great recommendation for all Catholics.
September 29, 2008
This is one of those books that speak directly to the soul. Its probably more accurate to say it feeds the soul. I appreciated the outline of the book. The author starts with "The Beginning and the Fall", proceeds to "The Plan of Restoration", "The Redemption" and then "The Mystical Body of Christ". This is followed by in-depth discussions of our relationship with Christ and the ways of becoming close to Christ: "Partnership with Christ", "Membership of Christ", "Seeking Christ through Humility and Obedience", "Seeking Christ in Prayer", etc. Thus, the book feels very complete, yet each chapter can be read or re-read independently and make sense. The themes are typical of a spiritual book, and if you read a lot of spiritual works you probably won't find anything new in this book. Nevertheless, I think most people will find it an enjoyable read, especially if they are mathematically minded and like things in a specific order.
One of my favorite passages was from the chapter "The Will of God as the Food of Christ":
"By doing the will of God then we are formed into Christ, we are 'digested' by Him, we are received into Him and transformed into Him, as the food is taken by the roots and transformed into the vine. When we do the will of God, Christ, our High Priest, takes us into His hands, and blesses us, and says: 'This is My Body,' and offers us up to His Father in Himself, and receives us into communion with Himself. The perfect union with Christ is to do the will of God for the love of God. There is nothing higher than that. Therein lies all holiness and all happiness; therein lies all that we may ever become, all that we ever dreamed of being; for it renews us in Christ and unites us to Him who is our God and our all!" (p. 197)
And from the final chapter, "One Christ Loving Himself":
"We are afraid to let go of what we think we have or what we think we are going to have. And God in His loving ardor pleads with us, for love, for the love of our whole heart, and we turn away our ear, and drown the sound of His voice in the intoxication of pleasure, or of work, or of all or anything else, save the one thing necessary. And yet we find no peace. We hurry from one thing to another; we exhaust our ingenuity in devising new amusements to capture our jaded fancy; we plunge deeper and deeper into the mire of self-satisfaction; and we are further away from peace than ever. For our hearts are made for God, and they cannot rest til they rest in Him; He knows our hearts better than we do. And so in His love, like the Good Shepherd, He comes to seek us; He pursues us and He uses His providence to draw us away from all else, and to draw all else away from us, so that we may be driven to listen to His voice, and cast ourselves upon His Heart." (p. 306)
One of my favorite passages was from the chapter "The Will of God as the Food of Christ":
"By doing the will of God then we are formed into Christ, we are 'digested' by Him, we are received into Him and transformed into Him, as the food is taken by the roots and transformed into the vine. When we do the will of God, Christ, our High Priest, takes us into His hands, and blesses us, and says: 'This is My Body,' and offers us up to His Father in Himself, and receives us into communion with Himself. The perfect union with Christ is to do the will of God for the love of God. There is nothing higher than that. Therein lies all holiness and all happiness; therein lies all that we may ever become, all that we ever dreamed of being; for it renews us in Christ and unites us to Him who is our God and our all!" (p. 197)
And from the final chapter, "One Christ Loving Himself":
"We are afraid to let go of what we think we have or what we think we are going to have. And God in His loving ardor pleads with us, for love, for the love of our whole heart, and we turn away our ear, and drown the sound of His voice in the intoxication of pleasure, or of work, or of all or anything else, save the one thing necessary. And yet we find no peace. We hurry from one thing to another; we exhaust our ingenuity in devising new amusements to capture our jaded fancy; we plunge deeper and deeper into the mire of self-satisfaction; and we are further away from peace than ever. For our hearts are made for God, and they cannot rest til they rest in Him; He knows our hearts better than we do. And so in His love, like the Good Shepherd, He comes to seek us; He pursues us and He uses His providence to draw us away from all else, and to draw all else away from us, so that we may be driven to listen to His voice, and cast ourselves upon His Heart." (p. 306)
January 26, 2022
Spiritual classic. Incredible.
October 2, 2024
Very good insights to the spiritual life, especially emphasizing the value of spiritual reading. I also appreciated the balance of practicality for prayer life while still relating to Thomistic thought. Surprisingly, several grammatical errors/typos throughout the book...
December 11, 2010
Everything Old Is New Again: Reviewing This Tremendous Lover
This is one of the most practical, down to earth books I have ever read about living one's Catholic faith in everyday life. Written by M. Eugene Boylan, a Trappist Monk, around 1945, "This Tremendous Lover" is actually a more timeless book than one might think. Human nature does not change from age to age and 1945 is not actually that long ago. Boylan clearly had practical experience in helping people look past their hectic lives in a culture often at odds with God. His insightful, accessible book gives straight forward advice on how to proceed toward holiness.
It is probably no surprise that Boylan always comes back to a few key points: knowing Jesus Christ in a personal relationship, turning away from pride, and embracing humility. He discusses seeking Christ through prayer, reading, in the sacraments, in conversation, and through our neighbor. He delves deeply into what it means to be a member of the body of Christ.
Because of its age, this book does have a few outdated assumptions that surface occasionally. For example, Boylan assumes that he must convince the ordinary person that their vocation is just as valid for seeking a deep experience with God as that of a priest or religious. That concept is one that we are all familiar with today, post-Vatican II, but at the time of original publication the point would have been very valid.
In the chapter about marriage and holiness, Boylan points out that the intimacies of married life are holy. Again, this is something that is nowadays taken to be a given and so might seem quaint as a reassurance. However, and this is an important point, even when the original assumption might seem old fashioned, Boylan's underlying theory remains sound. If one agrees to set aside prejudice against an attitude that might not agree with the way everyone thinks today, then the reader will discover a wealth of truth lying just beneath the surface for the taking. In continuing his discussion of married intimacies, Boylan says:
This is the solid advice of a good theologian and a practical man. Surely this would have been very reassuring to those who read it when it was originally published. Just as certainly, in modern times it is beautiful to read such an outright declaration of the purpose of marital love and fidelity.
Time after time, Boylan gives practical advice that is elevated by a desire for his readers to find a deeper union with Christ. It is a challenge for any of us to fully live our lives seeking to follow in Christ's footsteps and learning to love him. With M. Eugene Boylan's help, we have a much better chance of finding the way with fewer missteps. Highest recommendation.
I received this book from Aquinas and More Catholic Bookstore. (Review originally ran at Happy Catholic.
This is one of the most practical, down to earth books I have ever read about living one's Catholic faith in everyday life. Written by M. Eugene Boylan, a Trappist Monk, around 1945, "This Tremendous Lover" is actually a more timeless book than one might think. Human nature does not change from age to age and 1945 is not actually that long ago. Boylan clearly had practical experience in helping people look past their hectic lives in a culture often at odds with God. His insightful, accessible book gives straight forward advice on how to proceed toward holiness.
It is probably no surprise that Boylan always comes back to a few key points: knowing Jesus Christ in a personal relationship, turning away from pride, and embracing humility. He discusses seeking Christ through prayer, reading, in the sacraments, in conversation, and through our neighbor. He delves deeply into what it means to be a member of the body of Christ.
Because of its age, this book does have a few outdated assumptions that surface occasionally. For example, Boylan assumes that he must convince the ordinary person that their vocation is just as valid for seeking a deep experience with God as that of a priest or religious. That concept is one that we are all familiar with today, post-Vatican II, but at the time of original publication the point would have been very valid.
In the chapter about marriage and holiness, Boylan points out that the intimacies of married life are holy. Again, this is something that is nowadays taken to be a given and so might seem quaint as a reassurance. However, and this is an important point, even when the original assumption might seem old fashioned, Boylan's underlying theory remains sound. If one agrees to set aside prejudice against an attitude that might not agree with the way everyone thinks today, then the reader will discover a wealth of truth lying just beneath the surface for the taking. In continuing his discussion of married intimacies, Boylan says:
Let us once and for all get rid too of the notion, so harmful to the spiritual life, so heretical in its origin, and so widespread today, that there is anything intrinsically wrong in pleasure as such. God forbid! God made pleasure; man made pain. god share the pleasure of His creatures. All pleasure that is not inordinate, no matter how intense it is, can be offered to God. What is lawfully done to one's neighbor or to one's self is done to Christ. ... It is only when pleasure becomes inordinate—that is contrary to the will of God—that it is wrong. And no one can live without some pleasure, just as no one can live without some food and some rest.
Love demands expression, and love is nourished by expression, and that is true even of the most spiritual love. And the love of a man for his wife is a unique love and demands a unique expression, and God has provided an unique expression for it and has attached intense pleasure to it. And God has gone further still. For He has arranged that by that very act of expressing their love for one another, husband and wife become partners with Him in the work of producing a new creature. ...
This is the solid advice of a good theologian and a practical man. Surely this would have been very reassuring to those who read it when it was originally published. Just as certainly, in modern times it is beautiful to read such an outright declaration of the purpose of marital love and fidelity.
Time after time, Boylan gives practical advice that is elevated by a desire for his readers to find a deeper union with Christ. It is a challenge for any of us to fully live our lives seeking to follow in Christ's footsteps and learning to love him. With M. Eugene Boylan's help, we have a much better chance of finding the way with fewer missteps. Highest recommendation.
I received this book from Aquinas and More Catholic Bookstore. (Review originally ran at Happy Catholic.
December 14, 2024
One of the best books on the faith I’ve ever read!
December 7, 2015
This is an exceptional book. It took me a while to get to to it, it felt almost like a text book at first. But then, all of a sudden, it's beauty simply overtook me. This might be another book to have with me if I was stranded on a desert island (along with I Believe In Love)! This book explained the love of God and our human suffering in a way that makes me understand humanity, faith, and love like never before. What God did to show us how much He loves us is truly "tremendous", and this book not only shows us this divine love, but inspires us to love in return. This books calls us to holiness, which is nothing but a life infused with God's love and the love of God in everything. I utterly and completely love this book.
April 13, 2015
Really excellent spiritual reading for the practicing lay Catholic. I really like how practically he breaks things down for you in terms of how to develop one's spiritual practices and what the essentials are, as well as his approach to dividing the chapters. I found some of the chapters about the Mystical Body of Christ a little over my head but I loved the chapters "Seeking Christ Through Humility and Obedience," "Seeking Christ in Prayer," "Seeking Christ by Reading," "Christ, Our Sacrifice and Our Supplement," etc. Really great book.
August 14, 2017
A powerful read - couldn't put book down. Certainly fills in more pieces in riddle of Catholic laity life for me. Like commentary on how HE permits our sins to occur (due to our free will) and sees how our sins can be turned around to good. Powerful insight that EVERY action we do has Christ there too. Understand better the concept of "In Christ". Validated Divine Providence concept whereby HE uses other persons to lead us to HIM and vice versa. Chapter on wives and careers could use some more discussions. Great chapter on our Blessed Mother as Redemptress.
February 23, 2018
I've read a bit about the spiritual life over the last 40+ years, and this book is in my top 5. It taught me so much about the Mystical Body of Christ and about how we are to love like He loves. It's a classic.
Want to read
January 7, 2010Included in the "Spiritual Reading" section of Fr. John McCloskey's 100-book Catholic Lifetime Reading Plan.
January 27, 2010
Just read it!
June 18, 2010
From Fr. Geddes. Love the chapters on Confession.
March 8, 2011
it was my first book on begining of spiritual life....written by abbot....he knows what he is doing.....huge list of recommended literature in the end...cleared my russian brain ....a little bit
March 17, 2015
No matter what we do, unless we do it in the love of God, it profits us nothing. God wants our love, He will be satisfied with nothing else.
March 25, 2015
The BEST Book EVER!!!
April 16, 2015
Catholic Classic - great meditation on the love of Christ for souls. I strongly recommend this book.
November 12, 2015
One of the best books about the love of Jesus. If I had to pick two books about Jesus, one of them would be this one. The other would be Life of Christ by Fulton Sheen. Highly recommended.
August 19, 2016
Definitely worth the read.
January 25, 2020
This book is just what I needed. The author focuses on the Mystical Body of Christ. Recommended for anyone who is looking for something to deepen your spirituality beyond just me and Jesus.
January 15, 2020
Yeah, every single human being needs to read this.
It's better if you're Catholic *first*, but I'd bet it'll get you there.
It's better if you're Catholic *first*, but I'd bet it'll get you there.
May 6, 2024
A beautiful book that will deepen your relationship with Christ. It is a guide into the spiritual life for the laity, although I’m sure religious people can glean powerful insights from it.
While I praise it for its content matter, I must say—it was a a bit of drag to read. It felt dry and lacking personality. I wasn’t able to finish the last few chapters because of it, that’s why it gets 3-stars.
While I praise it for its content matter, I must say—it was a a bit of drag to read. It felt dry and lacking personality. I wasn’t able to finish the last few chapters because of it, that’s why it gets 3-stars.
January 14, 2020
This was a great read, and I'm very thankful for the recommendation. Not a book to breeze through; the detailed information within requires slow, methodical reading to really digest. I can't recommend this book enough to any Christian desiring to explore or deepen their faith.
March 31, 2020
Quite a read during a pandemic. So much encouragement and simple advice in here. It is a product of its time in some ways, so there are some opinions on women that have not aged well. Overall though, fabulous.
June 24, 2022
If I can only take one book of spiritual reading to a desert island, it would be this one. Amazing how much catechesis is contained as well as solid practical advice on prayer life and Christian disposition and outlook. I highly recommend this one.
September 15, 2023
There are some books which you read which makes you want to go back in some reviews and lower their rating because this one is far superior and is a profound help to those who seek to understand the Catholic thing.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews